Thank you Mayor McKinney, and I want to say how much I appreciate this opportunity from the Mayor to make an “officially sanctioned campaign speech” in February. I’ll try to be brief, but, as is commonly attributed to Thomas Jefferson in writing a letter to John Adams: “I apologize to you for the lengthiness of this letter; but I had no time for shortening it.”
But sincerely, it’s good that we take this time mid-term to reflect on where we’ve been, and think about where we’re going as a city. It’s a good chance to talk about some of our accomplishments, our immediate challenges, and our goals and vision for the short and long-term future.
So, briefly, I’d like to touch on the following:
• Where we’ve come since November 2005,
• The City’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program,
• What priorities the City should continue to promote,
• And, lastly, to talk a little about the future of our city.
2006 was the best budget process in my memory. I remember the 2005 elections and how some talked about how bleak the financial future of the City would be. But with the potential The Promise brings, as well as the hiring of Manager Collard who found a better way to do things, and the commission and staff support of that excellent effort, things took a positive turn. Though we will no doubt have financial challenges ahead, indeed, some not foreseen by the Five-Year fiscal plan, I think we will do OK, and continue to keep the city running effectively.
As well, let me just say how privileged I am to work with a great group of commissioners and appointees. We are lucky for the wonderful, dedicated city staff we have, (especially those who make it to our 7:30 Friday morning meetings)
On the topic of Brownfield Redevelopment, I see this activity much as an analogy to our own core-urban city. Using innovation, creativity and incentives, we clean, rebuild and strengthen ourselves – by reclaiming polluted sites, renovating and building anew, and thereby bringing jobs and a strengthened tax base to our city.
As I sat in the new downtown restaurant in the recently renovated United Building Saturday night with out-of-town guests, I talked with them about all of what was around us now compared to just ten years ago – the brownfields with new activity, the places to gather and live, the things to do that once were just ideas. It was amazing for all of us to see the amount of innovation and growth that Kalamazoo has realized.
The most notable recent accomplishments of the program include the 2006 completion of the new Parking Ramp at the corner of Portage and South Streets that can accommodate 220 parking spaces for the downtown area. And we know that this ramp is adjacent to the Rave Downtown Cinema a $30 million brownfield project that opened this fall.
Kalamazoo’s program has caused us to be seen as leaders in this endeavor and we can point to many great successes. We must continue and strengthen our efforts here.
Looking to the future, the City will continue development of the Davis Creek Business Park, clearing and visioning a future for the former Performance Paper site, continuing to push for riverfront mixed-use development along the former KTS site, and plan for the redevelopment of the former District Court/Public Safety site at Lovell and Rose
Our neighborhoods must be strong and healthy, now more than ever because of The Promise. Some of our neighborhoods will continue to need innovative thinking and resources devoted to them. We must strive to uphold a consistent standard of what is acceptable in our community, and we cannot accept as unchangeable that some Kalamazoo neighborhoods will always be challenged.
This very same sentiment applies to our citizens, from our most well off to those who are the most poor and vulnerable. I suggest this is a near-universal sentiment: that which to do to the least of us, we do to ourselves. In a time when compassion spoken does not always translate into action, it often falls to those of us closest to the challenge to do something about it, even though adequate resources may not be provided. We must continue to look for ways to create parity in the quality of life for the entire community. The Promise, as great as it is, will not benefit the child who drops out of school. We must address injustices at their root, not just their symptoms.
Two examples of this came to mind when a friend reminded me the other day that (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) spoke about how the “arc of justice” is long. I take solace in this truth when I recall my opposition to the two “Proposal Twos” – one of 2004 (same sex benefits) and one of 2006 (anti-affirmative action). Both proposals will represent steps backward in our society. But they are injustices and I will continue to spend my life working to overcome them. Someday, people will look back upon these as actions that did not help us move forward towards (as Pastor Felton often says) a Community of One.
I think the most important question to ask ourselves at this juncture in time is - what will our city look like in five to ten years? We’re using a Five-year Fiscal Plan, but I believe we also need a Five-year Future Plan. One that asks: Where can we go in 5 years? What do we want The Promise Community look like by then? Now that we may become a community of choice, what is the next level? What is “a role-model community” in respects besides education?
This visioning may be done with the knowledge and reality that many federal, state and local issues are out of our control. Federal resources continue to be mis-allocated. As well, we are starting to understand that health care costs are at the root of many of our other problems. I am hopeful that our country, state and local communities may undertake a national dialogue about the need for universal health care.
I’ve mentioned looking back and looking forward quite a bit because I’ve been privileged to serve seven-plus years now on the Commission. I like to say to people that because I can now be considered a long-time incumbent that if there are still any problems, then I can be blamed.
But, in all seriousness, I think that we as a community do an excellent job of putting our problems, mistakes and disagreements behind us quickly and move our focus back to where it belongs – moving Kalamazoo forward and working to be a successful, growing, and thriving community, with better quality of life for everyone.
As a personal experience, and from what I know from the many people who I call friends here in our community, we have a great community. And we are poised to go farther. Much farther, particularly with the help of The Kalamazoo Promise. We must continue to support The Promise any way we can.
I hope we’ll continue to engage in bold thinking and action about how we keep our community moving forward - and I’m proud and honored to be a part of it with all of the rest of us who desire the same thing.
Thank you.
