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Name:
David Boelk
What office are you seeking?
Mayor - Mendota
What is your political party?
Independent
What is your current age?
59
Occupation and employer:
President R.H. Boelk Truck Lines, Inc.
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
Mayor for the City of Mendota for 24 years
City:
Mendota
Campaign Website:
No
Education:
High School and 2 years of college
Community Involvement:
The Elk and MGC
Marital status/Immediate family:
Married with 4 wonderful daughters, a grand-dog and soon to be grandson
Questions:
What are your plans to make sure residents have satisfactory and economical places to live?
Since I’ve been mayor, we have had a balanced budget to cover essential services. We have a strong school system, nice parks, good roads and safe, clean drinking water. With the fires in 2022 and the closures of big businesses like Del Monte, we have faced some challenges as well. However we are resilient and have some big projects coming up that will help revitalize the downtown grow businesses, and enhance our parks even better. We have a lot of good things to offer families and businesses, making our community a great place to work and live.
What are your plans to drive more businesses to town?
Despite the challenges we’ve faced, Mendota is open for businesses. We have available land, buildings, and open lots that are ready for development. Recognizing the need to attract new businesses, we’re actively working in several areas to make our city an appealing place for entrepreneurs and investors.
We are improving our downtown and enhancing our parks to have a nice place for employees to want to live. We are investing in services that will support business success. We will also start marketing more to get our name out there for Mendota to be a consideration for business and tourism. We want businesses here and will work with owners to make bringing their business here as easy as possible.
What are your plans to fix the aesthetic and functionality of the downtown?
This last year we brought in two grant writers and have been successful with many of the grants to help revitalize the town. One grant will help with the clean-up of one of the properties, which will then be a space for a pavilion. We received an art grant and started an Arts Commission to bring murals and color to the downtown. I’m excited to announce the development of the Arts Commission, along with dedicated funding to bring more art to our downtown. There are some other grants that, if received, could help with some other pieces downtown. We will be painting the Chamber building and working with building owners to fix up their space utilizing the facade grants. It may take a few years to get it where we want, but we should start to see some changes this year.
What are your plans to combat brain drain and encourage high school graduates to stay in the area?
We have a great school system. Residents consistently talk about the quality of education and wonderful activities offered here in Mendota. We are lucky to have exceptional school systems and dedicated teachers. Our public library is outstanding providing all types of activities for our youth. Our YMCA and other non-profit organizations also provide activities for youth engagement. For a small tow we are fortunate to have a variety of opportunities for youth to get involved.
In 2023 Mendota was awarded a Partnership for Success grant focused on substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion for youth. As a result, the Live Well Mendota group was formed. This past summer, the group offered sessions designed to help students discover their interest though various workshops. Just recently the group started a youth leadership group for those students to help with more activities for youth and opportunities to be leaders at school and the community. Additionally, a new city initiative offers scholarships for young adults and adults to earn Google Certificates in coding and design, further broadening their career prospects. The more we can make this a great place to live and connect with the jobs here the graduates may stay or come back at some point to work and live.
What are your ideas on how to bring more supermarket choices to town?
For a rural town, we are fortunate and grateful to have Sullivan’s as a local grocery store. It’s nice to have basic items available right in our backyard. Additionally, we have three smaller markets that, while target our Hispanic population, they give us more options to shop at within our community. Beyond these, grocery items can also be found at our Dollar Generals, Family Dollar, gas stations and CVS. We are aware that many residents have requested the presence of larger chains like Aldi’s or other supermarket options. Recently, we reached out to Aldi’s Corporation, but unfortunately, they declined to open a store here, citing our town’s population size as a reason and the one in Peru so close. Nevertheless, we welcome any grocery retailer that sees the potential in establishing a presence in Mendota, along with any other type of business interested in joining our community. We believe Mendota is a wonderful place with a supportive population, and I am confident this community would embrace the arrival of a new store. In the meantime, we remain grateful for the stores we do have and encourage all residents to continue supporting these local establishments. They play an important role, and our town would certainly miss them if they were no longer here.
Following the closure of IVCH and St. Margaret’s, what are your plans to make sure that doesn’t happen in Mendota?
For a small rural town, we’re fortunate to have OSF Healthcare in our community, along with the Community Health Partnership (CHP), a federally-funded healthcare system that provides services to our underinsured population. One of the ongoing challenges for rural healthcare systems is recruiting and retaining staff. I believe the city’s role in addressing this issue is to create a vibrant community that professionals would want to move to and call home. By improving our local amenities and quality of life, we can make Mendota an attractive destination for healthcare providers. Additionally, we can work to expand temporary housing opportunities for healthcare professionals, which will help attract more internship and residency programs. These programs can offer students hands-on experience here, while also encouraging them to consider long-term employment in our community. We appreciate the healthcare services provided in Mendota to support our residents.
