mayor rhine l. mclin 2009 state of the...

2009 State of the CityMayor Rhine L. McLin

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Dayton, Ohio

“I know the price of success: dedication,

hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the

things you want to see happen.”

Frank Lloyd Wright

City of DaytonCity Hall

101 West Third StreetDayton, OH 45401

(937) 333-3333

www.cityofdayton.org

State of the City 2009

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www.cityofdayton.org Dayton, Ohio USA

I think it’s fair to say that few other periods in our city’s history have posed challenges as serious as we face now. Our founding mothers and fathers carved a village and then a city from the wilderness. Our great-great grandparents dug the city out of water and mud following the 1913 Flood. Our grandparents and par-ents held the city together through unemployment and fear of the un-known during the Great Depression and World War Two. Today, we face an equally great challenge. With unemployment too high and fear too present, we must find our city’s destiny in an uncertain future.

Despite the many hardships and dif-ficulties facing families, employees and employers in today’s economic climate, we as a community con-tinue to rally together. To adapt. To persevere. I am confident that Dayton – and the Greater Dayton region – will meet this challenge and

will join together to respond. Our many notable strengths as a region give us powerful tools with which to respond to this challenge. Our strengths include:

n Our spirit of innovation, creativity and collaboration, reflected in our “Dayton Patented. Originals Want-ed.” brand campaign;

n The remarkable wealth of scien-tific, technical and educational re-sources, including Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the incoming research and technology missions and jobs;

n The assortment of universities, colleges and schools producing tomorrow’s business and community leaders; and

n A first-rate arts and cultural com-munity, and a wonderful collection of rivers, parks and recreation assets.

n Perhaps most importantly, an involved corps of citizens, neighbor-hood leaders, business owners and volunteers who each make priceless contributions to our community.

Whether it’s a group of business volunteers remodeling the home of a senior citizen, or a technology entrepreneur bringing a new product to market from a Dayton laboratory — each of you contributes to our


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community’s pride and promise.

To represent Dayton’s many com-munity supporters, I will be intro-ducing a few of them this morning. Some of these individuals have also been featured in our new brand-ing campaign promoting “Dayton Originals.” Among those joining us today are:

Jack Campbell, President and CEO of Gerstner & Sons, an international-ly renowned chest-making company that has been operating at its cur-rent Dayton location for more than a century, and Scott Reeve, founder and CEO of Composite Advantage, a recently opened advanced manu-facturing firm.

Thank you for what you do for Dayton. I will be introducing more Dayton Originals throughout this address.

Historically, Dayton’s greatest strength is the wisdom of its citizens.

The Wright Brothers taught the world to fly. John H. Patterson fig-ured out how to advance and market cash registers. And Erma Bombeck took the wisdom of a mother and made a country laugh at itself. We have the knowledge as a com-munity to move forward in this new knowledge based economy. Meeting the economic and other challenges presented to us is not easy, nor is it painless. But it’s clear as you look across our community that we are as determined as any generation to protect and to preserve our way of life. Our efforts are not just for ourselves, but for those who come after us.

It is certainly no secret that our Greater Dayton economy — which is still transitioning from manufactur-ing to technology — has been hard hit by the economic downturn in recent years. We continue to meet with our partners in Washington DC and Columbus to learn of their plans to stimulate the economy and address the broad impacts of this downturn. The assistance provided through a national economic recov-ery package is promising and we are making plans now to build on that assistance. Their efforts are appreciated but we must also work together to create our own solutions and restore our own community.

Jack Campbell, Gerstner & Sons


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When faced with difficult financial challenges, sound financial man-agement becomes even more important. With fewer dollars to spend, governments — like families and businesses — must accept the responsibility of making do with less. We have done that.

In finalizing the City budget for 2009, my fellow Commissioners and I have made every effort to main-tain strong services for Dayton’s residents and business community. We are grateful for the hundreds of budget-saving suggestions that we received from citizens and City employees alike. Your participa-tion is an important step in working together to address this crisis.

Aided by this public input, we have closed a significant budget deficit without sacrificing our three top priorities: economic development, public safety and infrastructure. Our latest budget-setting process was not easy, and tough decisions had to be made. But while others may skirt the unpopular responsibilities that come with leadership under pressure, I am proud to say this City Commission confronted these issues head-on, openly and with public involvement.

City government must, and will, con-tinue to monitor its expenses and

revenues carefully. The City will con-tinue to seek creative approaches that allow us to invest in improved technologies and cost reductions. There will be more ideas like the Finance Department’s recent Tax Amnesty Campaign, which garnered more than $500,000 dollars in un-paid tax revenue. There will be more programs like the Department’s use of electronic IRS tax records to help ensure everyone is paying their fair share.

City Housing Inspector John Carter is one of our best examples of creative thinking. He created an innovative system for keeping track of the financial institutions and agencies responsible for the mainte-nance of homes in foreclosure. His ingenuity saved the City thousands of dollars. For his out-of-the-box

John Carter, City of Dayton Housing Inspector


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thinking, Mr. Carter was honored by Governing Magazine as one of its eight National Public Officials of the Year for 2008.

John, thank you for being here this morning.

The City has built new collabora-tions with our partners. This has led to our government and our commu-nity working together to accomplish things that could not be achieved by working alone.

My Council on Economic Develop-ment is starting its second year of volunteer service. The members serve as a sounding board to help the City customize best practices from around the country to the needs of Dayton’s businesses. They share their time as Dayton’s champions in the business commu-nity and they are our ambassadors to businesses seeking a fertile loca-tion for growth.

Dayton’s Economic Development Office has teamed up with other business partners to open the new Dayton Business Resource Center. This was one of the recommen-dations of a recent private sector economic development study. This partnership between the City of Dayton, the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County,

CityWide Development Corporation and the Downtown Dayton Partner-ship will help answer the business community’s call for a centralized of-fice to coordinate business retention and attraction services. Just Ask.

Dayton is working with a host of other government and business sup-port organizations to aggressively court skilled employees who are needed for the new research and technology jobs coming to Wright- Patterson Air Force Base through the BRAC process.

