is more engaging. Smith explains the necessity of this focus: “We continue to receive feedback from our residents that the city needs to offer more entertainment and leisure activities. We need to give them more to do in terms of entertainment venues and things of that nature,” he says. The hope is that this focus will transform the downtown area into a place where residents want to spend their time and support local business. Monroe aims to create a welcoming, lively, and sustainable environment for years to come. PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n McGraw Kokosing www.kokosing.biz Kokosing builds, expands, and maintains facilities and infrastructure. As one of the largest construction companies in the Midwest and MidAtlantic, we serve clients as a design-builder, CM, GC, and self-performing trade contractor. We provide capital and maintenance construction for industrial & power facilities, water / wastewater plants, renewable power solutions. n Deceuninck North America www.deceuninckna.com Headquartered in Monroe, OH, Deceuninck North America is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of energy-efficient residential, multifamily, and commercial window and door systems. The organization serves as a fully integrated design, compounding, tooling, lamination, fiberglass pultrusion, and PVC extrusion company that extrudes materials for customers that produce more than 7 million windows and doors annually. PRIORITIZING LONG-TERM VISION AND COMMUNITY NEEDS As Monroe looks ahead to the next 18 months, the priorities are clear. Mayor Funk emphasizes the importance of sustaining high standards for city services, which are tightly linked to the city’s economic health. Growth must be intelligent and measured, with an eye on expanding housing options to attract new residents while ensuring that current infrastructure can support this growth. The downtown revitalization plan is high on the list, with efforts to turn the area into a nucleus that 142 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 12
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