But Mims warned that the city will be in big trouble if voters do not approve an income tax renewal measure (Issue 6) that is on next month’s ballot.
“Let’s be clear ... nothing good will happen if we don’t get that issue renewed,” he said. “I do not want and you do not want that momentum that we’ve had in Dayton over the last 10 years to stop.”
Wednesday was Valentine’s Day, and the mayor said he’s still very much love with the job.
“I’m still having fun,” he said. “It’s probably one of the best jobs I’ve had in my life.”
Mims held his third State of the City talk at the downtown Dayton Metro Library, and for the second consecutive year, it was handled in an interview format. Mims answered questions from Ray Marcano, a journalist and editorial writer for the Dayton Daily News.
Marcano asked the mayor about poverty, the economy, housing, public safety, youth and the upcoming income tax levy measure.
Mims highlighted some major job announcements and projects, like Joby Aviation’s plan to hire 2,000 people and invest $477 million into a new production facility for aircraft known as “flying taxis.”
Mims brought up Homefull’s work on a new healthy living campus in West Dayton. Homefull is building a 48,000-square-foot grocery store and marketplace, a pharmacy and a wholesale food hub. Future plans at the 16-acre site may include new workforce housing and childcare services.
Mims also mentioned that new housing is coming to the Longfellow school site on lower Salem Avenue in northwest Dayton.
Asked about poverty, Mims said Dayton had seen decades of decline, redlining, job losses and “white flight.” But he said that’s turned around. He pointed out that more than $2.3 billion has been invested in the urban core since 2010, and there’s hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects in the pipeline.
“We’ve done more, fortunately, in the last 10 years than has been done in 50 years prior to,” Mims said.
The mayor said the city asked the community how it should spend the $138 million it received in federal COVID relief. He said other jurisdictions that received federal aid did not seek public input like that.
Mims said the city is going to tear down about 1,100 vacant and decaying structures using federal dollars and other sources because residents identified blight removal as their top priority.
The city tore down about 213 structures last year and expects to knock down about 370 structures this year.
Dayton has an affordable housing crisis that dates back decades, Mims said, but the city is trying to find new ways to tackle the issue.
The city commission last year approved the Dayton Housing Policy, which was the culmination of about three years of work, Mims said.
Mims said the document contains many ideas and recommendations to improve housing conditions, and the city plans to put about $1.1 million annually toward funding housing goals.
The city commission agreed to add housing to its spending plan for the revenue from the Issue 6 income tax levy renewal, Mims said.
The 0.25% levy, which voters first approved in 2016, expires at the end of this year. The measure generates about $15 million annually, making up one-tenth of the city’s overall 2.5% income tax rate.
Before the Q&A session, a video was played that featured multiple leaders and community members who discussed improvements in local neighborhoods.
Katie Meyer, the president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, said there are more than 600 new housing units in the pipeline for downtown, and many are expected to open this year.
Meyer said there are also 400 new hotel rooms under development downtown. This includes 91 rooms in the north part of the Dayton Arcade and 118 rooms in a new boutique hotel, called the Hotel Ardent, which is located in the Barclay building on North Main Street.
In the video, Dayton’s sustainability manager, Meg Maloney, said the city accomplished multiple goals last year, including being recognized as one of the most sustainable cities in the nation.
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