State of the City Address - April 15 2015 - Mayor Krasnoff

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State of the City Address - April 15 2015 - Mayor Krasnoff

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Remarks for delivery by Mayor Alan P. Krasnof
at the annual Chesapeake State of the City Address
Chesapeake Conference Center
April 15, 2015

Before I begin, I want to express my appreciation to the Chamber for its support
of our state of the city series. Each year, this event gives Chesapeake yet
another forum to showcase our accomplishments and I am grateful for all the
hard work that goes into making ours a success.
I want to thank Father Wells for the invocation and express my thanks to him and
his congregation for their ongoing support for those in need, and Lieutenant
Commander DeMange for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
If you’re overseas, and need to visit one of our embassies and see a Marine in
dress blues proudly standing guard, remember that he probably got his training at
the Northwest Annex in Chesapeake.
When it comes to Earl Bynum and The Mount Unity Choir, the only word that
comes to mind is wow. I’ve heard lots of National Anthems sung, but none can
compare to the one we just heard delivered with so much faith and passion.
I also want to recognize and thank our constitutional officers and the members of
City Council for their commitment to Chesapeake.
I cannot thank our senators and delegates in person because they are attending
today’s veto session in Richmond, but I want you to know how much Chesapeake
appreciates their representation.
At whatever level of government and regardless of their titles, these are men and
women who understand what it means to serve. . . and they always seem to
come back for more.
Because they do, we are a stronger and more vibrant Chesapeake and Virginia,
and I’d ask that they stand so we can collectively thank them for their
contributions.

Also with us are Mayors Kenny Wright of Portsmouth and Will Sessoms of
Virginia Beach, and I want to welcome them to Chesapeake.
Now I want to introduce my wife Phyllis. . . . I cannot thank her enough for her
support and for reaching out to Chesapeake. You have my thanks, and you have
my love.
Last, I want to thank Bob Sasser for his kind introduction.
As you undoubtedly know, Mr. Sasser runs a modest little company located in
Greenbrier, which is in a remote part of a boring city called Chesapeake.
Coming up as a Rose’s store manager to serve at the head of a Fortune 500
company, odds are that he's pretty good at what he does.
Bob Sasser’s leadership will result in the merger of Family Dollar and Dollar Tree,
and yield annual sales topping $18 billion for over 13,000 stores operating in 48
states. . . and that ain’t bad for an outfit that started out as a toy store in Norfolk.
Bob is also true to his brand, and if you doubt that, ask him about his socks and
ties. . . and that’s about as far as I’m willing to go.
But at any level, leadership is about more than product loyalty.
Whether we’re talking about a business or a city, it comes down to staying true to
values, and it doesn’t have to be complicated.
In a handful of words, these are the ones that work for Bob and a widely
scattered team of associates.
It’s all about attitude, judgment and commitment.
Treat people with courtesy, act responsibly and carry yourself with integrity.
Do the right thing for the right reason.

And always treat everyone with whom you interact with the dignity and respect
they deserve.
It’s just common sense. But they ring true with an uncommon clarity, and never
more so than when Bob opens Dollar Tree’s corporate doors to companies
considering Chesapeake.
His commitment to his company has made it a success story. His commitment to
his associates has helped them grow and prosper.
And his corporate support and personal commitment at so many levels help
make us a vibrant city.
He deserves our thanks, and I hope you will let him know how much we
appreciate his contributions to Chesapeake.
As you saw in the video, Chesapeake is home to countless others who give back
in equal measure. Young or old, they contribute to Chesapeake in ways large
and small that have allowed our city to dream big, and we are much, much
stronger for their support.
Two teachers who exemplify that spirit are with us today.
Craig Blackman teaches history at Indian River High School, and Lee Mongold
teaches social studies at Grassfield High School.
Two years ago, Lee wanted to document what life was like for those who went to
the Cornland School.
Located in Southern Chesapeake, Cornland opened at the turn of the twentieth
century. Until it closed half a century later, Cornland was the segregated home
for black students who studied in a painfully plain one-room school where books
were hand-me-downs.
It cannot have been an easy place to learn; yet they did, and because sixty years
later Lee Mongold saw a teaching moment tucked away in a wooden building on
Benefit Road, the experiences of the Cornland kids have created opportunities for

