Danville’s Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr says he’ll look back on a lot of great memories in 2021; from the honoring of the seven plaintiffs that changed the city’s government, to the work on the new Carle building, to infrastructure improvements and new businesses. But mostly, he’s looking forward to the future.
Mayor Williams says perhaps the greatest thing in Danville in 2021, was teamwork.
AUDIO: Amazing spirit of cooperation amongst the people, the civic organizations, the governments in Danville, Vermilion County, the state. I’m really very proud of the way everyone is working together to make our common lot improved.
For 2022, Mayor Williams says he’d love to see a couple things finally happen, like state approval of a casino, the removal of Bresee Tower, the arrival of more businesses and higher paying jobs. But more than anything, he wants the residents and workers in Danville to move forward, and not allow old memories to hold us back.
AUDIO: And I think the biggest thing that I hope for is that folks will continue to have hope and love Danville, and not get mired in the past; to think about where we are, and how can we make our future as bright as possible.
Mayor Williams also plans for continued serious improvements on the city’s sewer system, along with a new emphasis on the road work that’s needed.
AUDIO: We are not there yet, but we are at the beginning stages of creating a long term capital plan. We do have several years out of planning for our sewer projects, however we still have a lot of work to do with our road projects. We have an assessment underway right now that will help guide how we attack our roads moving forward.
Also planned, with all the great improvements along Vermilion, are some changes along North Street.
AUDIO: In the old Red Door Cakes we actually have a young guy who makes Japanese noodles and sells them around the world. They’re actually remodeling that place for that to be his new headquarters. Just to the west of that we have four small buildings that someone just bought and is renovating. And they have all of those rented out for small businesses that we anticipate will go in the next year.
In addition, Mayor Williams says, Danville is working on writing a Main Street grant application, which would help with infrastructure, road, and sidewalk improvements on North, and other roads as well.
