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From YouTube: State of the City 2019
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A
On
behalf
of
my
colleagues
at
page
Grantham,
it
is
my
privilege
to
introduce
mayor
skip
Henderson
for
his
inaugural
State
of
the
City
address
mayor.
Henderson
is
a
Columbus
native,
attended,
Columbus
high
school,
the
University
of
Georgia
and
Columbus
State
University
back
when
it
was
Columbus
College
that
dates
him
a
little
bit
after
school.
A
In
addition,
skip
and
Karen's
are
jointly
on
the
Leadership
Council
of
the
American
Cancer
Society,
as
mayor
skip
is
committed
to
using
his
deep
experience
in
government
and
passion
for
his
hometown
to
make
Columbus
an
even
better
place
to
live
and
work.
We're
going
to
show
a
short
video
and
then
welcome
the
seventieth
mayor
of
Columbus
to
give
his
State
of
the
City
address.
B
B
B
B
B
B
C
Every
time
I
see
it
I
think
I
want
to
live.
There.
Wait
I,
do
hey
good
afternoon
y'all.
This
is
really
exciting.
For
me
to
be
able
to
stand
in
front
of
you
and
what
an
honor
to
be
able
to
do
so
is
the
70th
mayor
of
Columbus
Georgia.
Before
we
get
started.
Do
you
want
to
make
a
couple
of
quick
comments?
One
is
I.
C
We
just
we're
so
thankful,
I
put
in
a
shameless
plug
if
you're
looking
for
a
way
to
add
to
your
donation
list.
Samaritan's
Purse
is
not
a
bad
bad
organization
to
to
keep
in
mind.
The
other
thing
is
I
woke
up
this
morning.
Karen
says:
are
you
nervous,
I
said?
Well,
let
me
put
it
this
way
about
five
o'clock
I'm
scheduled
to
rappel
off
the
Carmike
building.
C
C
Speeches,
though,
are
a
little
bit
different
because
I,
don't
often
as
my
wife
will
tell
you,
follow
scripts
very
well,
but
we're
gonna
we're
gonna.
Try,
because
some
of
this
information
that
we
want
to
get
to
you
today,
I
think
it's
very
important
and
I
want
you
to
I,
want
you
to
hear
it
and,
and
the
other
thing
I
want
to
do.
I
know:
we've.
We've
we've
introduced
all
of
the
elected
officials.
Few
folks
that
I
want
to
make
mention
of
one
is
my
my
sister
Susan
who
is
here.
She
is
hilarious.
C
She
there
she
is
he's
always
supporting
anything.
I
do
no
matter
how
harebrained
it
may
seem
at
the
time,
and
with
apologies
to
all
of
my
friends
up
front
she's,
a
pretty
good
attorney
too
so
and
and
of
course,
my
dad
Barry
H
Henderson,
who
thinks
it's.
The
coolest
thing
he's
seen
for
his
name
to
be
on
the
outside
of
the
mayor's
door.
C
He
asked
me
where
I
think
I'm
gonna
sit,
but
but
we're
real,
proud,
I'm,
real,
proud
of
both
of
them
and
my
dad
is
a
military
veteran
served
24
years
in
the
United
States
Army
as
an
army
pilot
and
got
out
of
the
military
started,
a
business
took
it
to
number
one
in
the
market.
The
guy
just
doesn't
fail.
Well,
maybe
with
the
exception
of
raising
children,
ones,
the
lawyer
ones
the
politician,
but
the
pops
we're
proud
of
you.
We
hope
we
make
you
proud
too.
C
I
know
we
mentioned
the
council,
but
I
just
want
to
say
again
just
how
fortunate
I
feel
to
be
able
to
work
with
this
incredible
bunch
of
people.
These
guys
are
devoted
and
dedicated
to
doing
one
thing
and
that's
serving
the
public
serving
the
people
of
Columbus
Muscogee
County,
and
we
may
not
always
agree
going
forward.
