In a wide-ranging State of the City speech at the Chattanoogan conference center, Mayor Bob Corker Wednesday afternoon announced the formation of a funding trust for the Waterfront Plan, as well as a task force on improving air service.
In addition to outlining "the tremendous progress that has occurred over the past year," the Mayor outlined a vision that will position Chattanooga as "the 21st Century American City."
The Mayor made several key announcements during the course of his speech.
Mayor Corker announced the formation of the 21st Century Waterfront Trust to coordinate the funding of the 21st Century Waterfront Plan. The Mayor said he will immediately work with stakeholders to look at the general concepts presented, shape them into definable projects, and determine which ones we can begin now. When fully funded, the trust will enable Chattanooga to transform its Waterfront, forever changing the face of our city, and do it in 36 months.
Mayor Corker introduced Anita Rowe and Rebecca Malone, the first teachers to be recruited through the Community Education Alliance. He also issued a challenge that the community work together to ensure that within 36 months no school in Hamilton County is on the state’s on-notice list.
He announced the establishment of a customer service call center at City Hall which will give citizens the ability to call one number, talk with one person and get one answer to their inquiry, suggestion or complaint.
He challenged the development community to put in place 750 new housing units in the downtown area over the next 36 months, to create a 24-hour city where people not only work and play, but live as well.
He announced the formation of a task force consisting of community leaders to identify ways the city can attract additional airline service to Chattanooga.
He announced he will ask the City Council to join him in implementing Phase I of the Regional Bike Plan immediately. This will create 31 miles of designated bike routes in the community.
He announced his intention to ensure that every company in Chattanooga understands the great potential of the Renewal Community Zone designation which the city recently received from the Bush Administration.
Mayor Corker issued a challenge to the Chamber of Commerce and the business community to move the city forward by capturing and promoting Chattanooga’s unique economic identity. He also asked Congressman Zach Wamp to assist in this effort by leveraging existing resources like the Tennessee Valley Authority, Advanced Vehicle Systems and UTC in a way that will cause people to focus on assets in Chattanooga as opposed to around Chattanooga.
He challenged citizens to work in closer partnership with the police department to strengthen the neighborhood watch program.
Here is the full text of the speech:
Chattanooga---the 21st Century American City
Thank you very much and thank you all for being here tonight.
To my immediate predecessor, Jon Kinsey, I thank you for that warm introduction. I asked you to introduce me tonight because I appreciate the way our community embraces and builds on each others successes. I applaud you for taking time out of your great business career to serve our community as Mayor; we have benefited from your service.
I’m very proud of these great students from my alma mater, City High School. Thank you very much for sharing your talents with us today.
I’d like to give a special welcome to the greatest and most progressive city council in the State of Tennessee. Working with you has truly been an honor, and I mean that. Chairman Littlefield, thank you for the role you are playing today.
I’d also like to recognize our city department heads and all our city employees—you keep this city running and we appreciate your hard work.
I want to thank the great staff we have in the Mayor’s office for the hard work and the long hours they put in. All of you have been outstanding. To my longtime friend, Mike Compton, thank you for the leadership you have provided.
Claude Ramsey, our County Executive, and partner in so many endeavors is here today. Thank you Claude, for all that you do, and for continuing to work with us to make this community and our region a better place.
I also want to give a special welcome to representatives of our state delegation, representatives of Senator Frist and Thompson and Congressman Wamp and thank them for the work that they do on our behalf.
Finally, I want to recognize former Mayors Robert Kirk Walker, Ralph Kelley, and Gene Roberts.
I’d like to welcome and thank my mother and father, my wife Elizabeth and our daughters, Julia and Emily. Thank you for allowing me to do what I do, the way that I do it.
I thank all of you for allowing me to be your Mayor. I have had more rewarding experiences over this last year, than I have had in my entire life.
I truly believe this is the greatest job in America. Every morning I have the opportunity to wake up and work with people like you, who give selflessly of themselves to make this city a better place. No community has citizens with the heart and soul of the citizens here in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
A little over a year ago I completed a vigorous campaign. We knocked on 9800 doors and gave 171 stump speeches. We told the community exactly what we would do.
We said we would streamline city government. With the help of a task force of business leaders and the cooperation of city employees, we have worked to reduce the number of positions in city government by 200, without diminishing the number of uniformed positions.
We said we would have someone at city hall who woke up every morning focused on putting those things in place to help create great paying jobs. Amy Walker Cherry of our office works tirelessly to create economic development opportunities in our city. She has done an outstanding job.
