Chester mayor touts ‘progress’ in State of the City address
CHESTER » Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland delivered his first State of the City address in conjunction with the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce on Friday morning at Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack.
Kirkland, a Democrat who took office in 2016, provided the business and civic leaders in attendance with updates on the state of the economy, education, crime and infrastructure in the city under his administration.
The address was part of the chamber’s series of government affairs forums, which includes Delaware County’s State of the County, Upper Darby’s State of the Township, and others from members of the state House and Senate.
“The chamber was pleased to be able to host the State of the City Address at Harrah’s Philadelphia,” said chamber President Trish McFarland in a statement. “We look forward to growing our partnership with Mayor Kirkland and his team and supporting the business community in Delaware County’s only city.”
“We want to recognize the partnerships we have developed over the last two to three years,” said Kirkland in a phone interview following the event. “We want to broaden them by inviting others to join in the progress.”
Regarding new partnerships with private business, Kirkland pointed to the many storefronts reopening downtown in the past two years. “We’re excited about the people invested in the community. A lot of folks say there’s nothing being done – it’s just a matter of walking around downtown and seeing what’s being done.”
The city’s downtown now features a cluster of art galleries, restaurants and retailers, including the footwear and apparel store Villa, a business venture of hip hop producer and Chester native Jahlil Beats. They will be joined in July by a new Candlewood Suites Hotel at Fourth and Welsh streets, and later by Locker Room, a retail chain run by sports apparel company Lids.
The increased general fund revenues to the city through real estate, business privilege and other taxes from new businesses are in line with the latest recommendations from the city’s Act 47 recovery coordinators. “We addressed the fact (in the State of the City address) that the work we’ve done far has been recognized in our Act 47 status.”
This month, the city was recommended by recovery coordinators to enter a three-year exit plan from its status as a financially distressed municipality with the state government. “Our goal is to not have to use all of those three years. We hope to exit before that extension expires,” Kirkland said.
The downtown district’s connection to the region has benefited from a $16 million investment in rehabilitating the city’s eight overpasses along Interstate 95, slated for completion this fall. According to the state Department of Transportation, the project also includes repairs to Chestnut Street and Morton Avenue in the city’s East End, along with curb and sidewalk repair and street milling and resurfacing.
Kirkland said the city is currently looking into grants to fund the second phase of a municipal Streetscapes projects to beautify the entirety of the Avenue of the States “so folks can come and shop and spend some time.”
Another major investment Kirkland addressed was the $30 million effort to create a new purposebuilt campus for the Chester Charter School for the Arts. “We haven’t had a full brick-and-mortar school built since 1974,” he said. The K-12 opened its in September 2017.
The 90,000 square-foot facility stands at 1500 Highland Ave., partially on the footprint of the former McCafferty Village housing development, demolished in 1998. Kirkland lauded the collaboration of city and school officials to improve safety in the area for students.
The new campus joins a neighboring Dollar General store and expansion of the Murphy Ford property as the latest efforts to revitalize the city’s West End.
“There’s an awful lot of buzz going on,” Kirkland said of recent parks and recreation improvements taking place across the city. “These are areas where young people can go in the summer and enjoy with their families.” A new playground at Eighth and Lloyd streets was unveiled in August 2017, followed by an announcement of state grants for the improvement of Washington Park at 17th and Melrose in early 2018.
The state Department of Environmental Protection held an Earth Day celebration this year at Sun Village Park in recognition of its marked improvements performed by community leaders over the last two doors years.
Regarding crime, Kirkland said the city has “done a lot better from last year to this last year when it comes to solving crimes and removing criminals, guns and drugs from our streets.” The increase in solve rate and reduction in crime has come after a series of retirements reduced the city police force.
“I’ve watched the job our officers have done with the current number, and increasing it only makes it better,” he said. The city police force is expected stand at 91 officers by the end of June. Kirkland hopes to see a full complement of 106 officers by the end of 2018.
This year the city has secured state grants to expand security camera surveillance in the West End. The new camera initiative joins surveillance programs at Chester Housing Authority sites and over 100 cameras currently in use in the East End. Kirkland thanked Vahan Gureghian, CEO of CSMI Education Management, which manages the Chester Community Charter School, for a $10,000 donation in 2016 that helped launch a police body camera pilot program.
Kirkland said he will be giving further updates on the state of Chester to residents at locations around in the city in the vein of the town hall meeting series held in early 2018. “We’ll talk more about the state of the great city, and we’re looking for partners – like-minded people who want to see the city grow, see our children educated, and to partner with law enforcement and others.”
Current parties with an interest in the city’s growth in attendance at address included the Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County, Covanta, Chester Business Association, city council and employees, and representatives from the Philadelphia Union, Monroe Energy, Widener University, and Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 19.