2020 Jackson State of the City: Mayor Dobies Remarks
Thank you Ken for sharing a vision of what an equitable city looks like — one that helps to create opportunity for all. I am so excited to work with you and your team in this space. I look forward to working with you and other nonprofit leaders through the Poverty Council to make good on some of the proposals you have challenged us with here tonight.
Ken, I’m proud to call you a colleague and friend.
And thank you to Steve Tucker and the rest of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Theatre for hosting us here tonight.
This is the third time I’ve been honored to deliver the state of the city address. We chose to do it here not only because of the beautiful facility that Steve and his team work so tirelessly to restore, but also because of their AV capabilities.
There is literally so much going on in our city that we selected a location that allowed us to share some of the vision of the future of our city — literally.
So thank you Steve for helping to convey that vision tonight.
And, in talking about those projects, I’d be remissed — and likely in trouble — if I didn’t thank the one person who has served as a gut-check to many projects, who is forced to hear about all this work — sometimes against her will — my high school sweetheart, and my wife, Danielle. Can I get a round of applause for the First Lady of Jackson? THANK YOU.
I also want to thank some of the people who are doing the work to make these visions a reality.
Our fearless Vice Mayor, Arlene Robinson, thank you for continuing to do what you do. I’ll remind you that we hosted this event at the MLK Center just last year.
You shared stories of riding your bike through the dirt as the MLK Center was built. Now, this fall, we’ll join you in a ribbon cutting to re-opening the center after a $1.9 million dollar renovation. That stands as a testament to your resolve to deliver for the southside.
Ladies and gentleman: can we have a round of applause for our Vice Mayor, Arlene Robinson? THANK YOU.
Councilmembers Freddie Dancy, Jeromy Alexander, Laura Schlecte, and Kelsey Heck and Will Forgrave. In my tenure I’ve served with fifteen different individuals on this City Council and, in our public discussions just over the few week about water infrastructure, fairness, and equity, I’ll tell you this: I am truly excited for what we can do together.
We’ll work together to accomplish great things that help move our city forward. We will do it albeit through some negativity, doubters and detractors, those who would rather see the city turn its back on the progress we have achieved. To go back to the old status quo.
Come what may, I believe this Council is resolved to push forward. That each and every one of us understand that what’s important is not the quantity of our years served, but the quality of our years served. Those tangible improvements that we can make in the lives of the public we serve.
And I want to pause for a second to put one of you, in particular, on the spot.
Councilmember Heck, thank you for your words tonight. Since your time spent organizing to help pass the Non-Discrimination Ordinance, you’ve been a leader in this city.
You’ve helped lead the reinvigoration of downtown, bring to fruition innovative projects like the needle exchange programs and Cure Violence initiatives, and have reconstituted our work in housing around what is safe, affordable and dignified.
As the city’s first openly LGBTQ Councilmember, you’ve blazed a trail for others to follow. Know that your courage is contagious for others.
To the City Treasurer, Clerk, Assessor and the rest of the team that make nights like tonight possible: thank you. It’s dedicated public servants like you who work to rebuild our city. It ain’t easy. You may, at times, find those who demean and discredit that service. But there’s no other team I’d rather be in the trenches with, and it’s truly an honor to work alongside you. THANK YOU.
A special thanks to the man who led this team through hellfire to bring the various projects, policies and programs to fruition to turn our city around: Pat Burtch, our City Manager Emeritus.
We both got to Jackson a tad under a decade ago now. It is no secret that while we have worked to change this city, it has, in turn, changed us; opening our eyes to some incredible, and uncomfortable challenges: racism, discrimination, abject poverty.
We’ve observed hardship and discrimination that challenged us to re-educate ourselves, to develop a new perspective, understand our privileges, and toil in earnest to put that re-education into action.
Under Pat’s leadership we have endeavored to rebuild our city in a way that is inclusive, cognizant of the institutional hurdles some face in participating in our city’s renaissance. We must recognize the disparities that exist in our city between black and white, between rich and poor, and work to address it.
I know that your decision to leave was a tough one. And there’s not a simple way to thank you for all the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into this city other than this: know that it will continue.
Tonight, we thank you for your service to the City of Jackson. Can I get a round of applause for our City Manager Emeritus, Patrick Burtch?
We’ve made progress together. Look: walk out of the doors here and you can see that progress continued.
Last year we broke ground on The 200, the new market-rate housing development downtown. It’s scheduled to be completed in fall of this year, housing some 150 new residents downtown.