We said we would ensure that a full time business recruiter of the highest level would work on behalf of our citizens to bring in new business and enhance existing ones to create great jobs in our city. Our new Chief Economic Development Officer, Jay Garner, is going to make that happen.
We said that to stimulate business growth, our citizens needed access to venture capital—to fund those companies who are at a place that banks traditionally do not serve. We recruited Southeast Community Capital and partnered with them to make available a portfolio of $50 million dollars to grow and create businesses here in Chattanooga.
In addition, we set aside a $1.5 million dollar fund called the Chattanooga Opportunity Fund for start up and minority owned businesses—a group traditionally underserved by venture capitalists.
Deals have been made, companies have been capitalized, and jobs have been created as a result.
We said a digital vision was paramount to our future economic growth. We have incredible opportunities in the technology arena thanks to our railroad heritage and fiber optics infrastructure which follow the vast rail lines that come in and out of Chattanooga.
In partnership with the Electric Power Board, Covista Communications, and our technology community, we are creating MetroNet, an entity which provides super-speed broadband service that is six times faster, and costs half as much as anything currently available in this market.
We call it “plug and play” technology. For the first time, it will enable us to compete for technology business with markets like Chicago, Atlanta, and San Francisco. It will allow those in the technology business to do things they have not been able to do before.
We said we would work in partnership with the county to develop the Volunteer Army Ammunition Site. It’s now called Enterprise South.
Work will begin this summer on what we believe will be one of the ten most important urban industrial sites in the country. When completed, it will be a magnet for great paying jobs for Chattanoogans.
We said we would focus on our air service. In partnership with the Airport Authority, we recruited a major market CEO to our airport. Mark Van Loh, is here with us tonight. Mark’s number one job is to focus on what we can do to improve air service; bringing more routes to our city and lower fares.
Long term, our focus regionally is on our transportation needs over the next quarter century.
Over the next 25 years Georgia’s population is expected to grow from 8 to 20 million people. That growth is coming our way. We are at the table to ensure that whatever solutions are appropriate by rail or air, Chattanoogans will benefit.
We said we would do everything possible to assist Dr. Stacy and his great staff and faculty to make UTC the academic jewel of the UT system and the number one importer of talent to our community. UTC has a tremendous economic impact on our community. Early on, we were able to identify a strategic opportunity for the University to partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the largest laboratory of its type east of the Mississippi.
The fiber optics that will connect the University to Oak Ridge and the Research Triangle in North Carolina has the potential to transform the University’s ability to do applied research, and to cause it to be far more relevant to our business community. Dr. Stacy and his staff are on the move, and we continue to work with them at every turn to assist them in meeting their goals.
We said we would create a public private partnership to focus on recruitment and retention of high performing teachers in our nine high priority schools. Fifteen top level CEOs have joined us in an effort called the Community Education Alliance, an innovative incentive plan has been put in place to recruit high performing teachers and retain those great teachers who are already there.
It involves significant bonus pay, significant equity and low interest loans for housing, and let me assure you there is more to come.
This could not have happened without the great philanthropy, initial leadership and continued support of the Benwood foundation led by Corrine Allen.
Nor could it have happened without the generous philanthropy and thought provoking leadership of Jack Murrah and the Lyndhurst foundation.
It could not have happened without the continued hard work of Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise.
Nor could it have happened, without the knowledge and commitment that teaching is the most noble profession and that all children can learn.
We know this plan is controversial; but to be quite honest, if you haven’t noticed, we like a little controversy. We know that no great thing happens without it.
Speaking of great, let me introduce two teachers who have answered the call. They are both high performing teachers who have accepted positions at Clifton Hills Elementary.
Anita Rowe and Rebecca Malone have come from non-urban schools in Hamilton County to this high priority school because they believe they can make a difference and, they see that our community is behind them.
Anita and Rebecca please stand and be recognized. To you and the many other great teachers who will be joining you soon, we are grateful for the commitment you’ve made to teaching our children. Jesse Register and Ray Swafford; thank you so much for the way you’ve worked with us in the endeavor.
We said we would focus on our Neighborhood Services Department. While there are basic services that all of the neighborhoods in our community need, there are some neighborhoods who need far more help to achieve their true potential.
In response to that need, we developed the Strategic Neighborhood Initiative which focuses on 15 key neighborhoods.
Areas of our city where high crime rates, decreasing real estate values, absentee landlords and code violations plague the neighborhoods.
It is not acceptable for residents of neighborhoods who have lived there for fifty years or more in some cases, to see their biggest investment, home equity, disappear.
It is not acceptable for them to have to live in neighborhoods where they are burdened by the fear of crime, decay, and blight that result from the irresponsible acts of those who live outside their neighborhoods.
