Good morning Plymouth. Welcome to Discover Plymouth. I'm Dave Kaiser from CCX Media, honored to be back again to help MC this event. But it doesn't take much of me because the city is all here with a lot of great information for you. You see the podium set up, we'll have the deputy mayor speaking in just a moment and some chairs back here that will be for a question and answer period with some of the other council members in a few moments. But as you might notice, there are a few different twists to Discover Plymouth this year and to explain more about those twists and get things rolling, let me draw your attention to the video that you'll see right now with a very familiar face. Good morning everyone. And welcome to the annual State of the City address. This is one of my favorite events of the year. I always look forward to sharing the wonderful news coming out of this incredible community. However, unfortunately, I won't be able to deliver the address in person this year due to a previously scheduled medical procedure. So for today's presentation, I'm happy to invite at-large council member and deputy mayor Clark Gregor to share the news from the city. But before council member Gregor takes it away, I'd like to take a moment to speak a bit about our great city of innovation. As Plymouth has developed, we've grown to become a global player in the medtech industry. We also feature an impressive array of research and development facilities for some of the biggest, most cutting-edge companies in the world. In the past years, I've invited leaders of Plymouth's business community to share some of the exciting innovations they're fostering at their companies. For example, two years ago I welcomed Mike Blue of HistoSonics to share about the company's groundbreaking therapy to treat liver cancer. This summer, HistoSonics announced a management-led $2.25 billion majority stakeholder acquisition for major investors such as K5 Global, Bazel's Expeditions, and Wellington Management. And then last year, we had Tony Scales from Philips show some of the innovations happening at the company, which recently received the Governor's International Trade Award. The company is set to invest $31 million in their image-guided therapy facility in Plymouth, which is expected to create over 150 new jobs. Almost everywhere you turn in Plymouth, there are innovative businesses breaking new ground and leading their fields. We have innovation, research, and development operations in practically every business that operates in Plymouth. And in that spirit, I'm very pleased and honored to welcome the vice president of the Environmental Promotion Office, Philip Johnson or PJ, to share a look at the amazing things happening at Daikin Applied in Plymouth, where they apply next-gen solutions to modern-day air quality. PJ, welcome and thank you for being part of our great city of innovation. It's a pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me. So PJ, can you give us an overview of Daikin and what you do and the reach your company has? Yeah, absolutely. Uh Daikin Applied Americas is headquartered right here in Plymouth, Minnesota. We were formally McQuay International. We've been here for decades. We are part of Daikin Industries Limited, which is a global HVAC manufacturer. In fact, it's the largest heating, ventilation, air conditioning company in the world. So we are all over the place. Daikin Applied, we make applied equipment, big commercial equipment that are used in commercial buildings and industrial settings. And we've seen tremendous growth and we are headquartered right there at 55 and 494. All right. Well, that's amazing. You know, we at the city are very excited to hear of the investments you're making in Plymouth. So can you share a little bit more about that? Yeah, um I would say ever since Daikin acquired us McQuay back in 2006, they committed to to the North American market. They committed to Plymouth and they immediately invested $55 million within the R&D center. And then since then, it's been constant investment not just in Plymouth, but throughout Minnesota in the United States and we have uh new relatively new manufacturing plants in Faribault as well as some that have been there for decades. So both Faribault and Owatonna, actually. Um very recently, they've announced and gone public that we're investing $160 million in capital right here in Plymouth in the research and development center. And uh we're very excited about that. Well, we certainly appreciate you continuing to invest invest in Plymouth. And thanks for giving us a glimpse into the future of Daikin. We're very proud that you've chosen Plymouth as your home for your business. So can you talk a little bit more about what it means to operate out of the Plymouth community? So what are some of the things you enjoy and what has led to your continued investment here? Well, I think Daikin in general has a philosophy that we want to be a very reliable supplier to our customers and to other stakeholders, to society in general, a high-quality member of society. And um we develop equipment and solutions that work in those areas that are very efficient, that help reduce a user's costs and help the planet, and help provide healthy spaces for people to work in and live in. And in turn, we see almost the same philosophy here in