City looking ahead to better year in 2021

New Ulm looking forward to development in year ahead

NEW ULM -- The last year was like no other, but in New Ulm there is plenty to be optimistic about in 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many activities to a halt, but New Ulm is in a unique development position going into this new year.

"There is still a lot of development that will happen in 2021," City Manager Chris Dalton said.

The biggest change coming to New Ulm in the next year is the expansion and improvement to the recreation center. This project includes an updated waterpark, gymnastics center, wellness center and indoor playground. This project began in 2020 and is on schedule to be complete in August 2021.

"Even with the pandemic, work crews have been relatively unfazed," Dalton said.

The recreation center is the last of the Reinvest in New Ulm (RENU) projects to be completed. The other two RENU projects, Johnson Park upgrades and Hermann Heights Park improvement were all completed in 2020.

Overall, New Ulm saw several construction projects in 2020. These plans were scheduled to happen last year before the COVID pandemic hit and were able to continue despite the virus.

New developments were not limited to RENU. Dalton said the new National Guard Armory project is ongoing. The utilities and roadway improvements started in 2020 and will be ongoing projects in 2021. Recently it was announced New Ulm was working on a fixed bus route that could be in place by 2022.

"I am really looking forward to the fixed bus route," Dalton said. The current bus system requires people call 24-hours in advance for a ride, but the fixed route could help with smaller trips through town. Dalton said if a person needs to make a quick run to the grocery store, the bus route will be available.

"We've had so many city projects going forward at this time," he said. "It is a testament to the City of New Ulm."

New Ulm was fortunate to have several development projects in the pipeline during 2020, before COVID-19 hit, but the city did not avoid the pandemic entirely.

"The biggest casualty of the pandemic was tourism," Dalton said. New Ulm is famous for festival events, but those either did not happen, or were scaled back in 2020. Shows and festivals were also postponed.

The bar and restaurant closures were the second biggest hit. Dalton said it is hard for a business to recover if it cannot open.

The city offered assistance to businesses impacted by the pandemic. Three rounds of grants were offered to businesses. The city offered a pro-rated liquor license for the time establishments were closed. The New Ulm Area Chamber provided information to the businesses about PPP loans and other assistance programs. Dalton credited the local banks for stepping up to assist with the loan approvals.

Dalton said New Ulm was fortunate enough that the EDA could help through its revenue strain. New Ulm did not need to rely entirely on the federal government for assistance.

"Not every city had that," Dalton said. "It meant we could move faster."

Another major change to the city was the election and appointment of new city councilors. Eric Warmka was appointed to fill the Second Ward council seat and Andrea Boettger was elected the new City Council President.

Boettger agreed that in 2021, the new council would need to work on finishing up the RENU projections and Armory.

She cited the downtown holiday decoration controversy. The previous council had tabled a decision on whether to continue with holiday garlands or find an alternative solution. It will be up to the new council to determine the next course of action.

Longterm, Boettger believes the city would need to take a hard look at the budget. She said the pandemic will force the city to make some tough decisions.

Boettger is optimistic the COVID vaccine would help things turn around in 2021. She is also hopeful the recent RENU projects will put New Ulm as top city for park space in Minnesota. New Ulm was already one of the top cities in the state for per capita park spending.

Dalton is optimistic New Ulm will come out of the pandemic in a strong place with future development already in the pipeline.

"We are doing better than a lot of the state," Dalton said. "A lot of businesses were able to weather the storm."

He did warn the pandemic is not over yet. Dalton said the city needs to remain vigilant and prevent another wave of COVID hitting.

He was confident the city would return to some semblance of normalcy, but believed some aspects of pandemic life might remain in place. He believed Zoom meetings would stay around for council meetings. The council will need to be in the council chambers, but the audience could view through Zoom.

Social distancing might linger after the pandemic and Dalton said mask wearing for sick people could be the new normal. Masks prevent the spread of other diseases beyond COVID.

Dalton said one lesson learned from COVID is New Ulm is a supportive community. He said when restaurants were forced to switch to carry out only, many people made a point to get carry out food more often.

"This community is resilient and supports each other as much as possible," he said. "We will keep moving forward in the face of adversity."