►
Description
City of Charleston State of the City Address - January 23, 2018
A
My
colleagues
on
City
Council,
honored
guests
and
fellow
Charlestonians,
two
years
ago,
I
laid
out
a
new
vision
for
our
city,
a
vision
that
put
the
livability
of
our
neighborhoods
and
the
quality
of
life
for
our
citizens
first
and
to
help
make
that
vision.
A
reality.
I
asked
you
our
citizens
to
join
us
in
a
new
kind
of
civic
partnership.
I
asked
you
to
get
involved
to
volunteer,
to
go
to
meetings
to
join
boards
and
commissions
and
to
make
your
voices
heard.
A
Put
simply
I
asked
you
our
citizens
to
take
your
rightful
seat
at
the
table
here
in
our
city
and
to
demand
more
of
us,
your
elected
representatives,
and
perhaps
to
the
surprise
of
some
that's
exactly
what
you
did
and
the
results
have
been
nothing
less
than
remarkable
and
little
more
than
a
hundred
weeks,
here's
just
some
of
the
things
we've
been
able
to
accomplish
together.
We've
created
the
largest
most
ambitious
master
plan
for
West
Ashley
revitalization
in
the
history
of
our
city
and
we've
established
a
dedicated
TIF
redevelopment
fund.
A
That's
expected
to
produce
more
than
60
million
dollars
over
time
to
help
pay
for
it.
We've
enacted
responsible
moratoriums
on
James
Island
and
in
flood-prone
areas
of
West
Ashley
place,
new
restrictions
on
hotel
approvals,
raised
development
fees,
tightened
stormwater
requirements
for
redevelopment
and
work
to
bring
thousands
of
acres
into
the
city
tonight,
not
just
to
develop
land
but
to
protect
area
residents
from
flooding
traffic
and
over
development.
A
We've
worked
to
protect,
expand
and
accelerate
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
in
current
drainage
and
flooding.
Improvements,
found
solutions
for
the
church,
Creek
drainage
basin
and
are
preparing
to
proceed
this
year
on
rebuilding
the
low-battery
seawall
we've
collaborated
with
our
citizens
and
our
regional
partners
to
complete
the
penny,
which
will
provide
more
than
two
billion
dollars
in
funding
for
new
and
improved
roads,
more
a
better
green
space
and
a
bus
rapid
transit
system
that
will
finally
give
our
citizens
an
attractive
option
for
public
transportation.
A
We
closed
tent
city
and
we've
launched
our
city's
most
comprehensive,
affordable
housing
strategy
ever
with
increased
workforce
housing
requirements
for
developers
and
20
million
dollars
in
public
investment,
which
together,
are
expected
to
meet
our
goal
of
creating
up
to
800
units
of
housing
for
working
people
for
teachers,
police
officers,
nurses,
senior
citizens
and
more.
We
made
good
on
our
decades-old
promises
to
the
citizens
of
Daniel
Island,
with
new
parks
and
recreation
facilities
designed
and
ready
to
break
ground
later
this
year.
A
We've
also
prioritized
new
parks
throughout
other
areas
of
our
cities,
including
the
purchase
of
low
line
property
and
construction
of
bender,
Park
and
West
Ashley.
To
begin
later
this
year
as
well,
and
we've
made
major
improvements
to
more
than
15
existing
parks
and
playgrounds,
including
the
West
Ashley
Greenway.
We
founded
our
first
ongoing
freedom
school
expanded
summer
reading
opportunities,
enroll
more
children
than
ever
before
in
our
city's
recreation
programs
and
continued
our
excellence
in
the
cultural
arts.
A
We've
lowered
violent
crime
created
a
successful
city
bike
share
program,
broken
ground
on
the
Waring
Senior
Citizens
Center
West
Ashley
launched
our
first
independent
performance,
review,
balance
tough
budgets
without
a
property
tax
increase
and
protected
our
cities,
triple-a
credit
rating
and
even
as
we're
doing
all
this
and
more
with
whether
not
one
but
two
hurricanes
and
a
historic
snow
and
ice
storm
and
emerged
stronger
on
the
other
side
of
all
three.
In
short,
we've
come
together
at
a
time
when
so
many
other
places
and
people
seem
to
be
coming
apart.
A
We've
done
big
things
to
make
our
city
better
and
we've
done
it
by
working
together
and
listening
to
our
citizens
and
that's
why
tonight
it's
my
honor
to
report
to
you
that
the
state
of
our
city
is
strong
and
United
and
determined
to
keep
moving
forward
together.