Also scheduled for completion in fall is the $17 million dollar Albert Kahn Apartment complex, including commercial space and 73 low-income apartments with one- and two-bedroom units.
This summer, we will cut the ribbon and open the Francis Senior Lofts — a $9.5 million dollar investment in our community. That’s 45 units open to people 55 and older who make 80 percent of the area median income.
We will continue to support the RAD conversion of Reed Manor into a safe, open and successful housing development working with Laurie Ingram and the Jackson Housing Commission.
The redesign plans for commercial space that will directly integrate healthcare, grocery and other amenities to those who need them most.
And you’ll see the new DeLand Pointe venture under construction. The $2.5 million dollar partnership between Jackson Habitat, Community Action Agency and the City will build 4 houses and 10 town houses for struggling families — the first of which will be built out this year.
And we are going to continue to do things that make downtown a great place to live, work and hang out.
We’ve installed a new outdoor fireplace, renovated Emma P. Nichols Gardens downtown, and by fall should have the kitchen incubator project opened. The Jackson School of the Arts will be remodeling the Masonic Temple and locating even more activity in that facility.
These placemaking initiatives are creating a wealth of private activity downtown. Just in the last year, we’ve witnessed multiple businesses opening or expanding their doors. Think about it: Veritas, Healthies 101, Dunham’s, Axe Play, Qwench, Chem-Dry, Tilted Arcade Bar, Seque, Happy’s Pizza, Jackson Candle Company, The Blessed Nest, Christoff and Sons, Martini Spa and Lounge. Just incredible.
And think of all the new businesses planned to open up this year: Metropolitan Ice Cream, Ogma Brewing, the Pickle Barrel, and yes, Freddie Dancy…Popeyes.
We’ve allowed two provisional licenses for two new multi-million dollar medical marijuana establishments in the city.
We believe this new industry, combined with a well regulated market creates an opportunity for a more stable and sustainable business climate, and allows for the equitable redevelopment of urban cores like Jackson.
That’s exactly the approach we have taken in constructing our regulatory environment in Jackson. We’ve incorporated our rigorous building design standards and other worker oriented policies into scoring criteria that allows us to ensure that the new businesses and developments coming into our community are good for our community.
With our high standards, we’ve ensured these businesses will have clear span buildings with large amounts of fenestration, tree canopy, they will have solar panel carports and other attractive design features.
But they’ve also committed to paying their workers more than double minimum wage, providing them with healthcare with no more than $1,000 out of pocket costs, 6% deferred compensation for retirement, and that those building their buildings will be paid at least 10% over Davis-Bacon wages. Those were conditions of our scoring criteria.
These commitments are a win for cities like Jackson.
Look: Jackson Public Schools in the midst of their $87 million dollar bond proposal and renovating schools all across our city.
The Jackson YMCA is raising millions to build a brand new, state of the art YMCA downtown and just received financial commitments from Consumers Energy and Henry Ford Allegiance Health that are their largest in corporate history.
I think it is safe to say that people, organizations and businesses are betting on Jackson.
The city too: in the last five years, we’ve invested some $15 million dollars in public resources into the downtown, Washington and Louis Glick loop that has attracted more than $100 million dollars to that same area.
Think of that for the city: that’s essentially doubling our investment every year. That private investment reaps the city the long-term benefits of increased property value, a broader tax base for income taxes, and a sense of place that attracts even more residents and businesses.
And with all of this investment, all of these projects, the leadership of City Manager Emeritus Patrick Burtch, the City Council, the business, industry, and community activists — we have created momentum unprecedented in recent history.
Just in the 2019 calendar year, the city issued 627 building permits with an estimated construction value of $54.2 million, 348% above 2018.
And under the leadership of City Manager Jonathan Greene here’s a look at what’s on the horizon:
- Commonwealth’s $10 million, four-story, 53-unit apartment building for low- to moderate-income individuals and families on the 300 block of West Michigan Avenue.
- A 36,000 square foot new administration building so that Jackson District Library can centralize its staff downtown and expand its service to the community.
- A renovated headquarters for Comerica bank in downtown Jackson.
And that’s just the start, we will be working to attract future developments to our downtown — making sure that we are building UP to attract even more residents and activity to our city.
City administration is laying plans for even more housing developments next to the Lofts on Louis in the green patch of grass along Louis Glick. We estimate that this site can host another four buildings with 250 units and some 450 residents on the site.
This is huge, and landing these developments gives us the capacity necessary to attract private capital to secure a new urban grocery store downtown.
And, as we get more businesses and residents living downtown, we will work to secure investment in other amenities, like a downtown gas station.
