Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall delivers her State of the City address at Woodbine Food Hall Tuesday evening. In the speech, she argued that the city’s decisions over the next five years may impact it a century from now.
Carter Williams, KSL.com
Utah’s capital city is in the middle of arguably its most pivotal moment since it was incorporated 172 years ago, meaning the decisions this decade may have significant impacts for years to come.
And Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall believes the city is up to the task. That’s the key message she outlined in her State of the City address Tuesday evening in which she also announced a $100 million fundraising partnership to revitalize the city’s Ballpark neighborhood.
“How we rise to the opportunities and challenges in the next five years can chart our course for the next century of this capital city, and set in motion a future that is bright for generations to come. I’ve said it before and it’s worth stating again, the character of this city isn’t created through the successes and challenges we face together — it’s only revealed,” Mendenhall said, speaking inside a packed Woodbine Food Hall in the city’s Granary District.
“That character is powerful, creative, tenacious and so caring,” she added. “There’s no stopping us. We’re bold. We’re courageous. We’re Salt Lakers and we are ready.”
While Salt Lake City is benefiting from new business opportunities, including the growth of Delta Air Lines in the city, it’s also facing impacts from unaffordable housing and ongoing drought conditions. The mayor unveiled her intent for new measures to handle housing affordability and water conservation, while also spotlighting current successes.
The city is also set to benefit from a major fundraising initiative led by the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation as it moves the Salt Lake Bees out of the city in the coming year, she said.
Her message was similar to Gov. Spencer Cox’s State of the State address last week, in that it focused heavily on thinking about future generations as the government makes decisions at the moment. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson also gave her own “State of …read more
Source:: Deseret News – Utah News