It
is
also
why
tonight's
state
of
the
city
address
is
a
little
different
than
most.
We
do
many
things
in
city
government
every
day
and
all
these
initiatives
matter,
but
now
is
not
a
moment
for
big
speeches
about
small
things
and
steps
a
time
for
setting
clear
priorities.
A
For
more
than
300
years,
the
people
of
Charleston
have
lived
with
the
threat
of
hurricanes,
high
tides
and
flooding,
but
now
with
rising
seas
in
a
history
of
ill-advised
development
in
some
areas
and
three
major
flood
events
in
three
years,
we
simply
must
make
flooding
and
drainage
our
city's
top
long-range
priority,
and
in
order
to
do
that,
we
have
to
closely
examine
what
we're
doing
today,
what
we
plan
to
do
tomorrow
and
how
we're
going
to
pay
for
it.
Last
year,
our
city
spent
more
than
32
million
dollars
on
drainage
improvements.
A
We
work
with
federal
and
state
officials
to
secure
FEMA
funds
to
buy
out
many
of
the
homes
that
were
hit
hardest
by
the
floods.
West
Ashley,
we
hired
a
leading
engineering
firm
to
help
us
find
solutions
for
the
church.
Creek
drainage
basin,
we
are
proceeding
with
plans
for
a
new
low
battery
seawall
and
increased
funding
for
its
construction
by
almost
25
percent.
A
We
hired
a
new
chief
resiliency
officer,
Marc
Wilbert,
to
make
flooding
and
drainage
a
top
concern
and
everything
we
do
and
we
brought
together
our
department
and
division
heads
to
ensure
that
all
parts
of
city
government
are
working
together
with
Laura
cabinets
and
our
fine
public
services
team
to
implement
our
long
term
see
rise
and
drainage
plans.
But
that's
just
the
beginning.
This
year
we
will
be
moving
even
more
quickly
in
order
to
increase,
ditch
and
other
maintenance,
new
check
valve
installation
and
other
immediate
improvements.
A
In
2018,
we
will
increase
available
stormwater
fee
funds
by
25%
to
ensure
we're
making
responsible
decisions
about
future
development.
We
will
hire
our
city's
first
full-time
floodplain
manager
and
create
rigorous
new
stormwater
standards
for
all
areas
of
the
city,
including
highly
impacted
areas
like
the
church,
Creek
drainage
basin.
In
our
historic
areas,
we
will
direct
our
design
review
professionals
to
create
clear
new
standards
that
protect
historic
architecture
while
allowing
our
citizens
to
raise
their
homes
to
current
FEMA
standards.
A
We
will
break
ground
on
the
new
low
battery
seawall
and
constructed
in
a
way
that
allows
for
several
feet
of
additional
protection
during
extreme
weather
events
to
ensure
our
plans
are
transparent
and
clear
to
our
citizens.
We
will
update
our
rising
sea
and
drainage
plan
with
even
more
detailed
information
and
establish
a
new
website
to
act
as
a
clearinghouse
for
news
about
these
critical
issues
and
to
help
pay
for
improvements.
A
Now
in
future,
we
will
hire
a
full
time
grant
writer
with
a
special
focus
on
drainage,
and
we
will
leverage
the
talents
and
expertise
of
our
residents
by
bringing
together
citizen
led
groups
to
help
us
identify
and
secure
potential
funding
sources
for
these
and
other
projects.
But,
even
with
all
this,
there
will
be
much
more
to
do
in
the
years
ahead,
which
brings
me
to
what
may
be
the
most
single
important,
long-term
funding
initiative
for
flooding.
A
We
will
undertake
this
year
in
2018,
six
million
tourists
are
expected
to
visit
our
city
and
like
the
hundred
and
forty
thousand
of
us
who
are
fortunate
to
call
Charleston
home,
they
too
have
a
stake
in
the
future
of
this
beautiful
and
historic
community,
but
under
current
state
law,
we
simply
don't
have
the
authority
or
flexibility
to
ask
our
six
million
visitors
to
contribute
in
a
significant
way
to
keep
Charleston
safe
from
flooding
and
extreme
weather.
That's
why
this
year,
we're
asking
the
state
legislature
to
give
us
that
freedom.
A
We
need
to
move
existing
tourism
dollars
from
accommodations
and
Hospitality's
fees
into
flooding
and
drainage,
and
is
why
we're
asking
you,
our
citizens,
to
help
us
ensure
that
our
voices
are
heard
in
Columbia
together
we
can
and
we'll
protect
our
citizens
from
rising
sea,
extreme
weather
and
flooding,
and
that
goal
must
remain
our
city's
top
long-range
priority
until
the
job
is
done.
