With the new year almost here, the city of St. Cloud appears to be ready for a great start right out of the block.

Under new leadership — Mayor Rebecca Borders — the city will march into January with positive projects that will engage residents and businesses alike.

The St. Cloud Urban Agricultural Program’s Community Garden — or more succinctly, the St. Cloud Garden, at 802 New York Ave. — was the culmination of plenty of hard work in planning, preparation and development.

The garden, now open for the entire community, offers the opportunity for residents to grow a variety of items, such as vegetables, flowers and culinary herbs.

The city provides plenty for the gardeners, including seeds, soil and growing supplies, while the gardener must provide care and maintenance of the plants. Gardeners can get a 25 square-foot plot for $25 a season — not a lot of money for the opportunity to make a whole lot of green.

The City Council heard pleas over impact fees loud and clear and realized that for cities and businesses to work together, there must be compromise.

We are extremely pleased that city leaders have taken steps to discuss lower impact fees on new or expanding businesses. It had previously been viewed as a sore spot with businesses that might otherwise locate in St. Cloud if not for those extremely high fees.

One adjustment recently made was with the impact fee related to water service will now be based on meter size rather a standard fee across the board.

Also, businesses needing to upgrade to larger water  meters would only be responsible for the fee difference between the two sizes, a considerable savings. The same goes for revising the city’s sewer rates.

Another positive coming from St. Cloud is the sidewalk project, which will allow residents to safely walk along city roads and cross from corner to corner with confidence.

The city’s Public Services department is even seeking comment through the city’s website from residents on the project. The project will span 20 years and offer a more environmentally- and economically-friendly way to get around without walking on a neighbor’s yard or in the street. It won’t hurt the waistline, either.

The sidewalk project also allows St. Cloud to go after the Green City designation, awarded by the state to cities that demonstrate outstanding environmental stewardship. Miles of sidewalk is a good start.

Good job, St. Cloud. Keep up the great work.