In
fact,
it'd
be
a
dull
world
if
we
did,
but
we
always
agree
that
we're
working
for
the
same
reasons
and
the
same
people
and
for
that
I
just
respect
them.
C
We've
got
a
lot
of
city
employees
here
that
we
work
with
on
a
daily
basis
and
do
such
a
great
job.
I
know
our
City
Attorney's
here
and
and
our
deputy
city
managers,
but
I'm
only
going
to
name
one,
because
if
I
start
on
one
I'm
going
to
be
here
all
day,
I
do
want
to
lift
up
city
city
manager.
Isaiah
hugely
I
can't
tell
you
how
fortunate
I
feel
yeah
give
him
a
round
of
applause.
I
told
him.
C
We've
been
in
the
job
now
about
72
days
and
and
I
hope
the
loads
getting
lighter,
because
he's
had
sort
of
a
heavy
lift
to
kind
of
keep
me
between
the
ditches
but
I
just
thank
him
for
what
he
does
and
the
way
in
which
he's
been
doing
it
for
Columbus
for
a
long
time.
And
lastly,
if
you'll
indulge
me
I'm
gonna
ask
my
staff
to
stand
up.
These
folks
have
the
hardest
job
in
government,
keeping
me
straight
Alexis
and
Diane
and,
of
course
Richard
bishop.
C
So
all
right,
I
guess
it's
time
to
start
getting
to
the
meat
of
what
we're
here.
For
you
know,
I
got
to
thinking,
I've
been
serving,
I
was
doing
the
math
and
by
the
way,
I
want
to
thank
Alan
for
the
introduction.
Thank
you
so
much
I
appreciate
you.
You
you're
doing
that.
Making
me
sound
better
than
I
am
but
I've
been
serving
the
citizens
of
Columbus
in
an
elected
capacity.
Now,
since
January
of
1997
I
was
the
youngest
person
ever
elected,
I
was
12.
C
That's
21
years
and
then
I
got
to
thinking
about
the
Columbus
that
existed
in
1997
and
the
Columbus
that
we
have
now
and
I
and
I
was
curious.
What
would
a
candidate
have
sounded
like
that
was
trying
to
predict
or
promise
some
things
that
at
the
time,
just
sounded
absolutely
crazy
if
I'd
been
standing
at
a
candidate
forum
in
1996
instead,
I
tell
you
what
I'm
gonna
do
if
I'm
elected
I'm
gonna
make
our
downtown
our
uptown,
it's
gonna
be
a
thriving
business,
education,
arts
activity,
entertainment
environment.
They
laughed
me
off
the
stage.
C
C
But
what,
if
I'd
promised
that
we
would
have
through
public-private
partnerships,
30
clay
courts
at
Cooper,
Creek,
adding
another
25
455
courts
at
a
facility
that
is,
unlike
any
other
in
America,
any
public
facility.
Would
you
believe
that
we
would
have
1.9
million
visitors
to
our
community
and
they
would
leave
behind
an
impact
economic
impact
of
over
340
million
dollars?
C
How
about
that?
If
you
took
a
look
in
Uptown
and
took
a
six-year
stretch,
the
economic
growth,
we
would
see
74
million
dollars
in
capital
investments
based
on
the
value
of
building
permits,
42
new
businesses,
400
new
jobs
and
more
than
204
million
dollars.
That's
a
30%
jump
over
those
six
years.
What
if
I
said
to
campaign
speech
we
are
discussing
right
now
and
about
to
make
a
reality.
Two
hotels
in
the
1200
block
on
Broadway
now
keep
in
mind.
C
This
is
1996
when
we've
been
making
these
prognostications,
when
you
can
throw
a
rock
in
Uptown
and
not
hit
anybody
middle
of
the
day,
two
hotels
in
the
middle
of
Broadway
we're
looking
at
adding
close
to
300
rooms
that
will
port
our
trade
center
and
put
us
in
a
category
that
is
going
to
allow
Haley
Tillery,
who
does
an
amazing
job
to
compete
against
some
of
the
larger
communities.
