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Mayor Rod Robertson Highlights Growth, Housing and Public Safety in Elkhart Address
Summary
Mayor Rod Robertson outlined Elkhart City’s recent accomplishments and priorities — citing $15 million in in-house street savings, new and planned housing units, a downtown redevelopment milestone, a new public safety center acquisition, and fire department staffing and equipment gains.
Mayor Rod Robertson used an address to outline what he called Elkhart’s most ambitious period of growth and investment, citing specific accomplishments in housing, downtown redevelopment, public safety and infrastructure. Robertson emphasized tools for resident engagement, in-house cost savings for city projects and steps to consolidate emergency services.
Robertson said the city’s strategy rests on four pillars and reported two major downtown master-plan milestones reached in 2025. He promoted the city’s resident service app, myLCart 311, saying it is “a free app where residents can submit non emergency issues,” and that more than 5,000 tickets were created and resolved through the platform last year.
On infrastructure, Robertson said the street department saved the city millions by completing work in-house rather than contracting it out. He cited Johnson Street resurfacing as an example, saying the project saved the city close to $15,000,000 and was completed in days instead of months. He also announced the street department will mill and repave roads five days a week through October to pursue an “aggressive schedule.”
On housing and economic development, Robertson said the city will have added an additional 450 multifamily housing units by 2025, with several hundred more expected in 2026. He said the former Concord Mall has been repurposed as the Concord Business Park and that almost all previously empty space has been leased.
Robertson highlighted public safety investments: the 9-1-1 telecommunications department handled over 24,000 emergency calls last year and is fully staffed for the first time in more than a decade. He said his administration had met its 2024 fire department goals by adding nine new firefighters, signing a new four-year contract with the fire union, and securing funding for three new fire engines, two of which are ready for service now. Robertson announced construction of a new Fire Station 6 will begin this summer.
The mayor said the city purchased a downtown building with the intent to create a consolidated public safety center to house police, 9-1-1 telecommunications and fire administration so the three emergency services can “work together more cohesively.” He also publicly thanked Corporal Paul Vandenberg and Patrolman Ethan Pasternak, saying their “swift actions saved lives” and noting both officers were wounded in the line of duty and are recovering and present at the event.
Robertson closed by stressing intergovernmental coordination, saying federal and state decisions affect local projects and that the city will continue to work with legislators to advance residents’ interests. He reiterated the evening’s theme: “From plans to progress, tomorrow’s Elkhart is gaining ground.”
No formal motions or votes were recorded during the address; Robertson’s remarks were a policy and progress update rather than a meeting of a legislative body.
