Public safety, worker shortage, downtown renewal keys in Mason City Mayor Bill Schickel’s “State of the City” address (VIDEO)

MASON CITY — Mayor Bill Schickel says public safety, addressing a worker shortage and downtown renewal will be three key areas the City of Mason City will address in 2022. Schickel gave the mayor’s annual “State of the City” address at Tuesday night’s meeting of the City Council.

He says Mason City last year became one of the first cities in Iowa to substantially increase pay and benefits for police officers. “Leading the way in the Midwest with police officer recruitment, we hired eight new officers with plans to hire more.”

Schickel says Mason City residents have shown their backing for law enforcement.  “We’re blessed to live in a community that strongly supports law enforcement. The eight new hires brings us to within five of our authorized strength of 48. We plan to be back up to full strength soon.”

Schickel says when it comes to addressing the worker shortage issue, the city needs to address the continued deficit in clean, attractive and affordable housing.   “Why? Because it helps attract people. Stated plainly,  we currently have more jobs than people. Plans are  underway for more than 100 additional new downtown apartments to attract workers. It is required because of very low homeowner and rental vacancy rates.”

Schickel says the city needs to develop a plan to attract more people to live here.  “Providing so-called “Missing Middle” housing in close-in neighborhoods gives workers easier access to their jobs and services like healthcare and transportation. Mason City needs to attract more people to fill the great job opportunities. The city is also finishing up a strategic housing plan.”

Schickel says the focus on downtown renewal will be starting the final phase of the River City Renaissance project with the Hyatt Place & Conference Center, which will be the first new downtown hotel since the Hotel Hanford, the current “The Manor” senior apartment complex, opened exactly 100 years ago this year.  “Everyone is frustrated with the delays. Obviously it has taken longer than hoped.  A little history gives perspective. As mentioned, the last time a new hotel was built downtown was one hundred years ago. This indicates it’s a big and difficult undertaking. If it were easy, it would have been done many years ago.”

Schickel says progress will continue to move forward on the RiverWalk project, which he says will showcase Mason City’s national reputation as a destination for music and art lovers.  “As the ‘original River City’ made famous in “The Music Man” and the home of some of the most famous Frank Lloyd Wright architecture  in the world. It’s already attracted $250,000 in outside investment.  A volunteer group, Friends of Willow Creek, is cleaning up the river.  Soon we will be scheduling public input sessions, with plans for the first construction phase to begin later this year.”

You can read the entire text of Schickel’s “State of the City” address below. 

Members of the City Council, city officials and most especially fellow citizens: Happy New Year and welcome to 2022!

As a community we have so much to be grateful for as we enter the new year. Thank you for your part in making 2021 incredibly successful despite significant challenges. Boldly tackling three related priorities will build on our success in the New Year. The three closely connected challenges are public safety, a worker shortage, and downtown renewal.

Let’s take them one by one:

Public safety:

The first responsibility of government is the safety of our citizens. That’s why Mason City became one of the first cities in Iowa to substantially increase pay and benefits for police officers. Leading the way in the Midwest with police officer recruitment, we’ve hired eight new officers with plans to hire more. I recently talked with one of our new recruits. She’s excited and enthusiastic. She says it’s an honor to be serving as a Mason City Police Officer. We share her excitement. And welcome all the new recruits to the ranks of Mason City’s finest. We’re blessed to live in a community that strongly supports law enforcement. The eight new hires bring us to within five of our authorized strength of 48. We plan to be back up to full strength soon. Meanwhile, our thanks to the officers working overtime to keep us safe.

One of the best ways to show our appreciation is through cooperation. To solve crime, the police need our help. If you see something, report it. Here’s three good ways: Use the incident report option on our city web page. Call the police non emergency number (641-421-3636). Or call Crime Stoppers (1-800-383-0088). The community improvements we are planning in the new year will also be done with public safety in mind. Studies show creating gathering spaces and improving amenities reduces crime, increases home values and attracts businesses.

Worker shortage:

Our next priority is solving the worker shortage. It’s making everyone anxious, from business managers to everyday shoppers. I discussed some of the ways the city is addressing this issue in our police department. Another community-wide solution is clean, attractive and affordable housing. Why? Because it helps attract people. Stated plainly, we currently have more jobs than people. Plans are underway for more than 100 additional new downtown apartments to attract workers. It is required because of very low homeowner and rental vacancy rates.

Providing so called “Missing Middle” housing in close-in neighborhoods gives workers easier access to their jobs and services like healthcare and transportation. Mason City needs to attract more people to fill the great job opportunities.

Our downtown renewal and other community improvements are also all done with an eye toward attracting people. The city is also finishing up a strategic housing plan. Preliminary recommendations include increasing housing options. For example, providing opportunities for seniors to downsize so that starter home families can move up to the vacated senior houses. Another preliminary recommendation is forming a Housing Development Corporation to implement the plan. Look for more on this during the joint Clear Lake-Mason City-Cerro Gordo County “State of North Iowa” report next week.

