Monday, February 25, 2013

City Manager's Blog February 25, 2013




Fire Housing Ceremony
Mayor Bresnan, Council Members Marchant and Mathieu, Chief Seymour, past and present fire department members, and community members officially dedicated the fire departments new aerial ladder truck this past Saturday.  The “Housing Ceremony” began with remarks from the Mayor, Past Chief Hunt, and Chief Seymour.  After officially dedicating the truck, a reception and open house to view the truck was held in the station.  This new piece of equipment is the largest truck ever purchased by the City of Indianola and will serve the community for at least the next 20 years.  Congratulations to the fine men and women of the Indianola Fire Department on the dedication and addition to our fire apparatus fleet. 

2012 Street Program Update
Community Development staff met with Britt Sternquist and Jenifer Croat of Snyder & Associates regarding the completion of the 2012 paving project. Sternquist has agreed to complete the construction at the intersection of West Boston and North Howard the second week of July and estimates the completion of the project to be 30 days. Chuck has requested Snyder to modify the contract to reflect a new completion date and will bring the amended contract to Council for consideration.  This revised schedule is at the request of a business owner who doesn’t want to have sales adversely affected during the busy spring season.  The timing and location shouldn’t create a significant disruption for downtown events as the remaining work is a few blocks off the Square.

Summer Preparations Begin
The Parks and Recreation Department has been busy on a number of projects preparing for the upcoming summer season.  Repair work is underway at the McCord Park restrooms to address cracked flooring as well as installing new sinks, toilets and hand dryers.  The Pickard Park Dug Out Roof bids are being evaluated as well as ongoing equipment maintenance on mowers, concessions, and vehicles required to maintain the park and keep activities moving forward.  Bid information is nearing completion for a new pool heater at the Memorial Park pool with the hope of installing prior to opening this summer.  Finally, staff is busy in the greenhouse planting and watering to ensure we have the plants needed later this spring when weather conditions improve.   

Retail Development
Indianola will be welcoming two new businesses to our community soon.  Napoli’s Authentic Italian based in St. Joseph, MO will be opening a second location in Indianola.  A sign indicating the new business is up at its new location in the Suites on Salem building located at 117 E. Salem.  At this time, the business will be occupying 3/4th of the available space on the main level.  In addition to the dinning and carry-out operations, the business will also house a wine bar.  The anticipated opening is planned within the next few months.  The second business scheduled to open is Monterrey Mexican Restaurant in the former Indianola Family Restaurant building at 1303 N. Jefferson.  Indianola will be the 6th location in Iowa for Monterrey with most locations in the Des Moines metro region. We look forward to welcoming these new businesses to our community!

Friday, February 8, 2013

City Manager's Blog February 8, 2013




65/69 Planning Continues
Mayor Bresnan, Councilman Parker, and I met with representatives from the County, IaDOT, and engineers from Snyder and Associates Wednesday in Ames to further discuss the redesign along highway 65/69 from Hillcrest north to the city limits.  With the new development along this corridor in recent years adding additional traffic, reconstruction and grading will be needed to address the topography issues and access so that future expansion can continue.  A draft access agreement was discussed with all parties involved along with an outline of the needed improvements within this corridor.  Staff will be working with council and Snyder and Associates to finalize the access agreement with IaDOT.  In addition, staff will continue looking at financing options to move the reconstruction projects forward as part of some preliminary engineering work currently underway.

Library Event Successful
The Library hosted “Take your Child to the Library” February 2nd with great success.  Over 200 residents took part in activities throughout the day.  Library staff has posted pictures on the City Website.  In addition to this great event, the Library will once again be hosting a birthday party for Dr. Seuss on February 23rd.  The event will take place from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the Library with breakfast served from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.  Reservations are required prior to the event.  Please contact the Library with any questions.

Des Moines Metro Opera
The Des Metro Opera will be kicking off its 41st season in Indianola at the Blank Performing Arts Center on June 21st.  Plans are underway for an Indianola Day at the Opera June 23rd with more information to follow.  This year we will have the great pleasure of three great performances: Romeo and Juliet, Peter Grimes, and Elektra.  Further information is available via the Des Moines Metro Opera website.  I would encourage everyone to take part in enjoying these great performances.  We are very fortunate to have the Metro Opera in our community in such a great venue.  Annually, the Metro Opera welcomes over 200 professional performers to our community as well as attracts visits from multiple states.  

Retail Study
I appreciate council’s support of the retail study proposal from the Buxton Company and its potential benefits to Indianola.  The overall feedback from those who were able to meet was very positive.  Having worked with this company in the past, I know firsthand the value this information can provide in the ongoing development of our retail/commercial sector.  Furthermore, continued growth in our retail sector will not only bring new business to our community, but also impact the overall growth in our valuation providing additional needed dollars for investment in our infrastructure and broader community.  Following feedback Monday night at the Council Meeting, I will be bringing the full proposal for your consideration at our February 19th meeting.