others to learn more than a few of life’s lessons.
So student volunteers learned how to interview, how to dig for the truth, and how
to knit together a long-neglected but extremely important story. But most
important, they’ve learned how to give back and teach us in the process, and the
work continues.
Ella Ward is a Chesapeake Councilwoman and chair of the Cornland Foundation,
but her life’s work has been public education. Here are her words:
“If a child can see a building and what's in it, that surpasses what's in a
textbook.”
I couldn’t agree more.
With us today is Lee Mongold. On behalf of students who continue learning more
about Cornland, and I hope you will join me in thanking her for helping
Chesapeake know more about herself.
Across town, Craig Blackman asked a history class at Indian River to begin telling
the stories of troops with ties to Chesapeake who were killed in Vietnam.
Craig spent the summer doing the basics, but it would be up to the students to
come to grips with the complexities and impact of war, and give new meaning to
the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.
Born in 1947 of sturdy Outer Banks stock, Dewey Alan Midgett was 17 years old
when he left Great Bridge High School to join the Army.
By the time he was 19, Dewey Midgett had served one tour of duty as a tunnel
runner, re-enlisted to join an Army assault helicopter company, and earned two
Purple Hearts – one with an oak leaf cluster, two Bronze Stars – one for valor,
and two Air Medals – with one for valor.
And then – not yet 20 years old – Private Dewey Midgett vanished on November
25, 1967.

It took two lawsuits and a ruling by the United States Court of Claims before the
Army would formally recognize that in the words of one Air Medal award, “Private
Midgett’s outstanding courage and devotion to duty are in keeping with the
highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his
unit and the United States Army.”
Dewey Midgett never came home, but students from Indian River were able to
give new meaning to his sacrifice and those of William Coburn, Elbert Elisah Cox,
Jr., John Henry Dixon, Vanderbilt Elliott, Jr., Henry Larry Goff, Luther Hinton,
Claude Thomas Jenkins, Ronald Wayne Jones, Melton Lavone Kidd, Fred
Vincent Lee, Clem Lowery, Jr., Larry Dale Massengill, Raymond Meekins,
Richard Prostell, Kermit Anthony Ray, Daniel Riddick, Donald Robinson, Martin
Shields, James Signett, Louis Staples, George Stanley Sutton, Thurman Horace
Smith, Council Delano Vaughan, and David Yates.
In my time as mayor, I have presented our city’s flag to the families of five sons of
Chesapeake who died serving our country. It has been a sad duty, but also a
necessary mark of remembrance and respect.
With us today and representative of the families of those who lost their lives in
Vietnam is Private Midgett’s sister, Diane Midgett. She will never forget, and
neither will we.
As for Craig Blackman’s role, former Indian River principal Jimmy Frye summed it
up when he said Craig Blackman helped history come alive.
For his dedication and ability to inspire students like Vishakha Sehgal, who is
with us today, Craig Blackman will soon be honored as the nation's only high
school educator to receive the Veterans of Foreign Wars 2015 Teacher of the
Year award, and I hope you will join me in thanking him for his commitment to
Chesapeake and our children.
Needless to say, without a strong military presence, Chesapeake might look and
feel like a different place. Thankfully, that isn’t the case.
Estimates are that over 6,000 of our citizens are serving in uniform, and more
than 27,000 veterans also call Chesapeake home.

Of that number, far too many are disabled in some way, and finding the way
through a thicket of paperwork can be a daunting experience.
To help, this year we sought and received support from the General Assembly to
establish a Veterans Benefits field office on the Chesapeake campus of
Tidewater Community College, which ranks as one of the top community colleges
nationwide for the number of veterans using a GI Bill.
By the end of 2015, the Hampton VA Medical Center will open a new 10,000
square foot clinic that will serve upwards of 6,000 veterans and double the level
of access for veterans living on the Southside.
First hand, I’ve also seen what can happen when the bottom falls out and a
veteran loses hope.
On a hot summer day last year, I was greeted by the sight of a disabled
Volkswagen camper parked at my office. Inside was a veteran with all his worldly
possessions. He was at least 70 years old, had nowhere to go or anyone to
whom he could turn for help, and quite clearly he was at his wits end.
Soon, that will change.
The city is ready to contribute property near the Chesapeake Regional Medical
Center to the Southeastern Virginia Housing Corporation, and I urge them to
move as quickly as possible to build a veterans apartment complex there.
It is the least we can do for those who have stood for us, and we should.
We’re also committed to the Virginia Values Veterans program to
help employers recruit and hire veterans. Obviously, there’s more to it than
meets the eye, but since 2012, almost 7,000 Virginia veterans have found new
jobs.
We have formalized an agreement to provide internships for members of the
Marine Corps Wounded Warriors Regiment to create new opportunities and a
path to success as they recuperate and begin a transition to civilian life.