And the City and local business leaders have joined with community and government representatives to chart a course for downtown’s future success. The new strategic planning process for the greater downtown area is critical to solidifying our entire region’s competitive position for years to come. This work builds on downtown investments like those made by CareSource, KeyBank and others.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base


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I’d like you to meet Bill Pote, en-trepreneur, downtown booster and founder of Dayton-Dot-Most-Metro-Dot-Com; he is one of the many volunteers pitching in to develop the downtown strategic plan. Thank you, Bill.

These collaborations illustrate the intense focus our community has placed on business investment and job growth today. More is needed. Today, I am announcing a new employment recruitment tool for the City: the Dayton Economic Attraction Program. This new program will offer companies cash incentives equal to as much as 75 percent of new payroll taxes for jobs created in the city. Companies creating new jobs downtown would receive the highest incentive. This is followed by businesses in any of our four key economic areas: Aerospace Research and Develop-ment; Human Sciences and Health Care; Information Technology; or Advanced Materials and Advanced Manufacturing. These incentives will make it easier for businesses to choose Dayton to grow their jobs. We will provide more details on the program during a news conference planned for tomorrow, but the mes-sage we are sending should be very clear: we must generate more new jobs for the Dayton economy to fully rebound. This aggressive step will

assure our business partners we are serious about doing what it takes to enhance Dayton’s competitive market position for the future.

Our partnerships extend beyond economic development. In recent years, new and renovated housing has dotted the cityscape. Between 2004 and 2008, more than 79 million dollars has been invested in over 1,000 new or renovated housing units, with more to come.

Meet developer Theresa Gasper and community leader Karin Manovich, two of the driving forces behind the renaissance of the South Park neighborhood. South Park won the physical revitalization category of Neighborhoods, USA’s Neighbor-hood of the Year Award in 2008.

Thank you, Theresa and Karin; your enthusiasm for rebuilding neighbor-hoods is spreading throughout the city.

South Park Neighborhood


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The Twin Towers Crossing develop-ment is bringing 40 new homes to inner east Dayton. This project, led by the East End Community Servic-es Corporation and St. Mary Devel-opment Corporation, is designed with community input to be friendly to both families and the environment. The Phoenix Project around Good Samaritan Hospital continues to grow. A landscaped gateway, new homes, a new school and more are bringing a new sense of place and purpose to the Fairview neighborhood.

One result of projects like these are people like Devon Berry, principal of Ruskin Elementary School, who chose to make his home in the Wright Dunbar neighborhood.

Principal Berry, we are expecting great things from you, in Wright Dunbar and at Ruskin.

As part of our neighborhood revital-ization efforts, progress continues on expanding recreation options and facilities for our citizens. Upgrades are under contract for the Lohrey Recreation Center and the North-west Recreation Center.

While we are adding in parts of our city, we are strategically subtracting as well.

In 2003, the City of Dayton demol-ished just 50 abandoned nuisance properties. In 2008, we achieved a very aggressive goal of removing 300 of these unwelcome dilapidated structures. With the Federal Neigh-borhood Stabilization Program, we plan to remove at least 500 eye-sores in 2009, in order to prepare the city for an improving housing market that will come. A special thank you to the Building Services team for their efforts.

These newly cleared lots become part of our inventory of land for future neighborhood re-use. This land-banking concept will remain a key element of our on-going neigh-borhood revitalization plans.

The Dayton Police Department is building collaborations of other kinds to continue the trend that has seen many crime categories go down over the last five years. For

Devon Berry, Resident


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example, the Police have launched the regional Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence. Working with the City of Trotwood, Montgomery County, the State of Ohio, the local FBI office and other area partners, this comprehensive, inclusive ap-proach is absolutely necessary to achieve real and sustained prog-ress in the fight against gun-related crimes.

Any talk of collaboration and part-nership must highlight our work with the Dayton Public Schools. The last five years have seen remarkable investment and changes in our local school system, and that has certain-ly been a community-wide success. New buildings and new curricula are helping Dayton’s children prepare for the future. Last November, voters showed their support by approving a modest and fair levy increase. I was proud to see broad business and community support for the levy and pleased that residents joined to make a commitment for our young people by voting “Yes.”

So much is happening in Dayton that this short video has been pre-pared to tell you more about what has been accomplished, what is underway and what is being planned for our future.

(Video Presentation)

As you can see, we have reason to be optimistic about Dayton’s future.

Our efforts to attract technology jobs are beginning to bear fruit. For example, in the National Com-posite Center’s Advanced Ma-terials Technologies facility and Tech Town’s Creative Technology Accelerator and RFID Incubator. Tech Town’s first new building is nearly completed and fully leased. A second new building is funded and plans are proceeding for construc-tion to begin this summer. Major investments are underway for the city’s infrastructure and transporta-tion systems. The City is keeping true to its word to replace nine bridg-es in seven years.

The Dayton International Airport continues to increase its value to the region, with major improvements and strategies for continued suc-cess. Passenger numbers in 2008 reached their highest point since the early 1990s. Construction for

Dayton International Airport


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the new covered parking garage will begin this Spring. Construction of a new Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites is scheduled to begin this year. And the new air traffic control tower will be operational in 2010.

As important as these building projects are, I am also encouraged by the groundswell of public involve-ment in reinventing Dayton. Our challenges are always resolved by people and their hard work ethic, their best thinking, and their good will.

People are stepping forward to con-tribute their time, their talent, their ingenuity and their creativity to civic causes.

Anchor institutions like The Univer-sity of Dayton, Grandview Medical Center, Miami Valley Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital and Childrens’ Medical Center are looking beyond their own walls to help craft new visions for their surrounding neigh-borhoods.

Volunteers and entrepreneurs alike are joining forces to open new hori-zons in our arts and culture scene, from the emergence of new neigh-borhood art galleries to Film Day-ton’s focus on developing Dayton as an attractive locale for movie-making.

I am pleased to salute Dr. Michael Ervin, the driving force behind the growing arts scene in the Oregon Arts District. His efforts are draw-ing out the newest chapter in the continuing story of one of our oldest neighborhoods. Thank you for your efforts.

