City of Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer delivered her second annual State of the City Address Oct. 1 at the US Cellular Center.
“It is the job of your City Council to hear the people and take their words, their views, their vision and create a plan that reflects the values of our community,” the Mayor said in her introductory remarks. “We like to do that in the form of a Strategic Plan.”
Mayor Manheimer said the City Council’s 2015-2016 Strategic Plan focuses on three core areas:
- Affordability and economic mobility.
- Economic growth and sustainability.
- High quality of life.
She also talked about jobs and quality of life.
“Asheville Buncombe County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state,” the Mayor said. “Over the last five years 36 companies will have invested more than $1 billion in our region spurring the creation of 1,245 directly and 6,385 jobs indirectly.”
But, she noted, economic growth is not just about jobs, it’s about promoting infrastructure to create opportunity.
Other highlights of her address included:
- The importance of affordable housing for all income levels in the City of Asheville.
- Hiring of new Asheville Police Chief Tammy Hooper.
- Launch of the SimpliCity local data search engine.
- The River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project (RADTIP).
- Asheville’s Watch for Me multimodal safety campaign.
Watch the video to hear about these and many other City initiatives and partnerships.