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State of the City Address
February 19, 2015
As Prepared for Delivery
INTRODUCTION:
Once again, I would like to thank the Lorain County
Chamber of Commerce and President Tony Gallo for
hosting the State of the City Address and CenturyLink for
sponsoring the Mayors Table. Also, thank you to the
employees and department heads in attendance. Its a
pleasure to be here with you today delivering my 4th State
of the City Address.
BUDGET/FINANCE
To begin, I would like to once again thank Lorains
voters for renewing the of 1% temporary income tax in
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May. As discussed at last years State of the City,
renewal of the temporary tax was critical in continuing to
fund vital city services and helped assure that the City of
Lorain remains out of Fiscal Watch. Yet, the city must
tread carefully as it is seeing some serious challenges
early in the year. Continued downward pressure from the
State of Ohios biennial budget proposal could mean less
revenue to Lorain as a result of formulary changes to local
government funding. Additionally, the reduction in the
price of crude oilsomething that makes consumers
happymeans one of the citys largest employersU.S.
Steel is idling its operations for the next several
months. Weathering this budget storm will not be easy
and will mean a very tight city budget for 2015. We are
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going to keep fighting for vital revenues, though.
Through my membership in the Northeast Ohio Mayors
and Managers Association, along with our group in
Lorain County led by Mayor Hunter, I made clear my
intent to lobby hard this state budget cycle to see
restoration of some of the cuts made to local government
funding. Lorain, like so many other communities, has lost
millions and has had to make unpopular choices to
balance its budget all while the State of Ohio sits on what
could be close a billion dollars in surplus. Those dollars
once paid for police officers, fixed roads and took care of
parks. Our money needs to come back home where it
belongs. Our State Representative Dan Ramos knows
that, and it seems that some in the majority party
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delegation are beginning to call for reinstatement as many
communitiesno matter Democrat or Republican or
liberal or conservativeare hurting. I will work with
anyone no matter party or ideology to bring these dollars
back to the local level where they are most desperately
needed to provide vital services that our residents must
have on a daily basis.
On a positive note, though, the city saw increased
income tax collections last year and also let management
of the RTI siteformer U.S. Steel property and a
significant generator of revenue for the cityout for
proposal. By opening this project to multiple proposals,
the city will now realize significantly more revenue from
the terms of the new contract. We will need these
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revenues in conjunction with controlled and limited
expenditures for this years budget.
I cannot talk about budgets, budget implications and
economics without discussing something that has made
the news recently and that is Responsible Ohios effort to
legalize both medicinal and recreational marijuana in the
State of Ohio. In just the last few days, this group has
made changes to the proposal and further changes very
well could come. Regardless of whether one supports or
opposes Responsible Ohio, if legalization occurs and
becomes the law of Ohio, Lorain needs to see an
economic benefit. Some thirty years ago or so casino
gambling failed statewide. In 2009, an amendment
passed making gambling legal in specific areas of the
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state. The City of Lorain, at the forefront thirty years ago,
has not seen a nickel of tax revenue as the result of
passage of the amendment in 2009. Lorain neednt be in
that position in the event marijuana is legalized; if Ohios
voters choose to do so, Lorain needs to be an economic
beneficiary. I have heard from some residentssome
supportive and some opposedon the issue. Ultimately,
even if personally opposed, should legalization occur,
Lorain needs to be anticipatory on the issue and ought to
have a slice of the economic benefit.
SCHOOLS
I want to talk a little about the Lorain City Schools.
Like the City of Lorain four years ago, the schools were
facing some seemingly insurmountable challenges. I was
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honored to sit on the Superintendent Search committee
that resulted in Tom Tucker being hired. Some two and
half years later, Tom and I have a great relationship built
on honesty and a shared vision for where we want the city
and the schools to go. After much hard work, enrollment
in Lorain City Schools is up slightly for the first time in
twenty years. Couple that with the governors budget
proposal, which would mean additional revenue for the
schools, and some positive momentum and stability is
starting to take hold. Challenges remain, including
meeting the ever changing standards on the state report
card, but the current positive progress will allow for a
better chance to meet those challenges. And, still, other
variables like a future state of the art high school along
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with football and basketball teams galvanizing
community support will only help Lorain City Schools
goals of improvement across the board. I look forward to
working in tandem with Superintendent Tucker in the
years ahead to continue the progress in our city and our
schools.
