Mayor: Good planning helps Hayden grow right

HAYDEN — Mayor Steve Griffitts said Thursday the Herculean efforts of city staff to update Hayden’s comprehensive plan has set up the city to succeed in the years to come, regardless of pandemic conditions.

“One of the things you should bring away from this is that the city of Hayden, through Imagine Hayden and through the leadership of our people, was able to do a phenomenal job in putting us in a position where we know where we are going to be or can be over the next 20 years,” Griffitts said early Tuesday morning during his State of the City presentation.

In the Hayden Chamber of Commerce-sponsored speech, Griffitts highlighted the efforts of community and economic development director Melissa Cleveland and her team, whose work in conjunction with Imagine Hayden integrated four plans — the Parks, Sewer, Transportation and Comprehensive plans — into four integrating documents nearly simultaneously.

The City Council spent its first four public meetings of the new year approving the plans that will ultimately shape how the city grows through 2040.

“I hope I’m around to see all the wonderful things that have been planned for the city of Hayden,” Griffitts said.

Griffitts’ speech also reflected on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the city, bringing the community together during a continuing crisis.

“I think the most important aspect looking back was neighbors helping neighbors,” Griffitts said. “Whether it was with berms, whether it was commodities that were necessary at the store — I know at the Griffitts' it’s still tender to me — we were the toilet paper distributors throughout the neighborhood as best as we could. There were paper towels, those types of things that were restricted, we were able to share, instead of hoarding. It was a great blessing, and I hope you all had that same feeling or opportunity to reach out and help, because there were people in far greater need than I.”

The mayor also reflected on the logistical hardships COVID-19 inflicted on the community, causing disruptions in everything from maintaining open hours at City Hall to reversing cherished traditions like the visit from Santa Claus.

“I still get people talking to us about Halloween,” Griffitts recalled. “We had a drive-thru, and the back-up was past Hanley into the city. Dutch Bros. got a lot of business from people just waiting. That was about a mile-and-a-half down the road.”

Griffitts said the pandemic forced Hayden’s government to make changes to its day-to-day operations.

One such change included a much-needed software update that had been in the works for three years. Pulling the trigger on that update, Griffitts said, allowed city staff to work online with builders to provide permits and inspections.

Now, with COVID-19 numbers starting to decline, Griffitts said the city can start looking forward, particularly with infrastructure projects. But looking forward also means taking a hard look at the books: Hayden is eyeing about $55 million in capital improvement needs in the years to come, but the city has only $2 million to play with. It’s a trend Griffitts said he doesn’t see changing anytime soon, as the city has made conservative fiscal responsibility a priority.

“Obviously, we’re going to get farther and farther behind,” he said. “That’s just who we are with respect to our levy rate and general fund, but we’re still fiscally responsible.”

Part of that fiscal responsibility means looking for grant opportunities whenever possible. City staff is hopeful to at least partially finance one of Hayden’s next big projects over the next few years, extending Ramsey Road past the airport.

“We’re now beginning to work with right-of-way acquisition,” Griffitts said. “At some point, Ramsey Road will be able to move north all the way to Lancaster. So much work has been done. We are working with grants to be able to accomplish much of that."

Infrastructure is also one of the key watchwords the federal government is eyeing when handing out new COVID-19 stimulus funds to states and cities. Griffitts said a pair of intersections in need of improvements will hopefully benefit from stimulus packages in the year to come, including a roundabout on the corner of Honeysuckle Avenue and Fourth Street.

Infrastructure projects like road and intersection improvement have been handed the lion’s share of public outcry in recent years because of the perception of out-of-control growth in Hayden. But Griffitts stressed Hayden is actually growing responsibly, and some numbers back that up: In 2018, Hayden grew by 2.35 percent. In 2019, it grew by 2.4 percent. Last year, Hayden's population grew by 2.2 percent, or 348 people.

“Our growth over the last three years has been really consistent and manageable,” he said. “I know sometimes we wonder if you’re sitting on Government Way going south stopped at the Honeysuckle light, you might think it’s a long way. It’s really about 75 seconds. We’re not as bad as we think.”

Griffitts said he was excited for the year ahead, particularly for when the pandemic eventually dies down.

“I look forward to next year, when we can be better, when we can have the opportunity to interact,” Griffitts said to conclude his State of the City speech. “… I miss being with you.”