Plymouth and in Minnesota. So culturally, it fits. And I would say the second, but probably more important reason is the people. We are able to find very good people. And that means good-hearted people, people that care for each other, but also high-quality people, well-educated people, hard-working people. And that is part of Daikin's philosophy of people-centered management. So we're here to be part of that community, to make the community stronger and better because you make us stronger and better. And and that's why we're going to be here for a long, long time. Well, I really appreciate hearing that because that's part of our community, that's part of the culture of what makes up Plymouth, our business community and our our community that lives there. Just know we're here to support you however we can and continue um growing and doing your great things and accomplishments here in Plymouth. As you can see, there's no shortage of innovation in this great city. I think it's well understood that we have developed a solid reputation for offering the infrastructure, talent, and quality services that businesses depend on to be able to excel and usher in the future right here in our backyard. The state of the city is strong in Plymouth. And I'm pleased now to turn it over to council member Gregor, who will go on in detail about what's been happening at the city level throughout the past year and give a look ahead at what we're working on in the future. Thank you for joining us today at the State of the City. Have a great morning and a wonderful time at Discover Plymouth. Well, welcome everybody to the annual State of the City. I'd like to thank Mayor Washa for the video introduction there. Um there are so many amazing things going on in Plymouth and Daikin is a great example of the innovation taking place across our city. Before we get started, I'd like to recognize some of the elected officials who are in attendance today. We have council member Julie Pointner from Julie Peterson from Ward 2, council member Scott Aldrich from Ward 3, and council member Joel Spoonheim, who is an at-large council member like I am. We also have representative Ginny Klevorn from 42B and representative Ned Carroll from our District 42A. So it's great to have you here. I know you have other things to get to, so I won't be offended if you walk out on me, but thank you very much for being here. I also see council member Kim Nelson from Ward 1. And somewhere back there is Judy Johnson who represents uh our area on the Met Council and is a former mayor of Plymouth. So it's great to have her here, too. Thank you, Judy. As Mayor Washa noted in the intro video, my name is Clark Gregor. I serve as an at-large member on the city council and this year, I've been chosen to serve as our deputy mayor. And so I'm honored to be here today to share some exciting things happening in the city of Plymouth. Our city has been hard at work throughout the past year with a sharp focus on continuing to provide high-quality city services and finding innovative ways to efficiently, effectively, and professionally serve our Plymouth residents. That ethos is readily seen in our public works department. You know, it's 60, maybe 70° here today, but if you remember, just last weekend we were all buried under 10 in of snow. And it was our public works crews who were on the job all day, all night long, working hard to clear the roads to make sure that by Monday morning, we could all get to work and school. My kids who are in the back weren't so happy about that, but uh I think the rest of us were glad that we could get around town. So to all of our staff who take on those essential jobs, those sometimes unnoticed jobs that the rest of us need to live our daily lives, I just want to say thank you. >> Our public works department provides core services like that, while also looking ahead to new challenges and new approaches to maintaining our essential infrastructure that we rely on in Plymouth. One important example is our climate action and resiliency plan, which is now in development. This plan will help guide thoughtful, practical environmental decisions across the city, uh and they are going to be shaped by community input. We've had uh listening sessions already and we have more coming up in May. And then this summer we'll have a draft plan of uh ready for approval by the council. And as we think about resilience and long-term planning, transportation is a cornerstone of that work. Plymouth Metrolink, our bus service, continues to be a high-performing, customer-focused transit service. It provides reliable mobility options that meet the needs of residents and businesses. In 2025, Plymouth Metrolink's fixed route ridership grew as we expanded park and ride across the city with access at the new permanent structure at the Northwest Greenway. And that was just completed in January. Now, speaking of the Northwest Greenway, we were incredibly excited in 2025 to officially complete our Greenway trail system after more than 20 years in the making. And that is a testament to Judy and Ned and other people who served on the council long before me and our current city council members. Um but this 315-acre nature preserve has more than 7 miles of connected trails and boardwalks and scenic overlooks, a pavilion, a challenge course, and and