Doug Echols Our Mayor

MAYOR DOUG ECHOLS
2009 STATE OF THE COMMUNITY ADDRESS
York County Regional Chamber
May 6, 2009, 8:00 am

As you know, we get together annually for this event, a look at the state of our community. I thank the Chamber for taking the lead to provide this forum.
This year I believe this event takes on added significance in light of our community's economic slowdown and the challenges playing out daily in Columbia and Washington that impact our city and each of us.
People are worried. And it's important for us as community leaders to listen and understand what is happening so that we can address the concerns of our citizens...
So today I would like to focus on funding and how we expect to move our city forward in today's economic climate.
In recent years, City Council and staff have worked diligently to keep taxes and the cost of government from rising, even as demand for services has grown. This year the challenge is greater than ever so the city is examining every penny it spends just as you are at home and in your businesses.
With the exception of public safety, I anticipate that the city's department budgets will be at or below last year's levels even though we are serving more citizens than we were a year ago.
Public safety areas will see an increase because we want to ensure that we maintain the quality of life that makes Rock Hill such an attractive place to live and work. We will hire additional police officers this year and we will complete two new fire stations to keep pace with a growing population.
Other important initiatives from pervious budgets are approaching completion. We are just finishing our water treatment plant expansion-a project essential to this region as we are the major water supplier to other municipalities and the county. And as we learned during the severe drought this is a resource we will need to monitor and conserve for the foreseeable future relaxing or tightening restrictions as conditions change.
We continue to work on major corridors into the City by improving roads and way-finding signage. You've probably seen attractive new signage going up around town over the past couple of weeks.
At the same time that we are conservatively managing our operating and capital budgets we will be making strategic reinvestment of special revenue funds to keep our community moving forward.
A recent panel discussion here in Rock Hill with nationally known consultant and journalist Neil Peirce reminded me just how well we are positioned for positive growth. Mr. Pierce and other city planning experts on the panel encouraged us to be innovative and visionary particularly during these hard times and that's what we must do.
One way we can accomplish this without raising taxes is by strategically reinvesting money from special revenue sources such as accommodations and hospitality tax, grants and tax increment financing, or TIF districts.
Accommodations and Hospitality revenue must be reinvested in projects that are designed to stimulate the economy by increasing visitor traffic to local attractions such as Winthrop University, festivals, sports venues, arts and cultural institutions as well as local restaurants, hotels, motels and retail stores.
Tax Increment Financing, or TIF funds, must be reinvested in the location where the tax is generated, again, in projects designed to stimulate economic development and convert blighted areas into productive, attractive and safe neighborhoods.
The Galleria area and Downtown Rock Hill both benefit by having TIFs in place.
A recent success story is the Manchester Soccer Complex which was funded by hospitality revenues. This investment has paid the community back to the tune of $1.6 million in direct economic impact in 2008.
In recent months you've seen several projects brought forward to city council that have been financed by one or more of the revenue sources just mentioned. Each of these projects represents a key component in a strategic reinvestment plan.
One such project is a Community Performance Center in downtown, a public-private partnership with Comporium, the City and the York County Arts Council. The Center already has a major tenant lined up and ready to occupy a portion of the space and will from day one generate more people in the downtown.
Another recent example is a children's creative play museum based on the art work of Vernon Grant. The facility will include a retail component to be located on Main Street.

This project is supported by the City along with the County and the Culture and Heritage Commission.
Still another project is the continued restoration and expansion of Glencairn Garden. If you ventured into the garden during this year's Come See Me Festival or on prom night you know that it is drawing more citizens and visitors than ever before, and the new Veterans Garden section is underway that will draw thousands of visitors every year.
Difficult economic times call for innovation and collaboration. That's why we support these projects, and will be working with our community partners going forward to find other opportunities to draw visitors, make investments and create jobs. For example, we need to expand our partnership with Winthrop University to explore ways that we can maximize our potential as a vibrant college town and draw more investment into the center of the city.
In addition to these efforts, we are continuing to aggressively seek federal and state grant monies. Our grants office has generated over $20 million dollars in the past 7 years.
Grant funds have allowed us to strengthen neighborhoods with programs like the Weed & Seed grant to create safer neighborhoods and investment in affordable housing in the Arcade Mill area, purchase public safety equipment, and assist with basic water and sewer needs.
For the past several months we have been busy applying for federal stimulus dollars in 33 categories to support specific city projects. These projects are already priorities for the city and the stimulus funds would allow us to implement them sooner rather than later, and not take away from the City's general or utility funds. This also means local jobs in the short term-something our community certainly needs.
These 33 categories represent over $30 million in stimulus money, and although we will not receive everything we've asked for we are hopeful that we will receive a significant portion of it. Funds we have already received include a Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) of $343,959 to help us buy equipment for the new police officers we will hire this new budget year. Citizens will be able to track all of these stimulus funds on the City channel and City website.
As we respond to the economic challenges of today it is important to remember that over the decades Rock Hill has weathered other economic storms, and emerged stronger and more robust than before.
In the early 1980's our community transitioned from a dependence on the textile industry to a more diversified economy.
While those were hard times to be sure, I remember that time as a period of high energy and innovation for Rock Hill.
There's no reason this time in our history should be any different.
When the economy improves, which we know it will, Rock Hill will be in an excellent position for economic expansion.
Two redevelopment projects, River Falls (the former Celanese site) and the Bleachery are “teed up” for implementation as the market returns. These projects help us to draw commercial investment that helps to balance our tax base and prevent over reliance on residential taxes.
These two projects alone have the capacity to attract over $800 million in private investment at full build out over several years.
In both cases the City will support investment by using TIF funds to provide necessary infrastructure - again, a strategic reinvestment.
I am hopeful you will see visible progress on both of these developments in the next 12 months. And each one represents, once again, a valuable public/private partnership.
All of these opportunities convince me that our best years are still head of us.
We are busy now planning for the future as we begin the 2020 Comprehensive Plan, a 10 year planning process required by the state that will provide guidance for the next decade.
As always, citizens will play a lead role in shaping our city's future through this planning process as they have through our ongoing strategic planning process.
I ask for your support and involvement as civic leaders, as we continue working to distinguish our community even during tough times.
Our citizens have always been the driving force behind Rock Hill's success, and I know they will continue to be in the future.
Thank you.