At the same time - and as part of our effort to ensure that military facilities in
Hampton Roads and Chesapeake don’t fall victim to a BRAC closing - we are
buying property near Fentress and the Northwest River Annex to avoid
encroachment.
With the General Assembly’s support, last year we were able to invest over $2
million.
This year, we will do the same again, and given that we cannot afford to lose one
dime of defense spending in Hampton Roads, it’s the right thing to do.
All in, we have been aggressive in our support for veterans, and it’s paid
dividends.
After measuring our economic wellness, environment, education and health,
WallHub.com has named Chesapeake one of America’s 10 best cities for
veterans, and the metrics prove it.
In 2013, 3,031 veterans in Chesapeake owned a business, and the numbers are
growing.
But then, everything’s growing in Chesapeake.
Last year, investments in Chesapeake totaled $152.6 million during 2014, and
with that came the creation of 1,220 new jobs.
In addition, renewed leases from 74 companies totaled $20.9 million and
represented 468 saved jobs.
11,028 construction permits were issued, which is a 22 percent increase over the
previous fiscal year, and the total value of all permits skyrocketed to $351 million,
which marks an amazing 31 percent increase.
Now consider these numbers:
USA Today ranks us among the top 100 cities for millennials.

WalletHub.com says we’re 19th among the best cities for Hispanic
entrepreneurs.
24/7 Wall Street ranks Chesapeake one of the top 50 best cities in which
to live.
NerdWallet places Chesapeake 19th on its list of best cities for our quality
of life.
Chesapeake ranks in the top 20 of America’s safest cities and quite
literally, our schools are second to none.
Bond rating agencies rank us at the top of the heap when it comes to
financial stability, and the US Small Business Administration has named
Chesapeake its Small Business Community of the Year.
Most of all, these numbers and rankings underscore why companies like Becker
Hydraulics USA and Big Ugly Brewing have found new homes in Chesapeake.
For Becker, a world class port, talented workers and an advantageous business
climate all contributed to the strategic location decision in Chesapeake.
For Big Ugly partners Shawn Childers and Jim Lantry, who’s also a retired Navy
commander, it’s because they wanted to give Chesapeake something of their
own, and they have.
In addition to serving up Chesapeake’s first craft brewery, they’ve reaffirmed the
value of our commitment to entrepreneurs which, as I’ve said many times, is that
if you believe in us, then we believe in you.
On that point, I want to pay tribute to Angela Barber, who works in our economic
development department and is the SBA’s Woman in Business Champion of the
Year. Because of Angela’s commitment and hard work, Chesapeake is home to
more than 200 small businesses owned by women, including those who have
been built by Councilwoman Suzy Kelly.
Also with us are Bee Fox and Tommy Benn with the Hampton Roads Executive

Airport, Caroline Taylor and Stella McClain with Taylor Made Diagnostics, Paul
Mitcham with Yupo Corporation, Rear Admiral William Klemm and Eric Eckelman
with Oceaneering International, Ray Wittersheim with the Tecnico Corporation,
Linda Keith with Init, and Shane Stille with Minton & Roberson.
Each one of these leaders have made a significant commitment to Chesapeake
and our city’s growth and prosperity, and they deserve our thanks.
We are also working with a regional developer to bring more jobs and a new
260,000 square foot retail center to Battlefield Boulevard. Although plans for this
new power center are still in the preliminary phases, soon we hope to add several
great national retailers like the Kroger Company, Dick's Sporting Goods, Field
and Stream, Home Goods, and PetCo to our list of successes.
But Greenbrier has never been the sole focus.
New opportunities for growth for our city as a whole are in sight, and key to that
growth has been Chesapeake’s investment in itself.
Right now, we’re building the largest municipally-managed project in Virginia.
At $345 million, the Veterans Bridge will break the back of congestion on
Dominion Boulevard and create new stepping stones for those willing to work and
plan with us.
That said, we cannot make the mistake of moving too fast.
Aesop was right when he wrote that slow and steady wins the race, and
Chesapeake does not intend to lose.
I would far rather tread carefully than rush headlong into uncharted territory
without a map.
Soon enough, we will have one in the form of a plan for the Dominion Boulevard
corridor. As is always the case with a government study, there will be
opportunities as well as challenges. Yet as we always have, I am confident we
will overcome one to take advantage of the other.