It’s part of a comprehensive plan to upgrade our infrastructure and improve our transportation systems in the city.
You can see some of that work happening now. We are starting with our main arterial streets. This year Cooper Street and the overpass will be complete and work will begin on our other entryway to the city down Elm Street. It will get the same roundabouts and gateway treatments as Cooper Street.
You will also see plans laid for construction on the interchange at West Ave and I-94. A projected $64 million dollar, new diverging diamond interchange will be constructed to improve traffic flow and modernize and enhance the aesthetics of another entryway to the city. You heard that right: it’s not a roundabout. It’s a diverging diamond.
In spring we will complete the traffic circle around Austin Blair Park, and continue that redevelopment down the main arterial of Greenwood Street towards Ella Sharp Park.
While Lansing has still failed to propose a solution to fixing our roads, we will continue to fix them ourselves.
Last year, $6,445,000 dollars was spent on street reconstruction and engineering projects alone. $1,921,000 was spent on water and sewer projects, totaling an investment of $8,366,000.
Our projected street project expenditures this year is $8,603,000 million, about 133% increase from last year. We project some $3,168,000 will be spent on water and sewer projects. In total, we’ll be doing $11,771,000 in street, water, and sewer work this year. Get ready for the orange barrels on roads across Jackson.
Roads like MLK Drive. Last year we concluded a 50-year struggle in renaming Francis Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. I stood in front of you and said that it wasn’t enough, and that we needed to make that street fit for a king.
This year we will start the process of making good on that promise.
MLK Drive will be redone from Wesley all the way down to Morrell. Decorative street lights will be placed all the way from downtown, down Morrell and down Adrian Street to the MLK Center to better connect the downtown to the southside.
At the interchange of MLK and Morrell we will install a traffic calming roundabout and we’ll charge the Jackson Public Arts Commission with installing a sculpture there that speaks to Dr. King’s legacy.
Dr. King said “all labor has dignity” and was assassinated while joining AFSCME striking sanitation workers. The strike was called following years of poor pay and dangerous working conditions, and provoked by racial discrimination and the crushing to death of two workers in garbage compactors.
Dr. King saw the intersectionality of the civil rights movement with labor rights and organized labor.
With the support and land donation of Seque, Inc. and Consumers Energy we will work with the Southeast Michigan Building Trades Council and the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation to incorporate a new public park at MLK and Biddle extending to Cooper.
Workers Memorial Park, will be a tribute to Dr. King’s legacy, to those who organize for better working conditions, and underscore that the fight for economic justice in the workplace and social justice in our communities are inseparable.
But we won’t stop there.
This year Vice Mayor Robinson and I will put forth a resolution to officially constitute the MLK Corridor Improvement Authority. A legal entity, similar to the Downtown Development Authority, that — with tax increment financing — will work to improve MLK Drive from downtown to South Street.
This authority will plan out the infrastructure investments, development projects, public infrastructure and parks, decorative lighting, street trees and greenspace, public art and amenities that will help this corridor to thrive in perpetuity.
To hasten this progress, city administration has already appropriated funds for a corridor improvement study and we are working to build a team of those from the community willing to lean in and make this vision a reality.
We can and should make sure this corridor to the southside is no longer neglected.
Neither will the city’s east side. I’m talking to those who live east of Cooper Street and have seen the reconstruction downtown and on West Michigan Ave.
Hear this: we are coming your way too.
This year we will partner with the Anchor Initiative on a $130,000 downtown master plan and East Michigan Avenue corridor improvement plan. The DDA boundaries actually extend to Elm, and we intend that our attention and resources reflect that.
You’ll see plans for street scaping, parking, developments and future land use planning. Work on East Michigan Avenue — with the concrete road, decorative polls…all of the treatments you see on West Michigan — that’s slated for spring of 2021. Get ready.
It’s another major corridor into our city, and we will work to connect downtown to Elm Street and the Loomis Park area.
Speaking of parks, we’ll have new lighting and and basketball courts going into Loomis Park and new lighting in Exchange Park.
This year we complete our $1.9 million dollar renovation of the MLK Center and expand its use for folks on the southside.
We will continue to work with Jackson College to bring even more classrooms to the site, and explore opportunities with the Center for Family Health on a new Health Center to expand services in the neighborhood.
Right now, we are working to secure funding to completely renovate Optimist Park and bring new playground equipment to Loomis Park.
We’ll also work with area animal non-profit organizations and the Cascades Humane Society to convert Beech Tree Park into the city’s first dog park — with areas for both small and large dogs.
