STATE OF THE CITY

2001

INTRODUCTION

It is my pleasure once again to speak to you on the State of the City of Ottawa, Illinois. Unlike previous years, today is a much more somber occasion due to the attacks on our Country on September 11.

A few weeks ago when I began thinking about what I wanted to say today, I knew that I needed to make the point that the State of the City is, to a large extent, dependent upon the State of the Nation. At the time I was thinking in terms of the economy, and that fact that the bulk of City revenues are sales tax receipts and are dependent upon the health of the economy. After the horrible events of last week, I see so many more ways how we as a community are part of a greater whole.

In Ottawa, as across the nation, we are a diverse people. With the exception of native Americans, we are all immigrants to this great nation. People come to America today for the same reasons they have for hundreds of years, for freedom and opportunity. Even our local community is composed of people of various race, creeds and colors, and natives of countries from around the world, India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Korea, Viet Nam, Germany, Venezuela, to name but a few.

I believe we were all put on this earth as brothers and sisters. How we become enemies, whether in northern Ireland or the mid-east, or in our own lives, involves a lot of history and probably uncertainty. Overcoming these animosities, some of which have been ongoing for generations, and even centuries, will require an incredible amount of effort, but it is to this end that we must all dedicate ourselves.

YEAR OF LINCOLN

As most of you know, this month the City begins to observe a Year of Lincoln . The kick-off event for the Year of Lincoln celebration is a performance by the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra to be held in Washington Square this Saturday, September 22 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The program is patriotic in nature and will include visits by Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. With the events of the past days this event has taken on a greater significance, and will afford citizens of Ottawa and the community the opportunity to express their unity in this time of national crisis.

No figure is more significant in the history of the United States, with the possible exception of George Washington, than Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln led the nation through its ultimate crisis, the Civil War. And Lincoln's connection to Ottawa is more than casual. As a young soldier, he was mustered out of the service at the end of the Blackhawk War at the spot where the Fox River meets the Illinois in downtown Ottawa. He practiced law before the courts in Ottawa, and had prominent friends and supporters in the community. Lincoln visited Ottawa as a Commissioner of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, but most importantly, appeared with Stephen Douglas in Washington Square in the first of the famous debates between those two gentlemen. Of course, Lincoln and Douglas were running for the United States Senate, and although Douglas won the election, the debates set the stage for Lincoln's ascendency to the Presidency two years later.

Although the debate was often framed in terms of State's rights, the real underlying issue was that of slavery. And that issue led to a civil war in which hundreds of thousands perished, and which gave this nation its single bloodiest day, that being the battle at Antietam when some 4,700 soldiers on both sides perished on one September day in 1862. The bloodiest day, that is, until another September day last week, when over 5,000 people lost their lives in New York City and Washington, DC in a matter of minutes.

And after a tragedy like this, we can turn to Lincoln for inspiration who, at the battle field of Gettysburg, spoke eloquently, telling us the best way to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers, is to rededicate ourselves to the principles of liberty and self rule for which they fought. And this of course applies equally to the memory of the men and women of the Armed Services, past and present, who served this Country in time of need.

So, aside from voting on election day and keeping up on current affairs, what can we do to rededicate ourselves to these basic principles? Simply, every day, we can joyously participate in this great experiment we call democracy. Each of us in this Nation, but particularly this community, should do everything in our power to make self government work. Self- government is about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. By design, we have no king or dictator or cleric to govern us. We have something far greater - we have each other. And, I am happy to report, that I am excited about the general enthusiasm.

VOLUNTEERISM

I am excited about the general enthusiasm I have observed in the people of Ottawa these past few years. I continue to marvel at the number of citizens who involve themselves to improve the quality of life in Ottawa, in general, and in the lives of other individuals on a case by case basis.