I have also come to understand more clearly the need for regional cooperation.
One real-time example is an automatic aid agreement – and this is cool – that
was developed among Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach fire departments
that erases city boundaries and ensures that no matter which city you call home,
the closest fire truck will be dispatched to help.
The system is scheduled to go live next month, and because time is of the
essence when lives are at risk, it makes perfect sense.
As chair of the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, I may
not be responsible for life or limb, but I’ve also been forced to take the long view
on everything.
As I said last month at a Regent University forum for Southside Mayors, the idea
that I'll get mine now and one day you'll get yours has hamstrung Hampton
Roads, and it needs to end.
We don’t need to get tied up in knots because once upon a time, somebody took
the wrong fork in the road. Instead, we need to think about where we want to go
and how we want to keep Hampton Roads strong and confident about its future.
Likewise, if bankers and investors know that we in Hampton Roads believe in
ourselves, they will inevitably believe in us.
I get that these are crazy ideas. But then, so were these:
A Potomac Canal built in 1788.
A transcontinental railroad finished in 1869.
A Panama Canal started by the French but completed by the United States in
1914.
And an interstate highway system started in 1956 and still a work in progress.
In every case, the lesson has been that transportation is the key to America's
economic prosperity, which is why replacing a High-Rise Bridge on I-64, the AIW
bridge in Deep Creek and the 22nd Street bridge in South Norfolk are important to
Chesapeake and Hampton Roads as a whole.

Equally important is how we invest in ourselves.
For more than two years, we’ve wrestled with how to bring broadband technology
to underserved parts of Chesapeake. In particular, the southeastern part of our
city is desperate for help. Kids can’t use the Internet to study, farmers can’t
check crop futures or the weather, and entrepreneurs who need high-speed
service have none.
I know that for cable and telephone providers, the model needs to make sense,
but I also know that when the need is obvious, we can’t afford to play back of the
bus.
If we say we want everyone to grow and prosper, then we need to make the
invisible infrastructure as easily available to Land of Promise Road as it is to
Cuervo Court.
There will be many, many details to be worked out, but because Chesapeake
already has the statutory right to create our own wireless service authority or join
with others to provide service to a wireless wasteland, we should use that ability
to fill in the digital blanks.
I’ve talked with Will Sessoms of Virginia Beach about how to make that happen.
Will agrees that common needs deserve shared solutions. Together, our
intention is that city limit signs won’t restrict our invisible infrastructures, and I
thank him for his support.
Finally, I want to talk about the elephant in the room, which is taxes, and pay
tribute to the late Judge Tommy Forehand.
Before he took the bench, Tom was a member of the House of Delegates.
Appalled at how Chesapeake had begun to mortgage its future with mounting
debt, Tom shepherded legislation through the General Assembly in to strictly limit
our ability to borrow money.
Not surprisingly, there was a direct correlation between what Chesapeake owed
and an outrageously high tax rate.
When I joined City Council in 1990, it stood at $1.31, and it took 18 years for it to
drop 26 cents to where it is today.

Along the way, Chesapeake has been extremely fortunate.
We’ve been blessed by a school system that graduates an extraordinary number
of talented kids who have helped us grow an enviable work force and created
opportunities for success.
We’ve been able to invest in ourselves to create a transportation nexus that
continues to expand and bring new jobs to Chesapeake.
In so many ways, Tom Forehand deserves our gratitude for those achievements
because of his legislative insistence that Chesapeake resist the temptations of
the moment. Looking down - and I know he is – I want Tom to know he made it
possible for us to play the long game, and he has our thanks.
We’ve also begun a successful tradition of fiscal discipline dating to 2003, when
Vice-Mayor John deTriquet made a motion to create lock boxes and impose even
more controls on what we spend and how we spend it.
That kind of discipline and a commitment that transcends politics has also made
Chesapeake a stable, safe haven for investment and prosperity, and that is not
about to change.
At the same time, we are in urgent need of a new paradigm to respond to the
compelling needs of our school system, and I appreciate the efforts of School
Superintendent Jim Roberts and City Manager Jim Baker to build one.
To be sure, we’re not the best at everything, and there will always be room for
improvement.
But by not trying to be something that we are not, Chesapeake has become
something better than many thought we could be.
We’ve just come through one of the worst winters in my memory.
It would have been easy to call it a day and wait for the snow to melt, but drivers
and mechanics worked through long days and nights to clear the way so that
businesses could open, cash registers ring, and kids could get back to school.
Bone-weary and undoubtedly cold, they made us better.