SAFETY
I am also happy to report that through some pretty
intense negotiations, the city and the bargaining units for
our safety forces including Police, Fire, Dispatch and
Corrections all settled contracts. As in any negotiation,
each side comes away with some of what it wanted and
maybe some of what it didnt want. The deals achieved
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many of the citys goals while also addressing the goals of
the respective bargaining units.
From a safety standpoint, I reported last year that Part
1 crimes, which include violent and felonious crimes,
decreased about 11 percent from 2012 to 2013. From
2013 to 2014, we saw a decrease of nearly 23 percent in
these Part 1 crimes. This includes a decrease of over 44
percent in robberies, nearly 20 percent in assaults and 38
percent in larceny. The bottom line is that in the last two
years, the collective drop amongst Part 1 crimes is nearly
35 percent. In two years, over a 1/3 drop in crime. Our
Police Departments embrace of crime analysis and
response along with our officers effortswhether it is
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the detective bureau, patrol, narcotics or community
impacthas led to the significant reduction in crime.
Along with that, we have increased the number of
police officers by utilizing police levy money and were
also successfully in securing a COPS grant, which will
mean an additional 5 officers. We are eager to welcome
more officers onto the force as we push our total numbers
to near the 105 mark when just four years ago numbers
were in the low to mid 80s. The totality of these events
has led to a safer Lorain.
Our Fire Department is one in transition with several
employees scheduled to retire. Fire service calls this year
remained about the same, but calls for other services
increased. Major equipment investments have been
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made, but future capital investments will be required for
our stations. We continue to work toward these goals as
the department prepares to transition.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Just like in 2013 and 2014, the city will spend
millions of dollars on roadway and waterline repair and
replacement in 2015. Roadways and waterlines several
decades old are being repaired and collectively, with the
frenetic pace of repairs in the last two years, the progress
is really taking hold throughout the entire city. Elyria
Avenue, a major roadway which traverses Central and
South Lorain, will see a new roadway and new waterlines.
Additionally, various secondary and side streets on the
east side, west side, south side and in central Lorain will
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see much needed repairs and replacement. We are also
formulating our plan for Broadway road replacement and
streetscaping that is set for 2016. We have had a public
hearing on the matter and are confident that this project
will benefit the other efforts to improve downtown.
We also continue to work with the Lorain County
Land Bank in identifying tax delinquent properties to
acquire in order to become eligible for Hardest Hit
demolition dollars. While this process is more difficult
than the first round of demolition money awarded to the
Lorain County Land Bank, the county and its leadership
understand the importance of acquiring this money. My
hope is that with this money Lorain will see another 100
to 150 housing demolitions on top of the over 150 we
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have already demolished. Improved waterlines,
roadways, streetscaping and elimination of blight blend
together along with reduced crime to stabilize
neighborhoods and improve the aesthetics and overall feel
of our city. We have made incredible strides on
eliminating some of our worst eyesores, but we have
much left to do. This next round of money will help us
take a giant step toward our goal of eliminating all of the
D and F rated vacant properties within our city.
On May 12th of last year, a 500 year intensity storm
pounded the City of Lorain and our region, and massive
flooding occurred in some of the citys most flood prone
areas. While the storm was certainly an outlier or as some
would say a statistical anomoly, the problem areas for
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drainage have been problem areas for several years.
Regardless of decades old decisions to build in areas with
challenges such as lack of riparian setbacks or ample
drainage, I believe the city must try to bring relief to the
residents most affected by flooding. As a result, we are
focusing on all parts of town including the Clinton
Avenue watershed, which impacts South Lorain, Martins
Run Watershed and Beaver Creek Watershed, which
impact central and western Lorain. The City of Lorain is
currently in discussions to collaborate with Lorain County
to improve drainage in the townships and the city. This
would be a success for township and South Lorain
residents in the Clinton Avenue Watershed and illustrates
that, one, stormwater is a regional issue and, two, that
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different political entities can work together to improve
stormwater challenges that impact multiple communities.
