Mayor’s Spotlight: Bellevue Is On The Move

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Wow, what a fabulous 3 years for Bellevue and a great course we have set for our future! Happy New Year and let us keep working together.

Who would have ever thought that during 3 years with historic floods and an ongoing worldwide pandemic we could have ever made the accomplishments that we have? The residents of Bellevue should be proud of the administration team, city employees, and all the volunteers that serve to make our city so great. I also want to give my personal thanks to our City Council for their open communication and engagement to make Bellevue the best it can be.

During 2021 – I want to bring your attention to just a few of those things we were all able to accomplish. But first I want to note that none of these things would have been possible without the large annexation package that our team worked so hard to make happen. These annexations were long overdue and very much needed to run our city like the third largest city in Nebraska. Our population increased from about 52,000 to 64,127. For comparison, Council Bluffs has a population of 62,056. Again, the following is from all of us working together.

• Bellevue Fire Department – Chief Guido now has a fully staffed and fully equipped full time fire department and our Fire Fighters are turning in record response times.
• Bellevue Police Department has made astonishing strides in filling our open positions and Chief Clary has done an outstanding job diversifying our force and creating a team atmosphere with community pride.
• Bellevue Public Works – under the guidance of our new Director, Doug Clark, has been busy and effective with daily duties like pothole repairs, snow removal, lane striping, and larger projects like the 36^th Street widening project, the all-inclusive playground at Stonecroft, the impressive splashpad park in Leawood, planning for wastewater service along the Hwy 34 corridor and SW Bellevue, and several major sewer/street repairs along the Fort Crook Road corridor. 
• Planning and Permits – under the direction of Mark Elbert our new Community Development Director, Tami Palm our Planning Manager, and Mike Christiansen our Chief Permits Inspector, has been receiving great reviews from metro builders and developers as a friendlier city to do business in.
• Bellevue Public Library – After decades of trying to upgrade or replace the library our team has spent many months of arduous work to solve the problem. We have brought forth a new location to move the library into and it has much growth potential available for years to come. Final approval is subject to council approval at our next meeting. Next will be the planning for a future annex for a second location within the city.
• We maintained our AA+ rating while not increasing our mil levy or adding any new taxes, like a restaurant tax that was floated in years past.
• Approximately 80 acres south of Offutt has been sold for industrial development and we should see those buildings going up this year.
• We have strengthened our relationships with our community partners like Grow Sarpy, Greater Bellevue Area Chamber of Commerce, Metro Area Planning Agency, United Cities of Sarpy County, Offutt AFB, and continue to keep engaged with our State Senators and Washington Delegation.
• Many new businesses have moved into town in 2021 and I encourage you to give them a visit and show them they are valued.

During 2022 I fully expect Bellevue to see some amazing changes that promise to bring new services, jobs, and living opportunities to our city. Some of the things to look forward to are as follows.

• Olde Towne Bellevue has seen many changes and 2022 should be the start of adding 25,000 SF of retail space and over 300 rentals and 10 new townhomes to the area
• Once the state racing commission approves Bellevue for a new horse track, hopefully this year, you will see plans to develop a world-class quarter horse racing facility and Casino along with a hotel and some other family entertainment features along Hwy 75.
• Premier Baseball Village had a remarkably successful year and is now in the process of exercising their option to purchase the land from the city and expand their facilities.
• Washington Park will be getting a new Gazebo and American Hero’s Park will be getting utility upgrades and we will be starting the process of adding an amphitheater. 
• We see the need for a larger, even a regional style waterpark and are seeking out our options including a potential public/private partnership.
• This year we will be spending a lot of effort to properly prepare the Hwy 75/Hwy 34 interchange and corridors. This area will have a new sewer service in 2024 and we are going to bring water service in at the same time. Our team is currently working on another large project in this area and hope to have an announcement soon.

There are many other things happening so if you ever have a question, concern, or idea, please contact me. I am always available. Bellevue is “ON THE MOVE” and it is not hard to see the changes when you look around. Here is to an awesome 2022!