Mayor Vanek delivers 'State of the City' report

Colfax Mayor Todd Vanek presented the State of the City Address Friday at Events on Main to a crowd of 12 people.

“It went okay,” Vanek reported Tuesday after the address. “Attendance was low, and that's probably because we held it at lunch time.”

Vanek said one of the highlights of the address was speaking about the changes happening in Colfax and to come.

“We're kind of in the middle of some change right now,” he told the Gazette. “It's a cultural shift from being a bedroom community to being more proactive to become a destination.”

Vanek reported one of the big moves in initiating this change was hiring Valoree Gregory as Colfax's unified executive director.

“Val was a big step in that,” he said.

Vanek added he is hoping to see Colfax become more welcoming to customers.

“What I've observed since I've moved here is we often see cars coming through town as disturbing rather than as customers,” he told the Gazette. “We want to see it as a good thing.”

Vanek also spoke about upcoming events such as the Concrete River Festival, spring cleaning throughout town and supporting Kim Nguyen's efforts to restore the Old Rose Theatre. He said the Chamber of Commerce is also in need of assistance from volunteers.

“Volunteers have been limited,” he said. “They need assistance in helping put things on.”

He said he is hoping to provide more things to appeal to the 25-40 age group. He also wants to see more people participating in the community and recognizing Colfax as their community even if they do not live here.

“We have a lot of people who work here but don't live here or live near Colfax,” he said. “We still see them as part of the community.”

Another item discussed was keeping businesses open later. Gregory said this issue was brought up at two points by people in attendance, and Vanek said he sees it as possible to keep businesses open later.

“It's possible, but the problem is we're caught in this cycle of businesses stay open later for an event, and then they don't get that many customers, so they say it doesn't work,” Vanek said. “We've got to end this mindset that Colfax closes at 5 p.m.”

Gregory said she thought the address went well. She added that the low attendance might be able to be attributed to the Good Friday Tournament at the Colfax Golf Course. Gregory touched on businesses staying open later.

“Numerous people brought up that businesses in Colfax close early, and that almost every single place is closed and there's nothing to eat,” she said. “We think that's a huge concern.”

Gregory noted she, Vanek and City Administrator Mike Rizzitiello have plans at their next meeting to discuss this concern.

The full address is available online on YouTube.

View https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dha535as9Q0 (top).