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State of the City II: The City in the Region

Downtown Rotary Club

January 29, 2004

 

Thank you, Diana.   Being introduced by a friend is a two edged sword.  On the one hand they know you well enough to get it right.  On the other hand, they know you well enough  Thanks, Diana, for saying only the good stuff.

 

What an honor it is to address the downtown Rotary Club.  This speech is the second leg of a three part State of the City Address.  Three!  As a politician who is also a preacher I knew I couldnt fit everything I wanted to say into a traditional State of the City format.

 

The first installment was delivered last Saturday morning to an audience of 650 at the DeVos Place Convention Center.  The theme was education; specifically the relationship between the City of Grand Rapids and the GRPS.  I proposed or supported three major initiatives.

 

The first is called Grand Rapids Reads.  It is a multi-body, community literacy proposal that will deliver services to adults in Grand Rapids who do not read at functional levels.  I learned, through conversation with Susan Ledy of the Kent County Literacy Council, that 21% residents in Grand Rapids are functionally illiterate: they cant read the newspaper, a medicine bottle, their mail.  They are not able to read to their childrenwho, in turn, are more likely to grow up illiterate.  Soon GRCC President Juan Olivarez and I will convene a Literacy Summit to engage community partners and aggressively attack the problem of illiteracy.

 

The second initiative I proposed on Saturday is a new operating partnership between the City and the Public Schools.  Where we do similar work, but do it separately, and where we might benefit financially from partnership, we will negotiate joint operating agreements.  The City mows grass and the schools mow grass.  The city maintains buildings and schools maintain buildings.  We have a payroll processing system and so do they.  Through the creation of an Education Renewal Authority of City, Schools and community stakeholders we will seek cooperative and cost-sharing opportunities.  Together we will look at every possible avenue for joint operations.

 

The third initiative announced Saturday is the Education Renewal Zone package.  The Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Frey Foundation and Steelcase Foundation convened a stakeholder group that met over a period of two years and developed a comprehensive reform plan for the GRPS.  One element sketched in that plan was this Education Renewal Zone.  It received its first full, public airing on Saturday to overwhelming support: from citizens, educators, and  importantly  from state legislators on both sides of the aisle.  Tuesday evening Governor Granholm endorsed the proposal in her State of the State Address.  The heart of the ERZ proposal is student academic achievement.  Every initiative included in the plan must tie back to improvement in student learning.  One of the most significant elements of the Education Renewal Zone package is a financing plan that includes tax incentives for private-sector investment in school facilities and public investment through capture of property tax increment to address the capital needs of the public schools.

 

On February 23 I will give the third installment of this State of the City when I speak to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids on my goals for the local economy. 

 

Today, in the second installment, I want to talk about the role of the City of Grand Rapids in the region.

 

Let me start with a survey of the facts.  Our metropolitan area grew rapidly between the 1990 and 2000 census.  Several employment sectors saw growth: higher education and health care being two significant areas.  Our people were employed, our economy was profitable, and our tax base grew, supporting a high level of quality public services.  Grand Rapids was a remarkable exception among urban core cities in the state: our population actually expanded during this period.

 

Downtown GR began a revival during the 1990s fueled by public and private investment.  Van Andel Arena, Van Andel Public Museum, Van Andel Institute, the relocation of the courts and police department to make way for the new DeVos Place Convention Center, the expansion of Grand Valley State University downtown, the opening of Western Michigan University and now Cooley Law School, myriad new buildings on the Spectrum Health and St. Marys Hospital campuses.  The growth continues as BCBS renovates the Steketee building, the Art Museum prepares to break ground for an exciting new facility, and several Brownfield redevelopment and Renaissance Zone projects breathe new life into downtown.

 

Though the central city grew steadily over the decade of the 1990s, the region exploded.  Townships surrounding the fully-developed core city saw farms converted to subdivisions, condominiums, office parks and shopping areas.  Arterial highways clogged with traffic.  The rapid growth fueled a building boom in school facilities which, in turn, accelerated the exit of families from the core city.  The quality of life was arguably diminished in city and countryside alike.

 

The core city must be strong.  Grand Rapids is the heart of our metropolitan area and, indeed, of the West Michigan region.  If the heart is diseased, the body will die.  It is in everyones best interest to see that the city remains strong and continues to grow and become increasingly more vital.

 

In discussing the role of the city in the region I am going to organize my thoughts this afternoon around three broad themes:

 

Develop the City First

 

If you need forty acres to build your plant, or to plat 20 residential lots youre going to have a hard time finding it in the city.  In one sense we are a fully-built, mature, Midwest industrial city.  But consider the underutilization of so many of our buildings, the inefficient use of land, and the potential for high quality, dense residential development or lean manufacturing space in the city.  The city offers untapped investment potential for innovative developers and smart, cost-conscious industrial and commercial users.

