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.
