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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 State of the County - Chair Speech 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman Thank you, Madam Vice-Chair. Good evening and welcome to all of you. Before I begin, I want to thank many people who are in the room today. I first want to thank my wife Angie and our children, as well as my mom Ann Boseman. I also want to recognize and thank my fellow Commissioners: Vice-chair Patricia Kusek, o Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, o Commissioner Woody White, and o Commissioner Rob Zapple o We all work hard on your behalf, and I believe we are all here because we want to serve our community and make New Hanover County the best place to live. Please join me in thanking them for their dedication. <<LEAD ROUND OF APPLAUSE>> We also have numerous elected officials and community leaders who have joined us tonight. I appreciate your partnership and your support of New Hanover County. <<Read names provided by Kym>> Page 1 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman Thank you again for being here and for all that you do. I appreciate the leadership of our County Manager Chris Coudriet, our County Attorney Wanda Copley, and our Clerk to the Board Kym Crowell. I also want to thank all of the incredibly dedicated, passionate people who work for New Hanover County. We have around 2,000 employees who every day serve our community in big and small ways. Your work is making a difference, it is bringing is public service at its finest. So, thank you. <<LEAD ROUND OF APPLAUSE>> As you just heard from Vice-Chair Kusek, 2019 was an incredibly successful year for our county. And I believe 2020 is another year of significant possibilities. It will be a year of action, of advancing key initiatives that will benefit our county and our community. So I want to reflect on a few more key actions that took place in 2019 and are continuing into 2020 Page 2 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman We consolidated the governance of our Public Health and Social Services departments into one Health and Human Services agency. This was aided by our new Health and Human Services building, which beginning next week will house both agencies, creating better and easier access for our customers. Since we consolidated, we have streamlined services, created more collaboration, and cut down on staff vacancies considerably. We are putting the people we serve at the center of everything we do, and that has been a true focus for all of our process improvements throughout consolidation. A big thanks to our Social Services, Health, IT, and Strategy staff for working together to make this happen. 2020 will bring additional collaborations, a new energy and a new level of service that will benefit our community and our customers. Because New Hanover County is a leader in health nationally, we have been invited to pursue a Healthy Counties challenge through the National Association of Counties in 2020. Our health and human services departments are ready to accept this challenge, working together in a systems-level approach with New Hanover Regional Medical Center and local partners in Page 3 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman order to advance health equity and prevent chronic diseases. I look forward to seeing how this initiative creates even more collaboration and improves our community health overall. In 2019, we also approved a new Stormwater Services program that will begin in July of this year. With this new program, our neighbors in the unincorporated areas of the county will be able to rely on the county to clean ditches and manage runoff. It will ensure we move forward with more resilient stormwater management practices, to help prevent major issues that led to the flooding that some of our residents experienced during recent hurricanes. We know this is an important issue and we are committed to move forward in a positive way. in 2019, while we were still continuing our intense recovery efforts from Hurricane Florence, we persevered through Hurricane Dorian. We took the lessons we learned from Florence and worked to ensure we were even better prepared, resilient, and ready to meet the needs of our community. Our staff continue to work with homeowners every day who are still recovering from Hurricane Florence. Page 4 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman We still have neighbors who are in need of home repairs or housing, jobs or help navigating insurance and disaster assistance processes. We are helping more than 50 families through the state and FEMA process for buy-outs, elevations and repairs. whose volunteers, through partnerships with our faith community and nonprofits, have worked on almost 100 homes with another 85 on the waitlist. Our community is still responding to needs for furniture and appliances, and the stress and hardship that disaster brings, and I am grateful for our staff, partners and volunteers who are working to build resiliency throughout our community. We will soon begin work in creeks and streams, clearing debris and sediment, with more than $4 million in Emergency submitted another 29 watershed projects to FEMA to address inland flooding that comes with heavy rainfall. Page 5 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman We are continuing to work with community partners to prepare, plan and conduct community-wide exercises for any emergency that may come our way, like the point of dispensing exercise last October that provided 341 flu vaccines free to citizens and also allowed our Public Health Department and other agencies to practice emergency plans. In 2020, in addition to our annual Hurricane exercises, we will array of federal, state and local partners for an exercise across 50 counties. we are constantly striving to do better, understand more, and help as many people as we can. In 2019, we continued to find ways to help our community through the opioid epidemic. We furthered our opioid lawsuit against largest drug manufacturers and distributors that are fueling the opioid crisis in our community. And we are in the process of bringing a long-awaited vision to life: a peer-led, substance-use