On Wednesday, October 3rd the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce hosted it’s monthly luncheon with the yearly “State of the City” address by Mayor Rod Davies.
Held at the Warren County History Museum in Monmouth, the 14-year mayor took to the podium telling the crowd that “Monmouth’s best days are ahead.” Davies highlighted the additions of new business near US Highway 34 and 67 – with a new Casey’s General Store, restaurant in Grandma’s Kitchen, and the announcement of Fareway coming to the former Monmouth College Maintenance Building. Fareway plans to do a $5 million overhaul to the building, creating a 21,000 square foot facility and creating 75 new jobs. The mayor spoke of other downtown projects coming online. A downtown beautification project in cooperation with the West Central Leadership completed a landscaping project of a vacant lot on south first street to use for outdoor events. The former Vaughn and Hall Shoe store building received a new roof, new plumbing and electrical work, and will soon receive new paint in a historic building restoration effort.
“While we can’t escape the challenge we face due to the indecision down in Springfield, we can make great strides by taking advantage of our mid-western work ethic and rolling up our sleeves and getting down to the hard work or making our community prosper,” Davies said. “We’ve done great things here in Monmouth, but as I said at the beginning of my remarks, I think our best days are still ahead of us.” Among the projects Monmouth has completed recently, Davies mention the new Municipal Water Well project. The $2.8 million project provides a more reliable, and redundant water source for industrial and residential users. Davies also highlighted a $27,000 Abandoned Property Grant to remove six building in town that are beyond repair. The city is also working towards a grant to upgrade Central Park downtown, as well as, working in conjunction with BNSF to remove an abandoned railroad crossing on North Main Street. “While we face new challenges with varying degrees of difficulty everyday….I want to thank our staff for all they do for making our city run so smoothly.” Davies told the crowd the city looks to its own strengths to create it’s own opportunities. He said in his 30 years of public office, he is most proud of this group of council members and city officials.