 

A residential revival is underway downtown and near downtown.  The Berkey and Gay, Ammerman, and American Seating redevelopment projects have proven a residential market for young professionals and downtown workers.  With other projects as diverse as second floor condominiums on Monroe Center and apartment towers on North Monroe, downtown is becoming a residential destination, the hot place (or should I say cool place) to live.  The designation of a renaissance zone and the willingness to be creative in addressing downtown residents parking needs speak to the decade-long commitment of City government to attracting residents downtown.

 

Not only is high-end, downtown housing booming, but infill housing in the neighborhoods all over the city is a hot commodity.  It used to be that the City was hard-pressed to get rid of its vacant, tax reverted lots, often giving them to non-profit corporations for $1.00.  Today when City-owned developable properties come on the market they are sold at market value to private sector builders.

 

Residential development is essential to the vitality of the city; but so is commercial development, the kind that supports families with good-paying jobs.  We must be diligent in attracting those companies that can start-up, relocate, and expand here.  We have good tools such as renaissance zones, industrial facilities tax exemptions and Brownfield refinance.  Did you know that Renaissance Zones have resulted in $247 million dollars of new investment in Grand Rapids and have created nearly 2,000 jobs?  We must continue to put these tools to good use.

 

It is the development of our SmartZone district, however, that most cranks my engine.  Using this tool to bring entrepreneurs together with the developers of new technologies, we will capitalize on the emerging strength of the life sciences and bio-medical research capabilities.  Granted, developing commercial applications for emerging technologies is no short term fix for the economy.  But it is in our long-term best interest as a city  and a region  to target resources to this area. 

 

Yesterday GVSU President Mark Murray and I officiated the opening of the Wet Lab Incubator Project at the GVSU Cook-DeVos Center.  Here scientists, physicists and chemists will develop the new technologies that not only will improve our health and give quality to our lives but that will drive our economic rebirth.  Here entrepreneurs and inventors will come together in common interest.   How many new Amways may be nurtured in this incubator?  We will surely make good use of our fair share of the $500 million Governor Granholm pledged Tuesday for venture capital for technology start-up businesses.

 

The City must be sure that we have in place the innovation infrastructure including the fiber optic capability to power the super-computers that research, and increasingly high-end manufacturing, demand.  I will work with our legislative delegation and with Governor Granholm to restore full funding to the Life Sciences Corridor as early as possible and to put in place the technology to drive our end of the Corridor.

 

Keeping the city strong is my first regional objective.

 

World Class Transit

 

My second objective is building a world class transit system in our region. 

 

When I took office as Mayor I left the Board of The Rapid.  I had served as Chairman since its inception in 2000 and I had chaired the GRATA Board for its last two years.  Altogether I spent 10 years on transit authority boards.  Im a transit guy!  Our regional future depends on having an efficient, affordable, multi-modal transit system that can effortlessly and quickly deliver workers to the jobs, shoppers to the stores and students to the colleges and universities.  Former Mayor John Logie, during his twelve years in office, moved the transit ball way down the field and prepared us for even more rapid growth in the next decade.

 

This summer we will open the Surface Transportation Center on Grandville Avenue.  If you have driven through the S Curve in recent months you have seen the amazing gateway structure that will cover the transfer staging area and you may have noticed the building going up behind it.  This facility will serve the six cities in The Rapid partnership and the five townships that contract with the Rapid.  $23 million in Federal and State funding was secured for this facility.  The expanded services that will be provided out of the Center are possible because of two successful millage campaigns in 2000 and 2003.  Now we need to expand the service area. 

 

We need countywide transit services.  The health of our economy, the well-being of our countys citizens, and the strength of the core city are integrally linked to quality public transportation services.  The Rapid is prepared to provide countywide services; its track record demonstrates both capacity and competency.  I urge the Kent County Board of Commissioners and the Board of The Rapid to begin the public dialogue leading to a countywide transit.  County Board Chairman David Morren has appointed a public transportation ad hoc committee.  I stand ready to work with Chairman Morren to make countywide transit a reality.

 

We dont have to wait for countywide transit, however, to begin running daily express bus service between Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland.  The West Michigan Strategic Alliance has fired our collective imagination to the possibilities of synergy between the major cities of the Metro-Triplex.  We know there is a significant daily job commute driving between these three communities.  Now is the time to bring the three transit boards and the two MPOs that serve our region to the table to seek funding for planning and development of Triplex express public transportation services.

