It’s been a busy summer here in Kirtland and I expect the Fall to be no different. Soon, we will see soccer teams, the marching band, and football teams practicing and playing on the new turf at the recently renovated, and newly named Wilson stadium. It is nice to see the stadium project coming along and hope to see many of you there as the Hornet teams take to the new field.
Throughout August and September, professionally engineered and contracted road repairs will commence in several areas throughout the city. The roads to be repaved are Fox Hill, Crestwood (from Oakwood to cul-de-sac) and Blueberry. Additionally, Specialized Construction will be performing road base repairs on Hobart, Regency Woods Dr., Crary, Far Bar, Hillcrest and Highland. Base repairs are helpful in that they address the worst areas of a road and prepare the road for future repaving as the material can be recycled into the roadway.
Knowing we have many roads still to address, I am proud that since the road levy expired four years ago, after this paving season, we’ll have paved and or rehabilitated nearly eight miles of Kirtland roads. That’s roughly double the miles of road rehabilitation done with road levy money from 2015-2019. In addition, many miles of road have been crack-sealed to keep good roads good. A robust road maintenance program is important as many of today’s road woes are the result of more than a decade of neglect.
I’d like to thank all those who participated in the July 10th informational discussion related to a potential town center development project at the Senior Center. In the meeting, we covered many key points as to what the process to make a good decision should look like. The good news is, and I can’t stress enough, we do not have to go forward with any development on City Hall property. Kirtland is great the way it is and if the merits and plan aren’t just right for the community, then redevelopment of City Hall property should not go forward. For any plan to be seriously considered, a balance of both commercial and residential development fitting Kirtland’s needs must be met. Also critical in a discernment process is, what the potential positive economic impact would be? What new money will responsible development bring to Kirtland to help pay for road repairs and city services. The concept is still in its infancy and the walk to a decision will be thoughtful, deliberate and include many discussions with the community.
Starting with the Historic Town Center zoning code implementation in 2010 and continuing with the 2012 Comprehensive Plan, members of City government prescribed both commercial and residential development in downtown Kirtland. The intentions of those previously elected and appointed officials was to create a town center with shops, restaurants, and residential living, especially for seniors. With these principles in mind, we will continue to explore options that are in line with the work done by those folks in 2010 and 2012.
Thank you,
Mayor Kevin Potter