Richmond Leader

City of Richmond recently issued the following announcement.

Despite the challenges of enduring a second consecutive year of the Covid-19 pandemic that continues to impact lives and livelihoods across the world, the City of Richmond showed resilience in the face of adversity and made bold moves to move forward, positioning itself for a brighter future for all of its residents in the coming year.

“I see a Richmond that was bold in the face of adversity and came out stronger,” said Mayor Levar M. Stoney, who delivered his annual State of the City speech before a pandemic-limited audience of administration officials and community leaders at Main Street Station in historic Shockoe Bottom. “I see a community that chose to thrive in spite of the challenges we faced.”

Recognizing the city still faces challenges to create a better quality of life for all of its residents, the mayor said he was hopeful and optimistic that seeds of equity and growth planted in 2021 would yield significant progress in 2022.

The beneficiary of government assistance, from free and reduced lunches in school to student aid enabling him to become the first in his family to attend and graduate college, the mayor summed up his administration’s approach to have a positive impact on the lives of city residents: “We’re about ‘The Fix.’”

Fixing housing involves the work of a retooled city code enforcement team, which will work to identify and address neighborhood safety and code violations, such as ensuring landlords are fixing housing issue and are being responsive to tenants, some of who may be reluctant to complain for fear of retaliation.

“I remember living in an apartment with my grandmother when I was younger, and she would never complain about the things that needed to be fixed because of her fear of retaliation,” the mayor explained. “We are listening. We have your back and we want to help.”

The mayor also highlighted progress in assisting the city’s homeless, with the hiring of a Homeless Services Coordinator and the establishment of a human resource center for residents slated to become operational later this year.

Finally, he highlighted historic investments, from $20 million of American Rescue Plan Act Funds toward affordable housing projects, to $6.8 million for the redevelopment of Creighton Court and $5.5 million for the Highland Grove redevelopment.

“Our goal is not just to have a place for everyone to live in this city,” the mayor said. “It’s to have an affordable, dignified, clean and safe place for everyone to live in this city.”

On the economy, Mayor Stoney hailed Richmond’s impressive growth despite the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic, noting the city added approximately 1,000 new jobs in fiscal year 2021, dropping its unemployment rate from 5.6% in December 2020 to 3.1% in December, 2021.

He also renewed support for the development of the One Casino and Resort in South Richmond, noting it would create 1,500 good-paying jobs, dedicate $16 million in support to local community organizations, and generate $560 million in capital investment – all without costing the city “a dime.” Upon approval by voters in November, the revenue would allow the city to provide a two-cent reduction in the real estate tax to taxpayers.

“This project is about the people of Richmond,” the mayor said. “It’s about providing security, relief, jobs, and investment which leads to a brighter future for the entire city.”

Beyond the casino development, the mayor also highlighted progress in the development of the former Public Safety Building in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as the extended City Center Plan for downtown.

“We’re talking long-term economic advancement and sustainability,” the mayor said. “Jobs, innovation, and opportunity all working together to continue to uplift the people of Richmond.

The mayor also relayed his vision for development of the Diamond District -- as a mixed-income, mixed-use urban village, anchored by a new baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. And he recognized the substantial investment in the city recently announced by the CoStar Group, which is expanding its campus downtown with plans to add 2,000 new jobs as part of a nearly half-billion dollar investment.

“This is huge for Richmond,” the Mayor said. “We’re sending a message to the rest of the country that Richmond is an exciting and attractive place to live, work and prosper…Your government is working, and we are moving forward.”

In public safety, the mayor addressed the city’s plans to tackle gun violence and police recruitment, retention and accountability, issues that came into sharper focus over the last two years of the pandemic and civil unrest in the summer of 2020.

“Gun violence has plagued our city for far too long,” the mayor said. “…No mother should have to bury her child because we haven’t done enough. Our families deserve better – and I know we can do better.”

The mayor referenced his announcement last Thursday on the city’s hiring of a Community Safety Coordinator, and its partnership with Next Up to serve as fiscal agent to distribute $1 million in ARPA funds focused on community-based youth initiatives aimed at preventing violence, based on the Centers for Disease Control best practices.

