2024 State of the City Address
State of the City Address | Mayor Jerry Merrill
January, 2024
We here in “Idaho“ are often confused with “Iowa“ or “Ohio“. Many of us would like to keep Idaho a secret, but I‘m afraid we‘ve been discovered.
City In Motion
Rexburg is responsible for:
85 miles of public streets
2 billion gallons of annual water usage
1.25 billion gallons of sewage treated annually
135 acres of parks
1,200 children served in recreation programs
20,000 patrons served at Rexburg Rapids
Population Growth Rate
The city’s population has grown by 2.7% from 2020 to 2022 (See graph image below)
Major Grants Secured
$6.5 million from EDA for a new entrepreneurial center in coordination with Altura
$2 million for road maintenance from the State
$1 million for Hawk Signal at 7th S & Center
$4 million for Airport relocation from the State
$1 million for improving green space from the Forest Service
$375,000 for hiring new police officers - Dept. of Justice
$135,000 for Wastewater Plant upgrade
Many other smaller grants awarded
Our City Team has worked hard to fight for our share of federal and state tax dollars that we all pay. We applied for and received over $15 million of grant awards!
Donjo Sports Complex Ribbon Cutting
In 2023, we officially opened our new sports complex at 425 E. 2nd N. It was named in honor of Don & Joan Cichos "for our kids". Thank you, Cichos family, for your generous donation!
FAA Approval To Proceed With Airport Relocation Process
The current runway is too short for business-class jets.
The approved new site is on BLM land west of Henry's Fork of Snake River. This project is still several years away.
Upcoming Or Ongoing Projects
Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements
New Bridge Over 7th North / Teton River
Improved Highway Interchanges & Over/Underpasses....summer from "you know where!"
Profitably Operating Golf Courses
New Parks in Design/Construction
New Website and City App for mobile devices
Broadband Project continuation
Downtown Redevelopment
Tabernacle Civic Center Capital Campaign
Housing Study... "attainable housing"
Familiarization Tours
New Entrepreneurial Center
New City Brand Implementation
New Park / Teton River Park Phase I
We are starting the development of a large park off Barney Dairy Road. Very exciting! (See image of phase 1 below)
To learn more about this project, visit our plans on Engage Rexburg!
New Park / Teton River Park Phase II & III
This will take a few years but will be a great addition to our city parks system. (See image of phases 2 & 3 below)
Downtown Redevelopment
The project includes three key areas. Request for Proposals are out now, more news to come soon! This will be transformational for Rexburg! (See image below)
Broadband
After 10 years of work, the first homes will be connected soon!! Contact Lightbridge Fiber Network for more information!
Tabernacle Restoration
"Save the Tabernacle" campaign seeks to restore our historic Civic Center. | "Our Forefathers sacrificed to build it, our Fathers worked to save it from the flood, now it is our turn to preserve it for future generations." -- Jed Platt, Cultural Arts Director (See images below)
Infrastructure Examples
Improved wastewater treatment system
New bridge over Teton River
$4 Million of Road Improvement Construction for 2024 in addition to State Highway Interchange Improvements
Ongoing additions to parks and trails system
Please ready yourselves for traffic inconveniences this summer.....with both interchanges being remodeled, there will be a lot of them! (See image of the project below) To learn more about the Diverging Diamond Interchanges coming to Rexburg's Highway 20 exits, visit our upcoming construction pages for more info.
Yes, Rexburg has been discovered. We truly are "America's Family Community". We can keep our town the great place it is if we follow Willy Wonka's Mother's sage wisdom... "The secret is, it's not the chocolate that matters, it's who you share it with."
I say, "The chocolate does matter a bit and we work on that recipe every day, but in the end, I'm very happy to get to share it with all of you."
Sincerely,
Mayor Jerry Merrill
