Politics & Government

Population Growth in Marion Shapes Plans for Present and Future

Mayor Allen "Snooks" Bouska looked at the past year and the upcoming one in his State of the City address on Tuesday at the Longbranch Hotel.

The slate of projects on deck in the city of Marion seem to mirror the community's fast growing population.

It's not flashy, at least not most of it, but it's the sorts of things you might expect of a city that saw its population grow 32 percent in the last census.

Building and upgrading roads. Replacing water meters. Extending water and sewer lines. Dealing with stormwater runoff. Expanding recycling and mulching operations. Hiring on a staffer to help with communications. The list goes on.

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"It is really something we have to keep up with," Marion Mayor Allen "Snooks" Bouska said during Tuesday's State of the City address. He quickly added, "We have to spend quite a bit of money through bonding" to do so.

Bouska said his focus is on leveraging the city's Double A1 bond rating from Moody’s Investors Service and vowed using common sense and being fiscally responsible to tackle the needs of the city as it grows.

Find out what's happening in Marionwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We must never forget that the capital funds that have been entrusted to us by our citizens are not just an entry in a money ledger to be spent," Bouska said.

Nathan Caraway, of The Nathan Caraway Co. of Marion, was among those in attendance. Caraway has been busy with commercial and residential construction needs of the Marion.

"Times have been good," he said.

Caraway said he was pleased to hear Bouska paint a picture of fiscal responsibility as well as a positive outlook for the community.

His line of work will need the city to keep investing in the infrastructure demands of the growing community. Only time will tell if Marion can do so.

Some may be surprised by just how much Marion has grown.

Bouska presented some details to the more than 250 people who attended the State of the City Luncheon on Tuesday at the Longbranch Hotel at the edge of Marion.

  • Marion is Iowa’s 14th largest city.
  • In the last census, Marion experienced 32.2 percent population growth, sixth highest of all of the communities in Iowa.
  • If Marion continues to experience this rapid growth, the population in the year 2020 will be over 43,000.

There's also growing pains that come with it.

To roundabout or to not roundabout seems to be one point of consternation between residents and city leaders. Fire calls are up 12 percent, and the police department wants to purchase .

But, Marion maintains one of the lowest crime rates per capita around, Bouska said, and firefighters handled the increases without any disruption of services or significant increases in operational cost.

To be sure, growth is not just about the nitty-gritty.

Marion has several signature projects that have been recently completed or are in process. There's the Thomas Park Splash Pad, improved recreational trails, and the upcoming Lowe Park Amphitheater and Sculpture Trail.

The community can also double down on the uptown area with its new Main Street Iowa designation, and the resources that come with it, and the community will soon learn if it's earned the Blue Zone title, which supports healthy living.


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