Prepared Remarks for SEMLM

Welcome remarks for SEMLM                                                                                April 20, 2017

7:00: Welcome from City of Mantorville

Thank you for that kind introduction. I would like to welcome all of you to our beautiful City. Mantorville's history dates back to before Minnesota was even a state. Mantorville was an important Stage Coach stop between the Mississippi and St. Paul. We have recently undergone a complete “re-branding” effort where we have identified color palette, imagery, core values and future aspirations. From this branding effort we have developed a new city wide logo and refocused our tourism marketing campaign. In keeping with the historical nature of Mantorville and the importance it played during the stage coach era, we have chosen to incorporate the image of a horse drawn coach into our new brand.

Our community is also home to the oldest working court house in the state. Last year the county made a considerable investment in a remodeling effort that took the design of the court room back to the original design, but also incorporated modern security features, this investment has insured that the oldest continually working court house will remain active and a vital part of the legal system in South East Minnesota.

Community feedback is very important to the City Council and myself and was a big factor in our levy rates and re-branding efforts. During the last six years, the City Council and myself have made a real effort to solicit input from our citizens. The City has frozen or reduced our tax levy rate even while the Legislature has reduced LGA levels. The new City brand took several surveys into account while determining the correct approach for our branding effort. Every election I go door to door asking about concerns our citizens have, what projects they would like to see and what their priorities are. i have encouraged my council members to do the same. We have used this input from our citizens to help guide us with projects and priorities. I would encourage each of you to soloist community feedback when ever possible. I would love to have additional discussions with anyone interested during the social hour tonight.

Thanks again for coming to Mantorville and I hope you are able to enjoy our community.

Now for the business portion of the meeting.