Mayor-President Melvin L. "Kip" Holden
2010 State of the City

We all talk a lot about the American Dream, a concept that means different things to different people. For some of us, the American Dream means owning your own business, owning your own home or getting elected to your dream job.

The American dream means leaving this city, state and country a better place for our children and grandchildren so they can have an even better life than we’ve had.

Here in Baton Rouge, the path to that American dream begins with a vision.

Last night, we kicked off a year-long planning process to determine how our city and parish will grow over the next 20 years.

It's a planning process called "FUTURE-BR" and it's focused on three things:  vision, opportunity, and progress.

Last night, about 500 people came to the State Museum to learn about this exciting process, sign up to be citizen planners, and find out how they can be a part of creating a great future for Baton Rouge.

Each year, when I have the privilege to report to you on the State of Our City, we look back at the accomplishments that have brought us to this day and we look forward to what's on the horizon.

But this year, we're starting a new decade and embarking on a journey together to determine how we want our community to grow.

So this year, we're asking you to look forward even more and think about the kind of place you want your children and grandchildren to live in 20 or 30 years.

Vision

We have a vision for our city and parish as the heart of a vibrant and emerging economic region -- perfectly positioned to become America's next great city.

In the time since I took office five years ago, we've focused on short-term and long-term solutions to give our citizens confidence that priorities are being addressed in a timely manner.

We've made accountability a priority for all sectors of local government. We're working to establish and communicate a positive and contemporary image for our community. And we've put programs in place to build an ethical, skilled, diverse City-Parish workforce in which employees are empowered to use their initiative, creativity and expertise in responsible ways.

Our vision of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish is one of a progressive, effective government responding to the increased demands and changes that have taken place.

Last year, we put forth a vision for solving the problems of the past and building a foundation for economic growth. We offered this in the form of a bond issue that as you know, was not approved by the voters.

That doesn't mean the vision has faded, it doesn't mean that the dreams have died or that our community doesn't want to move forward. It means we must have a shared vision to move forward together.

From the loss of the bond issue comes opportunity for 2010.

Opportunity to come together and plan our future, opportunity to participate in a process that will help us determine what kind of city we want to leave for the next generation. Our approach of short and long term solutions is taking a parallel track that can be seen throughout the parish.

The Green Light Program is providing short-term solutions to traffic congestion, getting rid of bottlenecks at intersections like College Drive at Perkins Road, Government Street at South Foster, and Sherwood Boulevard at Coursey.

And at the same time, we're working with four other Parish Presidents in an unprecedented spirit of cooperation among local officials to build a traffic loop around the City of Baton Rouge to relieve traffic congestion for our region -- not only improving the quality of life for the citizens of our parish, but also making East Baton Rouge Parish much more attractive for economic development.

With our Green Light Plan, we have broken ground on 23 street and road improvement projects, nine of them have been completed, we're about to finish four more, and this year, we'll break ground on seven more projects designed to get local traffic moving.

The average construction time on the completed projects? Just ten months.

These projects are not only moving from design to construction to completion quickly, they've also come in over $26 million dollars UNDER budget.

And when it comes to the Baton Rouge Loop, all indications from our Implementation Plan which was completed last year and the current Environmental Study which is required by the Federal Government tell us the Baton Rouge Loop is on track.

We have just completed our fourth round of public meetings in the five parishes participating in the Loop Project.

This time next year, we will have the corridor selected and federal approval in the form of a Record of Decision.

We have always known that construction would begin in phases and it is obvious that the North Bypass will be the first segment to interest a private partner.

A connection between I-12 and Highway 190 on the west side of the Mississippi River is the most profitable segment and the segment that relieves more traffic than any other segment of the Loop.

This year, we plan to hold an industry forum to bring in the large private companies that have already begun approaching the Loop Project team with interest in this project to share more information on the traffic modeling that is now being done.

Last summer, we learned through a poll commissioned by the Baton Rouge Chamber that 83% of the people in the five parish area want to see the Baton Rouge Loop built. 83%.

Never have the people of this region come together and spoken so loudly in favor of an infrastructure project.

This is most definitely one long-term solution whose time has come. Short and long term solutions also mean tackling the problem of truancy by working closely with District Attorney Hillar Moore and School Superintendent John Dilworth to open a Truancy Center to work with parents to keep children in school, and also to enforce laws that make parents responsible when their children have excessive absences.

Baton Rouge City Police are issuing summonses for parents of chronically truant children and our District Attorney reports that for the first time in 20 years a truancy case will be prosecuted in state court in Baton Rouge.