The Dayton community is mak-ing remarkable strides in building its Creative Class, people from all walks of life working to improve the quality of creativity and life in Dayton. The unique and innova-tive projects of the DaytonCREATE organization are bringing focus and purpose to the creative energies of our millennial generation. These ef-forts will benefit the entire communi-ty for years to come and help attract young professionals to the city.

Over 500 individuals will be included in my Volunteer Heritage Recogni-

Oregon Arts District


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tion Program this year, the largest number to have earned this award by performing community service. These, and countless other vol-unteers in every corner of the city, embody the new era and ethic of responsibility called for by President Obama. They provide the face to our new President’s inspirational message of civic responsibility.

But there is more to envision and work to do to ensure that Dayton continues to evolve as a vibrant 21st century city…

...A city where everyone can live, learn and work; enjoy community life; develop and share their talents; and connect with great opportuni-ties.

...A city of livable, walkable neigh-borhoods and a vibrant downtown enjoyed by residents, visitors and workers.

…A city building and leveraging its strengths in science, technology and innovation; and developing our workforce talents for the new knowl-edge economy;

...A city where the people, busi-nesses and technologies that will shape the future can take root, grow and thrive.

To make this dream come alive, I have challenged our City Manager to find additional opportunities for community service to the City and to recruit individuals and groups to take on those opportunities. I have asked to see a two-way conduit on community service on the City’s website by the end of this year.

Dayton must continue to be the leading partner in regional progress. In fact, given the times, the concept of TeamGov that I spoke of during my first State of the City address is more important than ever before. We have made positive progress in this area through such efforts as provision of waste collection and criminal research services to other jurisdictions, the coming regional nine-one-one dispatch center, the creation of Joint Economic Devel-opment Districts and tax sharing agreements. But our region must pursue more opportunities to coop-erate and share resources in the future. This inter-governmental co-operation must also include working with the state and federal govern-ments as well, to ensure all levels of government are acting as one to improve the lives of citizens.

I invite you to join me and your fellow Daytonians on the path to a reinvented and vibrant Dayton.


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Each of you has a skill, a talent, a dream. If you are not already involved, there are many opportuni-ties to contribute. Check with your neighborhood association or Priority Board about neighborhood needs, and volunteer to help. Even a small amount of volunteered time makes a big difference.

The great moments and innovations of Dayton’s past are many and are

a source of pride. But our greatest moments, and our greatest innova-tions, are yet to come. Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for your commitment to our joint effort. We must seize this moment in order to write the new chapter of Dayton. With your help, we will become one Dayton working together. Together, we will succeed. We must succeed.

Thank you.


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It is my pleasure to have recognized in this State of the City Address a representative few of the many in-dividuals that have contributed their time and resources to the benefit of Dayton. Our greatest strength is the willingness of individuals to con-tribute their time and talents to the benefit of the whole. I thank each of you individually and collectively.

I greatly appreciate the service pro-vided by my fellow members of the Dayton City Commission: Commis-sioners Dean A. Lovelace, Joey Wil-liams, Matt Joseph and Nan Whaley. I offer sincere thanks to each of you for your unwavering dedication to serving the community and building a better Dayton.

Commissioner Dean Lovelace has worked tirelessly fighting the punish-ing effects of predatory lending. His efforts promoting the federal Earned Income Tax Credit has assisted Dayton families to access needed funds to improve the lives of chil-dren.

Commissioner Joey Williams has been a stalwart advocate for recre-ation programming and for enhance-ments to our recreation infrastruc-ture. His focus on youth initiatives has provided opportunities for youth and an important source of informa-tion to decision-makers.

Commissioner Matt Joseph is a leader on retaining young profes-sionals in Dayton, who will be the next generation of community lead-ers. His attention to opportunities to harness technology enhancements helps Dayton take advantage of new opportunities.

Commissioner Nan Whaley pro-vides leadership on land-banking issues, equipping the City with new tools to address its challenges. This effort meshes well with her efforts to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

I also thank City Manager Rashad Young who is skillfully implementing the Dayton City Commission’s policy direction during these challenging times. I thank him and all of the dedicated City employees serving our community every day.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


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City of Dayton Success Through Partnership

By working closely with citizens, community organizations and business partners, the City of Dayton has made significant progress on key community issues. Below is a brief, and by no means comprehensive, summary of accomplishments over the last five years.

Community & Neighborhood Reinvestment

• Since 2004, nearly 1,100 homes have been either newly constructed or renovated for re-use, representing an investment in Dayton neighborhoods of more than $79 million dollars.

• The City of Dayton worked cooperatively with Miami Valley Hospital, the University of Dayton and CityWide Development Corporation to make new investments in the Genesis project area – the residential neighborhood adjacent to Brown Street. The University of Dayton and the Home Builders Association of Dayton and the Miami Valley sponsored a “Citirama” event in 2007 to show off newly built townhouses and rehabili-tated homes in the neighborhood surrounding UD’s campus. These investments have spurred significant private commercial investment along the commercial Brown Street corridor as well. Demolition of the Cliburn Manor around the Fairgrounds neighbor-hood will pave the way for future development. Miami Valley Hospital broke ground on its $135 million heart tower, one of the largest single construction projects in Dayton’s history. The University of Dayton announced major plans for redeveloping former NCR land along Brown Street and along the Great Miami River. These properties are being converted from their heavy manufacturing roots to potential sites for academic, re-search or commercial facilities. The larger geographic area, known as Greater Rubicon Park, includes the major institutions and the adjoining neighborhoods. The investment in this area between 2001 and 2010 is projected to exceed $450,000,000.

• The Phoenix Project is spurring similar redevelopment activity around Good Samari-tan Hospital. New police patrols have been deployed in the area, the Dayton Public Schools have announced plans to build a new Fairview Elementary school in the neighborhood, Good Samaritan frequently opened their new on-campus heart facility and more than $1 million has been invested in the Phoenix area through new home purchases or home improvement activities. The total investment in this area between 2001 and 2010 is projected to exceed $110,000,000.

