State of the City - January 30, 2012

Last night at Shift Happens local business owners mixed, mingled, learned a thing or two, and generally celebrated each other and Tacoma.  And Mayor Strickland gave her State of the City address.  The Mayor reviewed the accomplishments and challenges of 2011, and looked forward to all that 2012 will hold. 

2012 State of the City Address

RECAP of LAST YEAR

Last year, our theme for the State of the City address was “finishing what we started.”  And we did!  From family recreation to commerce and transportation, we saw the completion of many great projects:

- Cheney Stadium, home of the Tacoma Rainiers, re-opened on time and on budget to great reviews from many fans.

- After years of trying to attract a grocery store to downtown Tacoma, the new IGA’s City Grocer opened its doors on 13th and Pacific Avenue at Pacific Plaza – adding a new downtown shopping option for workers, visitors and residents of all income levels.

- Much to the delight of children and families from the Stadium District to Hilltop, Metro Parks completed and turned on the water at the Wright Park Spraygrounds last summer, for a little relief from hot summer days. Wright Park has again become a destination for families and one of our most beloved urban parks.

- The Ting at Chinese Reconciliation Park graces our waterfront.  A gift from our Sister City in Fuzhou, opened to the public and has become a picturesque focal point for community events.  Most importantly, it is a respectful recognition of our community’s past, and a symbol of international unity.

- We completed the Lincoln Avenue Bridge in the Tideflats, which along with the Lincoln Avenue Grade Separation project helps speed the movement of cargo, freight and traffic to and from the busy Port of Tacoma

- The new Children’s Museum of Tacoma now joins museum row and adds the vitality of children and families to our downtown core. If you have not already visited, it opened to rave reviews early this year as the only non-profit children’s museum in the country to offer free admission to those who cannot afford to make a donation – thanks to the generous support of KeyBank. 

- In a most unique partnership with the arts community, health care organizations and other local businesses, Tollefson Plaza was transformed into Polar Plaza during the holiday season -bringing ice skating to our downtown core, something that was so popular that it was extended for an extra week.  Thank you to our partners for supporting this event.

- We saw 2,744 new businesses get licensed in 2011 – 500 more new businesses than in 2010

- As a way to help existing businesses and to help those looking to start a new business in Tacoma, in February we will launch the TacomaMeansBusiness.com website. This new site will offer a series of checklists for starting a business in Tacoma along with tips and easy links to business resources in a simple, easy-to-use format.

2011 turned out to be a very challenging year. One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “The true measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convenience, but in times of challenge and controversy.”  But challenges don’t stop us here in Tacoma. We persevere, and we move forward and look to the future. 

In 2012 we can look forward to some great highlights: – The LeMay – America’s Car Museum is scheduled to open in June.  USA Today referred to this as one of the 8 great openings to anticipate in 2012.

- McMenamins is scheduled to begin construction this spring on their plan to turn the Historic Elks Temple into a pub, restaurant and concert venue including hotel rooms.  And I really have to give props to Dan Voelpel, former columnist from The News Tribune, who put that out there as the dream, and here we are looking at it.

- Sound Transit’s D-to-M Street project is scheduled to be complete this year, adding the long-awaited Sounder commuter rail service to South Tacoma and Lakewood.  So Pacific Avenue will open up again, and we will see heavy rail taking people from Tacoma and Lakewood to Seattle.

EDUCATION

So I just rattled off a list of projects, and these are the kind of projects that politicians and business boosters like to point to, and say, “look at that, that’s progress in my city.”  But it’s also important for us to invest in human capital.  And the most significant anti-poverty, crime prevention, pro-business investments we can make are in education.  Education is a civic priority for Tacoma. 

So Tacoma 360, which you’ve heard of, now has a relationship with First Creek Middle School on the East Side of Tacoma, to create the first full-service school.  What that means is that kids will have access to dental care, to health care social services, so that some of the challenges they face before they enter the classroom are being taken care of by people who care for the whole family. 

- We’ve also launched findanhour.org, which encourages people to become mentors to all the children in Tacoma who need one.

- The Foundation for Tacoma Schools seeks to generate private support to improve the educational outcomes for Tacoma students.

- All kinds of positive news continues to pour out of Lincoln High School, where they recently won a Golden Apple Award from KCTS-9 for Lincoln Center.  Last week, it was announced that one of the school’s most successful athletes, Jon Kitna, is returning home to Tacoma to teach math and coach the Lincoln High football team after 15 years playing as a National Football League quarterback.  This is about more than football, this is about instilling values in young men, and making sure that they grow up to become productive members of society. 

-The Mayors Education Task Force continues to support civics education, improved middle school sports, and presses for staffing flexibility so we can retain the most effective teachers and place them where they are most needed.

- Also on the East Side of the city, the Mottet Library remodeling project was completed last month, and now has the distinction of being the neighborhood library with the highest number of public computers. It is also the only library with a fireplace.

2012 is also a year for new beginnings, which offers that chance for us to look at Tacoma from new and different perspectives:

NEW LEADERSHIP

- Tom Pierson, is the new CEO of the Chamber of Commerce.  – Dr. Debra Friedman took over last year as the Chancellor at the University of Washington Tacoma. – Tacoma Public Schools has a new acting Superintendent Carla Santorno – The City of Tacoma will have a new City Manager, T.C. Broadnax, working with me and the rest of the City Council to move the City forward

We are very pleased to welcome all of these new leaders to our city.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

And we’re scheduled to complete some major projects in 2012 as well:

- This spring the Hylebos Bridge is scheduled to re-open, improving transportation access for those traveling to and from NE Tacoma.