That's
outstanding,
I
hate.
C
To
quote
that
sage,
Chuck
Williams,
who
is
a
former
writer
with
the
ledger,
Enquirer
and
he's
taking
his
journalistic
talents
and
and
dashing
good
lucks
to
TV
media
now,
I'm
or
quote
Chuck
said
if
20
years
ago,
you
would
have
envisioned
two
hotels
in
the
1200
block
of
Broadway
you're
way
smarter
than
I
am
and
I
went
past
that
block
every
day.
I
just
didn't
see
it.
C
C
It's
basically
your
twenty-year
overnight
success
story,
a
new
restaurant
here,
new
restaurant,
there
a
hotel
here,
a
hotel
there,
a
River
Center,
a
Columbus
State
campus
here
it
all
starts
to
add
up
what
do
you
think
people
would
have
thought
if,
during
that
campaign
campaign
speech,
we
said
we're
gonna
put
a
zipline
in
that's
gonna,
allow
you
to
go
from
Georgia
and
Alabama
right
straight
across
the
Chattahoochee.
Never
get
your
feet
wet.
C
How
long
will
let
you
come
back
to
how
about
the
market
days
where
you
have
thousands
of
people
walking
in
the
Uptown
area,
walking
their
pets,
buying
homegrown
vegetables
and
buying
homemade
crafts?
How
about
how
about
the
Frank
K
Martin,
pedestrian
bridge?
We
were
driving
on
that
bridge
in
1996
and
now
it
looks
like
a
working
or
a
work
of
art
in
and
of
itself,
but
it's
a
visible
connector,
a
visible
reminder
of
the
connection
between
Phoenix,
City
and
Columbus,
and
it
literally
connects
our
river
walks
that
allows
us
to
recreative
errs
edge.
C
And
faculty
members
exceed
three
thousand
people
now
in
the
downtown
area,
and
here's
one
that
I
really
love
talking
about
how
about
a
fifty
two
million
dollar
investment
by
WCC
Bradley
on
the
river's
edge
that
is
going
to
be
226
apartments
down
below
on
the
first
level,
there'll
be
room
for
restaurants,
there's
room
for
retail.
Already,
a
restaurant
I
think
that's
signed
a
lease
down
there.
It's
it's
bordered
on
one
side
by
a
park
that
will
have
public
at
public
access
that
you
can
walk
from
that
part.
C
Go
through
a
water
feature
down
to
the
river
walk.
It's
just
hard
to
imagine.
If
somebody
had
told
you
that
that's
what
they
were
campaigning
on
back
in
1996
I
love.
This
one
try
this
on
for
size.
If
elected
I
will?
Oh,
let's
see
I
know,
I'll
put
Westville
on
big
truck,
now
drive
it
to
Columbus
Georgia
what
happened?
C
C
How
about
if
I
told
you
we'd
have
60
miles
60
miles
of
connected
walking,
jogging
biking,
Greenway
trails
and
we've
named
it
the
dragonfly?
How
about
that?
The
center
of
our
community
would
be
rebranded
as
Midtown
and
become
even
more
of
a
thriving
community
than
it
was.
Then
the
panhandle
we've
seen
economic
development
going
out
80
and
out
the
panhandle
that
nobody
could
have
anticipated
in
1996
I,
don't
know
if
you
get
a
little
dizzy
thinking
about
all
the
stuff
that
has
transpired
over
those
years.
C
I
do
I
want
to
mention
too
I'm
very
bullish
on
South,
Columbus
I
think
we
are
positioned
today
to
try
to
generate
some
investment
and
a
part
of
our
community
that
sometimes
gets
neglected
when
people
are
talking
about
opportunities
for
investment,
for
growth
for
generating
economic
economic
activity.
But
the
city
has
been
very
active.
We
have
right
now
about
10
active
transportation
projects
with
a
committed
funding
of
close
to
300
million
dollars,
and
most
of
those
are
in
South,
Columbus.