This year, Ottawa was the recipient of two Governor's Hometown awards, a first for the City. The City received a first place award for our youth activities, in particular the Youth Advisory Committee. In response to needs identified in a survey the Youth Advisory Committee distributed to the community's young people, the organization helped City officials bring several projects to fruition, including a new skateboard park, toboggan run, additional diamond for girls' softball, implementation of a Peer Jury and community service program, and changes to local curfew regulations. I remember the comment of one State representative who came to town as part of the judging process, that it was refreshing to discover a

community that actually listened to its young people.

The second Governor's Hometown award went to the United Way's Labor of Love program. This is not a City program, but it is a wonderful reflection upon our community. The Labor of Love is an annual one day blitz which in the year 2000 involved more than 400 volunteers, including 140 young people, working to renew 34 homes, making improvements valued at approximately $100,000.

When the State judges came to Ottawa to review the Labor of Love program, Shelly Ocepek gathered together a group of dozen or so participants who talked about their involvement. It was an incredible experience because even though these volunteers have spent many years and hundreds of hours

working shoulder to shoulder on these projects, and each project is proceeded by about a year of planning, these people had never really expressed their feelings to one another about their experiences, with the program. It was a very emotional, heartfelt presentation.

Volunteers continue to serve the City in an incredible number of ways. From volunteers on the Fire and Police Commission, Plan Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Library Board, Visitors Center, Playground and Recreation Board, to members of the Parks Advisory Board, Tree Board, Economic Development, Downtown Development Commission, Riverfront Development, Civil Defense, Historic Preservation Commission, Industrial Development Commission, Mural Committee, Special Events Committee, Swimming Pool Advisory Board, Technology Advisory Committee, Master Gardeners and Youth Advisory Committee. Together, these hundreds of people are working to make Ottawa a better place. As I have said many times before, without the contributions of volunteers, so much of what has been

accomplished would not have happened.

I would be totally remiss, if I did not also acknowledge and thank the more than 120 some men and women who work for the City of Ottawa. It has been my experience that there is very little fat in City government, and that our employees, including supervisors, department heads and officials, are always busy working at jobs that are never done. One of my pet peeves is walking into an office and seeing an employee playing solitaire on a computer screen. I can honestly say that in 2 ½ years I have never seen that anywhere in the City and I thank all of our staff for their dedication to their jobs and their commitment to the people of Ottawa.

FINANCIAL

I would now like to talk a little of the City's finances. The City of Ottawa general fund provides most of the regular city services like fire, police, streets and parks. The preliminary figures from the close of fiscal year 2001 which ended April 30th, show the City of Ottawa general corporate account with a comfortable fund balance of about $3.2 million.

While much of the equity or fund balance is carried as various receivable amounts each year, there remains over $1.5 million in working cash and investments to carry the City's general government services forward.

The water and sewer fund also ended the year in good financial health with investment and cash reserves in excess of $2 million.

In looking back at the progress made towards spending controls, this year has been a landmark in the history of Ottawa. Commissioner Mitchell's insistence on modernizing our financial practices led us to adopt our first official budget in April which is now in its 5th month. There has been an awakening of budget discipline not seen before. Commissioners and department heads have become accountable and protective of the amounts budgeted for their departments. They are living within those budgets to produce a responsible spending plan that enables the City of Ottawa to anticipate a break-even year, as a responsibility and duty.

I can comfortably announce that the City of Ottawa knows more about its spending activity and financial position than ever before. While that does not guarantee better spending decisions, it provides us with the information to help us be better stewards of public assets and makes us more accountable to the citizens.

The Commissioners deserve high marks for their newly found budget discipline and the benefits will be carried into the future based solely upon their efforts.

Finally, as a service to our citizens the City recently introduced a direct debit payment plan for monthly water bills. In the past few months, over 150 people have signed up for the convenience of having their water bill automatically paid each month from their checking account. Similarly, we have added the capability to accept all major credit cards when City customers pay water bills, purchase permits or other payments to the City of Ottawa.

