March 15 Meeting Recap
State of the City Address
Last week Wayzata Rotary and the Wayzata Chamber co-hosted the annual State of the City Address by Mayor Ken Wilcox. The meeting was well attended by members of both organizations, community leaders, former and current city politicians and city staff. Mayor Wilcox characterized the community as "strong, engaged, and enterprising", blessed by a terrific location, small town feel, world class dining, and strong infrastructure. Its challenges include the unrelenting climb in land values and tax valuations, which pressure small businesses and threaten small town vestiges. The community's objectives remain unchanged, and include balancing commercial and residential needs, tourist and local sensibilities, and pedestrian and motor requirements. Mayor Wilcox introduced Kathy Coward of the Lake Effect Conservancy to present that important project. The Lake Effect Project is more than 5 years in the making and will better connect the community with its largest asset, the Lake Minnetonka waterfront. The Lake Effect is a public/private project that will generate $15M in funding to reclaim and improve usage of the shoreline. The project includes construction of three parks and a boardwalk, all connected by green spaces. The construction will address shore erosion, restore lakefront and improve water quality, unify the downtown area and exchange concrete for green space. The capital campaign is in its quite phase; the public commitment to the campaign is $2M with the rest to be generated through individual and community foundation support. Thank you to Mayor Wilcox, Ms. Coward, and all the event sponsors.