[Music] I get to witness every day neighbors residents helping each other a great City I think first and foremost because of our residents they come to events where we have opening new parks where we have a Redevelopment of a new park like South Valley they really care about the natural areas that we have one thing I really love about our residents in INF grve Heights is their engagement the list goes on and on of how our residents are engaged in volunteerism uh a lot of people tend to stay in INF Grove Heights for a long a long time like me lifelong resident we're this little niche Community that's right below a huge Metro aitan area and yet we have a HomeTown [Music] feel I love that imig Pats has so much potential we've got a lot of dedicated green space but a lot of opportunity for development the city itself has really worked well with the residents to create a city and environment that is is pleasing and inviting to everybody we continue to do the right thing this will always be a place where families want to live it is absolutely the best city in the state hands [Music] down the things I love about Inver grve Heights are our residents how they go out on Trails they meet with each other we have great biking walking trails and also folks that pass through our community stop and get to realize what a great City we have here some things I learned this year about Inver gr Heights are that the residents and the businesses here really reinvest in our [Music] community this year residents continue to see a lot of new development in the city of infig grve heights I'm proud to say that INF grve Heights has grown and welcom new residents and new development while remaining a tight-knit community that supports local businesses and celebrates its roots as of October 1st in Grove Heights has added 44 single family homes 57 town homes and over 1,000 Apartments to its housing stock so far this year new housing is a priority because there is a significant unmet demand for housing in Minnesota particularly in the Twin Cities metro and this trend is expected to continue new homes help attract new businesses to the community and add to the city's tax base in fact the value of housing added so far this year totals almost 67 million for next year developers have concept plans in various stages of development showing the addition of another 1,677 residential units to the city's housing stock in other development news this year the city is excited to welcome several new restaurants to INF grve Heights including tono's pizza and cheese steaks hangry Joe's Hot Chicken yo-yo donuts and Pizza Pup as mayor and a member of the business Community I he I G residents tell me they want to see more retail development in the city so our goal as council is to Leverage What Inver grve Heights has to offer and the opportunities before us to make IG a community of choice for those wanting a place to live and raise a family open a business or both an active and engaged Economic Development Authority along with a growing Community will continue to attract additional retail and Commercial development to Inver grve Heights in 202 and [Music] Beyond businesses would love to come here because we have the open land if they want to develop from new we have retail space available and we have industrial space so we are ready and excited about business coming to infog gr [Music] Heights the residents of Inver grve Heights are people who really appreciate Beauty and open spaces and they love living in our community today we see some interesting demographic Trends taking shape in the City invergrove Heights is getting a little bit older in fact the average age of a resident here is just over 41 years as compared to 38.5 years in the state 45% of the city's residents were born before 1981 according to the 2020 census 2third of Inver grve Heights housing stock is owned by Baby Boomers and gen xers an aging population will likely mean some housing turnover and new families moving in the city will need to do more to enhance housing options for all residents including seniors who would like to remain in the city as they downsize their living spaces and people looking for their first or next home IG has a lot to offer families and young people including great schools and opportunities to learn and grow close to home the city is home to a new Performing Art Center at simly high school Inver Glenn library and Inver Hills Community College additionally the Veterans Memorial Community Center continues to offer Innovative programming to support young people such as its award-winning Fifth Quarter program as well as opportunities for part-time employment experience city parks offer many amenities for young people to enjoy such as the skateboarding Park Disc Golf Course hockey ranks and our storied sledding hill the IG Community is growing and changing and we are seeing new families move into the city currently people of color comprise over 20% of the City's population and demographic Trends suggest that 's population will continue to diversify and grow as the city grows so does the need to protect the natural environment this year as a response to the growing awareness of the importance of environmental sustainability City staff and the environmental advisory commission successfully introduced a sustainable IG program residents and businesses who take sustainable actions such as conserving energy and water Landscaping with native plants Recycling and volunteering can be recognized for their efforts this year 13 residents and five businesses including Inver Glenn Library received sustainable IG Rec recogntion it was a first step for the city to show its support for something that residents are indicating they care about and want to see the city pay more attention to this is the first ever sustainable IG award ceremony so thank you for having [Applause] us for me what I love about imro Heights has always come down to the people that have chosen to live here and work here and over the years theyve they've continued to grow with the city and help the city grow and that's what I've always loved about this this city through the good and the bad the city the residents have always stuck [Music] together now let's get this ribbon cutting underway and start making memories in South Valley Park this year the city saw an increased investment in Parks and Recreation come to fruition with input from the community we reimagine rebuild and reopen South Valley Park in the heart of IG and welcome to your Park the two biggest accomplishments being connecting the trail through the park between the two cities and finding solutions to manage the water level of the lake this fall in conjunction with South St Paul and Dakota County we also completed a trail reconstruction and extension at beautiful sidles Lake this year the city continued steps towards emphasizing Recreation for residents of all abilities for example phase four of the city's long-term vision for AED Village Park was completed in 2024 and next year Phase 5 construction will start which will include an inclusive playground and splash pad with accessible parking and at Veterans Memorial Community Center programming includes adaptive wreck activities in cooperation with reach for resources which offers inclusive parties and recreational events for people of all abilities the state of participation levels at the vmcc and at the city's Golf Course are strong in fact the vmcc has 3900 members and has welcomed more than 24,000 daily passholders to the aquatics and fitness centers to date roughly 100,000 golfers utilized Inwood Golf Course this season with 70,000 rounds of golf played and very exciting news for next year we'll be lighting up the Rock Island swingbridge part of a joint