C
Think
about
the
new
Westville
that
I
brought
in
right
after
I
got
like
think
about
Westville
bookending,
one
end
down
at
the
southern
tip
of
Columbus
on
South
Lumpkin,
Road
and
a
prime
piece
of
commercial
real
estate
that
is
controlled
by
the
Housing
Authority
on
the
corner
of
veterans
and
Victor
Drive,
and
think
about
the
synergy
that
can
create,
as
it
starts,
to
spread
towards
one
another.
We
now
have
control
of
the
Farmers
Market
property
we've,
the
ports
authority,
we've
just
obtained
the
ports
authority.
C
Those
are
prime
pieces
of
commercial
real
estate
right
there
on
the
banks
of
the
river
I
mean
the
opportunities
to
stimulate
even
more
growth
into
the
south
Columbus
air,
and
when
people
see
that
the
government
has
enough
confidence
in
the
area
to
be
investing
millions
of
dollars
in
infrastructure,
they
feel
better
about
investing
in
restaurants,
retail
commercial
activities
we
are
we
are.
We
are
also
fortunate
to
be
at
the
foot
of
Fort,
Benning,
Georgia
and
I
got
to
say:
I
saw
Mike
burns
here
from
Fort
Benning
and
Columbus
in
Phoenix
City,
both
men.
C
We
love
our
soldiers,
we
love
them
for
what
they
do
for
us.
The
way
they
take
care
of
us.
They
they
sacrifice
time
with
their
families,
to
defend
the
United
States
and
to
defend
the
residents
of
this
community,
but
also
love
them
because
they
have
a
pretty
good-sized
economic
impact.
The
gross
monthly
payroll
at
Fort
Benning
is
around
110
million
dollars.
C
In
addition
to
that,
if
you
add
in
the
contractors
that
are
paid,
it
goes
up
by
another
250
for
a
total
impact
of
360
million
dollars
out
of
Fort
Benning
Fort
Benning
is
the
key
driver
of
our
economy
in
Columbus,
so
it
bears
it
bears
that
we
stay
on
top
of
any
attempt
to
reevaluate
through
the
Base
Realignment
and
closure
proceedings
sequestration.
We
can't
wait
until
they
start
going
through
these
events.
C
You
know:
Columbus
has
gone
from
being
known
as
a
sleepy
little
town
at
the
foot
of
Fort
Benning
that
you
go
through
if
you're
going
south
you're
going
to
the
beats,
and
if
you
see
it,
maybe
when
you're
going
north
going
to
Atlanta
well,
not
anymore,
Columbus
is
a
developing
dynamic
regional
center.
We've
had
great
momentum
in
Columbus
momentum.
That
I
mean
it's
easy
to
see
when
you
drive
through
this
community.
C
C
You
know
we're
not
really,
unlike
other
communities
around
the
country,
we
have
some
areas
that
have
a
higher
crime
rate
than
we
would
like,
but
we're
not
a
danger
city.
We
have
some
areas
of
town
that
have
a
higher
poverty
rate
than
others,
but
we're
not
an
impoverished
community.
We
have
areas
of
town
that
have
more
blight
than
others,
but
we're
not
a
blighted
community.
C
Like
those
other
cities,
we
are
a
vibrant
city
that
provides
a
great
quality
of
life
for
the
most
of
our
citizens
and
that's
pretty
good
right
for
most
of
those
other
cities.
Pretty
good
is
good
enough.
Here's
where
we
deviate
from
most
other
cities,
good
ain't
good
enough
in
Columbus,
Georgia,
we're
not
gonna.
Stop
working
until
every
single
citizen
in
this
community
has
an
opportunity
to
achieve
the
quality
of
life
that
they
want
for
themselves
and
for
their
families.
They
deserve
it.
C
We're
different
we're
unique,
not
because
of
our
government
because
of
you,
because
of
the
business
community,
the
educational
community,
faith-based
philanthropic,
Fort,
Benning,
Phoenix
City,
our
neighbor
counties
within
our
region.
Very
few
cities
have
been
able
to
duplicate
the
partnerships
that
we
have
here
in
Columbus.
