Left to right are: Neal Thompson, Civitan program chairman, Mayor Tim Kelly, Ashley Wolf Evans, president, and member Jim Hall
Mayor Tim Kelly told the Civitan Club at its Friday meeting that good parks are the “single greatest competitive advantage” that Chattanooga has over other cities.
But state officials are plowing ahead to rebuild Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute on the historic archaeological site that many want to become a national park. Moccasin Bend’s designation as an archaeological district is pocked by state land for the hospital, a police shooting range, a golf course, and other “non-conforming uses.”
The mayor said state officials compromised by choosing a 15-acre site northwest of its current 80-acre site, but still on the Bend. He said that while he wanted the hospital to vacate the bend completely, the state needs a new hospital sooner rather than later.
“We were the ones that started this process,” he said of the city. “We did the research and submitted 40 sites. None of them were ‘workable.’ Draw your own conclusions.”
Mayor Kelly guessed that Montague Park plans, unveiled in September, will cost $300 million over five or 10 years. He has asked for state funding for the project. Awards will be announced in January.
He said, “I don’t feel bad” asking for state help, because Memphis and Nashville were awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in 2023 to renovate and build football stadiums.
THE BEND, PUBLIC HOUSING AND EDUCATION
Some of The Bend development’s custom zoning with tax increment financing, approved at the end of October, will supply a down payment for a federal grant to rebuild College Hill Courts as mixed-income housing, a trending model for all public housing, he said.
Mayor Kelly also said he will maximize any low-income housing tax credits, a HUD program that bypasses approval by City Council.
“That’s going to make some of the council people mad, but I don’t care,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
Mayor Kelly said the city’s share of the Bend TIF will also generate as much as $300 million for county schools. He said the city will continue to support this type of funding for schools.
“It’s critically important,” he said.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Mayor Kelly said he plans to use AI to “restore faith in democracy” and restore confidence in government. With AI, he said, local governments can crowdsource problems and solutions and make government operations more transparent and public.
As the city overhauls its website, he said ChatGPT tools will allow residents to look up any information they want, such as complex code ordinances or a map of road closures.
“We have to master it, and we will,” he said.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Mayor Kelly, who raised salaries for Head Start preschool teachers in early 2022, said he plans to tap state funds to grow pre-K seats. Affordable preschool childcare will help mothers return to work, he said.
Mayor Kelly said he will model new workforce development systems after those in Louisville and Milwaukee, which train youth for tomorrow’s jobs. He said the current federal and state systems are too reactive.
“What we need is something more proactive,” he said.
HOMELESS VETERANS AND MCDONALD FARM
Mayor Kelly pledged his support for Freedom Homestead, the all-inclusive campus for homeless veterans spearheaded by Frontline Response.
“We’ve got to figure out where we’re going to put this,” he said. The group said a preferred site is the county-owned McDonald Farm in North Hamilton County.
CARTA
Mayor Kelly conceded that most people ride the bus as a “last resort.”
“We have a lot of opportunity to change the way we look at transportation,” he said.
He said CARTA’s new chief executive officer Charles Frazier is a “rock star.” Mr. Frazier will assume his duties in January.
Mayor Kelly praised the Chattanooga Area Regional Transit Authority’s fresh chairman and board of directors, almost all appointed by the Mayor’s Office earlier this year.
AIRPORT
Mayor Kelly said he has worked since he was elected to mend and build a new relationship between the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, because air service development is economic development.
“It matters that we use our airport,” he said. “It matters a lot.” Air travel from Chattanooga attracts more carriers and more flights, which attract businesses to build in Chattanooga, he said.
AMTRAK
A $500,000 federal grant announced earlier this month will fund a study of cost and scope of passenger rail service connecting Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. Mayor Kelly said a “groundswell” of support from the three other cities and bipartisan reinforcements made the funding a reality.
Mayor Kelly said the track would run on existing freight lines. The only infrastructure investments would be minimal: to build pull-offs that allow freight and passenger trains to pass each other.
CRIME
Mayor Kelly said he’s peeling the onion to find and address the root causes of crime. Gun violence, he said, has been worsened by adults using youth as proxies, and also starts with community health issues including housing and mental health.