GRANTS

Many people have come up to me and seen many of the improvements and ask "where is the money coming from?" This certainly is a fair question and much of it come from our regular tax revenues. However, the City probably has received more grants in a one year period than ever before. We are juggling at least nine grants this fiscal year, totaling nearly $1 million, with three more lined up for next fiscal year, totaling so far almost two thirds of million dollars, which includes grants for City Hall renovation and access, park purchases and road improvements. We also have grant applications pending for Rigden Park improvements, boat docks, sanitary sewer expansions and property acquisition in the Jordan block.

I would like to compliment our Community Development Department in not only helping to obtain these grants but also in the administration of the grants, some of which are quite involved and complex.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The City continues to work to promote economic development and create new, meaningful jobs in the community. Since the year 2000 a host of new companies opened facilities in Ottawa, including Ottawa Transport, Inc., Neumatech Mid-America, which manufactures plastic boxes, Baker Wood Products which manufactures wooden pallets, IBP , a beef and pork warehouse facility, Chicago Extruded Metals, which fabricates extruded brass shapes and located in the old Snap-On building and Mini-Grip/Zip Pak, which manufactures resealable zippers, among others.

The City's Department of Community Development under the leadership of City Engineer Gary Pike, works as an integral part of our local economic development team which includes Chamber representatives, as well as representatives from the Department of Employment Security, Illinois Power, Nicor, IVCC and others. We have developed an incredible relationship with the Illinois Department of

Commerce and Community Affairs which has resulted in substantial grants to the City to help pay for infrastructure improvements for these new businesses. More importantly, the track record we have established with DCCA has resulted in DCCA sending many companies our way in their searches to locate new facilities.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The City is close, for the firs time ever, to the adoption of a comprehensive City plan. The Plan Commission has been working diligently this past year with planning consultants, and with significant citizen involvement. Before the end of this year, I expect the Plan Commission to present to the Council a comprehensive City plan with a significant downtown component. The intent of the plan is to provide direction for decisions related to the future growth and development of the City. The plan will provide the basis for rational decision making, but does not replace the decision-making process, nor take the place of the City's zoning and subdivision ordinances and other ordinances regulating the use and development of land in Ottawa. The plan should establish a vision for development within the community, and describes policies, programs and projects that will enable the vision to be realized. The plan is also a key reference point and basis for establishing, amending and interpreting regulatory tools.

DOWNTOWN

In downtown Ottawa we continue to secure options for the properties in the Jordan block and are working with potential developers for a full service hotel/conference center on that site. Our new downtown TIF is in place and engineering design plans are being finalized for new historic street lighting on downtown LaSalle Street.

We see new signs of life in downtown, including long empty buildings being purchased and developed, some new businesses being established, including, a new hardware store, restaurants, a new spa and finally, new owners and management for the Roxy cinema.

We look forward to the downtown component of the comprehensive plan to help spread the vision of a revitalized downtown.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

The year 2000 was an incredibly busy time for the police department. The department responded to over 17,000 calls. Under the leadership of Chief Baxter, the department is in its final stages of completion of the Leads 2000 program, a new computerized program for processing drivers licenses, plates and wanted checks on individuals and vehicles. Mobile data computers are now fully mobilized in all squad cars. The City's wireless 9 1 1 system is now in place which allows 9 1 1 calls from cellular phones to ring at the police station rather than at the State Police district. This obviously allows for a quicker response time in emergency situations. The City has received over $15,000 from our share of the W911 surcharge on cellular phones and this will continue indefinitely.

The department also is proceeding with the development of "livescan," a computerized fingerprint scanning device, and integrating it with new police records management systems and photo/lineup module.

The City continues to take advantage of the $575,000 COPS grants obtained over the last several years. This includes a new grant of $125,000, which was obtained this year for a second school resource officer. Chief Baxter and the department have also been active in obtaining other grants for the City including $23,000 for the Peer Jury system, a grant from IDOT for traffic enforcement in construction zones, and grants for tobacco education and compliance and purchasing ballistic vests for our officers.