In a cooperative endeavor, we will open a truancy center in the old School for the Visually Impaired on Government Street this summer to put even more enforcement power behind keeping kids in school.

We have committed $100,000 in our City-Parish budget to fund this truancy center with matching funds expected from the District Attorney and School Board, in addition to private funding efforts.

Short and long term solutions mean aggressively working to help existing businesses grow, helping small businesses get started and thrive, and building international relationships that will attract investment in our community, create jobs and keep local businesses healthy.

Just last week, a national Business Journal study ranked Baton Rouge number two in the nation for best cities to start a small business -- an increase from number 45 to number 2 after we nearly tripled the national rate.

One group that is helping Baton Rouge to the top in small business development is SCORE -- a group that considers the current economic climate the largest opportunity in their 45-year history. Our Baton Rouge Chapter is growing and has been an outstanding partner for us to improve our business climate.

In addition to a vision for our community, our lead planner for FUTURE-BR, John Fregonese, also sees opportunity for Baton Rouge. John is here with us today after working with cities like Denver, Chicago, Dallas, Salt Lake City and many others to determine the best plans for land use and development for the future.

John's early look at Baton Rouge has shown him that we have something other cities do not have. While we have poverty that must be addressed, we also have an advanced population in both education and income which gives us the resources and support to take on our problems.

Out of more than 400,000 people living in our community, if we could move 10,000 people out of poverty to just a modest income we would be one of the healthiest communities in the nation.

When you compare Baton Rouge to the city of Birmingham, we have a very similar income profile except that we have double the advantage in people making over $100,000 a year and a much larger proportion of our population with Bachelor's degrees or higher which means we have the foundation of a very educated workforce and the economic strength to help lift our community up. If we can lift just 8% of our population slightly we could match the City of Charlotte's prosperity. To match Austin's income profile, we only have to improve 5% of the households in East Baton Rouge Parish.

These are realistic goals the kind of opportunity we have before us. But most importantly, they are specific, strategic plans to combat poverty in our community in a way we have never seen before.

Over the past 12 months, we have put in place programs to address this plans that will help us chart a path for economic prosperity for our city and parish.

The East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority, under Walter Monsour, has targeted five at-risk neighborhoods for redevelopment.

Working with the Metro Council members and our staff to identify areas of need, he has put in place a staff and team of consultants who will work to:

• Make small business façade grants to 20 businesses totaling $150,000.

• Contribute up to $1 million to projects involving the rehabilitation of rental properties,

• Lend up to $2 million in "gap" financing for any project dealing with the elimination of blight that could leverage the investment of $20 million total,

• Spend up to $750,000 in the acquisition of blighted properties,

• And perhaps most importantly we will help incentivize approximately $30 million dollars in commercial, retail, and housing construction projects through our allocation of New Market Tax Credits.

All of these efforts take place in our targeted areas. The low income census tracts and underserved communities we have identified.

Along with a new Director in our Office of Community Development, a team of top national and local consultants selected for an update of our Horizon Plan, and a strong team in place to deploy redevelopment funds we have put a system in place to tackle blight and poverty, a system that is backed by funding to make a real difference in the lives of those living in these neighborhoods.

And not only are we undertaking these redevelopment opportunities but others are stepping up, as well. The Nicholson Drive corridor is poised to bridge LSU and downtown with a combination of redevelopment projects by LSU and private investment.

We’re also dealing with blight with short-term approaches like Litter Court where homeowners and business owners are being held responsible for cleaning up trash and blighted and overgrown properties.

We’re working in partnership with Keep Baton Rouge Beautiful to raise awareness to fight litter throughout the parish and help build community pride because we unfortunately still have those who will toss a cigarette on the ground, trash out a car window or put illegal signs in right-of-ways and it takes each and every one of us to remind those who litter that it destroys our community and our city's image.

Along with blight in these targeted neighborhoods comes crime. Last summer, we saw an increase in homicides that set a new record for Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge Police have targeted the neighborhoods where most crimes are occurring.

Chief LeDuff and I along with officers in the Baton Rouge Police Department will even more aggressively pursue those who refuse to obey the law primarily in the 70802, 70805, 70806, and 70815 zip codes.

These four zip codes have accounted for 60 of the 75 murders in our city last year. The police can’t do it alone, our citizens, especially in these zip codes must join us to make a difference.

Through our improved technology, response time when shots are fired is a matter of seconds and that system will be enhanced with the addition of air support with a helicopter.

But the problem is that shots are being fired in these neighborhoods in the first place.

Last year, Baton Rouge Police took 1400 guns off the streets of Baton Rouge, this year they will take 1500.

Just like you, I am tired of making speeches about crime. You’ll hear very little talk and see more action which will provide better results.