This past year the City completed work to remove
impediments to the drainage along the Beaver Creek
Watershed and will continue to remove other
impediments throughout the waterway.
Work on the much publicized Martins Run
Watershed is about 3 weeks in and has hit some delays
with the cold weather. However, we are in the process of
widening the channel at Willow Park to 20 feet so that we
can expand the flood plain and give the stormwater a
place to go. This will help with capacity issues
downstream and is a more natural system. We are also
clearing Martins Run of sediment and debris that has in
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some cases cut in half the capacity through the channel.
We will be dredging culverts from 35th Street to Ashland
Avenue to improve capacity and flow. Once these phases
are complete, we must look at upstream detention of
water, which will hold water during heavy rain events.
Detention is costly but it has to be part of the overall
approach to Martins Run. We are currently putting
together plans to move this project along in conjunction
with the improvements being made to the actual stream.
With all of the work we are doing in the city, we
were also able to pass a Responsible Bidding Ordinance.
Last year, I referenced that we were working on this piece
of legislation, and Im happy to report we were able to get
it done. Projects in the city will push for local, trained,
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employees and will also push for minority and female
participation. Better yet, a committee has been
established to review bids and vendors to see how they
are achieving these goals. The purpose is obviously to
involve more trained, qualified Lorain City and Lorain
County residents in our work, but the purpose is also to
look at the larger public and social policy question of
training and how we can push to provide opportunity to
those who are underrepresented in projects. I appreciate
the support and hard work of both union and non-union
employees and contractors in making this pro-Lorain and
pro-Lorain County piece of legislation play a role is
extending opportunity throughout our community.
DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW
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Along the lines of infrastructure, some of our front
line departments have seen changes. In the Department of
Building, Housing and Planning, Leon Mason has taken
over. Under his short tenure, Leon has been busy
identifying and rectifying reporting issues with Housing
and Urban Development that previously brought not only
negative attention to the city but also resulted in the city
repaying hundreds of thousands of dollars to the federal
government. Because of the time spent with HUD and
the need to go back in time to correct problems, we have
been able to do limited projects with our block grant
dollars. Through Leons hard work, and through more
technical assistance that we are asking HUD to provide to
assure we never get in this situation again, this year we
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will begin seeing our block grant dollars invested in our
neighborhoods, parks and streetscapes.
Additionally, the Building, Housing and Planning
Department now will have citation power. In conjunction
with the Lorain Police Department, more emphasis is
being put on quality of life, neighborhood issues. By
expanding those who are able to enforce the law through
citation power, our goal is to see more enforcement and
more compliance. These efforts, coupled with a dedicated
Housing Court function in our Municipal Court, must
continue to work in tandem in order to see compliance
and improvement in our neighborhoods.
In our Street Department, under the direction of
Interim Public Property Manager Lori Garcia, we have
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implemented some new ideas including a brine system to
pre-treat our salt supply and our roads for more
effectiveness during storms, a floating plow system that
reduces blade damage and replacement rates and a hot
box that allows us to make our own hot mix during the
Winter when asphalt plants are closed. We are also
studying a new piece of equipment that will allow us to
do more in house work on city owned parking lots as well
as on several unimproved roads that were never installed
to city standards. Many of these changes are already
having a positive impact. Lori has pushed for more
training and use of in-house employees, and as result, we
have been able to stretch roadway dollars considerably
further than originally anticipated.
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The Utilities Department has a new DirectorMary
Ivan Garza. She brings a wide range of experience in
engineering and utility operations along with experience
on the personnel side. With Mary in Utilities, Lori in
Streets and Leon in Building Housing and Planning, we
have some real success stories of home grown talent. We
also have success stories of each of these individuals in
vocations where females and minorities are traditionally
underrepresented. We have worked hard to expand our
pool of applicants to reflect our community, and Im
proud that the rank and file as well as department
leadership is starting to better resemble the City of Lorain.
