SChool Board reCogniTion monTh from the
BELLEVUE
COMMUNITY NEWS January, 2020 Volume 42, Number 10 859-331-7977 From The mayor
1-9-20 by Mayor Charlie Cleves State of the City I have just completed my first year as the Mayor of Bellevue. It has been the tradition for the Mayor to present an annual State of the City address. I did that at the January 8, 2020, Bellevue Council meeting. I thought it appropriate to share it with you. I want to thank the Board of Council—Ryan Salzman, Steve Guidugli, Sean Fisher, Pat Hogan, Shauna Kruse and Scott Witte—for all of their help and input. We make a great team. We don’t always agree, and we shouldn’t, but we do work together and we seek common ground. Every one of us cares about Bellevue. I want to thank our police, fire, public works and administrative staff. I can tell you I am at City Hall most days of the week, and I know they work very hard for the City of Bellevue. We work together as a team and it is great working with our staff. Police Chief Estepp, Fire Chief Chris Adkins, Public Services Foreman Rick Mallery and City Clerk/Treasurer Mary Scott have many years of institutional knowledge, care about the City, and work hard to serve the citizens of Bellevue. I want to especially thank City Administrator Frank Warnock. He has put together a team approach using communication and collaboration to move the City forward. Please don’t tell him I said this as his
STEAK & SEAFOOD
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bald head will swell, but he has done a great job confronting Bellevue’s issues. I think we have accomplished a lot in the last year. I hope you agree. In short, I think we have re-energized Bellevue, and it’s not over yet. We’re just getting started. We have work to do and we will continue the effort. I live here. I grew up here. I raised my family here. I go to church here. My business is here. I make it a point to spend money here. I am here to tell you that I’m all in for Bellevue. Now, I would like to provide a brief run-down of some of the accomplishments that we working together as a team have achieved. Lincoln Road Re-Construction My first priority coming into office was Lincoln Road. Frank introduced me to engineer Mike Yeager to tackle Lincoln Road and other engineering related issues, and he has been fantastic. Mike works for Integrated Engineering, and has a lot of experience in local government engineering projects. Mike is managing the Lincoln Road re-construction project. Surveys have been completed. Data and video from Lincoln Road residents have been reviewed. Design teams have walked the site. Catch basins need to be added. The previous estimated cost of completing the project was estimated to be $2.6 million. We don’t have it. During budgeting last year, we put $100,000 in our budget for Lincoln Road. We think we can up that to $150,000 in next year’s budget that begins July 1, 2020. We believe we can get a substan-
tial match of funds, perhaps $250,000, from Sanitation District No. 1. We think we may be able to get Lincoln Road where it needs to be with those funds. I am hopeful we can begin work in 2020, the sooner the better. There is focus on Lincoln Road now, and we’re moving forward, never as fast as I would like it to be, but we’re trying. Bellevue Entertainment District We established the Bellevue Entertainment District (“BED”) that began Thanksgiving weekend in 2019 which is our annual Christmas Walk event. This was a very successful event. Three television stations and at least a dozen print and internet organizations ran the story. Visitors to taverns and restaurants on Fairfield Avenue may purchase drinks at various locations on the Avenue, and carry them in standardized cups Thursday through Saturday, noon to 10 p.m. They can go into any business that agrees to participate with their cups. The business owners have expressed appreciation for the City taking the time and creativity to set this up. It’s a work in progress, an effort, and we’ll see how it goes. Once it warms up a bit, I think it will take off and be more popular and give folks a reason to come to Bellevue. Our City Attorney, Dave Fessler, came up with the idea. Frank visited several cities that have done this. Really hard work for Frank, right? Initially, the BED was called the Entertainment Destination District Zone. Nope, Frank said it’s
See mayor ConT’d
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Bellevue residents, If you will indulge me for a few minutes, I want to spotlight a few of our fellow community members. While mostly anonymous in their work, the positive role they play for Bellevue Independent Schools is immeasurable. They are your school board members Julie Fischer, Chris Groneck, Jenny Hazeres, Jenn Owens, and Dan Swope. Elected to four-year terms, the Bellevue Independent Schools board is responsible for our community’s most precious resource and the key to its future – our children and their educational opportunities. Maybe they serve to improve those opportunities for their children, maybe they do it to ensure our community is poised to meet the future with a highly educated workforce able to improve the local economy, or maybe they do it because they believe in the role public education plays in creating better Commonwealth for all citizens. But whatever the reason,
our board members serve with minimal compensation and maximum effort. They spend hours reading materials and digging into reports to prepare for twice monthly meetings. State law requires them to obtain training on finance, ethics, leadership, and a variety of other topics every school year. When changes are made at the state level, such as new graduation requirements, school board members look at their policies and budget to decide how to meet these new requirements. School Board Recognition Month in January is a good time to recognize our Bellevue Independent Schools board members for their work. It’s my hope that you will take a few moments this month to thank them and to learn more about the work of those who bear the tremendous responsibility of ensuring the long-term success of our school system – and of our community’s children. With Tiger Pride, Robb Smith, Ph.D. Superintendent
First Friday • Love iN vUe Friday, FebrUary 7th
Share some love by loving local – love IN VUE! February’s First Friday is the perfect time to show your love. Pick up something special for those you love. Romance your valentine with a cocktail and
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