Mayor Rob Marlowe
Now that the scheduling insanity that is the holiday season is over and things are starting to return to something approaching “normal”, I’ve got time to write about all the things that are in the pipeline for 2017.
First off, there are a number of “carry over” projects in progress. A partial list includes:
Orange Lake / Sims Park updates: This consists of mucking out Orange Lake and installing the planned walkways that will extend out onto the lake. We will also be working on adding two more shade structures in Sims Park as well as a few additional things we somehow missed with the big overhaul that wrapped up a year ago. This project was to have started several months back, but we’ve been waiting on funding from Washington for the cleanup of the lake. That funding has been promised to be released “any day now”.
The median improvements in certain sections of US 19: We’re mostly waiting for spring to arrive and the peanut grass to take off and start looking pretty.
US 19 Median Project. Photo courtesy of city staff
The multi-use trail along Marine Parkway is nearing completion. The multi-use trail and streetscape improvements along Madison are well along in the design stage. Look for things to get going on this project later this year.
The proposed updates to the Recreation and Aquatic Center are still up in the air as staff works to whittle down the cost on the essential parts of the project. I’m cautiously optimistic that staff will have an affordable proposal for us shortly.
There are also a number of projects that are nearing the point where you will notice things happen. These include:
Main Street Landing. The updated plans have been reviewed by staff and I expect that the few remaining outstanding items will be resolved between the developer and staff in the very near future, with construction starting shortly thereafter.
Circle Boulevard will be getting a facelift, starting the week of January 23rd. This is the first project in our road improvement list for this year. We are being promised “substantial completion” before the Chasco Fiesta arrives the end of March.
The Residences at Orange Lake and the repurposing of the old Cameo Antique Mall (aka Potter Brothers IGA) should both be underway shortly.
2017 promises to be an exciting year. Stay tuned.
Rob Marlowe, Mayor