Despite the early morning snowfall on Saturday, December 17, 2011, the City of Portage and Mayor Olga Velazquez held a ribbon cutting ceremony in front of Fegely Middle School to commemorate the completion of the Stone Avenue Improvement Project.
The Stone Avenue Improvement Project was nearly an $8.7 million project. It included the reconstruction of Stone Avenue to add storm water infrastructure including curbs, gutters, and sidewalks on both sides of the street. This project was funded through a $16.5 million revenue bond, which Portage residents will repay through the newly added monthly storm water fee.
The Mayor stated, “The folks had a vision, but somehow could never get to take the next step. Certainly, the next step often in a project like this is to find a funding stream. So, we took the initiative to begin to look at implementing the storm water fee with the support of the city council to get a funding stream needed to be able to do some of the very needed projects in the city regarding drainage.”
The Mayor recalled in 2008, the entire Stone Avenue was taken over by water from Willow Creek. When they were mapping out the city, many of the homes within the area around Stone Avenue were significantly impacted by this flooding.
When the city finally got the project started, they ran into a few challenges along the way. However, the Mayor was very positive and stated, “We were faced with some of the most difficult challenges, yet we persevered and continued.”
Mayor Velazquez recognized Dyer Construction for all their hard work, skills, and determination to getting the job done and on time. As she looked around at the community, Mayor Velazquez said, “I wonder now if they look back at this project to see the significant improvement. I know that in years to come, when the dust settles, literally and figuratively, in terms of some of the high emotion this project brought on that people will realize and appreciate what the council, our administration, and appreciate all the work the employees of Dyer Construction did, day after day!”
Mayor Velazquez also recognized R.W. Armstrong, who was involved with the design process. She commended him on his community outreach and the community meetings which had not been done before to that level. Thirty percent of the project was Armstrong asking for input from the residents on Stone Avenue. He asked the residents for their ideas, concerns, and where and what their problems were. Usually with a project of this size, residents would not have an opportunity to express their ideas and concerns. Mayor Velazquez believes that the residents on Stone Avenue were really appreciative to have been given the chance to be heard.
The Mayor concluded the ceremony by expressing her sincere gratitude to everyone for all of their support to her and her administration, not only for this project but also during her time in office.