“Probably one of the biggest things was being part of the team that brought Fuyao Glass America to Moraine,” she said. “I was in that from when the site development team from them first came to the city.”
Fuyao filling the space vacated by General Motors meant “the redevelopment of what had turned into something pretty unattractive cosmetically” and healing the wound caused by GM leaving, a blow that hurt not only Moraine, but became a county and statewide pain, Allison said.
“it was very rewarding to be part of bringing something new to revitalize that back to not just Moraine, but to the county as a whole,” she said.
Allison said she also is proud of Moraine being able to bring three new housing developments into the city during her time as mayor — Oak Pointe, Pinnacle Ridge and Wright Landing, all three of them in partnership with Ryan Homes.
She’s also happy to play a part in bringing the city back to financial stability.
“When GM left, that income, or lack of income, put significant pain on city resources,” she said. “All the employees took a 10% pay cut, that was top to bottom, and we cut programs and cut a lot of stuff. Over time, through good work with staff and council not going crazy with spending money, we’ve been able to put the city back on good, firm financial footing and, in the last couple of years, have really been able to do the stuff that we had put off.”
Allison said her 20 years on council were worth it because of “the satisfaction of being able to provide good leadership.”
“Ultimately, we’re there to serve the residents, and the fact that we as a council, and then myself personally, have been able to do that, be a servant leader, has really been rewarding to me,” Allison said.
Her replacement, Teri Murphy, has been on city council since 2014, but has been attending council meetings since the 1990s. She was elected mayor in November in an uncontested race.
Prior to her time on council, Murphy served in various capacities, including the Personnel Appeals Board, Charter Review Committee, Planning Commission, Parks & Recreation Board, Neighborhood Watch and the Comprehensive Plan Commission.
Becoming Moraine’s new mayor, in a way, came naturally.
“Elaine made me deputy mayor (and) I’ve been deputy mayor for all of the eight years I’ve been on council,” Murphy said. “I just love the city of Moraine so much and hoped that I could carry on what she started.
Murphy said Allison always did a great job looking out for Moraine and its residents.
“When you love where you live, you’ll do anything for the city, and she gave 20 years of being on council and doing everything that she could do,” Murphy said.
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