Moving to Vinton

Need an excuse to move to Vinton? Check out this great article that recently appeared in the Our Iowa magazine. Click here.

Last of the Buyouts-Now on to Final Demolitions

The City of Vinton just closed on the last three buy-out properties from the 2008 flood. We are excited about moving forward and the possibilities that will come from making much of this space into park areas - especially the lots down by the river. We already have a pavilion that was converted from a residential garage. That area and the Community Gardens area will have a dedication ceremony Tuesday afternoon. We have 15 house that still need to be demolished. There have been some "bumps in the road" with federal regulations dealing with asbestos disposal, but we are getting those smoothed out. Once the asbestos is removed, we can then move on to demolition. The demolition of the remaining houses should be started in September.

Welcoming New Residents and 10th Street Work Begins

I am about to go to the Ray House, which is one of our historic homes in Vinton, to meet some new medical professionals here in Vinton: a new dentist, a medical doctor, and a chiropractor intern. It's good to see that a small town like Vinton would have something to attract young professionals. It adds new blood to the community. Vinton has a lot to offer from our parks and aquatic center to our local theater where you can see 3-D movies for only $3 each.

The picture above shows the beginning of work on 10th Street. The construction was supposed to start on July 1, but there was some delay due to rain. Now most of the rain has managed to miss Vinton, so they have begun to remove the old street and replace the two sewer manholes. Next, they will install a subdrain that will take all the water from under the new street and funnel it to the storm sewer on 8th Street.

Accomplishments

There were a couple of things that happened this week that say a lot about the people in Vinton. When they say they are going to do something, they do it. First, we had a grand opening for a new hotel. In addition to the privately built hotel, the city built a street extension to provide access to the hotel. We knew this type of development was going to be good for the city - we said we were going to do it, and it got done. The hotel has now been open for more than a week and has been about half-full during the week, which is good news.

The second thing that happened was that the Palace Movie Theater installed a new digital movie system. This is a huge step. The group of people who run the theater decided they wanted to do this despite the huge cost. They knew that the people of Vinton would realize the huge benefit it would be and would rally with donations to pay for the system. The citizens of Vinton did. Last night, the Palace Theater showed Shrek 4 for its first digital 3D movie. Better yet, the 3D tickets are being kept at a low $3 per person cost!

Party in the Park Next Week

Next week is Party in the Park, Vinton's annual celebration in June. This year, the theme is Party on the Beach since the theme will be a beach party theme. There is always plenty of entertainment on Saturday, but don't forget the kid's parade downtown Thursday evening and the movie at the park on Friday. A complete schedule can be found by clicking here.

Today, I received a call questioning the amount of money we spend on the parks and recreation. I feel the Council does a good job balancing the needs of the many different residents we have in our community. Many of our residents utilize the programs that are offered by our parks department. My daughter has participated in the tennis, golf, softball and playground programs, just to name a few. I know this has really helped with her development as a person and I am sure it has helped with other kids giving them something to do while building athletic and interpersonal skills that will help them later in life---even if they only go rollerskating at the Activity Center on Friday nights. We have a great parks department for a city with the population of Vinton and many volunteer hours by city employees and the residents go into making the department do the great things it does.

Summer's Here!

Besides the heat there's a few things that tell me that summer's here. Last night, was the first Farmer's Market at the historic Rock Island railroad depot. Throughout the summer, the Farmer's Market will take place each Thursday at this location starting at 5 PM. Besides the food for sale, there is usually something different planned each night. The swimming pool opened last weekend and Party in the Park is June 24-26.

By the end of the month, we should begin the 10th Street Improvement Project from 1st Avenue through B Avenue. Just like the section of 9th Street that was improved last year, this couple of blocks have seriously deteriorated. This will be a huge improvement to the neighborhood.

The new Vinton Cobblestone Hotel passed its final building inspection this week. The hotel plans to open in mid-June with a grand opening celebration later in the month.

There is a lot going on and summer has just begun.

Remembering and Rebuilding

Memorial Day is a special day for those of us lucky enough to have served our country in the military. We know the dangers and we know that special feeling deep down of the pride and love we have for our country. It is a special time for remembering those who died serving their country and reflecting on their sacrifice. Do we have the same courage? What would we do in their place? These are questions I ask young people who think about entering the service. It may not be the type of questions that a recruiter may ask, but I feel that anyone thinking of serving needs to honestly think about the answers they would give.

The picture above is the beginning of the construction of the new Benton County Law Enforcement Center in downtown Vinton. The county folks went through a lot to get this thing started and I am sure they and we will be proud of the building when it is completed. The construction end date is set for May 2011.