• Grandview Hospital has announced a similar community revitalization effort, called The Renaissance Alliance. In addition to a $6 million investment the hospital made to its Emergency Department, it is currently considering a new $35,000,000 addition. The project also involves improvements within the surrounding neighborhood, including raz-ing several old buildings to make way for green space, badly-needed parking and other enhancements. A new Miami Boulevard Connector will be under construction in 2010 and, in conjunction with the improvements already underway with the I-75 Phase 1-A project, will result in a new transformed gateway in to Dayton. The total investment in this area between 2001 and 2010 is expected to exceed $250,000,000.


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• Children’s Medical Center is supporting efforts associated with the emerging DaVinci Collaborative, which will enhance the hospital as an anchor and partner in Old North Dayton neighborhood. The medical center invested approximately $70 million in a new day care facility, a new out-patient addition and a new parking facility, with designs that complement the neighborhood. The City of Dayton worked with the Salvation Army to prepare and submit a successful grant application to the Kroc Foundation for the construction of a community center on the grounds of the Duncarrick Mansion site in Old North Dayton. The new Kroc Center will provide important social and recreational services for the community. In addition, the new Kiser Pre-K–8 Community School is at-tracting families within walking distance to the new facility. The total investment in this area between 2001 and 2010 is expected to exceed $170,000,000.

• Elizabeth Place, the former site of St. Elizabeth Medical Center on Edwin C. Moses Boulevard, is re-emerging as a key health care facility in the region. The facility con-tinues to attract medical and health care related businesses, thanks in part to approxi-mately $14.5 million worth of improvements. The City of Dayton supported the Univer-sity of Dayton’s expanded sports complex near the I-75/Edwin C. Moses Boulevard interchange. New investments include the addition of the new Marriott Courtyard Hotel and upgrades to Welcome Stadium in cooperation with the Dayton Public Schools. The new Dayton Public Schools David H. Ponitz Center for Career Technology is expected to open in the 2009.2010 school year in partnership with Sincalir Community College. Investment along the Edwin C. Moses Corridor between 2001 and 2010 is expected to exceed $100,000,000.

• The City of Dayton has played a integral, supportive role in the continuing develop-ment of the Greater Wright-Dunbar area. The Dayton Cultural and RTA Transit Center was opened in a newly remodeled facility at 40 S. Edwin C. Moses Boulevard. The Center serves as a cultural venue for the community and a transit gateway to both the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park and the historic Wright-Dunbar Village neigh-borhood. The redevelopment project was a partnership effort between the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission, the State of Ohio, and the City of Dayton. Dayton has partnered with ISUS to obtain federal HOME funds to build 13 houses in the East Wolf Creek neighborhood. As an extension of its main campus, Central State University has established a continuing education center at its West Dayton campus on Germantown Street. The intersection of Edwin C. Moses Boulevard and West Third Street continues to be enhanced as the entryway to the Day-ton Aviation Heritage National Park, which continues to promote our community’s rich aviation legacy. The total investment in this area between 2001 and 2010 is expected to exceed $110,000,000.

• The City of Dayton created a Housing Court in conjunction with local courts to sen-tence serious housing code violators to jail time. So far, more than 180 individuals were sentenced through the Housing Court.

• At the suggestion of Mayor McLin, the Department of Building Services worked with local art students to create colorful art boards to be placed on vacant structures. The attractive art boards helped reduce the negative visual impact of the properties while they awaited demolition.


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• Under the leadership of City Commissioner Joey Williams, the City is moving forward with plans to construct a new multi-purpose RecPlex facility, which will be built next to the new Dayton Boys Academy on the grounds of the former Roosevelt High School. To complement the RecPlex facility, $1.5 million improvements are also scheduled for both the Northwest and Lohrey Recreation Centers.

• The City of Dayton implemented recommendations from the “Housing and Neighbor-hood Task Force” to more aggressively demolish neighborhood nuisance structures and address other neighborhood concerns. Since the beginning of 2005, the City has demolished 507 residential and commercial structures. Private property owners have accounted for an additional 415 demolitions over that time period. The Department of Building Services has added 1,031 more properties to its nuisance abatement program, marking them for pending demolition. In addition, the time to secure a nuisance prop-erty has been reduced to approximately 7-10 days, and the time required to demolish nuisance properties has been reduced significantly. The City has also doubled the financial resources allocated to the job of removing these eyesores from our neighbor-hoods.

• Commissioner Nan Whaley is leading the City of Dayton’s effort to pursue strategic land banking as a more effective approach to addressing the challenges of vacant neighborhood properties.

• Since 2005, new Spray Parks have been installed at the Five Oaks, Stuart Patterson, and Walnut Hills recreation facilities, raising the total number of City Spray Parks to seven.

• The City of Dayton attracted a $75,000 grant from the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund to make much-needed renovations at 14 City ball fields.

• The State of Ohio’s first all-inclusive rehabilitation and handicap-accessible play-ground equipment was installed at W.S. McIntosh Park, thanks to a generous donation by the Leber Family Foundation.

• The City of Dayton kicked off the “ORION Solution” program, which focuses key re-sources on neighborhoods that are negatively affected by quality of life issues. Neigh-borhoods participating in the program through 2008 include: Riverdale, Santa Clara, Wolf Creek and Old Dayton View, Five Oaks, Mt. Vernon, Twin Towers, Westwood, Roosevelt, Old North Dayton, Northern Red Crest River and Sandalwood Park.

• South Park partnered with the American Institute of Architects to craft a plan for neigh-borhood renewal and enjoyed another successful Rehabarama event, which rehabili-tated 10 historic homes. These efforts led to South Park’s selection as Neighborhood of the Year in the category of Physical Revitalization by the national “Neighborhoods USA” organization (NUSA).

• The West Dayton Development Fund, which supports projects and programs that benefit the Innerwest and Southwest Priority Board areas, approved approximately $400,000 in grants since 2006. The funding has supported such organizations and projects as the Dayton Fund for Home Rehabilitation, Rebuilding Together Dayton, First


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Dayton Little League, Street Souljahz, Gettysburg Water Main extension, and Bethel Baptist Credit Union.