project involving the city Dakota County and the state of Minnesota and inviting neighboring community members to make the swing Bridge a destination spot in the Twin Cities tennis pickle ball golf disc golf uh you can do it all here in inro height so it kind of offers something for everybody from birth through what I would call old age you know we all have some something for us to do I think the city has done a pretty good job at balancing Green Space and and development I think by listening to our to our residents we can grow can grow smartly so excited that everybody is here to join in on this special occasion your ideas help shape the park into what it is is today the residents are engaged and they show up they show up from everything from pavement management meetings to community engagement meetings like Park openings they are telling me things they like dislike things that they're concerned about but either way I get to know how they feel and it makes my job easier [Music] there was important news in utilities this year the city began repairs and upgrades to the IG water treatment facility the city is leveraging 2.5 million in arpa funds allocated by the federal government after the covid pandemic to cover expenses for this vital $4.7 million long-term asset Improvement project a new filtration system in combination with steps that City staff have already taken to better address the removal of radium and other contaminants will bring the plant up to date and ensure that City Water remains safe to drink upgrades at the water treatment facility are expected to be complete in 2025 in pavement management this year the city repaired 5.6 mil of roadway prior to 2021 before the city's pavement management initiative made Road repair a top priority the city was repairing Less Than 3 m per year road projects that were completed this year include 96 Street and 99 Street Bixby way corkran path and Dawson Dempsey and Del o pavement Improvement remains a top priority for the city in fact in 2024 the city applied what is called an ultra thin bonded wour application to 5 mies of streets in South Grove this street project which came with no assessment for property owners address the premature deterioration of sealcoated streets constructed almost 20 years ago ultrain represents a newer effective way of utilizing limited funds to quickly address and improve road conditions in the city it will be used more broadly as part of the pavement management toolbox I'm impressed with our public works department and how they effectively use our city funds I also impressed with the level of customer service and responsiveness that um our residents have become used to well our residents are great I'm very proud of our residents because they pay attention to our city whether it's the actions of our police and fire whether it is new retail in town our new parks actions of our staff our residents notice and they are very [Music] appreciative this has been an outstanding year for City's police and fire departments and both have been recognized for their Excellence not only by residents but also outside the IG community on the state and National stages this year the national Volunteer Fire council's Junior firefighter program of the Year award went to the imro Heights Fire department for its exceptional Explorer and Cadet programs these programs were part of a joint effort by the department and simly high school to attract a new generation of recruits to a career in firefighting over at the police department patrol officers cited a total of 241 DWIs in the past year alone officer Jacob Welden was named one of the top 60 DWI law enforcers in the state by the Department of Public Safety and was applauded at a Minnesota Twins game in addition the police department received a $375,000 cops Grant from the US Department of Justice to fund additional hiring at the invergrove heights PD both police and fire departments remained busy meeting the daily needs of IG residents and assisting neighboring communities the fire department received 3,60 calls for service last year which averages out to over eight calls per day despite the hectic pace median response time was an impressive 5 minutes and 41 seconds 67% of fire department calls were for medical assistance which is an additional and relatively new expectation placed on firefighters in fact imro Heights firefighters are now trained to place intravenous lines into patients before EMTs arrive immigr Heights Fire department has also continued certified Ying civilians through CPR and first aid classes additionally in the past 12 months a total of 533 fire inspections were completed and 790 deficiencies were addressed the fire department held two recruitment informational sessions where 40 individuals showed up to hear about the expectations of being a firefighter this resulted in 18 new additions to the 2024 2025 recruitment class [Music] the police department responded to an impressive 36,6 184 911 calls for service in the past year up 20% from 2021 this averages to just over 100 calls per day some of these calls involved a mental health component which can make response and follow through more complex in the past 9 months our mental health officer and embedded social worker had 83 police calls sent to them for review because of the referrals they made for additional services and Outreach the team completed a total of 329 reports the mental health officer and embedded social worker team averages 3 to8 knock and talk follow-up attempts a week where they go in person to find an individual in need of service after a police call the team also made 47 follow-ups by phone 72 follow-ups through email and 82 in-person follow-up meetings in the past year inove Patrol officers filed 3584 police reports conducted 8,082 traffic stops and issued 1, 1591 total traffic and criminal citations in the community the contributions of school resource officer Erica ID who works out of Simley High School and serves District 199 students and staff remain a valuable part of proactively connecting with the Inver Grove Heights Youth and addressing potential safy concerns before they escalate in so many ways our Police Department serves IG residents above and beyond answering 911 calls police Outreach activities remain an essential part of the work they do to keep our community safe and connected next year the city is prioritizing adding additional staff to both police and fire departments with one additional firefighter and three police officers included in the preliminary budget both the police and fire departments do an excellent job of community off Outreach our departments offer events such as citizenm open houses and night to unite I expect to see this high level of visibility and positive presence in our community continue in 2025 and future years I mean after our very basic you know needs there's our personal safety and the work of our police and fire departments help ensure that that personal safety and in doing so really create a community that you you know families want to call home what I think is great about our Public Safety departments our police and our fire is their Community interaction and that that certainly starts with the leadership in both departments I often hear from residents uh that talking to one of our police officers are talking to one of our firefighters just makes them feel good and I do know that amongst the kids in town our canine officers Officer Chase and officer Asher are very very popular [Music] thank you for watching and learning what's new about Inver Grove Heights as always don't hesitate to reach out to myself councel or staff or visit us 247 at IG mn.gov we look forward to serving you and working together to reach New Heights in 2025