- And around the end of 2012 we are scheduled to finish the rehabilitation of the Murray Morgan Bridge, which will restore vehicle access from the heart of downtown to the Tideflats – just in time to mark the 100th birthday of the bridge in 2013.

- Construction is underway again at Point Ruston, where they are improving infrastructure, and a residential building is rising out of the ground and work is expected to be completed later this year on the new roadway connecting Ruston Way and the town of Ruston.  Remember that old tunnel?  Your not going to recognize it when we’re done.

- In the health care field, Community Health Care plans to open its $23 million urgent care clinic in the Hilltop later this year.

- And Franciscan Health System is scheduled to complete a $62 million medical office building and parking garage on the Hilltop as well.

- We are also looking toward the future in 2012 with a feasibility study to see whether a professional sports franchise could make its future home in the Tacoma Dome.  A regional asset that is 33 years old.  We’re going to find out if we can host a professional sports team, or what else we can do to reconfigure it.

- And City staff is working with community members and businesses in area-wide planning processes in the Dome District and the Hilltop – projects that should make it easier and less cumbersome to attract private development to happen in those areas as the economy improves.

So why are these projects so important that I’ve been rattling off?  Well, we know one thing; construction jobs help revive economies.  They also help revive the private sector, because they’re jobs for contractors, engineers, architects and countless other people in the private sector.  As we celebrate local businesses tonight, and the hard work of local entrepreneurs, I want to remind us of a few things. 

WHAT’S OUR EXTRA?

Like many cities around the country, we’re facing budget challenges. Revenues are down and the recovery has been slow.  Like most mayors across the nation, I also know that the national recovery is going to take place right here, in each and every one of our cities.  These things must take place for us to make a full and sustainable economy.  And here’s what we have to do:  we have to make cuts, we have to raise revenue, and we have to make investments.  You cannot cut your way out of a recession.  You must make cuts, you must invest, and you must raise revenues. 

But there’s something else we have do if we want to address what’s on the minds of most people.  Jobs and the economy.  Two weeks ago I had the privilege of attending the US Conference of Mayors in Washington D.C., and one of the keynote speakers was Thomas Freidmann, best-selling author and NY Times columnist.

Friedman challenged Americans to do something; to find our extra.  He writes about globalization and its impact on local economies, but what he’s really talking about is competition.  We live in a world that knows competition like we’ve never seen before.  Even right here at home.  Not only must we raise the bar to maintain our position, we must raise our standards if we are to move ahead.  Each one of us must find our unique talent, skill, or commitment, that makes us stand out.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to work harder, but it means focusing on opportunities to make the most progress.  This applies to public education, workforce training, and how we make public investments.  But it also applies to every single entrepreneur, and every individual who works for you.  It applies to every organization, whether it’s the smallest business, or the largest government entity.  The most successful companies, products and brands have figured out how to become the most something.  That is, how to find and embrace their extra.  Let me provide a few examples right here at home.

Last Friday I had the privilege of visiting a local business, Burkhart Dental Company, they’re Tacoma-based, and they have customers all across the country.  Now this company prides itself on treating its employees like gold, and they do.  I visited their headquarters, and every person I talked to had been there for a long time, and loved working there.  You see excellence in every part of that company.  As a result, they have grown during this recession, while other companies have struggled. 

Brown and Haley Almond Roca has successfully rebranded themselves as a global brand, known for accessible luxury.  They’ve found their extra. 

The Grand Cinema, that we all know and love, shows fantastic independent and foreign films, but their extra?  They also have the best popcorn in town. 

Finding our etra is accknowlegement that in order to be competitive, we must take “good enough,” and raise it to soemthing extraordinary.  Good enough is not going to cut it anymore.

To my fellow elected officials, what’s your extra?  To every parent, every teacher, every principal, every coach, what’s your extra?  To every business owner and your employees, what’s your company’s extra?  To the Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Board, the Downtown Merchants Group, the neighborhood councils, the Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma, what’s your extra?  To the World Trade Center, the Tacoma Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the arts community, what’s your extra?  When individuals find their extra, the companies and organizations they work for find theirs.  When a city is full of organizations that have identified their extras, the city can tell its story; we can tell the story of what makes Tacoma special. 

Now I have the opportunity to interact with mayors from all over the country, and I know for a fact that Tacoma is one of the best cities in America.  We are a fantastic, inclusive community that embraces all people.  We want to improve our neighborhoods, and we want to help our city embrace its full potential.  If we are going to be known as an international waterfront city that is safe, that is clean, that is attractive, we must have a vibrant and sustainable economy.  But we cannot have a vibrant and sustainable economy if we don’t have a super strong business sector.  That’s why we’re here tonight.

So from government at all levels to nonprofits and the business sector, whether you’re a large corporation, or a small mom and pop, I challenge you.  Lets make the shift, and find and deliver our extra in 2012.  Thank you very much, it’s an honor to serve as your mayor.  God bless Tacoma.

So, Tacoma, what’s the state of the city from where you stand?