DEVELOPMENT
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We continue to work on developing our city in what
remains a challenging economic climate. Lighthouse
Village continues to fill in and will be expanding with 60
acres of residential housing for our seniors, which has
been an underserved market in Lorain. The Bauman
Group comes highly recommended from their experience
in Vermilion, and I look forward to welcoming new
residents to Lorain. The thirty additional acres will be
used for commercial development. Because of
Lighthouse Village and its growth, we were able to
improve Jaeger Rd., which serves as a major artery
connecting Lorains west side to Leavitt Rd. Jaeger is
now concrete, has improved grading and lights at a traffic
accident hotspot and was done on time with A+B bidding,
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which rewarded the contractor for adhering to project
timelines. Our Engineering Department and KS and
Associates did a tremendous job on the project.
The City of Lorain and the Lorain Port Authority
continue to partner together. The Port will be overseeing
the citys tax increment financing projects and will more
closely partner with city staff on business development.
The Port was supportive in in taking the idea of making
Lorains downtown region into an entertainment district.
This idea, by the way, was proposed by a downtown
business owner. Ideas like these, a continued emphasis
on basics like safety, infrastructure and housing and our
tunnel project moving toward completion are going to put
the undeveloped property on our waterfront into play.
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The Ports proposal for development of its waterfront
property garnered interest, and since then other interest
has emerged. Some of that interest has come from Jim
Louthen who is part of the development team that was
successful in securing state historic tax credits to turn the
Broadway Building into a 55 and older upscale residence.
An improved Broadway Building and some strategic
demolitions and acquisitions of property downtown are
part of bringing the pieces together for more opportunity.
The Port and City relationship has been crucial is seeing
movement on items that seemed so immovable in the not
too distant past. We must and we will continue working
together for the betterment of the entire city.
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And how can I not mention Roverfest? Certainly we
had our share of support and opposition to Roverfest, and
while my own personal preference is Bruce Springsteen,
it brought thousands to town and meant a great day for
downtown vendors. What it also did was illustrate that
Lorain could host an event of that size and magnitude.
Shortly thereafter, with a lobbying effort of many
including Safety/Service Director Fowler and Port
Director Novak, Bob Earley and his Rockin on the
River concert series are coming to Lorain this summer.
Bobs been great to work with and if you have ever met
him, you know he has a contagious passion for what he
does. Im looking forward to a summer full of
entertainment in downtown Lorain. From what I
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understand, be looking for a full concert run down on
March 1st. I told Bob that his challenge is getting Bruce
Springsteen to the Black River Landing. I will anxiously
await.
CONCLUSION
In an era of constant cuts to vital city revenue and in
an era of continued economic uncertainty and unease, the
state of the City of Lorain continues to be one of
recovery, strength and forward progress. We continue to
live in tough times with tight budgets and little room for
error. However, by continuing to invest in ourselves, our
city is seeing improvements and enhancements that it has
not see in decades. Forging ahead on this path will not be
easy, but it is this path that is setting the stage for our
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collective dreams and goals to be accomplished. The
mood and feel around town is different. Things have
changed; forward momentum seems to be in the air. The
seemingly intractable problems are being worked and
people both within and outside of the city are taking
notice. But we have much left to do. When I ran for
mayor and in my 3 plus years in office, I knew the going
was not going to be easy. But Lorains spirit is one that
does not quit. We continue to work through our
challenges and we have faithfaith that better days are
ahead. But in doing that, we must remain steadfast in our
approach, and we must remain resilient. As one success
story in our city, the 3rd ranked Division I Lorain High
Titans Boys Basketball Team, puts it, No Days Off.
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Every day we must bring our best no matter the
circumstances. No matter how hard it gets; no matter
how tough it may seem to move our city forward, as your
mayor, each and every day, I pledge to do just thatNo
Days Off as we all work to move our city forward.
Thank you for your time this afternoon.
