2-24 mayor ron corbett presents state of the city address today (2)

8/14/2019 2-24 Mayor Ron Corbett Presents State of the City Address Today (2)

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For more information, contact:Cassie WillisCommunications LiaisonCity of Cedar RapidsMobile: (319) 538-1058Office: (319) [email protected]

Twitter: CityofCRiowa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 24, 2010, 11:30 a.m.

Mayor Ron Corbett Presents State of the City Address Today

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA February 24, 2010 Today, Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett providedthe following statement in his State of the City Address:

These are critical days for our community and it is important to take stock. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be the Mayor of Cedar Rapids. Having been in this position for only eightweeks reall y doesnt qualify me to give a State of the City Address. Eight weeks is not enoughtime to make an in-depth assessment. However, since the charter requires me to do so, I will trymy best.

I do not want to be overly pessimistic, nor do I want to be irre sponsibly optimistic. I just want to be realistic. I believe that we are somewhere between running on all eight cylinders and lifesupport. If you are the owners of Blend restaurant, you are probably leaning towards the lifesupport view. If you are John Sadler, of Sadler Power Train, you are probably leaning towardseight cylinders. It really depends on the seat you are sitting in.

We have some companies doing fine, while others are on the verge of closing down. We havesome citizens getting promotions, while others are still looking for a job. I hear from manycitizens - mostly people who are struggling and people who are facing challenges. Maybe thatskews me to think we still have a long way to go towards recovery. However, is that really whatyou want to hear, where we are today, or are you more interested in talking about tomorrow, sixmonths, nine months, and one year from now? It is important to understand the current situation,

but I believe it is more important to know where you are going. I would like the balance of myremarks to focus on moving forward, making progress and getting results.

I believe, strongly, that people in Cedar Rapids want confident government in these challengingtimes. Getting from point A to point B isnt easy th ough. I believe there are three important stepsthat need to happen in order for success to be enhanced:

Step One: Do we have goals, objectives and a way to measure our success? Theanswer to all those is, Yes, we do. I personally have one more piece to add to the trioand that is a guiding principle. I am going to mix a little spirituality, not reallyreligion, to this speech. This is just me talking, not the City Council or City staff. Ihave a bible verse that I have adopted as the Mayors verse. I have chosen Proverbs31:8- 9, as my guiding principle. This is the New International Version: Speak up for
mailto:[email protected]://www.cedar-rapids.org/http://www.cedar-rapids.org/mailto:[email protected]


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those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. I believe this is what lifeis all about helping people. And thats my role as the mayor of your city. This isstep one in achieving results.

Step Two: Do we have a common cause, a focal point? Each step gets a little harder.Some of you may say, Yes, we do, while others may say, No, we dont. There aredays when it seems that we are packed to the gills with issues to address and solve.

How do you develop that common cause, that focal point? This fall, I went to the production of the Broadway musical show, Wicked. My daughter bought the CDfrom the musical and she plays it all the time. One of the songs has a line that reallycrystallizes the challenge, Dont dream too far and dont lose sight of who you are.On the one hand, there is the feeling t hat we cant dream, that we shouldnt get starry -eyed. On the other hand, there is the feeling that we have to be practical or we putlimits on ourselves. Have you ever heard someone say, We cant do that? This isCedar Rapids, Iowa! Perhaps in your own life youve hear, I cant get a job there. Idont have the education.

As individuals and as communities, we struggle with this dichotomy. Neither side is

right or wrong. You cant have all dreamers with no sense of reality, nor can every body be so r isk adverse that no chances are taken. Interestingly enough, we dontalways find ourselves in the same camp. It always depends on the issue. We need bothview points. This is why it is so difficult to find that common cause, that focal point.In our roles as Mayor and City Council, it falls on us to bring these competing sidestogether.

We really have two focal points. Lets see if you agree.

Our first focal point is flood recovery. This has been and will be our top issue for theforeseeable future. We need to continue to support the flood community. They have

been through so much. Former President Bill Clinton used the line , I feel your pain . Ilike to say, I have seen the pain.

That is why we have fought so hard to get the fair market value set at 107%. Think about how you might have felt when you heard every other town was giving 110% or above. How would you feel? Most of the flood community felt like they were gettingshort changed. Hopefully, we have started to show we are fighting for them.Remember the guiding principle. We have much more to do.

Next is appropriating the local option sales tax revenues. We need to get that moneyout to flood-affected people. The local option sales tax was designed to fill in the

cracks. I realize there are times when government gets accused of helping out the richand powerful. The little guy always seems to feel like he gets the short end of the stick.Washington, D.C . has coined a phrase: too big to fail. Cedar Rapids should coin itsown phrase: no one is too small or unimportant to let fall through the cracks.Absolutely, no one. Nobody will ever be whole, but we can ease the trauma. We willget the sales tax appropriated and start the demolition of homes next month.