Downtown renewal:

Our third priority is downtown renewal. Let’s start with a step back. The famed Hotel Hanford was built downtown exactly 100 years ago. The center of Mason City’s social and political life, it played host to Presidents Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon and such celebrities as Duke Ellington, Harry James and the cast of the world premiere of “The Music Man.” Today you know it as The Manor, upscale senior apartments.

More recently, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the restoration of the historic Park Inn. It took 10 years, five years longer than planned. It had to overcome obstacles, delays and biting criticism. Today it stands as the single most significant historic restoration project in Iowa, helping to drive $100 million to our area annually in regional, national and international tourism. Even more recently, the Econo Lodge re-opened just south of downtown, reviving a nearby neighborhood.

Which brings us to today:

The Hyatt Place & Conference Center will be the first new downtown hotel in a century. Everyone is frustrated with the delays. Obviously it has taken longer than hoped. A little history gives perspective. As mentioned, the last time a new hotel was built downtown was one hundred years ago. This indicates it’s a big and difficult undertaking. If it were easy, it would have been done many years ago.

The design ties together Mason City’s music and architectural heritage. It’s a destination hotel, off the interstate, in a downtown redevelopment area. It connects to the Music Man Square with the first ever Mason City sky walk. It’s adjacent to a mall that is being transformed with a new arena and performing arts pavilion. Mason City is leading the way on a challenge faced by communities across the country: repurposing downtown malls dated by seismic shifts in consumer spending.

Just a quick update: Steel for construction and the skywalk which is being assembled off site is schedule to be on location soon. You may have heard the developers have selected the award winning hospitality company MJH, of Danbury, Conn., to manage the Mason City hotel.

A side-note on financing: These capital improvements were endorsed by Mason City’s voters by a landslide 75% majority. The faith and commitment of our citizens has been nothing short of inspiring. Private investment and state grants pay for most of the project, with no tax increase in our current city budget. And the Government Finance Officers Association has given Mason City its highest financial rating. Thats what gives us the confidence to move forward.

The best indicator of future success is past performance. So let’s look at what has been accomplished to date.

In October, we celebrated the grand opening of the Principal Performing Arts Pavilion, one year after groundbreaking. Twelve months earlier we held the grand opening of the multi purpose arena. This completed the first two-thirds of our downtown renewal. The spinoff so far is obvious. It’s been reported statewide. New housing. New storefronts. New energy downtown. But there’s more.

The new River Walk will showcase Mason City’s national reputation as a destination for music and art lovers——as the ‘original River City’ made famous in “The Music Man” and the home of some of the most famous Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. It’s already attracted $250,000 in outside investment. A volunteer group, Friends of Willow Creek, is cleaning up the river. Soon we will be scheduling public input sessions, with plans for the first construction phase to begin later this year.

Converting the historic YWCA into housing and a studio for artists is breathing new live into a westside downtown neighborhood. Other nearby buildings are being fixed up. Monroe Avenue has been repaved. And we’ve only just begun. Our city council is planning major infrastructure investment in this and other neighborhoods.

Further west, on Mason City’s major Highway 122 gateway, we are working with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) on plans for a big improvements. It will include traffic signal coordination, safer turn lanes, pedestrian access, green space and lighting. Green space, trees, and flowers are the building blocks of a beautiful world class city. Plans for a South Federal Avenue upgrade will complement the already completed upgrade of North Federal Avenue.

Further west, plans are underway to build a bright new terminal at the airport. This is needed with record traffic—more than 1,000 passengers a month—boarding the new direct jet service to Chicago. Obviously, this benefits Mason City, Clear Lake and the entire region. Another part of building a world class city is a high speed fiber optics network. Construction is underway by Indiana based Metronet to give high speed fiber options to every home in Mason City at no cost to the city. These are just some of our priorities for the new year.

City staff and elected officials just finished our annual goal setting. We had a great time of brain storming about community needs in the future. As I said at the time, I could not be more excited about the new year. We have a wonderful partnership with citizens, an outstanding city council and city workers who shine as public servants.

Chamber Director Robin Anderson likes to point out that that we need dreamers and we need doers, but mostly we need dreamers who are doers. In Mason City we are blessed with all three. Let us resolve in the new year that we are too great a community to limit ourselves to small dreams. In the new year, let us renew our belief that we can make a difference in our community. After all, why shouldn’t we believe that?

Our forefathers had a dream. That his community we love could be a shining example of everything good about America. Thank you for making that dream come alive once again in the New Year!

Story first published at 8:45 Tuesday evening, updated at 5:00 AM Wednesday morning