so much more. I love to explore the Greenway in different parts of it when I go for walks around town and I would encourage you to hit the trail and take a look at what the Greenway has to offer. Besides wrapping up major projects, our parks and recreation department has had a busy year creating new programming and planning for the future. A big part of that department's focus is ensuring that activities are available for all, regardless of ability. Our recreation team has developed inclusive programming such as adaptive swim lessons, sensory-friendly days in the Cube, inclusive summer nature camps, and a dedicated sensory room right here in the community center, which even has a special visit from Santa around the holidays. We really continue to see strong community engagement at our events and facilities. And 2025 had the distinction of record-breaking attendance at several events, including Discover Plymouth, this event, our Kids Fest, Halloween at the Lake, and our Artisan Market. In fact, in this building, the Plymouth Community Center, last year we had 550,000 visitors. And just down the road at the Plymouth Ice Center, we had more than 750,000 visitors in 25, 2025. We actually had 24 tournaments there featuring more than 100 different teams from across the country. In fact, over at the Ice Center, there's a tournament happening right now at that facility, and I get to drop the puck tomorrow at one of those games. So, I would encourage you that if you have friends or family in town visiting one of our facilities or attending one of our events, send them to helloplymouth.com. That's a new website that the city's destination marketing organization launched, and it serves as a hub for residents and visitors to find places to stay, shop, and eat. It also has different itineraries and lists of different things you can do around the city. So, we're looking toward the future at all of these facilities, and we have the Play It Forward Initiative, which explores three regionally significant recreation projects, including a fourth sheet of ice at the Plymouth Ice Center, a permanent athletic facility to replace this dome here at the fieldhouse, and a new regional sports complex at the former Four Seasons Mall site. So, we are requesting authorization from the state to allow voters to consider a half-cent local sales tax to help fund those projects. What that will do is more equitably distribute the cost among users of the facilities, including visitors to our city. So, I encourage you to look for the Play It Forward banner at one of our booths over there and learn more about these proposals. I'm also excited that we are the first city in the state to complete a smart tree inventory, which built a digital inventory of public trees citywide. Nearly 40,000 trees were scanned, and we used artificial intelligence to analyze all those trees. And we found that the top tree species in Plymouth is wait for it maple. I don't know if that's the best joke, but uh maple accounted for 24% of the trees in our city. This smart tree inventory will help us preserve trees, maintain property values, and more importantly diversify our urban forest. Environmental investments like this are in line with your priorities, uh and that's something we learned from our 2025 community survey, in which 89% of respondents rated the city's focus on the natural natural environment as either essential or very important. Also noted in our 2025 survey, 92% of residents rated it essential or very important to focus on safety. Our public safety department, made up of our police and fire, continues to deliver high-quality, reliable service to ensure that you feel safe in Plymouth. In fact, 94% of respondents from that survey noted that the overall feeling of safety in Plymouth was either either good or excellent. Now, before continuing, I think it's really important that that we acknowledge that residents and workers in Plymouth and across our region maybe didn't feel so safe earlier this year. The tactics used by federal immigration enforcement officers stood in stark contrast with the consistent community-focused approach practiced by our local police. The concern that many felt during those encounters underscores how professional and respected the Plymouth Police Department is. And for that, I'm truly grateful. Applause lines are a good time to take a sip. So, in our Plymouth Police Department, 2025 brought a strengthened focus on hiring the best police officers to serve our community. Uh the department's recruitment team and our cadet program have become cornerstones of our talent pipeline. The department is also adopting an enhanced victim-centered approach and is prioritizing resources to help those in need through our Behavioral Health Unit. We added a full-time behavioral health interventionist this year, and we plan to add an additional full-time officer focused on behavioral health this year. In all these ways and more, the Plymouth Police work tirelessly to support the safety of our community. And while there are countless accomplishments that too often go unnoticed, I'd like to take one moment here to shine a light on some excellent work from one of our officers in particular. Officer Trevor Weinmann, can you join me up on stage? Officer Weinmann has had an incredible past year. His focus is on DWI enforcement in the city, and he is highly effective at detecting and stopping impaired drivers on Plymouth roadways. In fact, Trevor was recognized last year by the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety for achieving his third hat trick of DWI arrests, meaning that in one shift, Officer Weinmann was able to remove three impaired drivers from our streets. This is the third time he's done this. He was also recognized at Yes. He was even recognized at a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field last year, as you can see on the screen there, for the incredible accomplishment of reaching 83 DWI arrests in 2024. Trevor, congratulations for this well-deserved honor. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you very much for making Plymouth roads safer. Of course, our police department is just one half of our incredible public safety team. Our fire department continues to provide outstanding service to our community as well. We've had some change in leadership in the last year, and we're pleased to name Andy Etzel as Plymouth's new fire chief last year. A 20-year veteran of the fire department, Andy has dedicated the majority of his professional career to our community. He grew up in Plymouth and is a Wayzata High School graduate, like me. We're excited for him to continue the outstanding work of the fire department. Now, in 2025 alone, our fire department responded to more than 5,500 service calls out of two fire stations. And highlighting their heroic work, 14 firefighters received life-saving awards for their actions last year. While I wish we could invite them all up here to share their stories, we don't quite have time for that, but there is one I would like to highlight. So, Battalion Chief Brandon Olson, can you join me on stage? Thanks, sir. Yes. So, last August, firefighters were dispatched to a call for a patient experiencing difficulty breathing. Brandon arrived on scene finding an adult on the living room floor under the care of nursing staff. The patient was unconscious and had no pulse. Brandon immediately initiated CPR. He directed staff to retrieve an AED, and chest compressions and ventilators were performed. After which, a pulse was restored. Brandon, with North Memorial and Plymouth Police, assisted with IV preparation, monitor placement, and continued ventilation as the patient eventually began breathing again on their own. By the Yeah. By the time the patient arrived at the emergency department, he had regained consciousness. So, like we just were clapping for. This is absolutely incredible and inspiring work. It's a life saved. So, Brandon, you're a true hero. And I know a lot of first responders will say, "I was just doing my job." But, I really want to convey our whole community's appreciation for all that you do. Thank you, Brandon. Sure. Thank you all. And likewise to the other officers who received life-saving awards last year, it's really heroic what they what they do every day across our city. Now, I'd like to turn to the work of our often behind-the-scenes departments and divisions. This includes finance, IT, communications, and our city clerk and human resources. Uh leading this administrative services department is our new deputy city manager, Amanda Kaufman. Uh where are you, Amanda? She's hiding in the back there. Amanda began work with the city in December, and she brings more than a decade of municipal leadership experience to Plymouth. Most recently serving as a city assistant city manager for the city of Stanton, Virginia. So, welcome to Plymouth, Amanda. We're excited to have you on the team. Perhaps not always as visible to the community, the work of these internal departments uh supports all of our other departments. For example, the team in the finance department ensures that everyone in the city has resources that they need to provide the core services to you. For more than four decades, our city has been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association with a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting. This is the highest recognition available for government financial reporting. We've also maintained AAA bond ratings from two bond credit rating agencies since 2010. We're one of only 10 cities in the whole state to do that. Why do I tell you this? Oh, thank you. What that really means to you is simple. It means that your tax dollars are being and have been responsibly, transparently managed with long-term stability in mind. An- another team I'm going to take another sip. Thank you. Thank you. Another key team is our dedicated city clerk division. Uh they are already working hard preparing for this year's upcoming election. They train hundreds of election judges and are rolling out new assisted voting devices to make the process more accessible to everyone. Their work is highly skilled and must be precise. And I'd like to recognize two members of the team for their dedication to the professionalism of their field. Office Support Specialist Natalie Dorsey and our City Clerk Jody Gale. So, Natalie achieved the Certified Municipal Clerk designation from the Municipal Clerks and Finance Officers Association of Minnesota. That's a mouthful. And Jody earned the Certified Municipal Clerk designation from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. These certifications