With us today are firemen David Elliott, Russell Deaton and Douglas Hughes.
Responding last July to a house fire on Oak Grove Road and facing heavy
smoke, zero visibility, and high heat conditions, they could have hesitated.
Instead, they rescued a victim who had stopped breathing and brought him back
to life.
For their efforts, each has been given the fire department’s Award of Valor, and
we are better.
Last October, Jeff Bunn talked with Jessica Smith, who works as a therapeutic
recreation specialist, about an idea to give people with disabilities a way to
showcase their talents.
This coming Sunday, that idea will come into full bloom right here as we host the
first Miss Abilities Chesapeake pageant. Each participant will have a glorious
opportunity to shine and enjoy special moments, and we will be better for it.
Usually, we think of law enforcement in one-dimensional terms, but that would be
wrong.
Working her duties at a school crossing at Border and Amick Roads, Officer
Delores Millington noticed a woman who, each day, would bring underprivileged
children – the youngest of whom was one and the oldest five – to a nearby child
care center.
It did not take long for those kids to steal Delores Millington’s heart or those of
our special operations section. Soon Chief Kelvin Wright and his police
foundation stepped up to help buy additional Christmas presents at Wal-Mart.
Following a marathon wrapping party at the traffic enforcement office, 12 kids
who may not have anything at all got presents for Christmas.
Often kids – much less, I might add, adults - have little if any idea of how our
laws might affect them, so Officers Chara Samuel and Jamie Craig created a
program called the Virginia Rules Camp for at-risk kids in Chesapeake.
The idea was simple – let’s help these kids develop skills they need to make
sound decisions and avoid breaking laws, and equip them with tools they will
need to become active citizens of their schools and communities.

And so, for three days last August, Chesapeake’s kids and police came together
in a safe setting to play and learn and teach one another.
For their perspective, compassion and willingness to help, Delores Millington,
Chara Samuel and Jamie Craig have earned the Chief’s Award of Excellence,
and we are better.
Nor are those at the other end of life’s continuum been forgotten.
Carrying on a decades-old tradition, each year Sheriff Jim O’Sullivan and his
department dedicate countless hours to a senior support services seminar that
promotes health and financial security and for those in need, and we are better
for it.
On December 9, 1775, patriots won their first victory during our nation’s fight for
independence.
To mark our country’s success at the battle of Great Bridge, this year the Great
Bridge Battlefield & Waterways History Foundation will break ground on a
museum and visitors center honoring our historic past and connection to an
aquatic interstate called the Intracoastal Waterway.
And yes, we are better for the commitment and leadership of people like former
Mayor Bill Ward and Phil Johnson.
And if we don’t have it in Chesapeake, we’re not afraid to take chances
on dreamers of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds.
The point, I think, is this: we are not who we seem.
We respect the past. We honor those who have served and suffered, and we are
not about to abandon a legacy some might wish to forget. . . but we have no
intention of being bound by it.
While some may search for the next big thing, we’ve already found it.
We’ve created a fertile business environment in one of Virginia’s largest cities. . .
and we have room to expand.
In the process – and for seven years in a row - we’ve had double digit growth.
For seven years in a row, we’ve had only one direction to go, and that’s up.

Faith in ourselves to do great things has helped, but Chesapeake has also been
a boat-rocker to get things done.
Obviously, there are no guarantees in life, but the genius of Chesapeake is that
we’ve done everything we can to remove uncertainty.
Keep that in mind when you play the new game of Monopoly, because while
Chesapeake may be a boring city. . . we’ll always be a sure bet.
Today, Chesapeake is open 24/7. We’re global. And the world is saying, how
are you?
Thanks to you and the men and women who have made a better place, we’re
strong and well, and ready to face the day the Lord has made.
In that spirit, I ask for God’s blessings for you and Chesapeake, and thank you
for the opportunity to serve.

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