RIVER DISTRICT ANNUAL DINNER MAYORAL FORUM SPEECH

Thank you River District Association for your continued hard work supporting the growth of our Downtown.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are ONE ROCKFORD. As goes our Downtown, so goes the fate of all the older commercial districts of the City, and so goes the City of Rockford. A successful Downtown means a higher quality of life, the creation of new jobs, and tax relief for the entire City.

I envision the River District as a vibrant, busy, everyday economy. Rather than simply being that place you visit during the Fourth of July or On the Waterfront, the River District must be an "everyday place" with a multitude of great restaurants and retail stores; legal, government, and technology jobs; and museums, movie theaters, and educational opportunities.

To achieve this vision, we must take action now to grow and cultivate small businesses and residential development. While large institutions can have a place in our Downtown River District, the needs of the small businesses and residents that give this place its vitality must be the focus.

THREE CLEAR PRIORITIES To get results now, we must not make a Convention Center, a Gambling Boat, or an Entertainment MegaPlex at Davis Park the priorities. They are the hallmarks of a "novelty" economy". . . expensive price tags with often times marginal impact.

Instead, we must set the following priorities.

The First priority is that we work with the County and the Park District to adopt a coordinated, four-year capital investment program that addresses critical infrastructure needs for the District.

Remember the 3 R's of our infrastructure needs: Riverwalk, Roadways, & Rail.

If we want development along our Riverfront we must build a Riverwalk like they have done in cities throughout this country. The City has failed to build anything resembling a complete, connected Riverwalk.

We must also invest in a common-sense road plan that ends the maddening confusion of one-way streets and dead-ends, and we must avoid additional confusing road designs like the currently planned "WYMAN-MAIN CROSSOVER."

To help create more jobs, the City must also support a fiber-optic infrastructure plan. . But to achieve this goal, the City must practice common sense and fair play and put the construction of that network out to competitive bid.

Finally, we must accept nothing less than a rail connection to our Airport in Phase I of any rail plan, which then can connect to Downtown. We simply cannot be satisfied with Belvidere getting the action and hope that in some future "Phase II" the central city will be taken care of, like the Woodruff Expressway that was never built.

My Second priority is that, we make immediate changes to our land use planning and zoning to provide direction and confidence to developers and business owners.

Zoning and planning should give investors the confidence that their investments in our Downtown economy can be accomplished and protected for the long-term.

Today, however, we still live with a zoning and land use plan that allows incompatible uses to co-exist. This discourages development.

We must also be clear in the message we send regarding our land use plans. For example, the plans for the Amerock building flip flopped from high-end condos to low income housing to destroying the building all together. When we fail to set a clear course, we should not be surprised when development goes elsewhere.

Third, we must market and sell to the entire world the many advantages of being in the District.

The City must work closely with the River District to direct marketing activities and re-hire a Downtown Development Manager. This time however, that position must be given the support and power to actually get things done.

We have many tools to make development attractive. My family and I have used these incentives to tackle several Downtown real estate projects. But we don't do a good enough job telling the world about these advantages. The City must get these development incentives and advantages into the hands of the private marketplace.

CONCLUSION

We cannot depend on the Governor or the State Legislature to achieve this vision. The State simply does not have the money.

The Good News, however, is that WE CAN SAVE OURSELVES. By executing on these priorities, we will be providing a framework to the private marketplace so they know how they can contribute and see their investments grow today, tomorrow, and many years from now.

When I go bowling, I want to knock down all the pins. To do so, we need to know which pins to hit first.

To repeat, my priorities are: 1) infrastructure; 2) zoning and planning; and 3) marketing and sales. I will execute on these priorities all four years of my term.

I look forward to the months ahead and making these visions a reality.