That's
our
secret
sauce
I
mean
people,
ask
how
we
do
it.
We
can't
tell
them
because
it's
so
it's
wound
so
deeply
into
our
DNA
as
individuals
and
collectively
as
a
community,
that
it's
really
hard.
C
You
can't
teach
that,
if
you're
not
born
with
a
desire
to
try
to
serve
others
within
your
community,
so
that
it
benefits
everybody
in
the
community
you're
just
not
going
to
get
it
because
our
leaders
don't
just
sit
there
and
wait
for
somebody
to
ask
them
for
money
and
then
stroke
a
check.
Our
leaders
are
the
ones
that
are
coming,
knocking
on
government's
doors
and
they're.
Saying
I
got
this
great
idea.
If
you
can
blow
up
that
raft,
I'll
move
some
rocks
we'll
blow
up.
C
Much
of
what
I
talk
about
in
the
next
few
minutes
is
going
to
be
directly
parallel
and
paralleling
Columbus
2025,
and
that's
not
because
we're
trying
to
model
our
vision
after
2025.
It's
because
our
vision
is,
is
the
same
for
the
people
of
this
community
and
think
about
it:
a
skilled
and
employable
workforce
economic
growth,
a
unified
Columbus,
with
a
recognizable
and
united
image
and
identity,
a
culture
that
is
passionately
committed
to
encouraging
and
fostering
entrepreneurs
in
a
vibrant,
United,
River
city.
C
C
We
are
focused
on
making
Columbus
better
four
years
from
now
than
it
is
today.
That's
that's
my
commitment
and
I
challenge
you
to
take
the
same
commitment
and
join
us
in
the
effort.
As
we
move
this
city
forward,
we
want
to
partner
with
you
to
make
our
streets
safer,
we're
going
to
continue
to
reduce
crime.
We're
gonna,
particularly
we're
gonna
focus,
particularly
on
violent
crime.
Now,
listen
we're
gonna
work
to
increase
the
size
of
our
Public
Safety
Office,
they're
undermanned,
our
police
chief,
is
84
officers
down
right
now
our
sheriff
is
down
38.
C
We've
got
some
challenges:
we're
going
to
continue
to
look
for
ways
to
increase
the
pay,
not
just
for
Public
Safety
but
across
general
government
as
well,
but
we've
got
to
find
a
way
to
recruit
and
retain
so
that
our
first
responders
are
able
to
be
experienced
when
they,
when
they
arrive
at
the
scene.
But
I
got
to
tell
you
you
can't
police
your
way
to
crime
prevention.
Our
officers
are
awesome.
C
C
There
are
two
areas
that
I
am
particularly
interested
in
in
our
office
is
going
to
take
an
aggressive
stance
with
one
is
our
young
people
providing
structure,
providing
alternative
activities
for
our
young
folks
and
the
other
is
recidivism
as
felonies
have
as
felons
have
done
their
time
and
they're
released
from
prison?
We've
got
to
find
a
way
to
integrate
them
into
society.
C
We
are
working
on
strategies
to
to
create
a
more
positive
environment
for
our
young
people,
and
we
just
named
a
mayor's
Commission
on
reentry.
It's
an
organization
John
house
has
been
councilor
house
has
been
a
part
of
that,
as
has
councillor
huff
and
they're
working
on
strategies
that
are
going
to
keep
these
folks
who
are
released
from
going
back
to
prison
by
getting
them
integrated
into
society.
C
C
We're
gonna,
try
it
we're
gonna,
provide
a
new
version
of
what
we
did
last
year
in
parks
and
recreation,
and
we
call
it
a
summer
pass.
They
gave
free
entrance
and
discounted
entrance
into
recreation
centers
into
pools.
We're
gonna
do
the
same
thing.
Only
we're
going
to
expand
it,
we're
working
with
the
arts
community
to
try
to
make
sure
they
have
access
to
cultural
facilities
as
well,
going
to
museums,
maybe
even
the
river
center
of
the
springer.
