STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

Mayor Gerard Neugebauer's final term speech

by Chase Borland

On Jan. 26, 2023, Mayor Gerard Neugebauer delivered his final State of the City speech at the Green High School Auditorium. This speech had an emphasis on a strong fiscal year, the plans for new school buildings, infrastructure plans, and residential development.

“It helps us see the future. Where the community is going, and where it’s been,” says Student Municipal Representative Julie Garritano on the importance of the State of the City.

Neugebauer started his presentation with the 2022 fiscal records and the growth that the community has seen during his term. The city of Green’s largest source of revenue is income tax and over the past year, the city earned $29.3 million with an 8.7% growth. Green acquired $16.4 million from other sources of revenue- tiffs, licensing, and the American Rescue Plan. This money goes towards capital projects around the city like improving roads, parks, and building roundabouts.

Neugebauer made sure to discuss the recent and future infrastructure of Green. In 2022, the city hosted the Ohio Department of Transportation’s seminar for roundabouts. He brought up the plans for the Massillon South project, which consists of the two newest roundabouts going in on Massillon Rd. These will be placed at the intersections of Massillon and Boettler Rd; and Massillon and Corporate Woods Cir. updates of the plans have been made, and the completion date has now been moved back from Fall 2023 to Spring 2024. Green residents will also see the construction of two new roundabouts at the Arlington-Mt Pleasant intersection and the Mayfair-Mt Pleasant intersection starting in 2025.

“Being a civil engineer, I love our single lane roundabouts, because they operate so efficiently and make our roads so much safer. As for our multi-lane roundabouts, I love the fact that they virtually eliminate severe and fatal accidents while significantly improving the traffic flow,” states Mayor Neugebauer.

All this new infrastructure comes with the addition of residential developments within Green. These new developments consist of Brier Creek, which is off of Boettler Rd; Jacob’s Ridge, which is also off of Boettler Rd; New Seasons, which is on Massillon Rd; and Forrest Lakes, which is on Tabs Dr. These developments contain mainly single family houses and condos, but that doesn’t mean that Green isn’t developing space for young people either. Green has two new apartment style developments going in. VC Station apartments will be located off 619, and Spring Hill Farms apartments will be located next to the Spring Hill Sports Complex. The schools and community courts were the biggest part of the presentation. Green was able to pass a $68 million- 37 year tax levy, which would help pay for the projects related to the schools. Building plans also include community courts, which will be an addition onto the new middle school. These community courts, along with the new school, will be located in between the current GMS and GIS. This addition will consist of a school gym that will also function as another community gym for after school activities, another community gym and track that will be open to the public during all hours of the day, an indoor turf field, and studio rooms for classes like yoga and pilates to take place.

Neugebauer also introduced the Green Community Fund. This fund provides permanent grants, which are dedicated to supporting civic and community initiatives. In doing so, it will incentivize needed projects around the city, fund nonprofit organizations serving residents, and champion philanthropy. The fund was created in 2022, for the city’s 30th anniversary, by a group of Green residents who wanted to strengthen the city.

“This fund will serve as a financial backbone for investing in our community. It will serve our city for generations to come. Managed by Green residents for the benefit of Green residents,” states Mayor Neugebauer.