Watertown reveals new logo that 'ties' community and city together

After several years of Watertown being "South Dakota's Rising Star," the city has officially been rebranded, but this time without a catchy slogan.

"What will the new slogan be? My slogan is Watertown has outgrown the need for a slogan," said City Manager Ried Holien. "We are not some little town trying to run upon one aspect. We are a vibrant community that has a lot going for it."

The new logo was developed by Simpleview, the organization that worked to rebrand the Watertown Development Co., Visit Watertown and the Watertown Chamber of Commerce. The new design highlights the lakes, which have historically been a part of the city's logo. But the new logo is now bordered with a rope to represent the link between the city and its community, all while using a color pallet found in the stage curtains at the Goss Opera House and the red bricks from Mellette House.

"Not only does the rope tie together, but we used colors that were very representative of Watertown's history… Appreciating the past and using that to propel us forward," said City Manager Amanda Mack.

Watertown's accomplishments for 2022

During the State of the City Address, Mayor Holien and City Manager Mack discussed the city's progress and what to look forward to in 2023. Holien emphasized that the community's hard work this year has allowed Watertown to reach many major milestones in growth and progress.

"We are all in this together, and it's not just city government," he said. "It's the private citizens out in the community. It's the businesses and organizations that have all been working together, providing a new framework for teamwork to move the City of Watertown forward."

Streets

The condition of the streets has been a major concern for citizens for the past several years. In 2022, Watertown made several improvements to the conditions of the roads. The pavement condition index is used to determine the overall condition of city streets compared to other cities nationally. Watertown's streets could be scoring better but fair well in the 'average' category.

"We are ranked at 65, which is the highest average… It could be better," said Holien.

Holien explained that this is a national ranking and that many cities do not face the climate challenges that Watertown must combat with snow, freezes and thaws. Watertown also has more miles of roads when compared to similar communities.

More:Watertown council rejects only bid for city hall remodel; project now $2.4M over budget

"That means that our crews are covering more roads than any community in the region," said Holien. "That makes their job much more difficult than in other (surrounding) communities, yet we are still excelling and doing well."

The improvements made this year and that will continue to occur in 2023 were made possible by an increase in the street budget, better investments into staff compensation, and moving large capital projects forward, said Mack.

The City of Watertown also recently won a gold excellence award from the American Concrete Paving Association for the 10th Avenue project.

"It shows real collaboration between the city, the contractor and the engineer," said Mack. "We sometimes hear not great things about how the city works with contractors and developers. This is a testament to the work that we are doing to continue to build those relationships."

Maintaining a positive work environment for city staff

Relationships played a big part in the overall success of the city. An employee survey was conducted to ensure that the city staff across all departments felt valued.

"It was a baseline for knowledge. We have not done that before collectively across the organization," said Mack.

More:There are more than $100 million in projects in the Watertown area. Here's what to know

Considering wages and benefits as well as communication flows between departments and supervisors, the survey shows that the city is average to above average and that the baseline continues to improve.

"Part of what we will be doing with the survey results is tying it into the strategic plan that we've spent the last year building… To hone in on the priorities we need to work on collectively as an organization," said Mack.

The strategic plan will help form a 2024 budget that will be a direct result of resident requests in an attempt to increase the quality of life within the city.

Budget

Watertown's economy is doing well. It has generated over $1 billion for the first time in the city's history.

There have been significant increases in the first and second penny sales tax numbers. The city expects to clear 12% above the 2021 sales tax numbers. The third penny sales tax is expected to be 11% over last year's number. These collected taxes help fund the city's quality of life, including road improvements, the Watertown Area Community Foundation Plaza and the Prairie Lake Ice Arena.

More:Watertown City Council set capital outlay budget priorities for next four years

The city is conservative with budgeting within a 3% growth, despite the healthy revenue gains at 12% that are being generated. This growth is not simply due to inflation.

"We are outstripping the pace of inflation," said Holien. "This is not just an anomaly based on higher costs. This is the economy of Watertown booming."

Other topics mentioned during the State of the City Address included the booming commercial and housing developments currently in the works within Watertown. Many apartment and single-family homes are being built, encouraging new residents to move into the city and help fill job openings.

Quality of life was also a major topic, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a healthy, happy and safe community to attract and retain families to the city.

More:Plan emerges to attract Ukrainians to South Dakota; refugees could help businesses

One of the ways the quality of life has greatly improved is through public safety. Active involvement between the police department and the community through several educational and enrichment programs and the employment of a mental health officer has helped decrease adult arrests by 35%.

"Public safety is the number one quality of life issue in any community. If you don't have safety, it doesn't matter if you have an ice arena or a park if you're not safe going there," said Holien.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown reveals new logo that 'ties' community and city together