The City of Manitowoc is starting to figure out its next goal.
During a Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, almost every city department leader gave the common council their opinion on what they want to see next for the Clipper City.
Mayor Justin Nickels says there’s been a recent focus on roads and parks, but it’s important to identify other issues the city could address.
“As a whole when we sit down and talk, we really want to make sure that the emphasis is on not an individual department but on the city as a whole, what’s best for the city,” he explained. “And that’s where, I think, we have a really good group of department heads that really see not just the silo of the department that they oversee but what is truly best for the city.”
Back in 2017, the city set goals for more economic development, infrastructure, parks, and education and culture.
Community Development Director Adam Tegan got the conversation started, saying he’d like to see Manitowoc grow toward Interstate 43.
“There’s a lot of opportunity there that ties into the industrial park growth that the mayor mentioned,” he noted. “That ties into housing which has been a big discussion. Could tie into things like the school district or other aspects as well.”
Tegan says his department also wants to see more emphasis on senior housing and blighting smaller areas around the city.
For public safety, Fire Chief Ben Kraynek and Police Chief John Musial talked about a fire station study currently underway and what’s next for both departments.
Musial says if a new fire station is needed, it would benefit police since they’ve reached “max capacity” in their current building.
“One of the biggest issues we have is our evidence area,” he described. “Chain of custody with evidence. Currently we have four separate areas that we are housing this evidence which is not ideal. But we make it work. And a lot of that just because of long term storage and retention for years.”
Other leaders, including Tourism Director Courtney Hansen, say her department has grown since being brought in-house in 2022.
Now she’d like to see the department find a more permanent office and a visitor’s center.
Public Works Director Dan Koski says he’d like to see the city prioritize fleet replacement as well as building and storm sewer upgrades.
City Attorney Eric Nycz agreed with infrastructure upgrades, specifically pointing to a pipe leading to the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Nycz stated, “The lawsuits and claims that would come and the fines that would come if that things fails, again, it’s almost 100 years old, and nobody knows how long it’s going to last because when they put it in it was brand new technology. Just sixty-inch clay pipe. We’ve got a lot of that around the city and I do worry about that.”
After the department heads finished, Nickels agreed that maintenance should be prioritized in the future.
All comments from the department heads can be found in the full Committee of the Whole Meeting on the City of Manitowoc’s YouTube channel.