Finally, I want to reaffirm the support of the Mayors office for major corridor fixed investments such as light rail or busways.  Under a multi-year federal grant The Rapid is engaged in a community planning process to explore most advantageous corridors and most efficient transit modes for long-term capital investment within our metropolitan area.  Within the year the Great Transit, Grand Tomorrows Task Force led by former Congressman Richard VanderVeen and former State Representative Bill Byl will issue its report and recommendations which will go to the Federal Transit Administration for concurrence.  The next step will be a preliminary engineering study and the all-important process of building community consensus behind the initiative.  It will probably be a decade before we ride the rail or bus rapid transit in Grand Rapids; but were moving in that direction and I want us to pick up the pace.

 

A Strong Metro Council

 

The third area I want to speak to today is strengthening the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council.  I reviewed the recommendations of Governor Granholms Land Use Leadership Council over the weekend with an eye toward the role for GVMC in carrying out the initiatives.  The Metro Council could be  and, perhaps, should be  a regional player in most of the 62 recommendations.  With the Metro Council under the dynamic direction of Don Stypula our region is poised to play a leadership role in the state.

 

But first we need all the players at the table.  It is time for Wyoming  the second largest city in the metro area  to join the Council.  The region needs them there.  Grand Rapids needs them there as a full urban partner.  Together we are much stronger than we are when we stand alone.  Together we can accomplish extraordinary things that will benefit the citizens of Wyoming and ensure that their hopes, aspirations and needs are recognized in our regional conversations and planning efforts.  Mayor Hoekstra and the Wyoming Council want what is best for their citizens.  I encourage them to move forward by joining us as full partners at the GVMC planning table. 

 

Second, the Metro Council is the synapse between the common interests of the metropolitan governments.  It must connect us in multi-jurisdictional planning initiatives.  An example of GVMC playing such a role is the East Beltline initiative between Plainfield Township, Grand Rapids Township and the City of Grand Rapids.  The process, instigated by GVMC in the late 1990s, developed an important zoning overlay to help ensure consistent development of the East Beltline from I-96 to West River Drive.  Elsewhere in our region, in border areas, we can benefit from Metro Council facilitation of planning and zoning efforts that take us past selfish interests and cause us to think and act regionally.

 

GVMC can also facilitate other forms of regional cooperation.  The City of Grand Rapids and the City of Wyoming, both jurisdictions having sewage treatment systems, began a dialogue about disposal of bio-solids.  We formed an entrepreneurial partnership that will invest in a treatment facility that will save both cities money.  The City of Grand Rapids and the City of Walker have been engaged in conversations about the development of the industrial border area on our north  their south  side.  Metro Council represents a neutral ground where communities can come together to sort out differences and seek common ground and where new joint ventures can be launched.

 

Third, there are great inequities within the region.  The urban centers of Grand Rapids and Wyoming struggle to fund quality schools, to update cracking infrastructure, and to provide basic services to residents in the face of dwindling tax base.  Similar challenges exist in many of the poor, rural areas of the region.  In between the city and the country is a burgeoning suburban ring with a strong, growing tax base and relatively less tax effort required to generate substantially more tax dollars.  The schools here are new and well-equipped, the parks sparkle, and the roads are well-maintained. 

 

I invite the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council to launch a major regional dialogue on equity that will help us find new ways to deploy resources for our mutual benefit.  We will either prosper as a region or all slide down the same chute to ruin.  There will be no leaving some behind, no standing on the backs of a few. 

 

The equity discussion is critical to creating great public education in all jurisdictions in the region.  The equity discussion is critical to the production of affordable housing throughout the region.  The equity discussion is critical to maintaining quality infrastructure for all jurisdictions.

 

We need to think outside the traditional boundaries and act beyond parochial interests.  This work cant wait.  I call on the member communities of the Metro Council to begin the dialogue immediately.  I also call on our legislators to provide GVMC with the tools it needs to help us forge equitable relationships among regional governments.

 

Governor Jennifer Granholm, in her State of the State Address Tuesday said, I applaud local leaders who have torn up the turf and replaced it with cooperation and collaboration.  Ladies and gentlemen we need to tear up the turf.  We need to plant the seeds that will grow into a solid mat of connections where parochialism gives way to participation and self interest yields to the common good. 

 

Unfortunately, this does not describe the state of our region today.  It must become so.  I call on local leaders in government, in business, in education and health care, in tourism and environmentalism, in manufacturing, finance, research, and philanthropy.  Let there be a new compact among us.  Let it be a pledge of mutuality.  Our future depends on doing together what each of us is incapable of doing alone.