2010 to be promising year for Rolla

If the momentum that has been generated in 2009 for our community with the City’s DREAM (Downtown Revitalization Economic Assistance Missouri) designation, Benton Square Development, Arts and Entertainment District and the implementation of the first phase of Rolla West is any indication of what 2010 is going to be like then the beginning of the next decade looks promising for Rolla.

Like most cities and communities throughout the state, Rolla and Phelps County both have had our share of challenges with the downturn in the national economy, and the effects it has had on sales tax revenues, employment and future job creation. But as you look around town, including the downtown area, and along Hwy. 63 North with the new businesses and restaurants that are coming in, and the existing businesses that are renovating, it is encouraging to see new growth and development.

If 2009 was a year of developing and maintaining momentum for the revitalization of the City’s downtown business district, implementation of the first phase of the multi-phase Rolla West project, and the establishment of a new Arts and Entertainment District, then 2010 may well be the year of partnerships and collaboration.

The City, more than every before, is forging strong and productive partnerships with Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce, Rolla Regional Economic Commission (RREC), Rolla Downtown Business Association, Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC), Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Missouri Highway Commission and Missouri Department of Economic Development. And during challenging economic times, there is no better place to be than in collaboration and partnering with other institutions, organizations and agencies that will provide the resources, insight, ideas and leverage to make things happen that might not otherwise be possible.

We are truly blessed in this community to have one of the world’s leading technological and research universities (Missouri S&T), cutting edge, high tech industries such as Brewer Science, Inc. and Mo-Sci Corporation, two theatres (Ozark Actors Theatre and Leach Theatre), outstanding arts and culture, a state of the art, 63,000-square-foot recreation complex at The Centre, blue-ribbon schools, a regional hospital (Phelps County Regional Medical Center), outstanding health care facilities (St. John’s Clinic and The Bond Clinic), a vast park system with over 30 parks and 10 miles of pedestrian and bike trails, and some of the strongest and most active service clubs and community organizations in the country.

Now, just imagine when the new Benton Square Development is completed, a new Arts and Entertainment District formed, the revitalizations of the downtown business district accelerated through the DREAM Initiative, and the improvements implemented for the new Bryant Drive intersection at Kingshighway that will be one of the gateway entrances to the new Innovation Tech Park at Missouri S&T. The momentum is there, the collaborations and partnerships are in place, and the energy, innovation and commitment to move forward are there. We have much to look forward to in 2010.

In closing, I’d like to wish everyone a safe, memorable and peaceful New Year. Lets make 2010 the “10” that we know we can be together as a community. Happy New Year!