Cory Bienfang

This two-year proposed budget for the City of Mankato for 2022-2023 outlines financial plans and policies. It aims to maintain a strong financial position through balanced revenues and expenditures, responsible management of property tax levies, optimized resource allocation, and strategic investment in infrastructure and municipal personnel. Key focus areas include ensuring continued high-level services, supporting capital improvements, and fostering stable financial growth.

The City of Mankato's Climate Action Plan is an evidence-based roadmap designed to strengthen the city's resilience to climate change and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. It focuses on key areas including enhancing social infrastructure, managing water resources and ecosystems, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy and waste, and promoting sustainable transportation. The plan outlines strategies for addressing social vulnerability, protecting natural environments, improving energy efficiency, and fostering alternative mobility options.

The Front Street Connectivity Plan aims to enhance the economic viability, market position, and accessibility of Front Street in City Center Mankato. Key strategies include improving pedestrian connectivity, enhancing public spaces, and implementing clean and safe tactics. The plan focuses on revitalizing the area into a pedestrian-friendly corridor with improved aesthetics and functionality, promoting a vibrant urban culture and making the streets more dynamic.

The Arts, Culture, and Community Enhancement Plan focuses on positioning Greater Mankato as a culturally rich arts destination. It emphasizes the importance of arts, culture, and historical sectors in enhancing the quality of life, proposing the development of an Arts and Cultural District in the City Center. The plan aims to foster public-private partnerships to support artistic and cultural organizations, businesses, and creative individuals, creating a vibrant social environment that encourages cooperation, creativity, education, involvement, and innovation throughout the community. The plan also focuses on raising awareness of art and culture, prioritizing arts and cultural education, encouraging multiculturalism, enhancing economic vitality, and building a supportive atmosphere for artists.

The Park and Open Space Plan for Mankato focuses on developing a clear vision for the evolution of parks in the community over the next 10, 20, or 50 years, extending beyond current boundaries to address future park and open space issues. Key areas of focus include ensuring investments in parks are part of a complex, interrelated system connecting wetlands, woodlands, recreation fields, and neighborhoods. The plan emphasizes flexibility, collaboration with agencies, and community involvement to guide sound decisions about parks and trails, while also serving as a supplement to other long-range planning efforts.