And to make our parks even more attractive for families and their young ones, I’ll work with the Council to pass a new Smoke-free Parks Ordinance to improve the beauty of the city’s public outdoor spaces, and ensure an even healthier and cleaner experience for our families.
One of the many things our city has going for it is our tremendous parks. When first elected, I signed a pledge to ensure that everyone has access to a high-quality park within a 10-minute walk of home.
Working with the Trust For Public Land, we scored all of our neighborhoods in terms of walkability to parks and determined that 91% of our residents live within a 10 minute walk to a park. I’m committed to seeing our community have 100% of residents within a ten-minute walk to a park, and continue to promote Jackson as a walkable city.
Imagine walking or riding your bike from Ella Sharp Park on the new PAKA trail, up Fourth Street, up Greenwood to Austin Park, through downtown and down East Michigan, past Loomis Park. Imagine the new, wide sidewalk paths on Elm Street, and running north on Elm similar to Cooper.
We now have the ability to connect Ella Sharp to the north east side of the city. An area that according to our walkability map would be well served by park infrastructure.
That’s why I’m proposing that the city double down on its commitment to great parks and supporting our natural environment by constituting a new nature reserve north of Dwight, Bates and Pleasant Streets, expanding across Elm and surrounding Northeast Elementary.
The city already owns some 43 vacant acres in this area. Consumers Energy and Jackson Public Schools own some 26 acres collectively, and there’s another 100 privately own acres that make up this area of wetlands, mixed oak forest and wet prairie that rests within the Grand River watershed.
Imagine walking on winding paths through this area and learning more about our natural environment and the pioneering efforts of the people in Jackson to preserve our natural habitat for wildlife.
That’s what’s possible when we bring the community together to make these projects possible.
Look at our parks and you can already see that service: the Jackson County Daffodil Society planting more than 100,000 daffodil bulbs at Ella Sharp and Cascades, the Kiwanis Club of Jackson rebuilding their playground off Elm, to the Boy Scouts of America whose Eagle Scouts and service projects enhance facilities across our city.
That’s why I’ll be reconstituting the city’s Interservice Council — a conglomerate of our service clubs, agencies, and organizations — aimed at using the collective interest and service work of these individuals to accelerate our progress. And it’s why we’ll partner with the United Way to host this entity and to serve as a vehicle by which we can better utilize those who want to serve their city.
Jackson is filled with citizens and community partners that are ready to jump in and solve problems. Together, we can work side by side to strengthen our neighborhoods, our city, and the region. Through service, all of us can make our neighborhoods safer, healthier, more resilient, and more better connected.
We’ll work directly through the United Way the launch Serve Jackson, an online tool to connect those in search of opportunities with ways to support Jackson. Together we can:
- Build community response and preparedness
- Increase citizen engagement
- Clean and beautify the community
And we have a lot of work to do in the space of cleaning and beautifying the community.
Last year we restored curbside leaf pickup to keep our streets and storm drains clean from debris and reduce the amount of decaying matter entering our waterways.
This spring, with two new vactor trucks, we will continue to clean our streets and parkways with further spring cleaning, and we will work to find ways to compost this organic material to enrich the soil in neighborhoods across our city.
We’ll also work to put forth a solution that modernizes our waste system and builds weekly yard waste collection and recycling into the equation to reduce our impact on the environment — all the while improving services and reducing costs for residents.
Both of these initiatives will make for cleaner streets and neighborhoods.
We’re also pursuing innovative programming to make our neighborhoods safer.
We’ve made good progress in that endeavor with the support of the brave men and women at the Jackson Police Department. Over the past five years the City has seen a 10% decrease in crimes like homicide, rape and assault, robbery, burglary and theft. In fact, over that period the City saw a 12% decrease in overall crime and a 6% decrease just from 2018 to 2019.
Look at this chart.
Hear this: statistically, 2018 and 2019 were the safest years on record in the last thirty years for crime across the board.
That’s not my opinion. It is a fact. Pulled from official compiled of Crime I and II data from JPD over the last 30 years.
But here’s the thing: we can continue to build a safer environment, safer neighborhoods here in the city.
While we have made progress on crime overall in the city, nobody can ignore the gun violence problem that permeates our community.
Just last week, a 14 year old boy, Cameron Kasprzycki, was killed on Orange Street. Last year I spoke about the murder of Ronald Demetrius Owens, the son of a colleague at city hall.
It is important that we continue to recant all of those lost to gun violence — to speak their names — because doing so reminds us that there is still work to be done.
