I’ve always loved a good year-ender, a retrospective look at the most notable items from the previous year. In Carver, it has been my tradition to share 10 things that were the most memorable in our community from the previous year. With that, here’s my list for 2022:
10. Elections – With the results of November’s election, some things changed and some didn’t on the Carver City Council. After serving 12 years, Councilmember Glen Henry finished his third term last month. Erik Perschmann, who previously served on Carver’s Planning Commission, began his first term on City Council this month. I was honored to have been elected to a second term as mayor.
9. Residential development – Last year we approved plans for The Preserve and Brookeview developments, which will eventually bring a combined 88 new homes to Carver. Residential development in Carver has been very, very strong, but we’re starting to see new home construction slow down a bit, which is something we’re going to keep an eye on in 2023.
8. Park expansion – Ironwood Park is expanding by nearly 3.5 acres. When the expansion area opens this summer, it will include an outdoor classroom, skate park, picnic pavilion, basketball court and permanent outdoor yard games including cornhole and ping pong.
7. Connection fee waiver programs – The City Council developed two programs in 2022 to promote business development and affordable housing in Carver. First, the council adopted a program waiving new business utility connection fees for their outdoor dining areas due to their seasonal use. This policy will serve as an economic development tool for new businesses with patios, such as restaurants and coffee shops, and will save them potentially tens of thousands of dollars in connection fees. The city developed a program for affordable housing, which is a tiered approach based on a project’s level of affordability, with a maximum of $250,000 in utility connection fee waivers per project.
6. Commercial development – Last year we celebrated four new businesses that announced their plans to invest in Carver. River Wild Child Learning Center opened downtown in September. Getaway Motor Café, Next Steps Learning Center and Mizzy’s Pizza will open later this year.
5. Taxes – The city of Carver’s 2023 tax levy is a 6.9% increase over the 2022 levy. However, the city’s tax rate has dropped by more than 10 percentage points, from 48.40% to 37.12%. The tax rate drop was due to a historic increase in total market value primarily impacted by new construction. What this means is the majority of taxpayers in in Carver will see the city’s portion of their property taxes lower in 2023 than they were in 2022!
4. Finance director – Last March, Lynn Tschudi joined our team as the city’s first-ever finance director. Lynn has been a delightful addition to our team and her impact was felt almost immediately.
3. Water treatment plant expansion – Last fall we cut the ribbon on the expanded water treatment plant, celebrating a $12 million infrastructure investment, which more than doubled our capacity to treat the water that comes into your home. We went from a capacity of 1.3 million gallons to 2.7 million gallons a day. This expansion will give our community much-needed capacity for many years to come!
2. Certified levee – In March of last year I was notified the city of Carver had been designated to receive $2.5 million from the federal omnibus bill for our Levee Improvement Project. That brings the total to more than $2.7 million Carver has received in grants, which is a really nice start as we’re chipping away on the Levee Improvement Project’s estimated $12 million price tag.
1. Sixth Street West improvements – After being under construction for four months, Sixth Street now has a rebuilt roadway, improved storm sewer network, and upgraded pedestrian accessibility. The finishing touches will be completed this spring, revealing a lovely new roadway later this year.
Happy New Year. Here’s to an even better 2023 in the city of Carver!
Courtney Johnson is the mayor of the city of Carver. She welcomes questions or comments, and can be reached at cjohnson@cityofcarver.com. Follow Johnson on Facebook (@CarverMayorCourtney) and Instagram (@Carver_Mayor_Courtney).
