Memphis Flyer

During his third State of the City address Monday night, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said he is “hungry for more” progress, growth, and momentum in Memphis.

“I don’t simply want to have momentum in Memphis — I want to accelerate our momentum,” Strickland said. “I want to take this special time in our history and continue turning the corner into a prosperous future for everyone — a prosperous future that we all know Memphis deserves.”

Strickland delivered the address in three parts, highlighting what his administration has done, what it is doing, and what it will do.

A few of the accomplishments Strickland reported are:

• Roughly 18,000 more Memphians are employed today than when he took office with the unemployment rate at “near record lows.”

“We have momentum in our spirit, momentum in our grind, and momentum with how we’re running an efficient, responsible city government,” Strickland said. “We have momentum in how we’re tackling our challenges, too. And under my watch, you can rest assured that tackling our challenges remains this administration’s priority every waking hour.”

What the city is doing now:

Strickland said his administration is a “neighborhoods-first” one.

“And instead of just saying that, we’re incorporating that philosophy into the long-term plan for our city, which you may have heard about — it’s called Memphis 3.0,” Strickland said. “Over two years, our Memphis 3.0 staff heard from 15,000 of you, and came up with a new strategy for our growth: We’re going to build up, not out.

“We’re going to cast a road map to better transit. We’re going to invest in our core and our neighborhoods. We’re going to invest in Memphians.”

With that, Strickland announced the creation of two initiatives that will put “our money where our mouth is” and “will ensure Memphis 3.0 isn’t just another plan that collects dust on a shelf at city hall.”

The first initiative, the Memphis Community Catalyst Fund, will be dedicated to renewing the source of money used to make infrastructure improvements to key neighborhood areas — or places the Memphis 3.0 plan refers to as anchors. Under the initiative, the city will work with neighborhoods to identify areas that need improvement to infrastructure hoping to spark private development.

“That can be anything from new sidewalks, new pedestrian crossings, new lighting,” the mayor said. “It’s a tailored approach to what works best for you, and what will have the most lasting impact in making your neighborhood better for years to come.”

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The details for the fund haven’t been finalized, Strickland said, but the plan is to commit roughly $2 million toward it in its first year with additional investments in the following years.

The final proposal will be delivered to the Memphis City Council in April during the 2019-2020 fiscal year budget presentation.

The second initiative is a group of eight private investment opportunities in properties owned by the city or city partners.

The properties include:

• The former Tillman Cove housing complex in Binghampton

A website will launch next week with details and instructions for the call for redevelopment proposals, Strickland said. The city will select the developers with proposals that will best “jump-start” the neighborhoods.

Continuing, Strickland also said the city is working to improve public services, like picking up piles of limbs on the curb and cutting down the time it takes to repair potholes.

To that end, the city is partnering with a technology company to pilot machine learning that could lead to scans of the streets for potholes and filling them faster. This will be implemented by placing cameras on city vehicles that detect and report potholes.

Also in an effort to improve streets, the mayor said he’s charged his team with “paving early and often this spring, as soon as the weather allows it.,” announcing the “long-awaited” improvements to Elvis Presley Boulevard to begin in the spring.

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Minority contracting is another area Strickland said the city is looking to sustain and improve through a program called Buy901. It will be an online directory of locally owned and city-certified minority and women-owned businesses.

“Instead of just having this information for ourselves, we thought, why not share it with all Memphians?” Strickland said. “Need a new roof or fence and want to hire a local or minority contractor? Great. Just visit Buy901.net, and you’ll be able to pick the same contractors we use … It’s a long-term way to build equity in our economy and attack poverty, and now you can help.”

Finally, Strickland said the city is continuing to work to reduce violent crime by taking actions like hiring more police officers and working with the General Assembly asking them to pass a law to enhance the penalty for road rage shootings.

Wrapping up, Strickland talked about his vision for the city in its third century. It includes:

• Safer streets with continued reduction of violent crime

The University of Memphis received $1.4 million to enhance the experience of first-generation college students, the university announced Monday.

The funds, donated by the Suder Foundation and an anonymous donor, will be used to establish an endowed scholarship fund for first-generation students, those who are the first in their families to attend college.

The new funds will also create the Office of First Generation Student Success (OFGSS) at the U of M. The OFGSS will be tasked with expanding the existing programs for first-generation students, as well as creating new ones.

The average national graduation rate for first-generation students is 34 percent — 21 percent less than the average for the general undergraduate student. At the U of M, 35 percent of undergraduate students identify as first-generation, compared to the national average at four-year universities of 17 percent.

Student success of the university’s top priority, U of M president M. David Rudd said.

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“We have studied the unique challenges of the growing number of first-generation students on our campuses, and are committed to providing them with the resources they need to succeed,” Rudd said. “The remarkable commitments from the Suder Foundation and other donors will benefit thousands of students and support them in earning their degrees.”

The Suder Foundation was launched in 2008 by Eric and Deborah Suder to support and establish initiatives that increase graduation rates for first-generation students. The Foundation has offered a scholarship and supportive program for first-generation students since 2012.

“We understand how important holistic support is for first-generation students and are thrilled to help the U of M establish the OFGSS as a strategic, innovative approach to serving first-generation students,” Diane Schorr, executive director of the Suder Foundation, said. “We are committed to investing in initiatives like the OFGSS that address student development on the personal, academic and professional levels.”