Through this initiative, in partnership with our police department, public works, and our Neighborhoods Services Department, we will do everything possible to ensure a higher quality of life for all of our citizens.
In addition, we said we would meet formally with the leadership of our newly formed Chattanooga Neighborhood Association Council, CNAC, and address their needs. This is a great way for that organization to help us in understanding those bigger issues that need to be addressed throughout our community.
In our first meeting, the issue of trash and refuse was brought forth. This is a scenic city, but it was not near as clean as it should be.
I am proud to say with the great effort of our Public Works Department in cooperation with our neighborhoods we have already created a new policy, implemented that policy, added inspectors, and through the use of the carrot and the stick, our city is cleaner than it’s ever been.
Neighborhoods are on the rise. They trust that our city is going to partner with them. And we are.
We said we would work with our police department to ensure that our neighborhoods are safer. Early on, we asked for a plan. It was implemented. Over the last four consecutive months our crime rates have declined. We will continue to work with our dedicated police officers to ensure that trend continues.
This has been a tremendous year. We have done what we told the citizens we would do.
But why have we done these things? We’ve done them in order to lay the foundation on which to build the 21st Century American City.
A city on the verge of realizing its true potential. We are going someplace we have never been before. Chattanooga and its citizens will soon claim our unique place in this country.
People will be drawn to our city because of the rare combination of assets we will have here: great jobs, a strong economy, a vibrant and active lifestyle.
Because of the new opportunities this creates, the next generation of talent will be able to stay with us and help make our community even stronger. Here in Chattanooga people will find a sense of community and vision found no where else in our nation.
Our citizens already embrace our environment and take advantage of the unique activities we have. This is a fun place to live. There are not many places where you can find a setting like Coolidge Park.
Go there in the evening, hear the sounds of an orchestra, see kids playing, and people from all walks of life; rich and poor, black and white; enjoying the outdoors, enjoying each other’s company, and enjoying the results of a community that values their ability to do so.
When time allows, there is nothing I like more than getting on my Lite Speed bike, made right here in Chattanooga, and riding through the incredible scenery, getting great exercise, and being able to stop a time or two along the way and see interesting people.
I can tell you there is absolutely no place in the world that I would rather live, work, and play than Chattanooga, Tennessee. Increasingly, when others experience it they say the same.
The State of our City is extraordinary.
Our city is strong.
Our city is about to realize its true potential.
Together we have laid the foundation and all of us will continue to play a role in building Chattanooga; the model of the 21st Century American City.
Back in 1962 President John F. Kennedy made his famous statement about “putting a man on the moon and returning him safely by the end of this decade.” Shortly after that speech he was touring the space center that would eventually bear his name.
Splitting off from the planned tour, the President turned a corner and ran into an older gentleman who was pushing a broom through one of the huge missile hangers.
Kennedy went over to him and making small talk, said, “Well what do you do here at the space center.” The man replied, “I’m putting a man on the moon by the end of this decade, Mr. President.”
I share that story with you, because it shows us that when people feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves, anything is possible. I believe this is exactly where our community is today, pulled together by a strong vision and working together to build a great city.
Chattanooga is about to experience tremendous change. You can feel it.
There is energy, an atmosphere of excitement, and a wave of renewed pride sweeping our city. Citizens from all walks of life are involved like never before.
So what’s next?
In order to realize the vision, we must continue to build layer, on top of layer, of the great foundation that has already been laid.
Our neighborhoods must continue to be strengthened by having full access and response from city hall. We will do this by establishing a customer service call center. Chattanoogans will soon have the ability to call one number, talk with one person and get one answer to their inquiry, suggestion or complaint.
This new level of customer service democratizes local government and gives every citizen no matter what walk of life, an equal voice.
We are focusing on building and strengthening the core of our city. In a region, there is a direct connection between the health of the center and the health of everything around it. For years, all across our country this was overlooked. As the money and the people moved to the areas outside the city, we saw decline in our urban cores and entire regions suffered. Fortunately, years ago, Chattanooga realized the importance of the center, of our downtown area. But we have work to do.
We must create a 24 hour city where people not only work and play, but live as well. Residential growth is beginning. Private developers are making the investment and we’re on the front end of being able to fully realize a 24 hour downtown.
I challenge our development community to put in place 750 new housing units in the downtown area over the next 36 months. In doing so, you will play a big role in building a great city.
We must continue to enhance our ability to create great paying jobs. Again, by adding layer, after layer on what is already taking place.