It is a challenge that must and will be met head on. Our city will be defined by our greatness not those criminals who want to live on Easy Street and Comfort Avenue.

My message to you is to get an education and get a job.

Also, in the area of public safety, our Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness launched our “Red Stick Ready” campaign to promote our own brand of readiness and it was quickly recognized by the National League of Cities as a best practice to be used to train municipal officials around the country.

This year, our sewer improvements program continues on a timeline to be completed in compliance with the EPA requirement of 2014.

This month's announcement of our bond rating upgrade by the nation's top ratings agencies brings us to a AA+ rating by Standard and Poor's. This will directly benefit the sewer program, as it saves us money through lower interest rates as a result of our bond rating.

It is with strong, financial management that we are now only one step away from the highest bond rating a city can achieve from S&P --- AAA.

We continue to make improvements to downtown because a healthy downtown is vital to a healthy city and parish.

We begin construction this year on the North Boulevard Town Square. And we will begin implementing the initiatives of Plan Baton Rouge II for downtown plans and economic strategies to create a central green space and urban forest downtown, to make Third Street a vibrant entertainment corridor, to take advantage of our Mississippi Riverfront and more.

We will continue our partnership with the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership, a non-profit affiliate of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber to target high-quality job growth and economic opportunities.

We will work together on priorities to improve workforce development so we can continue to attract new businesses.

And my outreach will continue at the international level where we have seen direct investment in Baton Rouge through our sister cities and other emerging relationships that are putting our community on the map, as a good place to invest and open a business.

I took my first trip to China, at no cost to the City-Parish, at a time when others questioned what I hoped to accomplish. I met with Mayors and company officials interested in expanding to North America.

I put Baton Rouge up against cities like Houston and San Francisco. Three of those companies have chosen Baton Rouge to build manufacturing plants for cancer fighting technology and energy efficient LED lights.

I hope they saw our vision for the future. I know they saw great opportunity.

In 2009, there were 26 film and TV productions that filmed in the Baton Rouge market with an estimated direct spend from these productions well over $70 million dollars compared to $25 million in 2008. These productions accounted for 22,500 hotel room nights.

The science fiction action film, "Battle: Los Angeles" was the largest budgeted production to ever film in Baton Rouge.

This production crew formed a true partnership with the city -- participating in our recycling program, planting trees to offset their environmental footprint and even mentoring recent graduates from LSU and Southern.

Last year also brought the enormously successful HBO series "True Blood" to film in the Baton Rouge area and we expect them to return this year.

So, we continue support for the Baton Rouge Film Commission and signature events like the Bayou Country Superfest, a country music festival that will bring the biggest names in country music to Tiger Stadium for Memorial Day weekend.

Our Healthy Baton Rouge Initiative is building awareness of the importance of healthy nutrition, active lifestyles and our efforts to fight childhood obesity.

Just last week, I was honored to have the opportunity to tell First Lady Michelle Obama about our Healthy City Initiative and how we are working to encourage a healthier lifestyle for a healthier community. Our initiative will be included in efforts to improve the quality of life.

As part of this initiative, we will triple the miles of bicycle routes throughout Baton Rouge in partnership with LSU and BREC providing more opportunities for riding bikes safely for transportation and recreation.

Vision, Opportunity, and Progress

Baton Rouge ranked #2 in the nation for best cities to start a small business, one of the best cities to ride out the recession, a Forbes Magazine's top 20 best-bang-for-the-buck city, Forbes top ten fastest recovering cities, seventh in the U.S. in job growth, fourth in the nation in wage growth, and Forbes top ten college towns for jobs.

These are some of the national rankings we received in 2009 and at the start of this new decade.

Ladies and gentlemen it is my profound privilege to report to you that in these times of economic uncertainty in our nation, Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish are economically strong, leading the nation in many economic indicators focused on our future with an unwavering goal of building America's next great city.

I urge each of you to get involved in planning the future of Baton Rouge. Attend a workshop, drop by an open house and send us your ideas.

This summer, we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of East Baton Rouge Parish, created in 1810.

What better time for us to come together with a vision for a great future for our city and parish?

I believe the times demand invention, innovation, imagination, and decision. I am asking each of you to be pioneers on that New Frontier.

The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the citizens of Baton Rouge, but what I intend to ask of them.

And as the Irish say, "There are fish in the sea better than have ever been caught."

I invite each of you to get out your fishing pole and start fishing, you never know what you might catch.

For I believe as William Allen White wrote, "I am not afraid of tomorrow because I have seen yesterday and I love today.

Thank you and may God bless you all.