require years of dedication, education, and experience, and they are important to ensure that our government functions as it should with high-quality services for licensing, elections, data practices, and more. So, congratulations, Natalie and Jody, on these achievements, and thank you both for all that you do. As we continue our tour around the city's departments, let's take a closer look at our community and economic development department. Uh during the Q&A, my fellow council members are going to go into a bit more detail on some of the exciting new projects happening in the city. Uh but, Plymouth is more than just a strong place for business, it's also home. And housing has been a major priority for the city and for our city council, especially in the last year. And the community and economic development department has been hard at work advancing that goal. To help meet the housing needs of Plymouth residents, we're offering important programs to current and prospective residents of the city, such as a housing trust fund, the Bring It Home Rental Assistance Program, and a 4D low-income rental classification program. Programs like these really make a difference. Actually, at a re- recent city council meeting earlier this month, we heard the success story of Armetha Pilgram, who benefited from the city's first-time homebuyer program when she moved to the city decades ago. Pilgram is now a successful business owner in Plymouth. In fact, her company, Pilgram Consulting Group, recently made the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Business Journal's list of largest minority-owned businesses. Armetha's story illustrates that these programs not only benefit the recipient, but also our community as a whole. Armetha is here right today. So, congratulations, Armetha, and thank you. Perhaps one of the largest undertakings of the community and economic development department is our 2050 Comprehensive Plan. Every 10 years, we create a new plan to guide community development and public improvements in the city. This plan essentially lays the groundwork for the future and is used as a guiding document as critical community planning decisions are made. The plan will be developed through an 18-month process that's led by our city staff, our planning commission, the city council, and a consulting team. But, more importantly, it will be shaped by community input. So, I want you to stay tuned for opportunities to share what you feel is really important and your ideas for strengthening neighborhoods, our parks, and our economic vitality. Plymouth's future is bright, and we are ready to lead all the way to 2050 and beyond. And every day, in our neighborhoods, our council chambers, and gathered together like this, we see what makes us strong. Plymouth is where we live, where we work, and where we proudly call home. Thank you, everyone, for joining us for the State of the City Address. There's a lot more happening in the city than I could cover in this speech. So, what I would I like to do is invite my fellow council members on stage for a Q&A session to share some of their highlights, as well. Thank you. And thank you, Council Member Gregor. Great job with all of the notes today. Didn't he do a fine job there? That's tough to read that teleprompter for that long. Thanks again for joining us. It certainly is exciting to hear all about what's happening here in the city of Plymouth. And now, as Council Member Gregor mentioned, we have a chance to dig in a little deeper on a few of the topics that you're probably wondering about around town. And we have our distinguished guests here to tell us more. Scott Aldrich, serves in Ward 3, southeastern part of the city, is going to join us. Julie Peterson, from Ward 2, southwestern part of the city. Joel Spoonheim, who serves at large, which means he represents all of the city, is going to join us, as well. And of course, Clark is not done yet. He's going to come back for more, and he is at large council member, as well. Council Member Nelson, unexpectedly able to join us here today, is in the audience joining us. And Julie Pointner, council member from Ward 4, had a family emergency, so not able to join us today. We've covered a lot during the address, and you saw some great photos and pictures on the screen. But, we thought we'd take another walk around the city and talk about some of the other projects that have been going on. And you're also going to hear about some things that are happening coming up in the next year. Council Member Aldrich, welcome. Let's talk a little bit more about what we've learned about community and economic development. Great department in the city of Plymouth. And Plymouth's economy, believe it or not, is the fourth largest economy in the state of Minnesota. So, great job here for the city of Plymouth. Let's talk about the wide range of businesses that open here. Can you share a little bit more about what the city does to support and retain businesses right here in Plymouth? Yeah, thanks, Dave. And thanks to the residents of Plymouth. I'm honored. I just finished my first year in council and it's been a lot of fun having this role and I have a lot of gratitude in in doing this. But yeah, economic stability and vitality is one of our strategic priorities and supporting the business community is very essential