We will harness the potential of the Renewal Community Zone designation that we have been able to receive from the Bush Administration. This designation has the ability to make companies in certain target areas far more profitable, allowing them to hire even more Chattanoogans.
We will ensure that every company in Chattanooga, soon knows the potential of this designation, and where possible, takes advantage of it.
In addition, our business community must rise to the occasion like never before. Our community has unique resources, assets, and abilities.
For the last several years, we have inventoried those assets through the Michael Porter Study, which caused businesses to talk with each other in ways that haven’t occurred in recent history. We have identified our strength of location through the Flour Study, to understand the inherent benefit of where Enterprise South sits in relation to industries it could support.
My challenge today is to the Chamber of Commerce, to the business community, and to all those who have a role in the economic future of our city. It is a challenge to take all of the information that we have available, combine it with the assets at hand, and move our city forward by capturing that unique economic identity that we can present to the world.
In the process, we’ll get the right leaders in business and industry across this country to be a part of our dynamic community…a community they will not find anywhere else.
Our Congressman, Zach Wamp is our solid partner in this endeavor. Our community has talked at length, about the partnerships that should exist between us and Oak Ridge; between us and NASA.
Congressman Wamp sits in a position of great influence.
I wish like heck he had not made that 12 year pledge!
We have talked about the uniqueness Chattanooga has in the powerful presence of TVA, the entrepreneurial thinking of a company like AVS who is using different power sources to help our environment, and the combination of UTC’s continued emergence as a force in our community.
He agrees that there ought to be some way to capitalize on that at the federal level so that our community is depended upon like never before to move our nation forward.
I think it’s time for us to figure out a way to stop talking about all of those great regional assets around Chattanooga; and for us to start talking about those assets in Chattanooga.
I know that with his energy, enthusiasm and his commitment to our community he will do all he can to ensure that this occurs.
It is my goal that in the future, people will say what an asset it is to Oak Ridge and Huntsville, to be near Chattanooga. I ask all of you to join us in making this happen.
Speaking of Congressman Wamp, we stand joined with him in his efforts, to work appropriately to ensure the National Park designation at Moccasin Bend. We stand ready to work at the state and federal level to accomplish that goal.
We must continue to seek new and innovative ways of attracting better quality air service. We will do that, by engaging our community leaders and pursuing unique partnerships and relationships.
I am announcing that we are putting together a task force of community and business leaders to look at how we can attract additional airline service to our city. The members of this task force are everyday citizens who regularly use the airport and who have a vested interest in seeing in our service improve.
They understand the impact of quality air service on our community.
Other cities across the nation who face similar issues have put together innovative packages to attract airlines and they have seen results. We need to do the same.
We will continue the efforts of the Community Education Alliance and building on the work of the Benwood initiative.
I am asking today, that all of us work together to ensure that within 36 months, no school in our community is a part of the state’s on-notice list. And I predict that in that same time frame, those nine high priority schools can become the most prestigious place for teachers and principals to do their work.
We will add another layer to our progress by continuing to establish our community as a place where healthy, intelligent people want to live by completing Phase I of the Bike Plan immediately.
Next week I will ask our City Council to be our partner in implementing this plan immediately. This will create 31 miles of designated bike routes in our community at a minimal cost, and be a great addition to the Chattanooga Experience.
Another layer will be added by ensuring that our Hope VI Development in Alton Park is one of the most successful Hope VI projects in America--that’s it’s not just a physical development, but an effort to reposition Alton Park, and its citizens so that businesses and people will invest their time and money to cause it to be a thriving part of our community for the next fifty years and beyond.
We will continue our focus on neighborhoods. Neighborhoods have arrived at their true place in our community.
From Hamilton Place to MLK, the voice of neighborhoods is being heard like never before. At neighborhood meetings, attendance and enthusiasm is high, because they trust that city government will respond to their needs.
That was particularly evident last week with the City Council’s unanimous vote to change MLK and McCallie into two way streets. Their actions proved that the needs of a neighborhood outweigh the needs of those who want to speed through it. And I support their decision.
We will make every effort to ensure that the MLK and McCallie two-way transformation occurs as soon as possible and with the least disruption to our citizens.
I am so proud of our City Council.
No matter how you may feel about the decision itself, everyone should celebrate a City Council who listens, values, and takes action on behalf of a community that has been overlooked for so long.
We will continue steadfastly to do those things that ensure our community is safe.
I want to challenge our citizens to work in closer partnership with our police officers to make this a safer community.
Neighborhood Watch is a great example of something we can continue to build upon which brings our citizens and our officers together; working toward a common goal.