• The City of Dayton has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to support the construc-tion of nine new homes.

• The Dayton Board of Education is continuing to build beautiful new schools through-out our neighborhoods. Department of Planning staff members have been engaged throughout the process to assist with the necessary plan development and review activities. The City of Dayton has been supportive of the neighborhood School Center Pilot Project that is moving to create neighborhood-based community schools in five Dayton neighborhoods.

• Demolition of the Parkside Homes was completed, making way for potential new development opportunities at this key inner-ring location.

• Since 2005, the Homeownership Center of Greater Dayton has assisted more than 1,700 households through counseling and education programs, and 351 new mort-gages have been generated for an investment of over $32 million. Additionally, the Homeownership Center offers assistance to homeowners who are struggling with their mortgages through foreclosure prevention services. These programs have brought over 250 Dayton area families back from the brink of disaster, allowing them to keep their homes and preserve their equity.

• The Human Relations Council, in partnership with local financial institutions gradu-ated 13 citizens this year at the 13th annual Community Reinvestment Institute (CRI). The Institute, begun in 1995 under the guidance of Commissioner Dean Lovelace, is designed to train citizens about the Community Reinvestment Act and the Home Mort-gage Disclosure Act as well as Financial Literacy, and Predatory Lending.

• The City of Dayton, through the CityWide Development Corporation, offers a down payment assistance program that helps residents purchase a home. Since 2005, ap-proximately 70 homebuyers have benefited from the program.

• Dayton is on track to complete nine bridge replacements within a seven-year period ending in 2012. Extensive roadway and bridge improvements have been completed or are currently underway on major city roadways, including: the Findlay Street Bridge, Linden Avenue, Germantown Street, Patterson Boulevard, Philadelphia Drive, Gettys-burg Avenue, Stanley Avenue, Fifth Street Bridge, Washington Street Bridge, Dayton Expressway Bridge, Paul Laurence Dunbar Street Bridge, West Third Street, Wilming-ton Avenue, Monument Avenue Bridge, the Salem Avenue/Catalpa Drive Intersection, the Stewart Street Bridge, the Edwin C. Moses Boulevard Bridge, Needmore Road, West Third Street, Cornell Drive, Ludlow Street, and Siebenthaler Avenue. Other planned improvements include Main Street reconstruction downtown, Wayne & Wilm-ington corridor, North Main Street at Helena and Fairview, Jefferson Street, downtown two-way street conversions, and a re-build of Stewart Street between Patterson Boule-vard and Brown Street.


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Economic Development

• The City of Dayton has announced a bold new economic development tool for the City: the Dayton Economic Attraction Program (DEAP). This new program will offer companies income tax rebates of up to 75 percent for new workers hired in the city. Companies creating new jobs downtown would receive the highest tax rebate, followed by businesses in our four key economic clusters: Aerospace Research and Develop-ment; Human Sciences & Health Care; Information Technology; Advanced Materials & Advanced Manufacturing.

• Since 2005 there has been more than $108 million invested in non-housing redevel-opment of brownfields and vacant land or buildings across the city. Dayton is moving forward with redeveloping more brownfield sites for future business re-use, including the NIBCO property, the former McCall’s printing plant site, and the old GH&R foundry.

• Construction activity at the Tech Town campus in the northeast quadrant of downtown continues to move forward. Altogether, Tech Town has attracted nearly $13 million dol-lars in funding from such sources as the State of Ohio’s Department of Development, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the Montgomery County ED/GE Program, the Dayton Development Coalition, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

• The United States Economic Development Administration awarded Dayton a $2.5 mil-lion grant to help construct the Creative Technology Accelerator (CTA), which will serve as an anchor for the Tech Town site and help attract even more tenants in the future.

• IDCAST (Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology) will occupy the first building being constructed at the Tech Town campus. IDCAST will facilitate and drive collaboration between government, industry and local universities that will encourage job creation by boosting sensor technology research, development and commercialization. The University of Dayton Research Institute, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Ohio State University, and Qbase are among the many participating partners.

• Thanks in large measure to a $1.8 million grant from the State of Ohio’s Third Frontier program, the National Composite Center’s Dayton Campus for Advanced Materials Technologies has converted an old, vacant manufacturing building on McCall Street into a new business development and incubation facility. The re-use of this once-abandoned building will generate millions of dollars in investment and create many new high-tech jobs. The facility has already attracted two companies.

• The City of Dayton is actively engaged with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Day-ton Development Coalition and many other partners involved with the BRAC process, which will result in thousands of new jobs for our region.

• Since 2005, the City of Dayton’s Economic Development staff has conducted more than 1,000 business retention and expansion visits with local companies. In the past five years, Dayton’s economic development programs helped to retain more than 12,000 jobs, created more than 4,100 jobs, and leveraged more than $434 million in private investments.

• The City has opened the new Dayton Business Resource Center in partnership with


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the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, CityWide Development Corporation and the Downtown Dayton Partnership. This Center will provide the focus needed to keep local businesses in the city and attract new companies looking for space and resources to grow.

• A new plan for the Oregon Fifth Street Corridor was completed. The Oregon Arts District continues to evolve as the region’s entertainment destination of choice, with the recent opening of more art galleries, improved parking and landscaping.

• The Cannery development and the Webster Station District bring diners, gallery-goers and shoppers to attractions that include the National City Second Street Public Market, the Wine Gallery & Café, Therapy Café, Square One Salon and Day Spa, K-12 Gallery, the Basically British shop, and more.

