Cleveland Mayor Jackson expresses 'sense of urgency' in State of the City speech

By JAY MILLER

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is who he is, a modest man who keeps his long-term goals always in sight.

So, he opened his State of the City speech today by saying he wanted to share his “sense of urgency” about a group of issues he has emphasized during his time in office: efforts to operate more efficiently and save money, to develop collaborative programs with other area communities and to transform Cleveland into a 21st century, 24-hour city built around its waterfront.

Mayor Jackson also concluded his 40-minute speech in front of an audience at Public Auditorium of nearly 1,000 business and civic leaders, students and senior citizens — and Gov. John Kasich — by repeating a challenge to civic leaders to work harder to improve the education of the region's children.

But he also had the opportunity to take a little credit and receive applause for two milestones for the city's public safety forces. First, he reported that Cleveland had only five fire fatalities in 2010, the fewest in 112 years. Then he said the city in 2010 recorded the fewest number of homicides in 40 years, though, he added, “Even one is too many.”

Responding to a rising level of complaints, he conceded that the city water department has “failed to provide the quality customer service our customers deserve.”

But mostly he rattled off examples of the way the city, developers and businesses are transforming the city, from the Flats East Bank project to the new convention center/medical mart and the development of 176 urban gardens. He said the gardens represent the making of a local food industry that can play a growing role in filling grocery shelves and restaurant menus.

“Today, the city of Cleveland is in a state of constant restructuring of operations,” he said.

But, he said, the changes in the way the city and its industries operate must be matched by an effort to transform the way children are educated.

“This community must demonstrate the same level of commitment, passion and desire to succeed for education,” Mayor Jackson said. “The time to do it is now, in this time of rapid change.”

(Article Courtesy of Crain's Cleveland)

Getting downtown Cleveland in touch with itself: editorial

This editorial that Scott sent me from Cleveland.com last night was too good not to share. The possibilities and excitement in Cleveland right now are palpable.

Cleveland needs an updated blueprint for how to connect downtown's new amenities, including a planned casino. Luckily, a blue-ribbon Group Plan Commission assembled by Mayor Frank Jackson is working on just such a vision to make the heart of Greater Cleveland more walkable and inviting to visitors, workers and residents.

Like any proposal, the tentative plan may need tweaks. The full 15-member commission has yet to sign off on it, and Jackson has indicated he wants to see a traffic study on the impact of closing Ontario Street to make Public Square more pedestrian-friendly. But Cleveland can't afford to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine its center and piggyback on more than $1 billion of public and private projects already under way.

Besides creating two large, rectangular spaces at Public Square by closing Ontario, the commission's working groups suggest a walkway connecting existing Malls to the lakefront and courtyards, gardens and a reflecting pool o the Malls atop the new convention center.

The overall effect would be to encourage foot traffic among downtown's emerging centers of energy, including the Warehouse District, East Fourth Street, the medical mart and the Terminal Tower casino.

Shepherded by City Planning Commission Chairman Anthony Coyne and including many downtown stakeholders, some of whom can be expected to contribute to the final cost, the commission has come up with an exciting roadmap while remaining true to the spirit of the original Daniel Burnham Group Plan.

Money remains an obvious issue. But the projected $90 million price tag does not seem insurmountable. One working group continues to look for private sources of capital, including naming rights. Given the large public investment in the convention center and Inner Belt Bridge, the private sector needs to step up. The commission also must find the right entity to maintain and program the new public spaces.

The opportunity is enormous. The vision and the civic willpower appear to be keeping pace.

(Article Courtesy of The Plain Dealer Editorial Board)