Nobody should ever suffer a child’s death from gun violence. Gun violence is not a fact of life. It is not a fact of life. Gun violence is a public health crisis. Under the worst conditions, it is infectious and contagious.
Thinking of gun violence in that way makes it treatable. It makes it preventable.
While we will continue to rely on our capable officers to bring murderers to justice, we also must take the steps necessary in our community to further support their investigations and treat the conditions that cultivate that violence. We have to focus on treating the people most likely to engage in gun violence.
Last year, we launched and funded Cure Violence, an innovative approach to curbing gun violence. Teams of street level interrupters will work with city staff to identify and isolate the most violent offenders and work to ensure others are not inflicted with violent thoughts and actions. We will rally the community to support them, provide them with the tools and opportunities they need to be successful.
In 2019 we instituted Harm Reduction Programming that led to the creation of the city’s first needle exchange program under the leadership of Laura Stephens. We’ll continue to explore ways to support those efforts to reduce the effects of the opiate crisis and addiction within our city and the spillover effects it has with violence in our neighborhoods.
We will also explore ways to bring more lighting to our neighborhoods and surveillance cameras to those areas hit hardest by gun violence.
And while we can employ cameras on buildings, we also know the best crime prevention and investigation comes from eyes on the ground.
I truly believe that starts with being more engaged neighbors. When we know one another, and can look out for one another, we can share mutual interest in protecting one another’s property and person.
That’s why this year I will introduce the Neighborhood Association Ordinance and work with City Council members in a robust effort to organize our neighborhoods. To empower them. To give them ownership of some of the solutions they can employ to fix the problems particular to their neighborhood. To give them more control and oversight about future developments going on in their area.
That takes a tremendous amount of power and authority out of city hall, and hands it over to citizen leaders of their neighborhoods.
We’ll work with those leaders to ease restrictions and allow for local initiatives like urban apiaries, urban farming and community gardens. Those ordinances are already written.
We’ll give residents the tools to stabilize their neighborhoods, increase homeownership, and improve the quality of housing stock by expanding access to housing rehabilitation loans:
Offering rehabilitation loans, up to a maximum of $75,000 to owner-occupied properties where applicants meet 80% of area median income in order to fix code violations. We’ll also eliminate lead hazards through a forgivable loan with 20% of the cost forgiven each year over a 5-year period.
We’ll use Emergency Hazard Loans to repair emergency hazard systems such as furnaces, electrical or roofs up to $15,000 in owner-occupied properties where applicants are at or below 50% area median income.
We’ll use up to $20,000 in loans for owner-occupied dwellings to correct exterior code violations, as well as interior hazardous conditions.
The 0% interest rates are designed to make repairs more easily affordable while bringing properties up to code.
These are programs that we will employ and tailor, in collaboration with the newly constituted Poverty Council, to keep people in their homes and help low income families build equity in their neighborhoods.
And the Poverty Council highlights the focus of our work going forward.
Look: Jackson is leading the way in reducing poverty through the development of new low-to moderate housing developments, proactive policies that combat the criminalization of poverty, and dedicating resources back to traditionally neglected neighborhoods.
This Poverty Council will accelerate that progress by enlisting the brightest nonprofit leaders and thinkers in crafting solutions that will help reduce poverty in our community.
I’ve already had a number of individuals reach out to me to join the effort.
And I’m glad to celebrate John Willis as the city’s first ever Chief Equity Officer — our CEO. That speaks to the heart of the changes we are planning to make in our community. Together.
Only, together can we continue the renaissance we have started here in Jackson and make sure it touches each and every community across our city. We can make this a city that builds opportunity for all. Each and every one of us.
But we can’t do it alone. We need you.
We see Jackson changing for the better. We’ve spurred development, new businesses are opening up, and the city is becoming a great place to do business.
So do your business here, but make helping Jackson your business too.
Volunteer to pick up trash in your neighborhood. Help mentor a kid who needs it. Reach out to a neighbor in need.
Stop by and give Mama Tutu a hug and some money out of your wallet because God knows that woman will put it to work!
Join Kiwanis, Rotary, Exchange, Lions or some other service club and tackle some big challenges in our community.
Volunteer with the Diane Washington’s YPOP program, Thomas Burke’s Save Our Youth, with Bright Walls or with the countless other nonprofits leaders trying to make positive change in our neighborhoods.
Serve on a city board or commission and help advise the City Council on the future that we can build together.
Building opportunity for all in our city is not something that City Hall can do alone.
We need you. This is your city. Let’s do this.
On behalf of the City Council and the great staff that we have at the City, we look forward to working with you as we transform our community together.
Thank you.
