Timing, a booming national economy and pent-up demand did wonders for Richmond's economic development over the past decade, and downtown development went gangbusters in the process. As the development slowdown begins to hit Richmond, there are at least four ways that Mayor Dwight Jones can lead the city (and the Richmond region) to a new level of growth, prosperity and innovation.
The first path has been greatly illuminated in recent years by the Richmond Times-Dispatch's David Ress and Eva Russo as they have covered conditions at Richmond's distressingly overcrowded jail. Ress reported today that Mayor Jones is making relief at the jail -- in the form of renovation or new construction -- a priority for his administration.
While a regional jail is the best -- and the right -- solution to the problem of 1,600 inmates housed in a facility that was built 40 years ago to hold 800 or so prisoners, Jones is not waiting for a regional solution to begin addressing one of the more disappointing failures of Richmond's government in recent years:
...on Thursday, Mayor Dwight C. Jones proposed to spend $2.25 million next year and $138.4 million over five years to build a new jail at the site of the current facility on Oliver Hill Way in the East End.
The plan would be a combination of renovating the existing jail and adding new floors for facilities above the current wings.
Christopher Beschler, acting chief administrative officer, said the city hopes to have the work done by 2013. The improvements would mean more facilities for drug treatment, electronic monitoring and mental-health treatment for the hundreds of nonviolent offenders now jamming the four-decade-old facility, he said.
There's slightly less interest now from other localities in a regional jail, for which the state would pick up half the cost, but the city is still exploring that option as well as partnership with a private firm. It will most likely be one or the other approach, though, that gets a new jail built, Woody said.
Getting a new regional jail -- one that offers reasonable conditions for inmates; good medical care; access to social services and the court systems -- built should be a primary focus for the Jones administration over the next four years. Three other areas where Jones could make a real impact include:
- Transforming Public Housing: Working to ensure that the people leading the Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority to reconstruct the city's antiquidated, dead-end housing projects as more socially viable developments bend over backwards to help current residents transition to new housing -- in the revamped developments, or somewhere else. Affordable housing is an issue Richmond can no longer ignore, and the city should be actively leading the rest of the region in innovative solutions.
- The Ball Field and the Boulevard: Most people know that I don't have a lot of passion one way or another for baseball, but I am passionate about the city ensuring that future development initiatives are predicated on -- and financed against -- a future that is grounded in present-day reality. Wherever the new ball field goes, and whatever development surrounds it (and the current ballpark), Mayor Jones has an opportunity to get his hands around this project, vet it honestly and work closely to ensure that we are investing tax dollars and city land toward a future that aligns with the needs of our residents.
- Green Innovation: As the city moves to rebuild, replace and enhance its infrastructure -- from its housing stock to its roads and bridges to its sewer and water lines -- Jones should partner aggressively with the private sector to not only incorporate green technology into all of this work, but should push his administration to actively promote environmental technology across the region. Hello, replacement for the tax abatement program for historical renovation -- tax abatement for future innovation.
There are, really, dozens of other ways for Jones to make his mark -- education among them -- but I'm reassured that one of his first big moves was on the jail issue. It'll be nice to see a mayor who gets things done the old-fashioned way -- with a plan.
