|
I want to start this New Year by recognizing and thanking those
from Leominster and across the country who are serving in our
armed forces - especially those serving in harm’s way.
Earlier this year, we lost one of our own residents – Private
Jonathan Roberge. His bravery and dedication to ensuring our
freedom will never be forgotten by his hometown. The
unimaginable show of support from the City of Leominster to give
Jonathan a fitting tribute when he arrived home is something I
will never forget.
Last year at this time, we had just made it through the Ice
Storm of 2008. Although the worst was behind us, the
justification of our storm expenses to the federal government
was almost as bad as the storm! I want to thank all of the
department heads and staff that spent a number of months
ensuring that the City would indeed get our 75% federal
reimbursement. And I want to say a special thank you to all the
city employees, residents and volunteers that helped make our
city beautiful again by working even in to the spring thaw to
clean up every last branch.
We continued to also face challenges this year with our budget.
With substantial cuts in state aid, we were forced to tighten
our belts once again across all departments. I appreciate the
work of all city employees who continued their commitment to
doing more with less. Working together, we have maintained a
high level of service and experienced no layoffs. It would
appear that we are in for another challenging budget this coming
year. But I believe that because of our planning initiatives and
hard work to build a strong and diverse community, Leominster
stands ready to capitalize on ways to build an even better
economy in the years to come.
I am so pleased that our local merchants have run with the
concept of Shop Local Leominster. Recognizing the importance of
group advertising, web site development and sharing endless
resources, our local business owners have launched
www.shoplocalleominster.com. This site assists new
startup businesses, lowers the cost of advertising for all small
businesses and provides critical marketing for the City as a
whole to the region and beyond. Shopping locally is SO important
to Leominster’s economy. I hope you will take the time to check
out the website and visit local businesses.
This past year we also continued to promote downtown through our
community events. We added a new event this year – the Art
Stroll which proved to be a great match between downtown
businesses and our local artists. The event was such a success
that we were able to channel that energy into the opening of our
new Leominster Art Center at 69 Main Street.
All of these events are part of a larger vision to promote
tourism and enhance our economy. But more importantly, they
celebrate Leominster’s true sense of community. In good and not
so good financial times it is so important that we gather our
families together for good old fashion, inexpensive fun. Whether
its checking out the antique cars at the summer stroll, roasting
chestnuts at the winter stroll, or running from business to
business with your trick or treat bag, it’s these simple, yet
special times that create memories that last a life time. And
for no cost to residents and visitors and little cost to
businesses and the City, we are strengthening the health of our
community for generations to come.
Many fiscal leaders across the Commonwealth are painting a
picture of a dismal budget year again this coming year. I must
admit, the idea of another round of possibly deeper state aid
cuts has me longing to turn back the clock to the late 90’s. But
it is our commitment to creative initiatives that has me excited
about Leominster’s future. Tanzio Road and Southgate Business
Park, two of the City’s newest industrial parks will be coming
on line during the upcoming year. Our economic development team
has been working closely with the state’s Biotech Council to get
Leominster ready to welcome biotech companies to the City. With
our skilled workforce, our strong manufacturing history, and our
location, I believe we stand well positioned to bring these
companies to our City.
I believe one of my most important tasks as mayor has turned out
to be also one of the easiest: visiting local businesses to
learn about their current and future plans as well as their
obstacles. What began as a step to introduce myself and the
services of our economic development team to these businesses
has developed into a true learning experience for me. Since I
took office, I have worked to instill in Leominster residents
and outsiders that manufacturing is not the smoke stack,
assembly line industry it was years ago. Right here in
Leominster, companies with state of the art clean rooms are
making high tech devices for the medical industry. Companies are
using recycled material to make detailed parts for the
automotive industry. To compete in a global economy, these
companies must produce a perfect product for a very specific
need. And they are doing just that every day right here in
Leominster.