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Flood recovery reaches farther than people. We have our civic assets that need to berebuilt and restored. We have five priorities this year to launch:

o Paramount Theatre: This beautiful, majestic theater is one of the jewels of our cultural community. It will be restored and have a little more leg room.

o Cedar Rapids Public Library: This will bring $45 million to the downtown. Itwill be a gathering place teaming with people. I cant wait until kids arechecking out books. This will be the pride and joy of our town. Any of the

proposed si tes will work, so lets focus on the asset.o US Cellular Center and Events Center: The year was 1979 and I was afreshman in college. I turn 50 this year. That is how long it has been since the

dedication of the arena. We need this convention center and arena upgraded.Cedar Rapids has to be competitive.

o Central Fire Station: The old central fire station will be relocated. We will soonhave a new chief. Fire service is a basic function in a community. We will pick a site and chose a construction manager this year.

o City Hall : The Veterans Memorial Building is part of our history. I think theCouncil will likely decide to move back and use the former federal courthouseand Veterans Memorial Building. We need to be back downtown.

There are other projects that will be worked on, but these are the big five.

That leads me to the final aspect of flood recovery: a permanent flood protectionsystem. We have a flood protection plan. We need to protect the town with a systemthat is made up of both levees and walls. But as Coralville and Iowa City have foundout, a reservoir as a flood protection system has failed twice in the last 15 years. Flood

protection systems are never a 100% guarantee. This is why we also have to push for more flood prevention upstream. This is a big issue. Actually, I think it is the biggestissue facing us. As Mayor, I will consider myself a failure if I dont secure funding for a protection system that would protect both sides of the river. It is easy to fall off theradar screen in Washington, DC. If you watched any of the stories surrounding theSuper Bowl, you have seen that New Orleans is still recovering from Hurricane

Katrina after four and a half years. Unlike New Orleans, we will not have a Super Bowl Championship Team to help us bring a renewed focus on our disaster. The effortreally falls on the political leadership of Cedar Rapids. Frankly, it needs to get donethis year. Our first common cause or focal point is flood recovery that focuses on

people, civic assets and flood protection.

Our second focal point is to restore the fruitfulness of our economy. A growingeconomy produces fruit - the fruits of jobs, broad tax base, wealth and expandingcommerce. We are seeing quite a mixed bag from the business community today. Wecant afford to sit idly by and watch as we lose jobs and businesses close. That is whywe pushed the buy local effort in the first city council meeting of the year.

This is also why our budget for next year will include a zero percent increase in property taxes on commercial and industrial property. Now is not the time to saddle businesses who are struggling to make payroll and debt payments with higher taxes.Getting the construction projects up and running will also help with getting people

back to work. It is not enough. Many of the flood-impacted businesses are on the brink of bankruptcy. Their principal and interest payments need to be suspended for 48months. The state needs to waive local match for any new or expanding jobs project


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until our tax base is restored. The downtown tax base needs to double and triple over the next decade. Priority One needs to step up and do more recruiting. TheEntrepreneurial Development Center needs to get more businesses in the pipeline. Weare going to be taking more than 1,300 properties off the tax rolls. We need to grow.

As I ask others to step up, I am also going to challenge the city staff to hang out thesign open for business .We need a culture change. No more reasons why it cant bedone but how it can get do ne. I dont like a City department being called code

enforcement. When you get a letter from the IRS, what is the first thing that comesover you - a lump in your throat or a pit in your stomach? Why? You think they areafter you! What do you think when code enforcement sends you a letter or makes acall? You get the feeling you are in trouble. T hats what you feel. Lets change it tocode assistance.

We have to create and retain every job we can. You have all heard the news that thiswill be a jobless recovery. Well, if the rest of the cities across America want to acceptthat, so be it. In Cedar Rapids, we have always been leaders in job creation. It is time,as Chef Emeril Lagasse would say, to kick it up a notch on business developmentand job growth.

Those are our common causes, our two focal points: flood recovery and restoring the fruitfulnessof our economy . Some of you may be thinking, He didnt say anything about the next generationworkforce, trails, diversity, roads, public safety. He should have talked more about arts, cultureand the downtown. Just because my speech today was light on those subjects doesnt mean thecity council doesnt support them or doesnt think they are important. It just means that we haveto have a focus. If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. Knowing that we have afocus, does it start to give you confidence in city government? Now the final step to havingsuccess in achieving results

Step three: Engagement is the most important step. Elected o fficials cant accomplish

anything without the support of the people. You are the key ingredient. We can havegoals, objectives, measurements and guiding principles. We can have a common causeand a focused agenda. I suppose we can make some incremental progress. To reallyget results however, we need you! Not just to support, but to be active citizens. The

power lies with you. KCRG- TV9s Beth Malicki said on her show one time that itwould take an army to accomplish everything Cedar Rapids needs to get done. She isright. You are that army.

I believe Cedar Rapids is in good hands. Why do I believe Cedar Rapids is in good hands?Because the future of our town is in your hands and I believe in you. The question is , Do you

believe? I just love that word, believe. People stand up for their beliefs. They speak out for

their beliefs. They will fight for their beliefs. And some will die for their beliefs. It conveys power and emotion. Because when you believe in something, you make a commitment to that belief. I believe in you, all of you.

Take a look around you. Look at your colleagues, your neighbors, your friends and family. Thistown is in your hands and theirs. Do you believe that Cedar Rapids best days are still ahead? Doyou believe greater things are still to be done? If you do, then I ask you to stand. Look into theeyes of those around you and say, I believe in Cedar Rapids.

2-24 mayor ron corbett presents state of the city address today (2)

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