residential recovery facility in New Hanover County. Page 6 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman It will serve both men and women and will be the only one of its kind in New Hanover County and Southeastern North Carolina. This project is close to my heart. I know the critical need this community has, and I know personally the impact that a successful treatment program can have on a person and their family. So the groundbreaking of this new facility which is expected in August It will be life changing for so many in our region. Construction is also underway and will be complete by next February for Juvenile Justice facility that is being built to serve youth in our community and enhance our This project is also close to my heart, because as a practicing attorney I know the impact we can have if we able to get to our youth early, help them, and offer them the resources they need to find positive paths. Under the Raise the Age law, children will now be treated as children and given the hope they deserve. Corpening enough for his vision and his passion in this effort. Page 7 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman The county is also working on a redevelopment of our Government Center and the surrounding land, to build a purpose-designed facility that can accommodate the needs of our citizens and our employees, ensure we have state-of-the-art emergency operations and 911 centers to serve our community and keep you safe, and also develop the land around us to create a true mixed-that can also serve as an open, community space. Our current government center is a converted shopping mall that has unused space and is inefficient, and it will need at least $20 million in repairs over the next 15 years. So this project has great potential for the county and I look forward to the possibilities this redevelopment brings. Speaking of redevelopment, Project Grace is still on the table and I hope we can decide on the fate of our downtown block this year, making sure that if we move forward it makes financial sense and that we have the right partners at the table. We have been listening to the public, your concerns, your ideas, and we are taking our time to ensure the site is in keeping with what our community wants and needs. Page 8 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman And one of the most widely discussed initiatives of 2019 and into 2020 is the in-depth process we are going through with New Hanover Regional Medical Center to evaluate and understand what possibilities exist for our local health system. I want to thank the 21 community members on the Partnership Advisory Group for their time and commitment to this important process. And to everyone in the community who has been engaged along the way. We have a real possibility here to make sure we know any and all opportunities that are available to ensure our hospital system can fulfill its strategic plan into the future. That could mean restructuring, a new partnership model, and so many options in between. Regional Medical Center for the future. And w route. We must ensure that our hospital can meet the needs of the healthcare industry. Page 9 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman We need to know all of the facts, understand the possibilities, needs now and in the future. I look forward to the discussions and recommendations of our Partnership Advisory Group in the months to come. And I can assure you that we will do what is right and best for our community. The year ahead of us is going to be filled with passions and possibilities. s going to be a year of partnerships and initiatives that help everyone no matter if you live in the city, a beach town, or in the unincorporated areas of the county. We will focus on everyone, every citizen, every business and work with all of our elected leaders to be purposeful and intentional in our policies, support, and actions. We will not be bound by jurisdictional boundaries. Every person who lives here, works here or has a business here is part of New Hanover County. That is why we have announced a collaboration with the City of Wilmington to take the next year to evaluate, revamp and Page 10 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman transform our public transportation system to ensure it is a model that works for our citizens. We know public transportation is important, and that is why making it easier to access, with less wait times, and more efficient and innovative options is key. The past few weeks of additional emergency funding requests led to board governance changes, and have shown that this is even more critical than many of us knew. The county is, and will continue to be, committed to improve public transportation, and make it sustainable and predictable to serve our community into the future. And I believe the steps we are taking today will help guarantee that. The Census will also be a big part of 2020, and it is so important that everyone in our county and our region is counted. An accurate, complete count is crucial to ensure we receive the federal investments we need and deserve. The Census results impact our health care, economic development, infrastructure, education and more. for our region: Cape Fear Counts. So I encourage all of you, when Page 11 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman you receive your Census letters in March, go online and complete the Census. And l 2020 will bring a renewed emphasis on advocating for our citizens in Raleigh and Washington, for clean water and other environmental quality regulations, film support and expansion, keeping sand on our beaches, and so much more. And we will remain committed to economic development through partners like: -The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce ---- which aids in the growth of our economy and helps form critical partnerships that will result in the development of talent to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow. -Wilmington Business Development ---- which has brought more than 600 jobs to our region over the past two years, $60 million in new investment, and $150 million in annual economic impact. We are currently working with Wilmington Business Development on an industrial