C
We're
going
to
continue
to
support,
oh
by
the
way,
I
meant
to
mention
the
transportation
issues
for
these
kids
that
want
to
go
to
some
of
these
facilities
will
use
this
pass
as
a
bus
pass.
So
they
can
get
on
a
metro
bus
without
paying
anything
and
go
to
one
of
these
locations
too,
to
get
access
to
the
rec
centers
or
to
the
cultural,
cultural,
centers.
We're
gonna
we're
gonna
continue
to
work
with
our
partners
to
encourage
parental
involvement.
C
Too
many
parents
have
never
had
it
modeled
for
them
how
to
treat
their
kids
or
they
have,
but
it
hasn't
been
necessary
in
a
supportive
structured
manner.
So
there
are
efforts
being
undertaken
right
now
with
organizations
that
are
that
are
trying
to
teach
these
parents
how
to
be
parents,
and
a
lot
of
them
want
to
know.
We
just
have
to
get
them
in
there
and
start
working
with
them.
C
We're
also
going
to
focus
very
hard
on
core
infrastructure
issues,
we're
gonna
work
on
roads,
we're
gonna
work
on
keeping
our
community
clean
and
we're
gonna
work
on
making
our
neighborhoods,
safe
and
and
and
sort
of
a
safe
harbor
for
people
when
they
get
home.
We'll
continue
to
work
with
keep
Columbus
Beautiful
Commission
to
get
folks
to
quit
lettering
our
streets.
Look
like
some
of
the
streets.
Look
like
garbage
cans,
people
throwing
stuff
out
the
windows
of
their
car.
C
Picking
up
picking
up
trash,
we
used
to
have
50
to
60
people
through
doing
community
service,
picking
up
some
of
the
stuff
on
the
side
of
the
road
we're
down
to
about
five,
we
need
to
get
back.
We
need
to
get
focused
back
on
trying
to
get
folks
to
do
things
as
part
of
their
sentence
and
part
of
making
amends
for
whatever
offense
they've
committed,
so
that
it
helps
the
people
of
this
community.
C
Some
of
the
folks
in
our
neighborhoods
are
forced
to
live
near,
dilapidated
or
burned-out
houses
or
or
maybe
go
by.
These
skeletal
remains
of
a
trailer
park.
That's
just
on
a
that's
unacceptable.
How
can
you
expect
somebody
going
home
to
their
neighborhood
to
feel
good
about
where
they
live
or
feel
good
about
themselves
or
their
community
if
they
drive
by
that
4
or
5
times
a
day?
You
know
we
have
trouble
funding
demolition.
C
We've
got
some
amazing
employees
in
the
government
who
are
aggressively
identifying
these
properties,
substandard
properties,
burned-out
houses,
these
trailer
parks
there's
a
direct
link
between
that
blight
and
education,
poverty
and
crime.
So
what
we're
gonna
do
is
we
are
going
to
this
year,
we're
gonna
put
1
million
dollars
in
this
year's
budget,
and
it's
going
to
be
here
marked
for
demolition.
We're
going
to
take
those
trailer
parts
down.
We're
gonna,
get
it
to
where
those
folks
don't
have
to
look
at
that
stuff
in
the
north.
C
We're
also
going
to
hopefully
through
this
will
send
a
visual
message
to
residents
all
across
our
community
that
they're
important
their
quality
of
life
is
important
and
that
we
care
about
it
we're
going
to
make
sure
all
of
our
citizens
have
access
to
opportunities.
You
know
you
can't
gift
somebody
to
prosperity,
but
you
can't
opportunity
them.
The
prosperity.
Columbus
is
loaded
with
resources
that
will
help
people
who
are
interested
in
improving
their
employability
by
improving
their
life.
We
also
want
every
child
to
be
able
to
read
in
an
early
age
now.
C
Some
would
ask:
why
are
you
guys
in
government
getting
in
dr.
Lewis's
backyard
and
dealing
with
education?