to achieving that. Our industrial and commercial base, they they provide high-paying quality jobs. They help us weather economic downturns and they actually pay almost a third of our property taxes so that actually keeps our property taxes a lot lower because we have such a a large quantity of commercial and industrial. Plymouth currently has 27 over 2700 businesses and they employ over 50,000 people. So we have a an amazing economy. And so the the council we look to support businesses of all types and sizes, the the one-person company all the way up to the really large ones because they all contribute to that stability and vitality and that's really important to us. So we're happy to welcome new businesses always but most of the new jobs they come from the pre-existing businesses that exist in Plymouth. So it's important that what we do, we make efforts to support them and retain them. And so some of the stuff that we do is we have the council and city staff visit some of these businesses. So last year we visited Protolabs which is a company that one of their market differentiators is they're able to take an idea, turn it into a product and get it to the get it to the customer within a matter of days. So one of the examples they gave was there was an aerospace need. They they called them, ordered, "Hey, this is what we want built." They built it within 2 days it was in outer space. So that was pretty cool I thought. We also stopped by Claris Medical which is innovative medtech company. We toured Alter Technologies which recently expanded to Plymouth. They do semiconductor testing and so what that is is they're doing like extreme temperatures, extreme cold, extreme hot, vibrations, different G-forces, different electrical surges. All these really crazy tests to make sure stuff will work when they're under stress. I thought that was really interesting and you saw the video with uh with uh uh Mayor Warsi with Daikin. We toured that as well. Um so yeah, we got a lot of pretty cool companies, a lot of cool things going on in Plymouth and so we think it's really important that we can continue to invest in infrastructure and things that allows them to thrive. Truly amazing what's happening here in the city of Plymouth with the businesses. And quick note here, we have some great notes up here. How about a big hand for the Plymouth Communications team and administration. They're all around here hiding out helping us. Some are behind the screens and so thanks to them for putting the notes together that are helping us out today. Council member Alders let's drill down a little bit further. So let's go to the really small businesses. You many mentioned that there's so many in the city of Plymouth. How do you help those small businesses out? Yeah, so the city we do visits, we'll do website features, we'll go to ribbon cuttings. I mean if I ever get an email from a company, I try to go to pretty much everyone. There's maybe been a hand small amount that I've missed but and the other big thing is we do a monthly small business owners networking group. We just met a couple days ago here at the Plymouth Community Center. That really allows other business owners to talk to each other and also allows the city to get feedback on what are their needs and and stuff like that. So Very good. Some great opportunities here in the city for business owners. And if you'd like an opportunity after this is done to talk to some of the council members, they're going to be milling around here. They'll also be over at some of the city booths and we're going to talk about some of the great developments happening in the city. If you want to see a map of some of those, they've got some sitting right over here as well. And Council member Peterson, that takes us to you. You've got some maps here that are on the far side that I know people will want to see. Let's talk about Ward 2 and some of the things happening in that area. Again, that's the southwestern part of the city. And if you like pancakes, listen close here. Exciting redevelopment happening in that area. Tell us a little bit more. Thank you Dave and welcome everyone here this morning. What a great thing to see so many people here discovering Plymouth. So it's really awesome to see so many friendly friendly faces. So thank you for all for being here. So we do have a next exciting development happening in Ward 2. It is the it's Plymouth Plaza which is the southwest corner of the intersection of County Road 6 and County Road 101. So you can see that has some very well-loved, some of our favorite businesses and the important pancakes. The Original Pancake House, OPH is right at that corner. We also have Northwest Family Physicians and Bay Creek Dental and we've got the Dollar Tree there now. So there's a development that'll be taking place there and it will include a 14,000 square foot commercial property right at the corner. So closest to the corner of the intersection. That will be where they will start building first. That will be where Northwest Family Physicians and Bay Creek Dental will move over into that new facility. So if you've been using those businesses, know that they are going to stay at that corner and continue to be a part of Ward 2 in Plymouth in that area. So a lot of people were really happy to retain those businesses. And then after