site at Blue Clay Road that will soon be market ready and bring more economic growth to our area. Page 12 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman -Wilmington Downtown Inc. ---- which attracted over $260.6 million in new investments last year, with 48 new businesses opening downtown and 206 new jobs for county residents. They are helping downtown lead the way with new investment and jobs in our community. -And our ILM Airport ---- which served more than one-million passengers in 2019, had its second year for double digit growth, and continues to move forward with their terminal expansion to accommodate continued growth, airlines, and flights. I hope everyone here will continue to Fly ILM and help break new records in 2020! This is truly going to be a year of forward-thinking, innovative improvements for New Hanover County. We are already beginning our budget process for next fiscal year, and our strategic plan with the priorities of intelligent growth and economic development, superior education and workforce, and superior public health and safety will continue to guide our work in all that we do. Page 13 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman We will continue funding our public schools, making extraordinary commitments to education, thinking about education policy not just for today but for the future, and how we can create a more cohesive cradle to career system locally. We want to ensure that our students have the right tools to enhance learning opportunities, in a way that makes sense in We will also continue to be actively engaged with our school system, offering investigative teams, mental health counselors, and support services to ensure all teachers, principals and administrators are held accountable for their actions and to help ensure our children are protected. These are our kids, and we will do everything we can to keep them safe. We also want to make an even greater impact on workforce housing in the coming year. In 2019, the county worked with the city to establish a joint Workforce Housing Advisory Committee to conduct a comprehensive analysis of workforce housing Page 14 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman efforts and to recommend strategies to improve and increase the stock of available workforce housing in the region. This year, the committee will be leading a comprehensive housing study and public opinion survey so we can understand even more and take actionable steps to improve workforce housing in our community. We have already conveyed three county-owned pieces of land to Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity for workforce housing; and this spring, I am excited to announce that we plan to convey approximately 16 acres of county property in the Wrightsboro area to Cape Fear Habitat to develop a workforce housing subdivision. This will be a great and much-needed addition to our community. We also provide funding to numerous housing organizations that are helping our low-income neighbors who make 60 percent or less of the area median income. But there is still a gap for our middle-income workers who have fewer housing options available to them. So to complement existing programs, we are also going to explore a pilot program Page 15 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman for the county to fund rental gap assistance for moderate income workers in our area who are earning between 60 and 120 percent of the area median income which is also in line with the income focus of our workforce housing committee. Over half of the renters in New Hanover County are housing cost burdened, so I hope that we can move this forward and help begin to change that. In 2020, as part of the annual budget, the county is also going to implement a Social Impact Fund as a pilot program. It will run alongside our current non-county agency funding, but it will be based on outcomes set by the county. For the pilot, this fund will be focused on three key priorities: opioid and substance use prevention and treatment, early childhood education, and employment and workforce readiness. The county plans to provide three organizations who are tackling these priorities with seed money this coming fiscal year, and based on the outcomes they meet potentially provide additional money over the next three years. Page 16 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman This is a new way of thinking to focus on outcomes in order to most pressing needs. We are committed to working together with our community to help make a collective a lasting impact on our citizens. 2020 is a year of action. So we also plan to develop a five-year Master Aging Plan with our Senior Resource Center that provides coordination of community services to help older adults age in place, aid in the transition from the hospital back to the home, increase paratransit services and efficiencies for older adults, more. My initial focus for this plan is on food and nutrition, and specifically reducing the number of residents on the home delivered meals wait list. Our Senior Resource Center is doing such incredible work, and this master plan will help increase their impact and focus their efforts to serve our older adults even more. encourage you to go by sometime soon. Page 17 2020 State of the County Speaking Points Chair Julia Olson-Boseman They have some renovations going on now to help serve our citizens even better but when you stop by, take a minute to see the activity, meet the people; they are providing a service that no one else in this community is. They are filling a gap that is so important. New Hanover County is an amazing community, and we are fortunate to call this home. And if this State of the County is any indication, we have a lot going on a lot of amazing things happening. And I believe 2020 will be an even more impactful, even more successful, year for our county. << look toward Kym and she will let you know if there are additional officials to recognize; if there are she will provide a list and you can say: Before I wrap things up, I do want to recognize a few more people who are here with us this >> We look forward to working with and partnering with all of to make 2020 the best year yet. Thank you and good night! Page 18