Jasper Mayor Dean Vonderheide presented his State of the City to the Jasper City Council Wednesday evening. Highlighting the statistics for the city over 2021, Vonderheide noted the city finished the year financially healthy with continued signs of growth. He noted that the city has as many unencumbered balances now as the city had in expenses in the General Fund last year. Starting off the year; the General Fund sits around 8.7 million dollars, the Rainy Day Fund has grown to 2 million, the Parks & Recreation Fund is around 4 million, the ARPA Fund sits near 1.7 million, and the EDIT Fund is about 5 million dollars.
Vonderheide noted that the city issued 169 building permits. In terms of growth, the city added 28 single-family and 44 multi-family residences. Additionally, the city has moved forward in the process to add 18 residential units to the old library block. In regards to infrastructure, Jasper expanded the walkability of the city by fixing the sidewalks on the westside of 231 from 15th street to Schuetter Road and adding sidewalks on the Eastside of 231 from Schuetter to 30th. Jasper also launched the Courthouse Square Infrastructure Project.
One of the biggest additions to the city for tourism, was the new Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, home to the Jasper Community Arts and the Jasper Public Library.
With all the growth Jasper saw in 2021, Vonderheide feels very positive going into 2022.
