‘We’re all people that are trying to make the best place’: Community, city leaders, staff gather for 2nd Bend CityFest

(Update: Adding video, comments by participants, city officials)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler spoke at the second annual CityFest Thursday evening, giving a State of the City address to highlight the successes of the city and what the community can look forward to in the future.

Before the talk, Kebler said, "It's all about getting out in the community and connecting with people, so they connect with our staff and our leaders. We're all people that are trying to make the best place."

Staff from city departments like Street and Operations, Water and Waste Management showed and answered community members' questions about how they keep the city running.

Bend Police and Bend Fire also were in attendance, a favorite for many community members.

Resident Jess Elcan said, "When you even just kind of like meander towards one of the booths, they're like, 'Let me tell you and show you about what we do." They just started telling us about this fire truck and all the different components and the roles, and different people within the team."

City Councilor Anthony Broadman also attended his last CityFest as council member, as he is running for state Senate this fall. He says this year, Bend excelled in the community

"We're in a very strong position. It's an exceptionally safe community. Our calls for service at the Police Department are the lowest they've been in five years," Broadman said. "We have a world-class Fire and Rescue response time. - it takes under six minutes. We built more homes for working families than any other city in the rest of the state per capita."