Regionalization is important--how do you plan to work with regional agencies and government agencies that are outside of Mendota ?
Working collaboratively with our neighboring communities and regional agencies is important to our shared success. I believe it is important to recognize and promote each community’s unique strengths while leveraging all that we have in our region. Although my role as a part-time Mayor has previously limited my attendance at regional planning meetings, the addition of dedicated staff will allow the City of Mendota to have a stronger presence at regional discussions.
Our local Chamber of Commerce has been actively engaged in regional efforts. Additionally, we are developing initiatives that will be offered in Mendota but can attract more people to our community and region.
What are your plans to create more unity between residents within Mendota?
Building unity often starts with what we have in common. Through the Community Heart and Soul grant hosted by Reimagine Mendota, we discovered that our residents share a deep love for our city. This inspired the “Why I Love Mendota” campaign, which highlights our people all that is good in the community.
Having people know each other helps too and there are lots of events in our town to bring people together so we can get to know one another and support each other.
I also welcome residents to attend city council meetings or to call me to share their concerns and ideas. Unity is something we all have to work at to make work.
How do you plan to improve the quality of life for Mendota residents?
Mendota has faced significant challenges over the years, including the closure of Del Monte, downtown fires, and other business losses. Yet we still have a lot of established businesses and new ones starting.
We are proud of our high-quality school system, safe streets, and clean water. Our community offers a variety of businesses that meet basic, daily needs, as well as parks and two lakes for recreational enjoyment. Numerous non-profits and service clubs also provide events and activities that unite residents. Recently we have added grant writers to our team, helping secure additional funding for the city that has landed us with opportunities to enhance our parks and downtown. Focused on economic growth, we are dedicated to recruiting new businesses that will create jobs and bring fresh amenities to Mendota. I believe we have a lot to offer, and we just keep getting better.
Should local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to identify and deport immigrants who do not have legal status to be in the United States?
Our community has a rich culture of immigrants, and those residents were critical to the growth of our community. Of course, it is our job to follow federal, state, and county laws and we will continue to do so. However we have worked hard to create a safe and welcoming space for our immigrants. With a high Hispanic population, I hope we have done this and done it well. I will continue to ensure that we are a community that is safe for all, as well as a place that respects and welcomes diverse populations for one common purpose, to achieve the World’s Greatest Little City.
How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community?
Economic development is a priority for Mendota. Our city is well-positioned for growth, with easy access to various transportation means, great infrastructure of water and fiber, plus we have land and buildings for development. A growing number of our residents and businesses are turning to solar energy. We support these efforts and are open to increasing these efforts.
What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city?
We truly appreciate and support Mendota Area Senior Services (MASS) as they are critical for the transportation needs of our senior population. We recognize the importance of NCAT as well and will be having meetings in the future to further discuss promotion and support of NCAT in Mendota. The City of Mendota has also received some grants to help us improve our sidewalks. WE are waiting to hear about a grant establishing a bike path from downtown to the north side that would be a great addition to the city and provide another safe path for travel through the city.
What are your top public safety concerns for our community and how would you propose addressing them?
After the fires, building code enforcement has been one priority. Over the last year we have updated our codes and enhanced our programming. Recently we have hired a full-time building and property safety director.
We have developed a more comprehensive sidewalk and street program. We are fixing streets but also sealing cracks of streets to prevent complete rework of those streets to save on costs in the future.
Mendota has more bridges to maintain than any other community in our county. We have started to work with our state legislature and seek grants to assist with those costs.
We are also working with federal, state and county to keep up with lead service and water purification requirements so that the water and sewer remain safe.
How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents?
With a desire for everyone to feel welcome and included, our city council meetings are always open to the public for input. I can be reached by phone or email. As we adopt or update new ordinances, we are also open to suggestions. For example, when updating our building code ordinances and creating a new Landlord Registration Ordinance, city staff hosted listening sessions to gather feedback from residents before adopting. This helped us know if what we were putting in place was reasonable.
Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?
This is currently is place. We are a small community, and so there will inevitably be a conflict of interest. When this occurs, we just ask members to be upfront, and often, you will hear council members sustain from a vote for this reason.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I am always available by phone or email, and I make time for in-person appointments when scheduled. Unless I am in a hurry or need to be somewhere, people often stop me to discuss some item and I try to be attentive to that conversation. It is amazing what I can learn while standing in line at the grocery store or eating at one our wonderful restaurants in town. I value the opportunity to hear from residents and learn from their feedback.