Article Contributed on: 4/15/2009 4:02:04 PM
Commerce City mayor
Paul Natale gave a rosy assessment of the city's economic and social welfare in his annual state of the city address, but noted concerns over stalled transportation projects vital to future growth and development.
Natale, who delivered the address April 14 to a crowd of more than 100 people at the Commerce City Civic Center, 7887 E. 60th Ave., said 2008 was a surprisingly good year for the city, touting the addition of a new curbside recycling program as well as the grand opening of the 35-acre Pioneer Park at 5950 Holly St.
Natale also pointed to the city's redevelopment efforts in the Derby area, a low-income neighborhood in Commerce City. A new resource center in the area will help connect residents with services, he said, and the city is working with Derby business owners on an incentive program to refurbish storefronts and signs.
Efforts like those are slowly beginning to shed some of the negative stereotypes associated with Commerce City, he said, an area long considered somewhat of an eyesore among its suburban neighbors. New cultural attractions such as Dick's Sporting Goods Park and the Mile High Music Festival have helped create a "new picture" of Commerce City in the eyes of the metro area and beyond, he said.
"I am here to say things are better in Commerce City," Natale said. "We are making great progress in changing how our city is viewed by those outside our boundaries."
Slow progress on some transportation improvement projects, however, are hindering growth in the northern part of the city, an area that's seen rapid housing development in recent years, Natale said. Commerce City officials recently traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with federal delegates in an effort to speed up construction work.
City officials stressed transportation, transportation, transportation and economic development, Natale said.
"If we don't get the final ramp for Tower Road at Pena Boulevard, if we don't get Tower Road widened, if we don't get Highway 2 improved, we simply can't get people and goods in and out," he said.
On the state of the local economy, Natale noted Commerce City is better situated than other metro area cities to weather the economic downturn because of its strong industrial base. Commere City is home to two oil refineries owned by Suncor Energy, in addition to large outlets for companies like Shamrock Foods and UPS.
"It's a well kept secret that things in Commerce City turned out better than expected in 2008," he said.
The city's economic development department, headed up by newly hired director
Brittany Morris, is working to keep those companies in the city while also luring new businesses in the future, he said. Staffers are developing the city's first economic development plan and will soon attend an International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas to gather ideas, he said.
The economic plan is part of an overall effort dubbed C3 Vision, a city initiative launched last year to update the Comprehensive Plan.
Natale, a former Commerce City councilman who was elected mayor in April 2007, faced his own unique set of challenges over the course of 2008. A recall committee led by former mayor pro-tem
Rene Bullock collected more than 700 signatures in an effort to oust him from office last summer.
The recall, prompted over concerns regarding Natale's behavior around city employees, ultimately fell short however.