MOLINE, Ill. — Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati delivered the 2022 State of the City address on Monday morning, March 14 at the Spotlight Theatre on 7th Avenue in Moline.
The address was open to the public, and this was the first time the event has been held at the theater.
Mayor Rayapati's team said Rayapati wanted to recognize Spotlight Theater as a good example of infill development and the location's proximity to the Interstate 74 redevelopment corridor.
The overall theme for the 2022 State of the City address is "people, possibilities and progress," and Rayapati intends to highlight progress Moline has made in the last year and share plans for 2022.
The mayor addressed a variety of plans with community involvement at the root of everything.
The city has implemented a strategic plan that focuses on more inclusive boards and commissions. Rayapati saying it's about hearing from the voices of those that live and work in Moline.
"This past year has also been marked by a concerted effort to increase and diversify participation on boards and commissions through the use of the mayor's talent pool. Now any Moline citizen can submit their resume and fill out a form expressing their interest in serving their community. Submissions are reviewed and residents interviewed to establish if there is a best fit for their service," says Rayapati.
All vacant positions have since been filled. Raypati saying they hope to continue to bring in diverse voices to city staff.
The mayor also addressed a focus on community spaces and parks. Rayapati wants the community to share their ideas about how to use spaces such as the open land now located near the old I-74 River Bridge.
Renew Moline CEO Alex Elias shared there are still a lot of options of what to do with the land. The group is now working on daily tasks to narrow in on what that will specifically look like.
"These ideas included a riverfront park dubbed the Middletown basin, a skatepark, creating a great river park with more water based activities, and a heart of the arts district with the Spiegel building as its centerpiece, as well as new residential options," says Elias.
Moline City Administrator Bob Vitas also addressed the crowd speaking on the city's budget and over $20 million in spending available via ARPA funds.
"Those dollars, they're a blessing. But in disguise, they're a challenge. Because it's going to be it's going to be a challenge one to get those projects on the street, it's going to be a challenge for the city to find companies capable of delivering all of these projects in a timely manner," says Vitas, "But that is our challenge. And it's a challenge that we accept and we will tackle."
Vitas going on to say funds will be used for things like infrastructure and road repair, as well as parks and public spaces around the city. Along with the 1-74 corridor, the city will work on improving the Illinois 92 corridor and Avenue of the Cities.
There is also efforts to put money towards child care and increasing access to broadband across the city.