Speaking of safety, we have 375 fire fighters who do not think twice about rushing into burning buildings to save our loved ones. We all know, in ways we never knew before, the role they play in making sure that we are secure. Would all of our fire fighters here tonight please stand? And would everyone else please join me in thanking them for what they do for us.
We have 450 police officers, who would not think twice about standing between you and harms way; who dedicate themselves to protecting and serving our citizens.
On May 6th, the risks they face became all too real with the tragic death of one of our best and brightest, Officer Julie Jacks.
Would all of our police officers here please stand. In honor of Julie’s memory, and of the service these men and women provide everyday, please join me in showing our deep appreciation.
Defining moments.
Every person, every organization, and every community at some point reaches a defining moment. I believe that we have reached one of ours.
For years we have talked about our connection to the river, but we’ve not really been able to connect.
In the last year, several important things have happened.
The state has given our city the freedom to determine its own destiny as it relates to the Riverfront Parkway. This lack of freedom had been an obstacle which kept us from fully realizing the potential of our river. We now control our own destiny.
In addition, our legislators and the general assembly have given us the freedom to work with the hotel/motel industry, the industry that benefits most from our tourism, to play a role in contributing to a public finance mechanism that can help us fund the enhancement of what we now call the Chattanooga Experience; that wonderful combination of our beauty, our attractions and the Chattanooga way of life.
The Chattanooga Experience brings people from all over the world to spend money in our city, adding to our economic base, and allowing experiences that enhance the daily lives of Chattanoogans which otherwise would not be here.
Over the last several months, hundreds and hundreds of our citizens have been involved in envisioning how our city can fully capitalize on our greatest natural resource, the Tennessee River. I have never seen such great involvement by so many, who come from such different walks of life.
On May 13th, the result of this public process was unveiled. It’s called the 21st Century Waterfront Plan and it’s incredible. If implemented, it will totally change the face of our city.
We asked the professionals involved to identify the most important steps, those things that we needed to do right now, to have the greatest overall impact.
They identified several key areas.
First, on the north shore, they recommended the expansion of Coolidge Park and the development of a natural wetlands park.
At this moment, the availability of the property for the expansion of Coolidge Park is unknown. However, we will continue to work with the owners to cause these properties to become a part of expanding the Chattanooga Experience.
We know that this development would have a tremendous impact on the North Shore, and our city.
On the South Side of the river, three general areas were identified.
The connection of the Bluff View Art District and the Hunter Museum to the aquarium; the completion of Ross’s Landing and the changes needed on Riverfront Parkway, allowing us to fully embrace the Tennessee River; and a major expansion of the Tennessee Aquarium.
Built and funded separately, these components done over time would have an impact on our city, no doubt.
Built and funded together, these elements would create a tidal wave of transformation and would change forever the face of Chattanooga, allowing us to finally claim our heritage as a river city.
To do all of this would be a huge undertaking. An undertaking that would only be appropriate if it in no way compromised those core values of our community, nor in any way diminished those precious financial resources that fund our everyday governmental operations.
Therefore, today I am announcing the formation of the 21st Century Waterfront Trust.
We will immediately work with stakeholders, to look at the general concepts presented, shape them into definable projects, and determine which ones we can begin now.
Then, the 21st Century Waterfront Trust will be responsible for coordinating our private resources and newly created public resources, to fund the identified priorities; so that we work together to transform our waterfront, forever change our city, and do it in 36 months.
This will be a tremendous undertaking. It will require partnerships between our City Council, our business community, and our foundation community; but I believe it will be the catalyst that will allow our community to truly become the model of the 21st Century American City.
Chattanooga has great citizens.
People here are special. They take pride in what makes us unique. It’s their energy and that pride that we need to continue to tap into as we move forward with our vision.
The past year has been enlightening, engaging, sometimes challenging; but most of all, it’s been an honor.
I have been inspired, by the incredible people from neighborhoods, government, business and the non-profit sectors. Their ability to come to the table and make things work is rare and sets us apart.
The vision for our city comes from the hearts and minds of the people here in Chattanooga.
It belongs to the people of this community who find time to be active in neighborhood groups, serve on boards and participate in directing our future.
It belongs to our children who will inherit it one day and hopefully, as a result of our hard work, they will be able to raise their families here with opportunities that we cannot even imagine today.
This vision for Chattanooga belongs to all of us. In the end, that’s what makes it possible. It is a uniting goal that we all share.
No matter what role you play in the community, no matter what you do for a living; like the man in the hangar who was helping to put a man on the moon, each of us when asked, can proudly say, “I am building a city”. A city that reflects the values and dreams of all our citizens.
Thank you.