Well,
good
readers
are
gonna,
make
good
students
and
good
students
are
gonna,
make
make
good
employees
and
good
employees
make
great
citizens.
So
why
in
the
world,
would
we
not
do
everything
we
can
to
help
dr.
Lewis
and
the
school
board
achieve
their
mission?
We
serve
the
same
people
and
I
thank
dr.
Lewis
for
being
willing.
C
C
We
have
to
work
to
decrease
the
number
of
families
living
below
the
poverty
line.
Many
of
you
sat
in
this
room
and
watched
an
economic
and
economic
update
that
showed
that
our
prosperity
sector
is
getting
bigger.
Good
news,
the
sector
below
the
poverty
line
is
also
getting
bigger
and
I'm
gonna
tell
you
one
thing:
the
one
thing
the
economist
pointed
out
is
something
we
all
know
that
makes
your
middle
get
smaller
and
that's
not
a
healthy
economy,
so
we
have
to
for
all
of
us.
C
A
lot
of
the
faith-based
communities,
a
lot
of
the
charitable
organizations,
are
anxious
to
try
to
help
us
get
resources
to
the
most
underserved,
but
that
is
a
big
hill
to
climb.
These
individuals
are
typically
not
on
social
media
they're,
not
googling.
How
do
I
improve
my
life
and
you
know
sadly,
they're
not
even
really
a
lot
of
them
aren't
checking
the
bookbags
of
their
kids
as
they
come
home,
so
it's
gonna
be
tough
to
get
it
to
them,
but
I'm
telling
you
together,
we
we
can
do
it
because
we
have
to
do
it.
C
So
here's
what
we're
gonna
keep
one
eye
on
all
the
time
as
we're
dealing
with
all
these
core
issues.
It's
our
focus,
jobs
more
and
better.
Paying
jobs
makes
all
these
other
challenges
so
much
easier
to
deal
with
jobs,
impact
poverty,
jobs,
impact,
substandard
housing,
jobs,
impact
education
and
they
in
it
impacts
crime.
I've
been
meeting
with
some
of
the
CEOs
throughout
the
community
and
there's
several
others
that
I
still
have
have
to
reach
out
to
so
fair
warning.
I'm
coming
and
what
we're
doing
is
we
want
to
sit
in
front
of
them?
C
C
We're
also
meeting
I've
also
been
meeting
with
small
business
owners
who
have
recently
expanded
or
opened
a
business
and
we're
meeting
with
them
and
we're
asking
them
how
the
process
went.
What
went
right,
what
went
wrong?
What
would
have
made
it
easier?
Was
it
too
cumbersome?
Is
there
something
that
we
can
do
to
streamline
it,
because
I'm
telling
you
we
cannot
afford
not
to
be
known
as
the
best
place
to
do
business
in
the
southeast
and
that's
our
goal.
Our
government
is
going
to
do
its
part.
C
Now
we're
also
going
to
continue
to
engage
with
young
business
people
and
students,
because
the
Columbus
that
we're
building
right
now
is
not
for
us.
Well,
you
guys
are
a
lot
younger.
It's
not
for
me
it's
for
the
new
generation
coming
through
and
if
we
don't
focus
in
on
what
they
want
to
see
in
their
community,
we're
gonna
miss
it,
and
if
we
miss
it,
the
results
will
be
devastating.
We
need
to
create
an
environment
where
young
people
want
to
come
back
to
Columbus
chase
their
dream
of
business
ownership.
C
We're
gonna
lock
in
and
focus
on
these
objectives,
and
we
ask
you
to
hold
us
accountable.
In
fact,
we
will
be
in
the
next
several
months.
We
will
be
publishing
a
dashboard
and
it's
really
for
us,
but
we're
gonna
publicize
it,
because
our
commitment
to
being
transparent
with
the
citizens
is
something
we
take
very
seriously.
We're
gonna
use
some
of
these
metrics
and
we'll
decide
which
ones
we
really
want
to
zero
in
on,
but
we're
gonna
use
them
to
hold
ourselves
accountable
in
the
mayor's
office
to
see
if
the
needles
moving
see.
