Mayor responds to critical editorial

To the editor:

This letter is in response to Jack Ronald’s editorial, “City’s downtown is being defaced.”

I too am frustrated and disappointed in the continued deterioration and visible eyesores that plague the downtown area. But let’s start with the facts:

1. Every tree that has been removed has been at the request of the business owner and/or with their permission, and not arbitrarily or unilaterally done by me or any city worker.

2. The City of Portland since 1824 has flooded nearly 30 times, including four since February 2011.

3. The deterioration of the downtown area has occurred over several decades, and certainly long before January 2012.

4. Indiana Department of Transportation controls anything you can do along Meridian Street, so you have to have its permission before you can do anything.

5. The state arborist that Jack refers to in the editorial told several of the downtown business people that the current trees were the wrong trees to be planted, and I have said when we implement the downtown “action plan” she will be part of the solution along with input from the downtown community.

6. In the January 2016 State of the City Address, I said the Geesaman administration will turn its focus onto downtown revitalization in 2017.

What were some of the initiatives:

1. The redevelopment commission approved the hiring of R. & B. Architects, Arsee Engineers and Cushman & Wakefield to develop an “action plan” for the downtown area. They have reviewed the Ball State University study and been through the downtown area.

2. Jay County director of community development Ami Huffman helped the city apply through Indiana’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs for the funds to move forward with the planning and development of the “action plan.”

3. The City of Portland along with help from the county signed a contract with the Army Corps of Engineers to work on a long-term solution to the flooding, including in the downtown area.

4. The City of Portland is working with Choice One Engineering and others to implement more short-term solutions to the flooding issues.

I have said many times and consistently that the solutions to downtown revitalization are complicated and will not happen overnight. I have also said that before you see any major investment in the downtown, there has to be confidence that we are making progress in reducing the impact of any future flooding issues, which we are making that progress.

We can all be negative, point fingers and lash out, but no one wins with that attitude. Let’s all pitch in and be part of the solution. We already have one great example of that with public/private partnership that resulted in the great success story in the Portland Water Park project.

Let’s instead give praise to those who have already stepped forward with improvements like the movie theater, the McClurg building, Hunt’s Studio, Baird-Freeman Funeral Home and the old Model store to just name a few.

I hope you all know by now that I am not afraid to tackle tough issues like the flooding, the old pool, combined sewer overflows and the deterioration of the downtown area. They will not go away, so address them one by one over time.

In 2018 and 2019, some of the behind-the-scenes ground work the Geesaman administration has tirelessly been working on behalf of downtown revitalization, including green infrastructure, will start to come to the forefront. In the State of the City address this month, I will be introducing a proposal INDOT has presented for downtown changes for us to consider.

We all want something to happen yesterday, but we do have some of the pieces of the puzzle coming into place. We just have to let patience and persistence prevail.

Mayor Randy D. Geesaman

City of Portland