In addition to ARPA funding for first responder bonuses, the mayor reiterated his plan to propose salary increases for police officers in his upcoming budget.  He also announced that the city would invest $500,000 for a Gun Buyback Program to incentivize the removal of operational firearms from city streets.

“We are going after the guns and we’re locking up violent offenders,” the mayor stated. “In order to prosper, our city needs to be safe – safe at home, at work, and at school. And that means we have to be tough on violent crime and tough on the root causes of crime.”

Noting that the relationship between police and the community is “a two-way street,” the mayor said the city was moving ahead with plans to establish a Civilian Review Board “that fits the needs of the Richmond,” which will be presented to council in the coming weeks.

Recognizing Covid-19 remains a significant consideration and limitation in the daily life in the city and beyond, Mayor Stoney said: “The people of Richmond are strong…We must resist the mindset of despair and instead remain focused on optimism and hope.”

He encouraged city residents to continue to get vaccinated and boosted, noting roughly 68 percent of adult residents have received at least one dose of the lifesaving vaccine. He hailed the heroic work of over the last year by Dr. Danny Avula and his team at the Richmond City Health District, and said Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision to issue an executive order making masks optional in schools goes against the medical community and is “not only wrong, but dangerous.”

Referencing a UNICEF report that estimates income loss of $17 Trillion worldwide for the current generation of students due to pandemic-related school closures, the mayor said, “Richmond has to remain open. Schools have to remain open, and businesses have to remain open. And we stay open by following the science – vaccinations and masks.”

The Equity Agenda, the guiding principle of Mayor Stoney’s second term in office, was also highlighted in the mayor’s annual remarks.

Simply put, it is a call to remove barriers of structural racism that have become embedded in the historical, political, cultural, social and economic systems that have historically denied equal access and opportunity for all Richmond residents.

The mayor highlighted the $5 million set aside for the city’s Health Equity Trust Fund to address not only the pandemic but issues such as mental health and substance abuse in marginalized communities of color.

He also announced plans for the city to join its regional governments on February 14 to declare opioid overdoses a public health crisis. The city will participate in a regional Metropolitan Spike Alert Program, which will notify the public of spikes in opioid overdoses and provide information on local resources for treatment and recovery.

On the issue of equitable transit and mobility, the mayor said the city would paint lanes dedicated for the PULSE Bus Rapid Transit Line red this year and promised that GRTC bus riders in Richmond will ride for free as long as he is mayor.

The mayor said the city is in the final stretch of development of its climate action plan, RVAgreen 2050, which is expected to be finalized this fall.

He also highlighted another success of the past year, with the launch of a guaranteed income pilot program, known as the Richmond Resilience Initiative, which will now continue through 2022.

Other highlights include the significant investment of $81 million in ARPA funding to support children and families with the construction and rehabilitation of four community centers that will serve 100,00 city residents in high poverty areas, all within walking distance, as well as expanding access to high-quality childcare, and laying the groundwork to advance universal Pre-K.

“We know that when we wrap our arms around our families, they succeed,” the mayor stated. “This is really what it’s all about. We want families to thrive in our city. We want to put in the work today, so that when our children grow up, they inherit a city that’s filled with opportunity. Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve in life.”

The city is rising from the challenges of the past and into a new era, filled with hope, compassion and kindness.

“We’re becoming known as inclusive, innovative, thriving, dynamic and diverse,” he said, noting that last year’s removal of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was “one of the most important moments in our city’s history.”

“Today a Black man serve as mayor. A Black woman serve as city council president. An Indian American man directs our health department. And a Jewish man leads our schools.

“We are in the midst of a racial reckoning in this country, and when the history books look back and tell the story of today, it gives me great comfort that Richmond will be on the RIGHT side of history.”

Calling Richmond “one of the best cities in America,” Mayor Stoney pledged city government will remain focused on the fix, and making “bold moves to improve the quality of life for all Richmonders.”

Original source can be found here.