• Dayton’s economic development efforts have resulted in numerous investments of jobs and money in the city, including: Tec-Edge Works, Select International, Euroflamm, Norwood Tool, Transamerica, Tech Metals Inc., Gem City Engineering, Industrial Fi-berglass Specialties, CompuNet Clinical Laboratories, Behr Dayton Thermal, Nano-tek Instruments, Inc., Accu-Grind & Manufacturing Company, Midwest Iron & Metal Company, Circonix Technologies, Gem City Metal Spinning, Regent Surgical Health, Global Mound Manufacturing, Enterprise Information Management, Inc., Allied Supply Company, Liberty Savings Bank, Chase Bank, Primed Physicians, Hafenbrack Market-ing, BGH Studios, Courtyard by Marriott, Coco’s, Pacchia, Fifth Street Wine & Deli, Composite Technologies, Central State University, VITAS Hospice, Lastar, V Systems Composites, Silken & Dankof, Reichard Buick, Helmig & Leinesch, BradyWare, Plating Technology, and others.

• The City of Dayton has entered into two Joint Economic Development Districts (JEDDs) – one with Miami Township and the other with Butler Township. The unique regional cooperation efforts allow the participating jurisdictions to share revenues re-lated to economic development successes.

• The Dayton International Airport continues to make improvements to enhance the facility and reduce the cost for airlines and passengers to fly out of Dayton:

o The Airport has experienced steady increases in both number of enplanements and the number of passengers in recent years. In fact, 2008 saw the highest number of passengers using the Airport since 1991.

o Frontier Airlines was added to the Airport in 2005, offering direct flights to Denver.

o Air Canada announced new non-stop service to Toronto beginning July, 2008.

o The Airport announced that the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites will construct a new hotel near the Airport terminal building to be open by the end of 2010. The location of the current hotel will eventually be cleared for additional long-term parking, generating an additional $1 million in revenue each year.

o Construction is set to begin on a new covered parking garage that will make the Airport even more attractive to air travelers.


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o The Airport has made several improvements inside the terminal building, including offering live music and art displays to enhance the experience for travelers. In addition, the Airport has developed a comprehensive food/beverage and retail concessions plan to upgrade this aspect of the terminal operation.

o The Airport has developed re-use plans to attract new jobs and operations to the former UPS cargo facility. The Airport is making plans to use approximately 400 acres of non-aviation property for future economic development activity. In a related effort, nearly $900,000 worth of improvements were made to Cargo Road to enhance infrastructure for businesses located nearby.

o UltraCell, a California-based manufacturer of high-tech fuel cells, is developing a facility on Airport property, and the Reynolds & Reynolds Company is reusing the former McCauley Manufacturing Building for some of its operations.

o In September of 2007, local, state and federal officials helped break ground for a new Air Traffic Control Tower, financed entirely by the Federal Aviation Administration.

o The “Easy To and Through” and “Think Dayton First” marketing campaigns have helped promote the Dayton International Airport as the best regional choice for convenient and friendly air service.

Quality of Life

• The City of Dayton remains a vocal advocate for citizens affected by the national home foreclosure crisis. City officials continue to work with local, state and federal of-ficials to develop safeguards that protect consumers. • In 2008, Governing Magazine named Dayton Housing Inspector John Carter as one of its eight “Public Officials of the Year.” John earned the distinguished honor for his innovative approaches to working with mortgage lenders and property owners affected by the foreclosure crisis.

• The City of Dayton has initiated a variety of energy-saving and environmentally con-scious programs to enhance our position as a “Green” city. Hybrid vehicles have been added to the City’s fleet, a Green Roof will be installed on City Hall, Tech Town and the Airport are employing alternative energy efforts, construction of energy-efficient homes is underway downtown, and a “Cool City” team has been created to identify new op-portunities to pursue.

• Mayor McLin has conducted more than 50 “Mayor’s Walks” through city neighbor-hoods since 2005 as a way to meet directly with residents and observe first-hand the various issues facing the community. Mayor McLin also conducts regular “Mayor’s Day” meetings that allow citizens to meet with her one-on-one.

• More aggressive efforts to fight illegal dumping, including prosecution of violators, have resulted in a major decrease in illegal dumping.

• Under City Commissioner Dean Lovelace’s leadership, the Greater Dayton Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Coalition has provided free, IRS-certified tax preparation ser-vices at sites throughout the community since 2002. Since then, the Coalition’s tax site


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volunteers have prepared a total of 12,550 federal tax returns for lower income working families and seniors, who received a total of $13 million in refunds from the IRS.

• The build-out process is underway to provide free outdoor wireless Internet service throughout the city of Dayton. Similar no-cost service has been offered throughout downtown Dayton since 2004.

• Mayor McLin’s Heritage Community Service Program has recognized more than 1,200 individuals and organization for their volunteer contributions to Dayton since 2005.

• The City of Dayton agreed to lease vacant land at the intersection of Wayne Avenue and East Fourth Street to Dayton Circus, a creative collaborative that uses the site for outdoor performances, art exhibits and a community garden.

• Dayton adopted new regulations initiated by City Commissioner Matt Joseph to help reduce the trend of individuals illegally stripping metal and other materials from build-ings and construction sites and selling it to salvage dealers. Dayton’s efforts helped push the State of Ohio to develop statewide regulations against this activity.

• The City of Dayton launched its new “Dayton Patented. Originals Wanted.” branding initiative. The campaign promotes Dayton’s trademark reputation for innovation, creativ-ity and originality in attracting residents, businesses and visitors.

• As part of Mayor McLin’s 2008 City Beautification Project, 20 teenagers from the Teen Employment Readiness Program hand-painted 150 waste barrels with creative artwork for placement in parks and greenspaces throughout the city.

• The Dayton Dialogue on Race Relations (DDRR), under the guidance of City Com-missioner Dean Lovelace, continues to promote harmony and improve race relations in the greater Dayton area.

• The Dayton Water Department kicked off its “Take Back the Tap” campaign as a way to encourage area residents to save money and go easy on the environment by drink-ing Dayton’s high-quality tap water.

• The Dayton Mediation Center, one of our community’s greatest assets, continues its 20-year tradition of assisting individuals, neighbors, organizations and workplaces in moving from conflict to conversation.

• The City of Dayton continues to endorse and participate in the annual Peace Bridge celebration festivities that bring all segments of the community together to help break down racial barriers.

• The Human Relations Council, in partnership with the Department of Planning and Community Development, Montgomery County, and the City of Kettering, worked to-gether to complete the 2008 Impediments to Fair Housing Study.

