[1.
State of the Village Address
][00:03:30]
MEETINGS TO BE INFORMED AND IN THE KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING AND ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO SERVE. OR TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS. LIKE YOU ARE THIS EVENING. AND IT WAS JUST FOUR SHORT YEARS AGO. THAT I PRESENTED THE VERY FIRST INDIAN TOWN STATE OF THE VILLAGE ADDRESS AND THE WAR FIELD CAFETERIA, JUST A COUPLE OF BLOCKS DOWN THE ROAD. WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED MUCH IN THAT TIME. HOWEVER, WE HAVE BARELY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE. WE ARE STILL EXPERIENCING FIRST, AS I'M SURE WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO FOR A FEW MORE YEARS. THIS WEEK . I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REFLECT WITH WHERE WE'VE BEEN. WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED. MONDAY. I HEARD FROM SOMEONE WHO HAD LIVED AND WAS RAISED HERE IN INDIAN TOWN.
THEIR FAMILY BUSINESS WAS HERE. HE CAME THROUGH TOWN AND REACHED OUT TO COMMENT THAT HE WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE PROGRESS. AND INDIAN TOWN WAS ALMOST UNRECOGNIZABLE TO HIM. HE IT HAD BEEN DECADES SINCE HE HAD BEEN THROUGH TOWN. AND I HAD TO STOP AND THINK ABOUT THAT CONVERSATION BECAUSE I WAS THINKING HASN'T CHANGED THAT MUCH. AND I REALIZED THAT IN THOSE DECADES. WE HAVE GONE FROM A TWO LANE ROAD THROUGH TOWN TO FIVE. WE HAVE A LIBRARY. WE HAVE
[00:05:01]
NEW BUSINESSES. NEW BUILDINGS. NEW CONSTRUCTION. INDIAN TOWN HAS CHANGED, HOWEVER SLOWLY THAT IT HAS BEEN IT HAS CHANGED IN THE DECADES. TODAY I TALKED WITH A CITIZEN. THEY REACHED OUT WITH CONCERN OVER CURRENT SITUATION IN AN ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD HERE IN TOWN. THEIR CONCERN. IS WITH WATTERS IS HAPPENING NOW. AND WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT? I ALSO SPOKE TODAY. FOR THE RESIDENT ABOUT ITEMS THAT ARE TO COME BEFORE US THIS EVENING. AND . HOW INDIAN TOWN WILL BE CHANGING. HOW WILL BE GROWING? HOUSING SCHOOLS. FAIRGROUNDS. IT IS PROGRESS. PROGRESS. THAT WILL NOW BE HAPPENING NOT IN DECADES. BUT IN YEARS. IT WILL CHANGE THE FACE OF INDIAN TOWN EVEN MORE.PEOPLE, EVERYBODY. HAS THEIR OWN UNIQUE CONNECTION WITH INDIAN TOWN. EVERYONE I SPEAK WITH.
THEY SPEAK ABOUT THE FEEL OF INDIAN TOWN? THE COMMUNITY SPIRIT, NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS AND THE SMALL TOWN FEEL. PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE AN INDIAN TOWN AND IT'S GROWTH AND PROGRESS IS A TESTAMENT TO THAT FACT. IN OUR MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS AND THROUGH ELECTIONS, YOUR COUNCIL HAS HEARD THIS COMMUNITY'S VOICE. WE RECOGNIZE THIS IS THE BEACON THAT WE HAVE OUR EYES FIXED UPON AS INDIAN TOWN TURNS THE PAGE AND MOVES INTO A NEW CHAPTER. WE HAVE DONE MUCH HEAVY LIFTING ON ISSUES TO MOVE US FORWARD IN THAT DIRECTION. WE CONSISTENTLY HAVE STATED OUR GOAL WAS TO CREATE A SOLID FOUNDATION. THIS COUNCIL AND STAFF HAVE BEEN BUSY CREATING THAT FOUNDATION WORTH BUILDING UPON. AT THIS POINT IN OUR PROGRESS. WE HAVE A NEED TO STOP. TAKE A STEP BACK. AND LOOK AND INSPECT THAT IT FOUNDATION WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THE CRACKS THAT HAVE COME TO LIGHT WITH A PRACTICAL USE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF WHAT HAS BEEN PUT INTO PLACE.
WE NEED TO TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW WHAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED. SEE WHAT IS GOOD AND SEE WHAT IS WORKING. AND LOOK AT THE AREAS THAT ARE LACKING AND NEED CHANGE. AND WE WILL CHANGE WHAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO IN CLOSING. LET US ONCE AGAIN STOP AND CONSIDER THE LOWLY DUCK AS WE DID FOUR YEARS AGO. THAT DUCK ON A POND LOOKS SO SERENE AND CALM SITTING ON THE WATER. HOWEVER WHEN YOU LOOK BENEATH THE SURFACE, YOU SEE THEIR FEET, PADDLING AND MOVING AS FAST AS THEY CAN GO. THEY'RE WORKING AGAINST THE CURRENT JUST TO KEEP IN THAT SPOT, LITTLE ON MOVE FORWARD. WE ARE STILL THAT DUCK ON THE WATER. IT MAY LOOK LIKE TO THE CASUAL OBSERVER THAT NOT MUCH IS GOING ON. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK BENEATH THAT SURFACE APPEARANCE, YOU REALIZE AND KNOW THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE AND THE THINGS THAT ARE BEING ACCOMPLISHED. SO PLEASE HELP US IN THE PROCESS BY CONTINUING TO BE ENGAGED. CONTINUE TO COME TO COUNCIL MEETINGS CONTINUE TO BECOME INFORMED OF WHAT IS HAPPENING AND GOING ON. CONTINUE TO VOICE YOUR OPINIONS, AND SHOULD YOU SUGGESTIONS TO EVERYONE? EVERYONE OF YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, NOT JUST ONE OR TWO. CONTINUE TO CALL THE VILLAGE OFFICE WITH QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS. WE NEED EVERYONE GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. PULLING TOGETHER TO MOVE FORWARD. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE VILLAGE OF INDIAN TOWN IS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND HAS AN AMAZING OUTLOOK. WE ARE ON OUR WAY TO A BRIGHT FUTURE AND WE STILL EXPECT SOMEDAY THAT THAT LOWLY DUCK WILL TURN INTO A SWAN THAT THE WHOLE WORLD WILL SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE OF THANK YOU FOR COMING THIS EVENING. GIVE US JUST A FEW MOMENTS IN A BREAK UNTIL 6 30. WE WILL RECONVENE WITH OUR REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.