At this time I would like to take a few moments to recognize Chief Baxter for his service to the City in his 26 years with the Ottawa Police Department, and in particular in his leadership position these past 10 years as Chief of Police. As you know, Chief Baxter has announced his retirement in 2002. In the few years that I have had the opportunity to work with Dale, I have known him to be nothing but dedicated, honest and professional and I cannot think of any three more important qualities in a Police Chief. On behalf of all of us here and the citizens of Ottawa, I wish Chief Baxter and his family best wishes.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

Last year was also a very productive year for the Ottawa Fire Department. The department responded to over 2,500 calls last year, over 2,000 of which were medic calls. In January we placed in service a new rescue/pumper from Pierce Manufacturing Company.

Under the oversight of Commissioner Constantine and the able leadership of Chief Rick Scott, firefighters accomplished 3,800 hours of training in the year 2000. As part of the department's ongoing public education program, over 800 contact firefighters hours were spent touching approximately 2,500 children and adults within the community. In conjunction with Ottawa High School, the department continues to present a fire safety program for high school age students. The department also is continuing work on the ongoing inspection program to develop pre-plans for commercial, industrial, educational and health care facilities, based on ongoing inspections. These inspections provide the department with advance knowledge of the layout of various facilities before a fire strikes.

Last year the department also received a grant for the purchase of an automatic defibrillator, which
now allows EKG capabilities in two ambulances, three engines and the Chief's squad. Just this past week at the Illinois Municipal League Convention I learned that typically when someone drops to the ground due to cardiac arrest, only 5% of those people are revived. With automatic electronic defibrillators available, that number approaches 80%.

The department continued to update its advanced life support ambulances and engines with EMS equipment and two of our ambulances now have the capability to send heart monitoring strips to CHO via phone lines so that emergency room physicians can monitor the patient's heart rhythm along with the onboard medics before the patient even arrives at the hospital.

Before coming here today I took a look at an annual Mayor's report that was made to the City 100 years ago in April of 1901. At that time Mayor Maloney wrote "our fire department, taking it all in all, is probably one of the best in the State." I don't have any doubt that statement is even more true today.

WATER AND SEWER

Work continues to progress at our two new water treatment facilities at Champlain and Norris Drive and at well number 10 at Clinton and Joliet Streets. These two facilities will soon be able to process over four million gallons of radium-reduced water and significantly improved water per day with storage capabilities at the two facilities of one million gallons. The two facilities are expected to be operational in the Spring of 2002.

Under the supervision of Commissioner Eichelkraut, the City water system was looped east of town along Canal Road to provide better quality water, and most importantly, a second source of water in the event of a break to Community Hospital of Ottawa. A new water main was also installed to replace a deteriorating line that was the source of constant breaks.

At our wastewater treatment plant, our sludge removal program continues. I am advised we are now

only up to our necks in sludge as opposed to last year when we were up to our ears.

STREETS

This year will probably see more street improvements in Ottawa than any one single previous year. The County and State and re-surfaced three miles of roadway in Ottawa. Under Commissioner Whitney's leadership the City completed Bellevue Avenue and began work on East Superior Street and our street maintenance program which will cover over 3 ½ miles, making for a total of 6 ½ miles of street improvements in Ottawa this year, or about 6 ½ % of our streets. We also restored four blocks of our historic brick streets.

For the second year, the City is implementing a crack seal program on 25-30 blocks which will extend the useful life of the street.

Finally, a major investment was made in cleaning and restoring the north side storm sewer which runs along the base of the north bluff and was clogged with about 40 years of sediments.