they have moved over, that western portion of that parcel will be demolished and they will be building a new apartment building there, a 195 unit apartment building. So we're looking forward to adding more affordable housing options to the community in that corner and really looking forward to that really promising development. Break that down a little more for us. Tell us a little bit about the financing structure of that because I understand that strengthens the affordability component. How does that work? Yes, great question. So in the last few years Plymouth has adopted an inclusionary housing policy and that includes several facets that help us work towards bringing more affordable housing options into the community. And that's exactly what we were able to use in this corner here in this development. So there's a tax increment financing was used as part of that. That allowed them to then have to comply with our inclusionary housing policy. So this unit in particular is going to have 20% of its rental units available to renters who earn no more than 60% AMI. So they're at 60% of the area median median income. So it's a really great opportunity to make sure that people who want to live in Plymouth can afford to stay living in Plymouth. We're really excited about bringing that affordable housing option as part of this project. Thank you Council member Peterson. And again, if you want to take a look at that map, some information over there about that area of town, the southwest area of town. Now let's hop over and talk a little bit more about Highway 55 and County Road 73. Anyone driven by that area and seen what's going on and maybe driven through 55 a time or two and wondered when will it all open up again? Well, progress is being made. Council member Spoonheim, you're going to help us a little bit here. The city has been working hard at a project that reimagines that quarter of the city of Plymouth. Tell us about some of that work in that area. And the area already has a new look and there's more on the way. So first, the new look. What's happened? Well, good morning and yeah, we're talking a lot today about how there's this reality that cities constantly are changing. And one of the things that we're seeing at 55 and 73 is not only did the road need to be repaired. I mean, few of you remember the potholes from two winters ago. Thank goodness they're gone. It's been an incredible project to get repaired. And so now it's open. But we also didn't just repave it. We wanted to make it better because as the city changed, we heard people saying, "How do I get back and forth across 55? There's these bike trails and parks and we can't get back and forth safely. Nobody likes biking across 55." And so some great leadership by people who preceded me on the council, I got to give them credit. Was to say, "Look, let's think about how do we connect bicycles and pedestrians and people with strollers getting across 55." And hence we put in a new tunnel and that's why you saw all that dirt get piled up and then smoothed out and paved over. It's to create these new connections. And so what we call affectionately Station 73 trip project. With trip, I have to read this cuz I never remember it. Transit Regional Improvement Program has created all kinds of changes that are already in place and it is going to have those connections. That being said, it was a really really rough year for our local businesses in that area. And I just want to call out and thank everyone who went out of the way to shop with our local businesses because when change happens, it's not easy. Yeah, some of us were inconvenienced driving longer, further, whatever, folks. We didn't have it anywhere near as bad as the local businesses. So I want to thank them for bearing with us, getting through it and hopefully now starting to reap the benefit of these improvements. More to come in that particular area. So now a big step has been taken but take us to the future, Council member. Tell us what's coming up. So this year there's some more construction starting almost immediately. That'll be done by the end of the the year and it includes continuing to build out. So we're going to have that new trail system but we're also going to have for all you e-bike users, an e-bike charging station and a bike repair station and better bus stops for our transit which you heard earlier has record utilization that's going in and out of there. You're also going to see better roundabouts being built. That really weird intersection at Sunset and 73 where it's like signal your turn, you never know who's going. That's getting fixed. On the other side over by the Holiday in that area, that's getting fixed. So some of these places where we've seen people like get stuck in traffic, all of that's going to be improved with the new roundabouts. And I just got to say for me, the other piece is another mile and a half of regional bike trails and pedestrian trails are being added. Like, I don't know about you all, but we're about into that beautiful time of year where I'm going to be out on my bike a lot. We're going to have more trails, and that's something we've heard from our residents. Like, we like getting around. We like living you know, here because we can connect to that the nature that's here, and this is another investment making that