Mayor Doug Quast hopes Gaylord will become a leader
January 4th, 2007“Personally, I want to see our community thrive and be a leader. We haven’t done that in the past.” That is one of the goals of Gaylord’s Mayor Doug Quast, who is beginning his second term of office this month.
The City of Gaylord has “a lot to do” this year, according to Quast.
“Hopefully we will start the street projects in early 2007,” he said.
Another major issue will be with Lakeview Homes, whether or not the city will sell the nursing home, Oak Terrace Senior Apartments, and Heritage House. Quast said it is his goal to provide Sibley County “with a health care continuum.”
Downtown revitalization will get a jump start next year when Hahn Family Properties start the development of the lot at the corner of Main Avenue and 6th Street. A mini strip mall is proposed.
Another possibility next year is moving the Gaylord Public Library to City Hall, and relocating the City offices into the existing public library building. The City was awarded a grant for half of the cost to remodel the City Hall for the Public Library. An estimate has yet to be developed for remodeling the Public Library for city offices.
One question before this happens, Quast said, will be where to move the functions that are traditionally held in the City Hall. It is also a question of whether or not this possible relocation will promote the construction of a new community center, he said.
Movement toward the beautification of Lake Titloe is a possibility in 2007. There is a possibility of rerouting storm water that is now flowing into Lake Titloe. This project may be done as part of the street reconstruction project.
Quast complimented the Community All Together (CAT) Committee for its work on the community directory and its efforts to welcome new residents.
Another possibility this year will be the reorganizing of the city to be more efficient. Quast said he would like to see a full-time economic development position and a full-time city manager for the day-to-day activities. The city is also looking at reorganizing its committees in order to get a balance “so it is not eating up every free moment we have.”
One goal of Quast’s this year is to have better communication with the community. “We need to get the facts out to the community and keep the rumors at bay. City Hall needs to do a better job communicating with the public,” he said.
About the 2007 City Council, Quast said that “we will represent the community well. It’s a well-rounded group. We need to be more unified.”
“Our goal is to make the community grow for everyone – senior citizens and young families,” he said.
