A Minute with the Lyons Mayor

A Minute with the Mayor

November 2015

Welcome to back to standard daylight time! Hopefully you are used to it being dark by 6pm. It’s certainly not the easiest thing to get used too. I’m ready for bed by 9pm!

The November council meeting was a fairly light one thus I was home in time to be in bed by nine! Our top agenda item was approval of the city’s health insurance plan. After looking at our options, the council decided to change plans that will actually save the city over thirty thousand dollars this coming year. Health care costs, as everyone knows, continues to rise and the city isn’t immune to the squeeze those increased premiums puts on the city’s budget. The council is working to find a balance between the city’s responsibility to its employees and fiscal responsibility to the tax payer. We will continue to evaluate our healthcare coverage to make sure we are meeting employee needs and getting the entire bang for our buck that we can.

We have a plan for the south road at Brink Park to secure it. We are going to rework and pack the bank. We will then add concrete rip rap along the shore line of the lagoon to stabilize the bank. This should help prevent anymore eroding from occurring long that drive in that area. We were still having some water leaking above a couple of big windows in the community center. We had the roof guys out and we hope they’ve fixed the areas on the roof that had been leaking. Our new baler should be here the first week in December. It will help us be more versatile with our recycling efforts. We are still waiting on the $87,000 reimbursement from the grant we were awarded.   All the “Ts” are crossed and the “Is” are dotted so that money should be coming sometime soon.

I know there are a lot of questions and concerns swirling around Logan Valley Manor.  There is still a lot of legal wrangling going on between the owners and creditors. Not sure when all of that will be cleared up. Until that time, not much that can be done about its future. The city council did decide to turn the electrical and heat on to make sure we don’t have ruptured pipes over the winter. I am optimistic that good things are in store for Logan Valley Manor. We just want to make sure the weather doesn’t make things worth there.

Burt County passed a 2% lodging tax which will affect the camp ground. Rates were adjusted slightly to help cover that tax increase. On a good note, we finally got the final reimbursement from the $375,000 community center grant. The $187,500 will help replenish the city coffers that were spent on the project to begin with. Good news indeed. We continue to wait to hear on the street lighting grant we applied for. We are hopeful we will hear from them by the end of the year.

If you missed the grand opening of the Main Street Theater, you missed a really fun evening. It’s just amazing to me when the front of that building comes slowly down to the sidewalk and street. What a feat of ingenuity! Looking at the building you would never know there wasn’t a building behind it. Bill Hedges movie on the history of Lyons that premiered was exceptional. I thought I was watching a PBS special. Looking at where Lyons has been and how it came to be what it is today inspired me to keep working to make Lyons a better place. It made me realize that the people of Lyons may come and go but the spirit of what Lyons is continues throughout the generations. Thanks to everyone who has made these projects possible. You’ve helped make Lyons an even cooler place to live!

Finally on a personal note, I just want to give a shout out to my dad, Ron, who turned 75 on November 17^th! I know my wife and my mother won’t give him all the credit for making me who I am today but he sure deserves a lot of it! I have been so blessed to have been raised by a man who cares so deeply for his family. I couldn’t have asked for a better dad to mentor, counsel, teach, and advise me throughout my life. I am proud to be called Ron Fuston’s son! Happy Birthday dad! Here’s to many, many more!

That’s all I have for now. Enjoy the crisp fall weather. Good luck getting all those leaves raked up! I know I’ll need it. Take care and talk to you soon.