[0:00] hi my name is Paul Ricky and the mayor bulb Dale and today I'm going to talk with you a little bit about the state of the city now the state of the city can be just a long drawn-out presentation today I get to stay up new words but then we're gonna watch a presentation a video that gives the highlights of many things going on in this in this marvelous city so when I say it's marvelous city it's really true because it is amazing and all of you are key to the reason for it being so special so thank you and before I go much further let me make a special acknowledgement to the people I served with councilmember fuller vector councillor casaba councilmember Rasmussen and councilmember Landis great people as [0:45] surely enjoy serving with them you know thanks also to the city staff in the leadership will be displayed let me introduce the key people of our community these are the people that are the department heads were the leaders of their various the promise so part Fisher City Administrator Susie Warren the administrative services director Bryan Baclaran the city engineer and director of Public Works Bob Streeter community development director Julie Williams recreation superintendent bill Schmidt building official chief Sullivan of the police department in chief Anderson of the fire department no special thanks to to Alissa McLeod for her work with this presentation so now we're going to watch [1:31] the video and the video again gives highlights of the city won't build and special in that we have in this great city [1:50] the city of Oakdale is a vibrant community located only nine miles from the st. Paul with convenient access to i-69 t4i 94 highways 36 and 120 and County Road 14 Oak Dales population has grown significantly since officially becoming a city in 1974 increasing from seven thousand eight hundred and eighteen in the 1970s to twenty-seven thousand four hundred and one in 2010 current population is estimated to be twenty eight thousand seven hundred and ninety three and is expected to increase to 31,000 by year 2040 there are eight municipal departments and 107 employees currently serving the community City [2:42] Council and staff strive for excellence as stewards of taxpayer money and his servants of the community throughout 2017 in the first part of 2018 the city received several awards and recognition a a two credit rating certificate of achievement in financial reporting Tree City USA green step cities level five the Oakdale Fire Department received a public protection classification rating of three and two Northern Lights Awards bronze in crisis communication and the award of merit and local redesign [3:23] the city continually re-evaluates as service offerings to ensure that the evolving needs of citizens are continually and consistently met in August 2017 the city launched a new mobile friendly website the new site provides a streamlined design a navigational menu and many opportunities to engage with the public and keep them informed to further advance communication with the public the city is now also a member of next-door and Instagram safety is paramount to a welcoming community in 2017 the Oakdale police department received 10,000 103 calls for service the lowest number on record in a 15 year period [4:08] reported offenses remained fairly consistent with an overall downward trend over the past 15 years in 2017 992 part 1 crimes reported and 1156 part 2 crimes were reported in 2017 the Oakdale police department participated in several new initiatives to help increase the safety of our community the community affairs unit developed a fraud prevention booklet entitled don't get hooked the booklet was prepared in response to the growing number of fraud and theft incidents targeted at senior residents and a copy was mailed to each household the booklets are also distributed at several financial institutions within the [4:53] community the department also participated in the Washington County based East Metro sex trafficking task force resulting in multiple arrests of offenders the rescue of a number of victims and the seizure of crime related proceeds both the police and fire departments hosted open houses to share safety information with the community the annual fire prevention open house was held in October of 2017 and provided safety information fire safety classes station tours and activities for kids the Police Department open house held in April of 2018 covered topics such as neighborhood watch spring weather hazards fire prevention and safety plans human trafficking and violent encounters [5:42] public works crews work hard to keep city streets safe a few notable events include ending 2017 with a water main break under I 694 which resulted in the closure of the freeway for one week just weeks after the freeway was reopened the crews handled two major snow events [Music] Oakdale prides itself on having a community full of robust amenities that contribute to a great quality of life including entertainment and events recreation and retail the city hosts a variety of community events throughout the year that bring friends and families together including mystery egg hunt farmers market summer concert series Summerfest community picnic save summer [6:29] nights Arbor Day tree giveaway night to night touch-a-truck family fun flais tables that's best movies in the park and more the city's recreation department offers over 150 programs and events throughout the year for all ages and interests in 2017 the recreation department brought recreational activities to the residents with the introduction of their pop up play parks program and in 2018 the Recreation Department hosted their first ever Park and play an adult day camp event the city of Oakdale is home to 29 public parks offering both passive and active recreation opportunities in 2017 the city celebrated the grand opening of Oakdale bark park a new dog park located [7:16] at 50th and Helena Lane the Oakdale Nature Preserve welcomes several new additions as well including exercise stations interactive park maps and a music wall which was built by the Girl Scouts speaking of new additions the city of Oakdale welcomes several new businesses to the community since the start of 2017 [Music] the city also recognized several other businesses that were celebrating new [8:03] additions and milestones [Music] [8:16] Oakdale residents and businesses are integral to contributing to the vibrancy of our community the city welcomed hundreds of community volunteers who attended and helped with several beautification efforts in the community including the buckthorn removal in the Oakdale Nature Preserve in October of 2017 and the community tree planting project at Hope field Park in May of 2018 the city is grateful for volunteers and every year formally and publicly recognizes a volunteer of the year 2017 volunteer of the herbs Jody Christensen branch manager at Lake Como Bank she was chosen for volunteer efforts as a longtime member of the Oakdale Economic Development Commission and the Oakdale Area Chamber of Commerce the act of [9:03] volunteering is as important to the city as our the volunteers in 2018 the city introduced a new volunteer coordinator position this new role was created to help identify volunteer needs in the community and match opportunities with volunteers in conjunction with this new role an employee volunteer program was also launched to encourage and provide opportunities for city employees to get involved in the community volunteers aren't the only thing that the city recognizes each year the city takes nominations for outstanding properties for the Acorn award recognition it is important for the city to include resident and business input toward planning at the future of our community in 2017 the council as part of [9:49] the 2014 hence of plan update assembled a community advisory committee to broadly represent community interests and provide input on potential issues goals and policies to be addressed by the plan the committee consisted of representatives from each of the cities commissions and citizen representatives the committee met six times as well as hosted three community open houses aimed to inform residents about comprehensive plan topics and to acquire their input and ideas [Music] as we look ahead to the future of Oakdale there are several projects on the horizon the first which was just addressed is the comprehensive plan which outlines how the community wants [10:35] to develop its land redevelop older areas ensure adequate housing provide roads water sewer protect natural areas and meet other community goals the Metropolitan Land Planning Act requires every ten years that all cities counties and towns in the seven-county metro area review update and amend if necessary their comprehensive plan Oak Hills current comprehensive plan was adopted in 2010 and staff is currently working on updating its plan to set the vision for the community through the year 2040 also in the works is the Gold Line bus rapid transit facility an 11 mile dedicated guideway that will run from downtown st. Paul to Woodbury there will be two transit stations on the corridor serving Oakdale at Greenway Avenue and [11:22] he'll no Avenue in 2017 the Oakdale City Council authorized the helm of station small area planning process to study and review land use and zoning regulations near the proposed Bolton bus rapid transit Elmo station to facilitate transit oriented development including housing and commercial components the council will complete the Greenway Station area plan in the fall of 2018 the city is also developing the 3m properties small area plan for the former 3m property the 3m small area plan is the outcome of a study and analysis undertaken to assess the feasibility of changing the planned land use on approximately two hundred and eight acres from a multi-tenant business campus to a new residential neighborhood so you just saw [12:10] many of the highlights around this community I think we were blessed also they have great residents and surroundings with less than fantastic businesses and institutions and and wonderful staff leadership you know I started out this presentation by saying thank you for all your efforts and I closed the same way so thank you