C
If
we're
doing
the
things
we
need
to
do
to
be
able
to
keep
Columbus
becoming
what
we
know
it
can
become,
and
we
invite
you
to
be
an
active
partner
in
that
we
want
you
to
hold
us
accountable.
Ask
the
questions
for
not
improving,
asking
what
we're
doing
to
make
it
prove
so
that'll
be
coming
out
shortly.
C
We
are
we're
gonna
focus
on
basics,
because
basics
are
the
cornerstone
upon
which
everything
else
that
we've
talked
about
today
is
built.
We
have
enough
structures,
we
have
enough
buildings,
we
got
enough
stuff.
We
need
now
to
work
on
making
sure
that
those
those
facilities
and
those
those
those
locations
are
serviceable.
They're,
they're
usable
by
our
citizens
that
they're
not
not
deteriorating,
and
turning
into
an
eyesore
we
got
to
get
to
work,
improving
them
lifting
them
back
up.
C
We
also
need
to
make
sure
that
our
roads
are
paved
and
that
they
are
safe
and
that
our
our
connectors
are
in
good
shape
and
we're
gonna
have
to
deal
with
the
government
center
now
I,
don't
know
what
that's
going
to
look
like,
I,
really
don't,
but
I
do
know
that
it's
gonna
have
to
happen.
We
just
put
a
six
million
dollar
bandaid
on
that
building,
so
something's
gonna
have
to
happen
with
that
government
Center
and
all
I
can
tell
you.
C
Is
it's
probably
going
to
be
a
big-ticket
item
so
to
meet
these
immediate
capital
needs
I,
intend
to
ask
our
City
Council
to
consider
a
SPLOST
that
would
take
effect
once
the
current
East
Lost
expires
in
2020.
If
they
agree,
we
will
immediately
begin
to
schedule
public
meetings
to
gather
information
regarding
what
projects
the
citizens
want
on
that
list.
You
know
with
current
estimates
of
nearly
40%
out
of
county
contributions.
C
This
option
would
make
certain
that
the
Muscogee
County
property
owners
are
not
the
only
ones
bearing
the
burden
of
addressing
that
building.
This
is
a
time
of
great
opportunity.
In
Columbus
you
guys
you,
the
private
sector
has
raised
five
million
dollars
for
a
film
fund,
a
film
fund
that
positions
Columbus
to
receive
ten
projects.
Ten
film
projects
over
the
next
three
years,
this
fund,
along
with
CSU's
Nexus
degree
in
film
and
with
the
Bradley
company's
donation
of
Flat
Rock
Studios,
make
the
outlook
for
a
successful
entry
into
the
film
industry.
C
A
very
solid
possibility,
Mercer
medical
school.
It
continues
to
draw
ever
closer
to
a
four-year
program,
in
addition
to
the
90
plus
well-paying
jobs
and
the
ultimately
250
plus
full-time
students
were
so
will
open
up
opportunities
for
research
efforts.
Imagine
the
possibilities
with
the
Amos
Cancer
Center
Piedmont,
st.
Francis
Mercer
Medical
School
I
can
envision
some
very
intensive
and
serious
research
being
undertaken
right
here
in
Columbus.
Georgia
research
dollars
will
follow.
We
continue
to
partner
with
the
chamber
with
CSU
and
Fort
Benning,
to
expand
our
presence
in
the
robotics
industry.
C
C
My
pledge
to
you
is
that
I'm
in
I'm,
in
with
Audrey
Tillman
in
2025
I'm
in
with
the
chamber
I'm
in
with
General
britto
in
Fort,
Benning
I'm,
in
with
our
next-door
neighbor
across
the
river
and
my
good
friend
mayor,
Eddie
Lowe,
our
educational
partners,
charitable
philanthropic
faith-based
partners
come
in
this
is
going
to
be
a
partnership.
That's
the
only
way
we
know
how
to
do
it
in
Columbus.