PARKS

The City is working to acquire 62 acres of parkland at the old Harper's Farm on the east edge of Ottawa, including Illinois River frontage. This past year the City acquired about 10 acres of river property on the east side for future boat launch facilities. The Riverwalk project progresses, the City having completed two segments of the riverwalk last year, with construction on a third segment to begin this year in the flats near East Superior Street. The Ottawa Noon Rotary continues to raise funds and remains the primary sponsor of this project. The Allen Park toboggan run is being seeded and will be ready for the first snowfall. The Peck Park expansion is progressing nicely with new ballfields and picnic areas, and plans have been designed for Rigden Park improvements with a grant application submitted to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The Ottawa Lions Club has made a long-term commitment to help fund improvements in Walsh Park and a master plan for those improvements will be getting under way soon. A concerted effort has been made to improve safety at our playgrounds, including the installation of wood fiber materials as a safety surface around playground equipment. Across town more trees and flowers are sprouting up. I receive many citizen comments about how good our parks and greenways look.

SPECIAL EVENTS

During the past year the City of Ottawa continued to be an interesting and fun place to live. Our Special Events Committee, Visitors Center and a host of volunteers helped to bring cultural and entertainment opportunities to residents and visitors alike, helping to strengthen our sense of community.

City and Visitor Center sponsored events this past year included the City-wide picnic, Cruise Night, Ethnic Festival, children's fishing events, Music in the Park, Jam on the River and the Festival of Lights and the parade. A new event will be launched at the end of the month, the first Starved Rock Blue Grass Festival to be held in Allen Park. And last, but not least, we experienced one of the most successful ever Riverfests in terms of attendance and variety of old and new events.

And as I previously mentioned, beginning this month, the City will begin a year-long celebration of Abraham Lincoln, with special Lincoln related activities each month throughout the year.

OTHER

The City is involved in a host of other projects in progress, which I will touch on just briefly. We have begun our City Hall renovation, which will rejuvenate a beautiful 100 year old building to serve the City for many, many years to come. Antiquated heating, ventilating, electrical and other systems will be upgraded, currently unused space will be developed into efficient and comfortable work space for our employees, we will have a generally more efficient use of the building and a more user friendly building for our citizens and customers.

The feasibility study of the I & M Canal re-watering project will be completed shortly and I am sure we will begin pestering our State officials and the Department of Natural Resources to restore a portion of the canal to its former glory, in a condition similar to the way the canal has been restored and maintained between Morris and Channahon.

The City's Visitors Center continues to promote tourism activities in the community and with the help of a hard-working subcommittee is committed to develop a mural program in the downtown business district.

When I look back on the past year I see many accomplishments. But there are many projects that we still need to address. We need to address the issue of the City's form of government. Although we have done significant work in revising our sign ordinance, that needs to be finished. We need to examine our Civil Service system and we have been provided with a rather comprehensive report and recommendations from Northern Illinois University regarding our Civil Service system. We need to develop design guidelines and design review for new buildings and developments in the community and after adoption of the comprehensive plan, we will need to take another look at our zoning and subdivision regulations.

Finally, we now have the opportunity to study the possibility of re-establishing passenger rail service to Ottawa, in the form of a commuter rail service. The State of Illinois Department of Transportation has committed to fund half the cost of the study and the other half is being financed by an unprecedented coalition of all the communities along the old Rock Island Railroad, as well as LaSalle and Grundy counties. Our hope is that we can have a feasibility study completed by this time next year.

Finally, I would like to also like express my appreciation to the Commissioners. We do not always completely agree on every issue, but I can say that I have never felt disrespect or ill-will from any of them. We each bring a unique perspective to the table and I continually learn something from each and every one of them, and I thank them for that.

In closing, it has often been said that government that governs closest to the people governs best. I think it is the ability to have one on one contacts with our citizens that I so much enjoy as being Mayor. Lt. Governor Corinne Wood in addressing the Illinois Municipal League last week commented she knew no legislative battle in Springfield that came anything close to generating the heat of a local Plan Commission hearing. We know the people we serve, and they know us.

So while we are sadden and frightened by the events of late, let us take comfort in each other and in the words of Lincoln, let us rededicate ourselves as a nation under God, to a new birth of freedom, so that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.