• The Dayton Human Relations Council completed a Second Generation Procurement Disparity Study to help achieve fair and equitable procurement and contracting with minority, female and small disadvantaged businesses.

• A team of regional public, private and non-profit sector leaders, led by the City Manager and the Montgomery County Administrator, worked for two years to develop


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a comprehensive 10-year plan to eliminate chronic homelessness and reduce overall homelessness in Dayton and Montgomery County. The plan was adopted by the City of Dayton, Montgomery County and United Way of Greater Dayton in 2006. The Plan’s implementation is overseen by the Homeless Solutions Policy Board.

• Dayton’s brownfield redevelopment efforts earned a “City Livability Award” from the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2005.

• Much activity has occurred around the idea of attracting and retaining the “Creative Class” in Dayton. Nationally-recognized urban expert Dr. Richard Florida and his team agreed to work in Dayton to initiate organized efforts targeting the young profession-als and others who represent the “creative class.” The Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) is coordinating this community-wide effort.

• The annual “Summer in the City” program was created by City Commissioner Matt Jo-seph to appeal to local professional interns as a way to keep them in Dayton to pursue their careers.

• The Dayton Human Relations Council’s Minority Contractors Business Assistance Program (MCBAP) has instituted an annual Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference to assist women who are interested in starting a business or expanding their existing business.

• The Department of Public Works established a centralized Public Works Call Center for citizens to easily report concerns or submit service requests relating to waste collec-tion, street maintenance, snow removal, bulky waste, etc.

• The City of Dayton has partnered with the Downtown Dayton Partnership, Montgom-ery County and many other community agencies on the new “Campus Connect” proj-ect, which encourages the thousands of local college students to consider remaining in the Dayton area to live, work and play after graduation.

• A Diversity Task Force has been created within the City organization to develop ways to increase workplace diversity.

• The Department of Planning and Community Development hosted its first annual Neighborhood Conference, which attracted regional residents and community leaders to discuss strategies to improve our community.

Public Safety

• The City of Dayton has joined with other local communities to create a regional dis-patch center, which will save precious taxpayer dollars and better coordinate emer-gency response functions.

• The Dayton Police Department launched the Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Vio-lence (CIRGV) program in partnership with numerous community volunteers, state and federal agencies, the City of Trotwood and the Montgomery County Sherriff’s Office. CIRGV is a focused, long-term approach to reducing gun crimes in the region.

• The City of Dayton’s red light enforcement program, which uses cameras to capture red light violators, continues to encourage safer driving practices in the city.


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• The City has purchased 95 new Police vehicles, seven new or refurbished Fire/EMS apparatus, and 54 new pieces of public works equipment.

• The Fire Department implemented the CodeRED® emergency telephone alert sys-tem, which provides high-speed, mass telephone emergency notification at no cost to users. The system offers the ability to deliver pre-recorded telephone messages in the event of natural or man-made disasters.

• Since 2005, three new Police Recruit classes have been conducted, with a total of 44 new Dayton Police Officers graduating into the Dayton Police Department. In addition, the Dayton Fire Department completed three Fire Recruit training classes with 48 new Firefighters graduating.

• The Dayton Police Department participated in a targeted citywide crime prevention program called “Operation Safe Summer.” This effort was a joint initiative between the Dayton Police Department, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, and the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

• Although individual crime statistics may fluctuate from year to year, many crime cat-egories have been trending downward. For example, compared to average incidents of crime over the previous five years, 2008 crime numbers were down by about 13.5 per-cent. Overall crime was down nearly 4 percent from 2007 to 2008. Downtown Dayton continues to have one of the lowest crime rates in the city.

• Mayor Rhine McLin was named a member of the nationwide “Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition.” One of the group’s efforts involved lobbying the U.S. Congress to provide greater support of local law enforcement efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

• Dayton Police employed focused enforcement tactics and new collaborations with citizen and community groups to help reduce prostitution activity.

• The Police and Fire Departments enhanced their web sites to include enhanced recruitment materials and information.

Youth Development

• The Dayton City Commission sponsored a Youth Anti-Violence Seminar and created an Ad Hoc Committee to develop recommendations about how to prevent and reduce violent behavior among young people. Two of the key recommendations stemming from the Seminar called for establishing a Youth Development Coordinator position and cre-ating the “Dayton Commission on Youth.” Both of these recommendations have been implemented.

• Some of the projects and programs implemented by the Dayton Commission on Youth include creating a Teen Council, conducting Youth Think Tank events, and developing a clearinghouse of resources and services to benefit young people and their families.

• The Department of Recreation and Youth Services instituted an after-school program at select recreation centers. The “We Care 4 You” program targeted students ages 5 to 12 as a safe and fun alternative to children being home alone.


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• The Department of Recreation & Youth Services has hosted a “Youth & Young Adult Trade & Skills Fair” since 2006. This event typically attracts approximately 300 young people eager for advice about education and career planning.

• The City of Dayton teamed up with the Dayton Public Schools’ Construction Technolo-gies Program to help the students develop real-life skills. The students renovated for re-sale an old house the City of Dayton provided in the Wright-Dunbar neighborhood.

• The City of Dayton partnered with other area agencies to conduct the “Lights On After School” event, which helped inform young people and their parents about constructive after-school activities.

• The City of Dayton partnered with the Dayton Public Schools and Sinclair Community College to help prepare local high school students for a future career in public safety.

• Mayor McLin annually challenges Dayton school children to read more books as a way to help improve their literacy skills. Students who meet their reading goal receive certificates of achievement from the City Commission.

• Dayton has partnered with Dayton Public Schools to provide a variety of support services, including the STAY-in-School Rally, Scholar Athlete program, Princeton Re-view SAT Preparation Test, 21st Century Learning Centers After-School Program, and STAAR.

• The City has provided job opportunities for approximately 200 youth ages 13-15 dur-ing the annual summer youth employment program.

• The Dayton Public Schools’ new David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center at the for-mer Reynolds and Reynolds site on Washington Street is scheduled to open in August.

