The City of Portage conducted its annual State of the City Address at Woodland Park on Thursday, February 15. More than 250 people in the community gathered together for a luncheon to review and look ahead about improvements to the city.
Portage Mayor Austin Bonta, who was a member of the Portage Planning Commission for most of his time before recently being named mayor of the city, shared what purpose this event will serve in the upcoming years.
“The focus will be to discuss the last 46 days since I became Mayor of Portage,” Bonta said. “This is an event that we have been doing every year. The hope is that each one is a review and builds on the previous year.”
While his tenure as mayor has been brief thus far, that hasn’t stopped him from coming up with ways to make adjustments that improve the quality of life in Portage.
“We made some administrative and policy changes,” Bonta said. “Increasing our efficiency and accountability within the city government has been critical for us. Whether we are focusing on the extension of Burns Drive, updating the comprehensive plan for the city, or to our zoning, our goal is to show people that we’re an administration on the move and people can confidently invest in the city of Portage.”
Mayor Bonta believes that these meetings to discuss the future and learn from previous mistakes are not only helpful but also necessary for the City of Portage to maximize their growth long-term.
“Having these gatherings is super important for us,” Bonta said. “When the local government doesn’t share what’s going on, rumors will come in and fill the void. This is how we get the community aware of the things taking place. It’s really exciting to speak with so many members of the Portage community. I appreciate the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce for putting this together every year.”
The event is organized annually by the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce. Nancy Simpson, executive director, was thrilled with the amount of supporters that showed up to this year’s event.
“This was a great turnout,” Simpson said. “I have been with the Chamber of Commerce for more than 10 years and we’ve never had more people come to the State of the City Luncheon than this time.”
One person who was in attendance was U.S. Senator Todd Young from Indiana. He shared his excitement to continue building his relationship with Mayor Bonta along with the big plans aligned throughout Northwest Indiana.
“I want to commend Mayor Bonta for his vision,” Young said. “Governing is about collaboration and working together to improve communities. I want to help the people of this Region however I can and look forward to what will come from that.”
At the end of the event, there were a few giveaways for the people in attendance. This included multiple $25 gift certificates and a raffle ticket drawing worth $237. However, everybody left as a winner knowing that the City of Portage has big things ahead.
For more information on the City of Portage, you can visit their website.