happen. So, stick through the construction season, but enjoy the play season that comes after that. And support those businesses as well. Continue to get out and help those businesses that are in that area. More maps about that project over on the far side. All right, Council member Gregor, he's got his breath after the great presentation up here. Let's talk about one other exciting area in this city. Has anyone been up by Bass Lake Road and 494? Something happening there? That would be the Boulevard, right, in the city of Plymouth. Tell us a little bit more about the Boulevard project. What has gone on already? Yeah, thank thanks, Dave. The Boulevard project is the former Prudential campus, where they had a corporate building, 75, 76 acres up there, and it is an opportunity for us to create a new gateway to our city. It's going to have retail, it's going to have waterfront dining, it's going to have a grocery store, um medtech offices, residential buildings, and a 13-acre public park. So, that's it's just an amazing opportunity for us to create something new and really exciting for our city. And the council spent a lot of time working on this and shaping the project to make sure that we brought a lot of city input and resident input into it, and it just didn't become a bunch of warehouses or something like that, which which really could have been a possibility. So, several projects are underway. A couple of them have already opened. Um Summit Orthopedics opened last October, and that is urgent care. It's you sprained your ankle, you broke your leg, they're there, they can do everything to help with all those kinds of needs. And then just a week or so ago, Coborn's Market and Table opened, the new grocery store in town. This is really exciting. It's It's not just a normal grocery store. It is uh kind of blending grocery shopping with restaurant-style dining. So, it's going to have um a number of different restaurants. There's Abuela's Mexican Kitchen, there's The Buttered Tin, there's BASTA Pasta, there's Brothers Burgers, there's an ice cream shop. Uh there's so much in there. And you know, I think all of us up here have heard, "We need more restaurants in Plymouth." So, here they are. There's four more, and there's more on the way coming in at the Boulevard. So, that's really exciting. I did have the chance to stop by there, and it is great. When I walked in, I thought, "This doesn't look like your grocery store." It kind of looks like you're going into a food court. I've heard others say it looks like you're going into the airport into the concourse area and all these options. And then you walk around the corner, and oh, there is a ton of food here as well. So, stop by if you haven't already. All right, exciting area, lot done there so far in the Boulevard. What else is set to come? Take us a look into this year. Yeah. So, we've got those two things open. There's a lot more under construction. If you drive up there, you'll see one apartment building is taking shape. That's called Belterra at the Boulevard, and it's the first of four planned apartment buildings that are going to be on that site. So, that's a lot more housing for the city. Um that first building should be opening early next year in 2027. Also, construction just began late in December last year on a new Chase Bank location, and that's expected to open sometime sooner this year. Uh and then the developers of that project are in in talks with a lot of other potential retailers. So, there's a lot more on the horizon. But, if you look in the middle of that site, there's this um it's a stormwater pond, but it's really a beautiful pond. It's a piece of nature, and across from it, there's hills, and we preserved all of these big trees there. So, we're going to have on one side some waterfront restaurants, paths that go around that uh pond and into the trees as we develop that park. That's going to be a real gem for Plymouth that we are adding another park. We're keeping some green space. We're keeping the trees and everything. So, it's going to take a few years to get there, but I'm really excited about the future for the Boulevard site. >> I think the key is to stop by about every 2 3 months and see what's new and check out what's happening in that area. How about a big hand for all of the council members for all the information today? And rumor has it they will be floating around here in this area and over at some of the city booths. So, if you have questions or follow up about some of the information they talked about, they would love, as always, to talk with you. That wraps up our State of the City for today. Again, welcome to Discover Plymouth if you're just arriving. Lot to do. City booths on that far side. A lot of businesses and organizations from the city in this area. Next over, there'll be some opportunities to shop from adults, and then the youth entrepreneurs are on the far side. So, check out what some of the young people are doing in the area. And then, oh kids, if you need a little exercise, you look like you need a little exercise after this. There's inflatables over on the far side and lots of fun. And outside, some food trucks, lots of city trucks. Thank you again to all of you for joining us. Thanks to those who are watching this on record, and thanks for coming to Discover Plymouth. Have a great day.