The
second
major
issue,
I'd
like
to
speak
with
you
about
tonight,
is
traffic
and
transportation.
Where
again,
we've
laid
the
groundwork
for
major
progress,
but
there's
still
much
work
to
be
done.
A
Last
year,
under
our
new
traffic
and
transportation
director
Keith
Benjamin,
we
conducted
the
largest
most
citizen,
driven
citywide
transportation
planning
process
in
our
city's
history,
with
our
residents
identifying
13
priority
projects
that
will
be
added
to
our
region's
long-term
traffic
plan.
We
worked
with
our
residents
in
Charleston
County
to
begin
the
process
of
building
out
more
than
two
billion
dollars
in
new
and
improved
roads,
green
space
and
bus,
rapid
transit
to
include
widening
a
Glenn,
McConnell
Parkway
and
improvements
to
Savannah,
Highway
and
Main
Road.
A
On
Johns
Island,
we
created
an
improved
traffic
management
center
that
allows
for
real-time
data
collection
and
analysis
to
help
prevent
slowdowns.
We
launched
the
holy
spokes
bike
share
program,
which
already
boasts
over
6,000
members
traveling
50,000
miles.
We
also
won
support
from
the
governor
and
our
regional
partners
for
a
separate
bike
and
pedestrian
bridge
over
the
Ashley
River,
which,
with
federal
approval
and
funding,
would
finally
fully
connect
the
the
peninsula
and
West
Ashley.
A
Without
closing
a
traffic
lane
on
the
Ashley
River
bridge,
in
addition,
weary
time
signals
and
parts
of
downtown
and
West
Ashley,
launched
the
medical
district
urban
Greenway
initiative
and
are
expanding
Park
and
Ride
options
to
the
peninsula.
This
year
we
will
be
moving
ahead
with
even
more
major
traffic
and
transportation
improvements,
including
completion
of
our
citywide
parking
plan.
A
Lastly,
this
evening,
I'd
like
to
take
a
moment
to
speak
to
you
about
crucial
livability
issues
that
matter
to
our
citizens,
particularly
affordable
housing
and
public
safety.
It's
no
secret
that
Charleston
is
booming
both
culturally
and
economically,
and
that
almost
40
people
today
are
moving
to
our
region
to
take
advantage
of
the
great
life
the
low
country
has
to
offer.
A
We
will
continue
these
initiatives
and
begin
the
planning
and
construction
of
the
800,
affordable
and
workforce
housing
units.
This
strategy
is
ultimately
expected
to
achieve.
Finally,
I'd
like
to
close
on
a
subject
that
we
can
never
allow
ourselves
to
take
for
granted.
Maintaining
public
safety
and,
as
I,
do
I
want
to
recognize
four
individuals
for
the
outstanding
service,
our
recently
retired
police
and
fire
chiefs,
Greg
Mullen
and
Karen
Brack,
and
our
interim
Chiefs
Jerome,
Taylor
and
John
Tippett.
A
Thanks
to
them
and
to
all
the
extraordinary
men
and
women
who
wear
the
uniforms
of
our
police
and
fire
departments.
2017
was
a
historically
safe
year
in
our
city
with
violent
crime.
Down
significantly
the
murder
rate,
almost
down
50%
and
the
response
rate
and
professionalism
of
our
fire
department
at
an
all-time
high.
A
Our
Police
Department's
illumination
project
has
continued
as
a
national
leader
in
the
areas
of
community
involvement
and
fair
and
equitable
policing.
These
are
remarkable
accomplishments
and
we
salute
all
those
who
made
them
possible
and
while
we
know
that
public
safety
statistics
can
can
and
do
change
from
year
to
year,
we
must
recommit
ourselves
to
always
ensuring
that
our
first
responders
have
the
resources,
training
and
support
they
deserve.
A
Together
over
the
past
two
years,
we've
worked
hard
to
preserve,
protect
and
expand
the
things
that
make
our
city
so
special
and
tonight,
here
in
this
historic
chamber,
we
have
charted
a
course
that
will
make
our
already
great
city
even
greater
for
our
citizens
and
years
to
come
so
I.
Thank
you.
God
bless
you
and
may
God
continue
to
bless
and
keep
the
great
city
of
Charleston.
Thank
you
very
much.