JANESVILLE — Janesville City Manager Kevin Lahner gave his first State of the City address on Wednesday, at a Janesville Country Club breakfast that was also a new invitation-only event for community leaders.
Lahner, in his introductory remarks on Wednesday at the new event called the Leader’s Breakfast, said the hope is make it a quarterly gathering where city department heads, local elected officials, and community and business leaders can meet to discuss issues facing the city.
The breakfast was hosted in a partnership between the Forward Janesville Foundation and the city.
It was the first time since former City Manager Mark Freitag began giving State of the City addresses that the the annual address was held away from downtown. Previously, it was a public event held in the evening at City Hall.
Lahner said the vision for the change was to draw more people and to encourage dialogue during the breakfast among those who have a significant stake in the community.
The past event at City Hall in the evening required a lot of staff time to pull together, “only to end up with maybe 10-12 people who would attend,†he noted. “This way we are getting more people to attend, a bit more media coverage and we filmed it and it will be put on JATV.â€
Lahner said the venue was chosen based on the reasonable cost of hosting the event at the Janesville Country Club and said a breakfast is a great place for community leaders to ask questions and share concerns. Following his State of the City address, he took questions from attendees.
Lahner said he hosted such breakfast in Waukesha for eight years prior to taking the Janesville city manager job last year, and said the concept received “rave reviews†there.
“I think it is going to be great,†he said, characterizing those on the guest list as “folks that make things happen, that make decisions and are invested into our community.â€
“These folks are very busy individuals and that is why you do these things in the morning and get them before they start their day,†he continued. “They are problem solvers and partnership builders; that’s why you bring them all together.â€
He said future breakfasts will always be filmed and broadcasted on JATV.
State of the City
Lahner began his State of the City address by recognizing invitees, saying each of them had some part of making Janesville what it is.
“The city of Janesville is strong, we are growing, we are vibrant and we are working hard to make this an even better place than it already is,†Lahner said. “We are all of these things largely because of the efforts of folks in this room.â€
In 2023, he said city staff saw a lot of transition. There were 52 new hires, including in leadership positions such as police chief, IT director, building director and the city manager..
He took a moment to recognize Fire Chief James Ponkasukas who is retiring May after 30 years with the city.
Lahner went to on share a video that noted things the city fixed or replaced in 2023. The city renovated three parks and opened the Dave Moore playground next to the police station to honor Moore’s years of service as police chief, the video said.
The city also resurfaced 6.8 miles of streets, reconstructed 4.1 miles of roadway and filled 7,000 potholes, while having one of the lowest property tax levies per capita in the state and one of the lowest shared revenue payments per capita in Wisconsin
“Our efficiency and effectiveness and delivery city services allow us to keep our taxes as low as possible, while still providing excellent service,†he said.
Lahner commended the Hedberg Public Library for finishing a $400,000 interior update and a website update, with contributing grant funds, to make it more user-friendly.
He spoke of new things coming in the new year: constructing a new Palmer Park wading pool, and six new pickleball courts at Riverside Park.
He said affordable housing will be a focus in 2024, with the city committed to seeking out developers of different types of housing for all income levels.
He said projects like the planned new Boys & Girls Club building, the planned new Rock County Children’s Museum and the planned new Woodman’s Sports and Convention Center are exciting and that the city is looking forward to helping bring them to fruition.
He concluded by saying city progress is due to partnerships.
“As I look forward to 2024 and years beyond. I am so very fortunate to be a part of this team and a part of this community†he said.
“Our collective vision is possible… by doing it together. The State of the City of Janesville is strong; I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together,†he said.
