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From YouTube: City of Charleston State of the City 1/26/21
Description
City of Charleston State of the City 1/26/21
A
Tim
jackson,
my
fellow
city
council
members,
my
fellow
citizens
and
friends
good
evening.
Let
us
not
grow
weary
in
doing
good.
Scripture
tells
us
over
the
past
12
months,
as
our
city
was
buffeted
by
the
fierce
cross
currents
of
a
global
pandemic,
a
national
reckoning
on
race
and
a
sharp
economic
downturn.
A
A
They
stayed
at
home
when
asked
they
helped
their
neighbor
when
needed.
They
gave
to
charity
when
able
and
by
their
example.
They
reminded
us
that
the
true
state
of
our
city
cannot
be
measured
by
buildings
and
bridges
or
dollars
and
cents.
It's
measured
in
the
skills
and
compassion
of
our
doctors
and
nurses.
It's
measured
in
the
service
and
sacrifice
of
our
police
and
firefighters
and
sanitation
workers.
It's
measured
in
the
values
and
perseverance
of
our
business
leaders
and
workers.
A
How
can
we
continue
to
protect
ourselves
from
coven
19
and
when
will
this
pandemic
in
the
associated
economic
downturn
end
since
its
emergence
in
china
early
last
year,
the
novel
coronavirus
has
spread
across
the
globe
with
startling
speed
and
deadly
efficiency,
claiming
the
lives
of
more
than
two
million
people
globally,
including
almost
six
thousand
of
our
very
own
right
here
in
south
carolina,
and
as
that
heartbreaking
toll
has
grown.
It
has
forced
all
of
us
to
take
extraordinary
actions
to
protect
ourselves.
Our
families,
our
businesses,
our
community,
here
in
charleston.
A
They
are
the
heroes
of
this
pandemic
and
we
thank
them
deeply
for
their
service
and
now,
with
effective
vaccines
in
hand.
Our
path
is
clear.
First,
our
dedicated
city
staff,
which
has
been
nothing
short
of
remarkable
throughout
this
crisis,
must
continue
to
work
with
our
medical
and
business
communities
to
prepare
for
the
day
soon,
when
large
amounts
of
the
vaccine
are
available
and
widely
distributed.
A
A
A
Currently,
we
have
a
sound
strategic
plan
in
place
and
millions
of
dollars
in
flood
prevent
prevention,
work
underway
throughout
the
city,
with
major
projects
moving
forward
west
ashley
on
the
peninsula
and
on
james
and
john's
island.
In
addition,
we
have
three
major
decisions
ahead
of
us
in
2021
that
will
set
the
course
for
our
climate
and
flooding
protection
strategy
for
years
to
come.
A
Second,
we
will
decide
whether
to
move
forward
with
the
army
corps
of
engineers
plan
to
build
a
sea
wall
around
the
peninsula,
a
project
that
will
provide
protection
from
storm
surge
and
rising
sea
level,
as
well
as
the
potential
for
approximately
1
billion
dollars
in
much
needed
federal
flooding.
Assistance
in
that
regard,
I'm
pleased
to
announce
tonight
that
the
city
is
currently
working
to
add
a
new
drainage
component
to
our
existing
partnership
with
the
army
corps.
With
this
initiative
in
place,
charleston
would
not
only
receive
the
benefit
of
their
world-class
engineering
expertise
for
drainage.
A
The
final
question
before
us
tonight
is
this:
how
can
we
preserve
affordability
in
our
housing
market
to
ensure
that
charleston
remains
a
working
city
in
years
to
come?
Like
successful
cities
all
over
america
charleston
is
experiencing
what
has
rightly
been
called
a
crisis
in
housing?
Affordability,
in
fact,
without
decisive
action,
charleston
could
one
day
become
less
a
city
and
more
a
fleeting
pleasure
for
well-to-do
visitors
of
state
students
and
part-time
second
homeowners
to
guard
against
this
charleston
is
fighting
on
every
housing
front.
A
First,
we're
directly
investing
50
million
dollars
in
affordable
housing
across
the
city
and
leveraging
even
more
to
produce
a
thousand
new
units.
Second,
we're
requiring
all
large-scale
mixed-use
developments
to
either
make
20
of
the
units
affordable
or
pay
an
equivalent
fee
in
lieu
into
our
housing
funds.
Finally,
we're
cutting
bureaucratic
red
tape
and
working
to
enable
the
kind
of
infill
development
that
increases
the
overall
supply
of
housing,
which
help
hold
costs
down.
A
My
fellow
charlestonians,
as
the
coronavirus
and
reminded
us
in
2020
tomorrow,
is
always
a
mystery,
so
we
cannot
say
for
certain
what
new
challenges
2021
will
bring,
but
because
we
know
ourselves
and
our
city,
we
can
say
this
whatever
the
challenge.
Whatever
the
test,
we
will
not
hide,
we
will
not
shrink,
we
will
not
fail
and
even
more,
we
will
not
grow.
We
reary
from
doing
good.