At the same time, our Center for Technical Education is teaching
our kids skills related to computer technology and advanced
processes. We need not look any further than our own Robotics
team that has competed on a state and national level. These
students, along with all of the students at CTE, have applied
their math and science skills to real world problems and have
developed innovative solutions that can be applied in companies
across the world. This year, we have brought companies to CTE to
demonstrate what our students have been doing. These companies
have been so impressed that they have sponsored trips to their
companies for the students. The relationship forged between the
companies and CTE will clearly create endless opportunities for
both the students and the businesses.
Now more than ever, we have amazing opportunities available to
our students. I believe now is the time to move forward with an
aggressive renovation plan for Leominster High School. As you
know, the City’s finance team has worked hard to place
Leominster in the strongest possible financial position. As of
last week, we have $11.5 million in the stabilization account
and have an A1 bond rating from Moody’s. We also have an
unprecedented opportunity to take advantage of a 70%
reimbursement through the school building assistance program.
Not only will these fiscal factors allow us to complete the
project with the least amount of impact to taxpayers possible,
but the comprehensive energy efficiency measures in the rebuild
will save the City in energy costs for the life of the building.
With the hiring of a grant administrator, we have been able to
take advantage of stimulus and other funding to make this
challenging fiscal time less painful. Through grants, we have
been able to supplement our police and fire overtime accounts
instead of taking money from free cash. We have increased our
directed patrols, our community policing efforts, and our after
hours business checks. We have jump started important projects
such as the Monoosnoc Brook Walkway project in the heart of
downtown. In a partnership between the grants office and our
conservation & energy agent, we have secured funds for projects
such as oil to gas conversions for our municipal buildings.
These initiatives will cut our energy costs an estimated 20%. At
this time, we are undergoing a joint initiative with the state
for the completion of an energy audit for all of our city
buildings including our schools. This audit will produce a guide
for the steps we need to take to make each building more energy
efficient. The audit, combined with our work toward the
designation of a Green Community, will allow us to tap into an
annual $10 million in state funds for building upgrades.
We have also seen success with the rewriting of our trash
contract. Working with a new company and a new bin system, we
have reduced the burden on our DPW by reducing the amount of
trash blowing around the city on collection days and will save
an estimated $176,000 annually on our trash contract.
2010 will see work on many projects to improve traffic flow. In
February, MassHighway will present their plans for improvements
to Route 13 in North Leominster. The design for improvements to
the intersection of Merriam and Lindell Avenue is currently
underway. This year will see the completion of the signalization
of the intersection of Willard and Central Streets and
additional sidewalk and sewer & water improvements on the East
Side. After struggling for months with utility companies, the
poles on North Main Street will be moved shortly and paving will
take place in the spring. On each of these projects, we
appreciate the support of our State Senator Jennifer Flanagan
and our State Representative Dennis Rosa. I look forward to
continuing to work with you during the upcoming year on these
and other important projects.
I also want to welcome two new members of the Leominster City
Council. Dave Cormier from Ward 3 and at large councilor Sue
Chalifoux-Zephir. I am confident that both will work hard on
behalf of their constituents and be strong team players on the
council. I also want to recognize the work of outgoing
councilors Dennis Rosa and Gini Tocci. Both have been effective
and dedicated councilors who care deeply Leominster. I look
forward to continuing to work with them on both civic and
business endeavors on behalf of our city.
I guess I consider myself to be sort of a junkie when it comes
to news. I like to know what’s going on in other parts of the
country – what other communities are doing and how. Through
visiting other communities, listening to the news, and reading
everything I can get my hands on, I find I learn a lot about
what works and what doesn’t. But the most important thing I have
learned is this. I can find no other community that comes
together like Leominster. Whether it is to honor a life lost too
young such as Jonathan Roberge, to celebrate Louie Charpentier’s
99th birthday, to honor our folk hero Johnny Appleseed at a
downtown festival, to help a neighbor your hardly know during an
ice storm, to build the best scarecrow ever at Sholan Farms, or
to give to our heating fund even if you don’t know the people
getting help from it, I have never experienced a community more
supportive, more enthusiastic, and more caring than Leominster.
It is for this reason that I am so honored that you have
continued to place your trust in me as your mayor of our special
community.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and for
your constant outpouring of community pride. Together, we will
continue to strengthen Leominster and make it even a better
place for our kids and grandkids. |
