Chelsea Mayor Jason Lindauer gave his 2012 State of the City address at Silver Maples of Chelsea Wednesday night.
Here are some excerpts from his speech.
“Before my formal remarks begin, I would like to publicly remember and honor Bob Daniels one last time. Throughout the years of progress that this city has made, Bob’s gentle counsel and the wisdom of his experience was a steady, positive influence that all of us looked to. His version of leadership was propelled by common sense, moral clarity and especially civility and patience. The example he and so many of his generation have set is the standard that we carry forward with today. Bob was instrumental at my initial steps into local public service and I, like so many of you, shall miss him dearly.”
Lindauer said 2012 marks the eighth anniversary of the village becoming a city.
“Chelsea is seen in very treasured terms today and like every positive step with lasting impact, the bold concept of transcending from village to cityhood was undertaken by a small but thoughtful group of our citizens.
“In examining Chelsea’s original city charter, our constitution if you will, it is plainly evident that our current success is due to the years of dedication and work of those that came before us,” he said.
Lindauer thanked Jack Merkel, Ann Feeney, Fred Mills, Janice Ortbring, Cheri Albertson, Pat Conlin, Dale Schumann and Richard Steele — the original members of Chelsea’s Charter Commission.
“Their vision gave everyone a voice in the process of becoming a city, and always with the shared goal of more inclusive, efficient form of representative government.”
The mayor said during the first three years of his term, there has been unprecedented commitment to infrastructure in the city, and the work is not done yet.
He highlighted the city’s firm commitment to its finances and attributed the positive progress to “better management of individual department budgets, greater than anticipated state-shared revenue, and a reduction in full-time workforce made possible by consolidating departments and service areas.”
What has mattered most, he said, “has been our ability to deliver critical services to the citizens in a responsible, efficient and timely manner.”
He gave kudos to City Manager John Hanifan and Administrative Director Kim Garland, “for the continued progress our city has made as service provider.”
He touched on the growth of the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority and its new single-stream recycling program, recognizing founding member and current chairman Frank Hammer.
He also thanked the city’s employees and police officers for the concessions they made in approving 3-year contracts (that) were settled “with both unions without the use of costly labor council or expensive arbitration. This shows a high degree of mutual respect with our administrative team and our employees, and a willingness to drive toward solutions that have everyone in mind, including the taxpayers,” he said.
And, he spoke of the $60-million Chelsea Community Hospital expansion project, which will be completed and hold an open house next month, as well as additional new and soon-to-open businesses that have chosen Chelsea as a place to do business.
