Prosperity and partnerships were the theme of Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati’s State of the City Address delivered today, Feb. 27, as she celebrated a year of “wins” for her city and its residents. “Stability and rationality have been re-established in Moline and the city is now poised for a great coming into its own,” Ms. […]
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Prosperity and partnerships were the theme of Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati’s State of the City Address delivered today, Feb. 27, as she celebrated a year of “wins" for her city and its residents.
“Stability and rationality have been re-established in Moline and the city is now poised for a great coming into its own,” Ms. Rayapati declared from the stage of the newly revamped theater at Black Hawk College Building 1 in Moline.
“We’ve accomplished this in 2022 by focusing on pathways we’ve established and partnerships we have established or renewed that allow us to build a sense of shared prosperity among our residents and businesses,” Ms. Rayapati told the capacity crowd that included students, city staff, Quad Cities community leaders and elected officials.
She added: “Because of the steps we took in 2022, that vision of prosperity increasingly comes into focus and the reality of Moline living up to its potential becomes ever more clear and present. These accomplishments are the result of the hard work of our staff and administration working with council to bring our vision into reality.”
The city is strong, the mayor said after “weathering the storms of economic downturn and looming recession well.” Among key reasons for that are Moline’s multi-year budget and strategic plans which “are flexible enough to change as economic conditions change,” Ms. Rayapati said.
She singled out for special praise the Finance Department’s first-ever Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award as well as its ‘“lean operating budgets and aggressive capital improvements, which resulted in Moline being in a very strong financial position, reaffirmed by an A1 Credit Rating by Moody’s Investors Service.”
Ms. Rayapati also lauded the work of the city’s busy Community and Economic Development Department. And Ryan Hvitok, the department's director since June, was chosen to lead off the State of the City event by reading a laundry list of accomplishments for the city and a department that in 2022 was at full staff for the first time in years.
Among the development highlights shared by the pair were ongoing efforts to create a new form-based code for the city’s downtown center to guide developers, an ambitious Riverfront Master Plan for the area in the footprint of the new and old Interstate 74 bridges, and the revamp of the city’s 20-year-old comprehensive plan.
Ms. Rayapati also welcomed new Moline Centre Manager Kirk Marske whom she says is helping bring new life and energy downtown and she praised his boss, Renew Moline President and CEO Alexandra Elias “who is helping us take judicious steps toward developing the JCPenny and Spiegel buildings and more.”
In 2022, the city also launched the new Moline-based regional land bank to reduce blight and improve properties; expanded childcare facilities; and launched the BOOST program. More than 100 entrepreneurs attended a Business Owner Occupied Stabilization Transformation event to learn about the program and put their ideas into action, the mayor said.
Ms. Rayapati also celebrated Moline’s strong partnerships with schools and with businesses including Vibrant Credit Union’s partnership with Moline that is “breathing new life into our civic center.” The city is seeking to expand those partnerships in 2023.
“Moline has endeavored to strike a non-adversarial tone and continue cooperating with those interested in having a presence here,” Ms. Rayapati added. “Having staff to respond to interests so inquiries are not lost in cyberspace, having a development review process that makes it easier to get projects off the ground – these are ways we are working to enhance existing and build new partnerships in our business community.”
She also praised Moline’s recent partnership with Metronet to bring a second broadband provider to the city; efforts to help re-recruit Parr Instruments to Illinois; and its work to attract and keep the interest of Lake Shore Recycling, which is seeking to build a self-contained waste transfer station. If approved, it will be the first project in the city’s TIF 7 since it was created near the Quad Cities International Airport in 2012. And Moline also began preparations for creating a new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) area at the east entrance to the city.
The city also spent $6.62 million of its $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds in 2022. That included water and sewer projects; the BridgePointe property acquisition; a childcare forgivable loan program; support for the Moline Community Development Corporation; sidewalk repair and infill program; small business loans; and other projects.
Ms. Rayapati highlighted the city’s strategic plan and Moline’s “aggressive attempt to complete 85 major objectives over three fiscal years.”
Moline also strengthened its partnerships with residents including via a reboot of Moline’s Human Rights Commission which invested in 2022 in the Hate Has No Home Here campaign and it is working with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity program to create equity maps and other mechanisms to increase operational equity.
Moline also is ramping up its Moline Community Development Corporation under new Executive Director Jinelle Choinier.
Regarding its resident partners, Ms. Rayapati added, “Perhaps the greatest moments when we connected with our community this past year were the Moline 150 Sesquicentennial Celebration and the inaugural Dia de los Muertos parade organized by Mercado on Fifth.”
The city is already at work to make the citywide party an annual event beginning in 2023 and is crowd-sourcing efforts to rename it.
“Who can forget the amazing crowds on River Drive in August, or the gorgeous and meaningful celebration that lined Fourth Avenue in October?” the mayor said. “The tremendous response in terms of attendance and sheer joy in the experience is a testament to all that we and Mercado stand for regarding inclusion and celebration of our multifaceted identities both as a city and as residents.”
What are Ms. Rayapati’s hopes for Moline in 2023 and beyond?
“I want Moline to live up to its potential as a unique and prosperous city on the banks of the Mississippi River, where opportunity and connectedness abound. Where people feel, truly feel, that their city is investing in them and they want to give back. Where you can boomerang back after setting your sites on other places for education or work. Where there is something for everyone and we feel safe, seen, and cherished.”
