September 19, 2006
This letter is going to bounce around a bit, but I wanted to cover a variety of topics.
When people ask me how things are going in the city, my reply generally is, “It depends on who you ask.” There are certainly a lot of things happening right now, over and above barking dogs and junk cars – the typical issues in a small town. I say that because when I first became involved in city government those seemed to be the issues. Adel was a small town which is now experiencing growing pains.
Obviously the brick streets were a volatile issue that divided the town, and regardless of which side you were on, the outcome was definition to the issue. The city eventually paved 3½ blocks of brick streets and designated the others for preservation / improvement – the best example of the most recent improvement is Court Street in front of the old Ben Franklin, the block now occupied mostly be the county.
Our Park and Library Boards have made great strides to improve their facilities with the backing of the citizens through a bond issued and tireless volunteer hours. We are in the last stages of our final street improvement project under the old funding system of assessments. The city council with input from the community will craft a new policy for funding future street improvements which may or may not include some form of assessment.
These are the types of activities that occur in a town that is growing, and we are growing, no doubt about that… and will continue to grow… no doubt about that; but how will we grow? That is the question facing Adel right now. Having grown up here I have seen the town change. I know a lot of folks in town who have seen more changes than me, but having considered Adel my hometown for the last 50 years, I have seen enough changes to know if you aren’t proactive, change may not quite happen the way you want it to.
There are two issues that will impact Adel’s future – the proposed airport and annexation. Let me set the airport aside for a moment. I mention annexation because just last Thursday the City of Adel sent letters to the property owners to the East of Adel inviting them to an annexation workshop later this month. For years annexation has been talked about by the city council in planning sessions but we had not taken the step to contact property owners about this possibility. Some may see this effort as aggressive land-grabbing by the city, but in reality it is an effort to define our borders which in turn will define our development through zoning, which in turn will define our community.
Neither the City nor the recipients of the letter have had this type of annexation experience, and those property owners might be thinking this is a cavalier effort by the council, or, “Why wasn’t I informed earlier?” Or “Why now?” The truth is progress, growth and development are coming this way and we can prepare for it, embrace it and leverage it to our advantage; or let it seduce us into a false sense of security that any growth is good [which is not so]. There are many factors to this topic and the council is not taking this lightly
Like it or not, the City has a date with destiny and we can be early or late. We have chosen to be early. Like the brick street issue, it may divide the community, especially those in the proposed annexation area, but hopefully the outcome will be similar to the brick streets where there will be definition to the issue, in this case our future borders.
And the airport – the WMRA Authority has made great progress in taking care of administrative tasks, selecting a site and securing a grant to update the airport plan and conduct an environmental study. No doubt the airport Authority has an uphill climb to overcome the demo gouging, negative comments and opinions offered by the anti airport / ban the airport groups.
The Authority’s task is to get information and facts to the public. To those that already have an opinion, recall the basis for your position. All that’s being asked of the community is to hear both sides of the issue before passing judgment. The first informational meeting about the airport will be later in October. It is difficult to change someone’s opinion, and even more difficult when the opposition has a three year head start. For the Authority changing opinions will be like eating an elephant… it can be done, just one bite at a time.
To those that do not want to see Adel change, and this position includes some of my friends, whether you realize it or not, it has been changing and will continue to change. The growth in the Western suburbs, the ease of transportation and communication has redefined many towns like Adel. I am most concerned about our downtown. Just recently Adel Enterprises (formerly Adel Developers) and Adel Partners (the Main Street / Chamber of Commerce group) met to discuss Adel’s current economic development / business environment and will be developing plans to compete for businesses and labor. I see the discussions about annexation and the airport as be a component of those plans.
There have been good things [change] that have happened in Adel, but it hasn’t been easy. The civic leaders could bury their heads in the sand and wait for things to happen, but instead they are attempting to influence what will happen. Change is never easy, especially for those who don’t initiate it, but change can eventually be positive and the city council is working towards positive change.
Respectfully submitted,
James F. Peters
Mayor, Adel.