• Dayton’s Citywide Teen Council, under the direction of the Department of Recreation and Youth Services, opened The Snack Attack Kafe at the Bomberger Teen Center. Kafe associates, all Dayton youth who are high school freshmen or older, are respon-sible for selecting and managing product inventories, tracking revenue and expenses, and implementing a marketing strategy.

Downtown

• Over the past 10 years, the City has helped stimulate an investment of more than $299 million in downtown jobs, $258 million in amenities, and $70 million in housing. It is important to remember that the jobs contained within the geography of the Downtown and the surrounding planning districts and development areas account for generat-ing approximately 40 percent of the total jobs-generated income tax revenue for the entire city. The investment in this area between 2001 and 2010 is projected to exceed $600,000,000.

• To address important parking needs downtown, new parking garages and surface lots have been created. A six-story, 1,200-space parking garage was recently opened along Main Street across from the new CareSource headquarters. In addition, two new sur-face parking lots were created in the southeast part of downtown – the first a 170-space parking lot near the intersection of East Fifth Street and Brown Street, and the second a


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50-space lot on Wayne Avenue near the Webster Station District.

• CareSource Management Group is finishing construction of its new $55- million headquarters in downtown Dayton, which will support the company’s growth from 600 employees to as many as 1,200 employees over the next few years.

• KeyBank has moved its regional headquarters and 200 employees into the former Mead/Westvaco building on downtown’s Courthouse Square.

• The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority is nearing completion on its new transit pavilion downtown. It will make public transportation more convenient while easing congestion at the center of downtown.

• Urban pioneers like Bob and Nancy Shiffler are helping to bring new life to unique downtown buildings. For example, they have restored the charm and beauty of the old Kuhns and McCrory buildings. New occupants of the Kuhns building include the AIDS Resource Center, Hafenbrack Marketing, Five Rivers MetroParks, and the Better Busi-ness Bureau.

• The City of Dayton is committing $1 million a year for a five-year period to stimulate a shift of vintage downtown office space to housing and other new uses.

• Downtown housing options continue to appeal to a wide spectrum of homebuyers and renters. Popular downtown housing developments include Ice Avenue Lofts, Cooper Lofts, Performance Place, Firefly Lofts, St. Clair Lofts, Cooper Place, Brooks House, The Landing, the McCormick Building and many others.

• The CityLife sculpture exhibit is a popular and unique attraction that has drawn thou-sands of people downtown.

• The Urban Nights coordinated by the Downtown Dayton Partnership remain popular events that attract large crowds downtown.

• The Downtown Ambassador Program was implemented in concert with the Down-town Dayton Partnership and the Greater Dayton RTA to help showcase the benefits of living, working or visiting downtown. The Ambassadors help keep the center city clean and attractive and assist visitors with any questions they might have.

• The City of Dayton partnered with CityWide Development Corporation, the Downtown Dayton Partnership, and Oregon District businesses and residents to welcome four new art galleries to the Oregon Business District in early 2008.

• The Biltmore completed a $9 million renovation of its downtown apartment units.

• Downtown-based Sinclair Community College, which recently received community support through a successful levy campaign, remains a strong regional education as-set.

• The Dayton Convention Center received a $2.3 million upgrade to its façade that helped enhance the building’s visual presence in downtown Dayton. These improve-ments will help maintain the Dayton Convention Center as an attractive and visible anchor of downtown Dayton.


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Financial Management

• In 2006, voters approved the City of Dayton’s income tax renewal by an overwhelming 85 percent. The earnings tax renewal means the City of Dayton will be able to maintain the same earnings tax rate for at least 30 years.

• City officials partnered with other public and private sector leaders to form the Strate-gic Financial Plan Study Committee. The group developed a framework to help the City of Dayton maintain financial stability through various cost-cutting and revenue-generat-ing recommendations.

• Moody’s Investors Services and Standard and Poor’s have retained or upgraded their debt ratings for the City of Dayton over the past few years. As recently as the Fall of 2007, Standard and Poor’s upgraded Dayton’s Economic Development Revenue Bond rating from “A-” to “A.” In addition, the agency retained Dayton’s “A+” rating for General Obligation Bonds. Moody’s Investors Services confirmed Dayton’s Economic Develop-ment Bond rating at “A2” and also retained its “A1” rating for the City’s General Obliga-tion Bonds. These actions validate Dayton’s efforts to manage its limited financial resources wisely.

• Despite the deteriorating economy, the City of Dayton has successfully balanced an-nual budgets and maintained financial stability without dipping into its emergency cash reserve fund.

• The City of Dayton continues to receive annual awards from the national Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recognizing its excellent financial management ef-forts. In 2006, the City received its 25th consecutive GFOA award.

• The City of Dayton Department of Human Resources staff worked diligently to devel-oped a new health insurance program to curtail escalating health care costs while still providing quality services to employees.

• The Department of Finance has employed new approaches to collecting unpaid debts. Since 2005, the City’s Division of Revenue Collection has brought in nearly $12.5 mil-lion in delinquent taxes and other monies. The recent Tax Amnesty Program collected more than $500,000 in unpaid income taxes.

• The City’s Finance Department installed a new Interactive Voice Response (IVR) sys-tem that allows Dayton water utility customers to make water payments by telephone using a check or debit card. Customers may also make payment arrangements, enter owner’s reading, schedule water meter readings, and more. A similar IVR system was also installed to assist with tax-related services.

• The City organization has saved approximately $200,000 in annual costs by consoli-dating some municipal offices into City-owned facilities to reduce rent and utility costs.

• The City of Dayton entered into agreements with Jefferson Township and the City of Riverside to provide waste collection services for those communities, which generates new revenue for the City of Dayton while saving money for the two participating jurisdic-tions.

2009 State of the CityMayor Rhine L. McLin

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Dayton, Ohio

“I know the price of success: dedication,

hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the

things you want to see happen.”

Frank Lloyd Wright

City of DaytonCity Hall

101 West Third StreetDayton, OH 45401

(937) 333-3333

www.cityofdayton.org

mayor rhine l. mclin 2009 state of the...

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