Wes Blecke, newly appointed assistant city administrator as of July 3, spoke to our club on July 5. He will become the new Wayne City Administrator on Aug. 1. He is also still the Chamber exec until July 21 when his vacation time runs out. In the meantime he is wearing two hats.
He brought us up to date by telling us that Matt Ley along with two council persons and other citizens are searching for a new chamber exec. Wes has started meeting with city officials and employees to get up to speed on what is going on in Wayne. One of the long meetings he had was with Nancy Braden who will be retiring at the end of 2017, about the city finances. He felt finances are in good shape but noted there are always more needs for the money than the supply so they are challenged to be good stewards.
The "Trail" project is now in the hands of the state and again hoping to get done this year but reason tells us next year(maybe?). One part of that is an underpass under Hwy 35/7th St. of which the city will pay 20% of that cost. City employees and citizens are meeting to determine what to do with the old city pool and lagoon. He felt heavy industry should be kept in a general area, and maybe the Rugby field could be a part of the city industrial complex. There are plans to extend 4th St. east and Centennial Rd. north.