DATE: Thursday, May 8, 1997                 TAG: 9705070149

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: CITY REPORT 

                                            LENGTH:  208 lines

MAYOR FRAIM PAINTS BRIGHT ``STATE OF THE CITY''

Below are excerpts of Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim's ``state-of-the-city'' address May 1 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Convention Center. The event was hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

THE PAST YEAR truly has been one of progress for Norfolk. We are well into the busiest road construction schedule in the commonwealth. MacArthur Center remains on schedule and is already fulfilling its promise as an impetus for additional development. New businesses continue to recognize the advantages of locating here, and our convention and tourism business is on a clear upswing.

But I must tell you, Norfolk and other localities around the commonwealth continue to wrestle with the consequences of devolution, the policy of shifting responsibilities to local government without adequate funding, while simultaneously seeking to restrict local revenue options.

This year Congress and the president are negotiating a budget that will further reduce Medicaid, Social Security, Housing Assistance, Medicare.

Welfare reform is a reality in Washington, but the consequences are just beginning in Norfolk.

And for those who hoped the military was finished with downsizing after the last B.R.A.C. Commission, there is new evidence to say even more change is coming. . . .

At the state level, this year's General Assembly session saw proposals presented that, if enacted, would have severely affected local revenue sources. Fortunately, the Norfolk delegation, in concert with other friends, was able to protect our existing tax base.

But the underlying message is clear: We must continue to expand our tax base, create more jobs and reduce our dependence on defense spending by diversifying our economy. This is true for Norfolk and for the region and is implicit in our economic development strategy. . . .

Despite the exasperation of some who see in its complexities an unwillingness to cooperate, regionalism has advanced. It is no exaggeration to say regionalism has been worked on harder in the past 12 months than in the past 50 years.

And there is evidence to support that assertion:

In its first major test, the Hampton Roads Partnership demonstrated its capacity to serve as a forum for negotiating projects with a regional reach.

A professional sports franchise eluded us, temporarily, but we gained unprecedented cooperation between the cities in the region and the state government, and we learned how important it is for us to speak with one voice when in pursuit of a goal holding regional benefits.

The new Economic Development Alliance has received commitments from three jurisdictions, including Norfolk, to participate in its efforts to attract new businesses and higher paying jobs to the area, and we look forward to this important initiative being fully funded.

Tourism, a $435 million industry in Norfolk alone, is a critical part of the Hampton Roads economy. For the past tourist season, I am pleased to announce the Virginia Waterfront Campaign was directly accountable for nearly 42,000 travel parties visiting the area who spent more than $30 million. Fifty-five percent were new visitors . . .

Perhaps the most exciting development to come out of the Virginia Waterfront Campaign is the International Arts Festival, 18 days of performances by internationally known artists and the best professional arts organizations in the region at venues from Virginia Beach to Williamsburg.

Regionalism is not about helping the poor. It's not about correcting the past. It is about fixing the future. It's about the economy. It's about national and global competition.

To ignore the bigger picture is to risk the region's future prosperity and progress. Worse yet, it would be a lapse of leadership.

Now, to turn more specifically to Norfolk.

Today, the seven members of the Norfolk City Council represent the diverse makeup of this city. And we work together, as a team, within seven broad priority areas, the most crucial being public safety, education, economic development and neighborhood development.

Among the most influential factors affecting America's cities is public safety. Not surprisingly, it is - and has been - this council's top priority.

Norfolk has been a trail blazer in applying innovative policing strategies - strategies that have been validated by results. Today, I am able to report overall crime for l996 was down another 8.9 percent.

A particularly satisfying statistic . . . is the l7 percent drop in violent crime in our public housing neighborhoods.

I attribute our nearly 6 1/2 years of declining crime rates to two things: the PACE Program, and citizen involvement.

PACE, Norfolk's nationally recognized community policing program, has re-engineered the traditional practice of law enforcement. One of its many achievements is its phenomenal success in involving our citizens in fighting crime. It is this, I believe, that gives us our edge.

It is people like Willie Barnes and Walter Dickerson from the Norfolk Crime Prevention Coalition, John and Ginny Roger from the Bayview Civic League, Ursala Banks of the Tidewater Gardens Tenant Management Corporation, Brenda Scanelli and Kathy Stark from the Ghent and Colonial Place/Riverview civic leagues, Arelene Barber of the Diggs Town Tenant Management Corporation; and the Rev. Ed Thomas, pastor of First Christian Fellowship Church.

These and other citizens working in partnership with the Police Department have made the difference in Norfolk, and I take this opportunity to thank them for their invaluable service to the community.

Crime has been shown to be closely related to educational attainment. The majority of crimes are committed by persons who never finished high school.

It is no secret that a city's reputation rests on its public school system. And Norfolk has the finest public education system in this region. . . .

And this City Council is committed to keeping that distinction, a commitment evidenced by the financial investments we make in the system.

We continue to have the smallest class size and to spend more per pupil than any other school system in the region. In fact, according to a Virginia Municipal League survey, we spend 191 percent more than required to meet state Standards of Quality guidelines - more than any other community on the southside of the region.

And Norfolk's curriculum is on the cutting edge of education reform. It is tough, it is challenging, and it refuses to accept the notion that our young people cannot meet rigorous academic standards.

But after saying that, we recognize there are trouble spots. Despite improvements, our dropout rates continue to be too high. Despite improvements, test scores are too low, more of our children need the benefits of early childhood education.

And the infrastructure needs of our school system, estimated by the School Board at $145 million, are well known and no different than the needs of localities across the state.

Indeed, a recent study by the Department of Education concluded real estate tax rates could double, and that still would not generate enough revenue to meet school infrastructure needs.

Given the magnitude of the problem, and given the limited revenue capacity of local government, it is my reasoned judgment that . . . state assistance is essential.

Just as there's a relationship between crime and education, so too, is there a relationship between education and employment. Failure to graduate from high school reduces nearly to nil chances for obtaining gainful employment.

With the dedication of the Norfolk campus of Tidewater Community College, a comprehensive menu of educational choices will be available to Norfolk residents. . . .

To generate the revenue to fund our community's priorities we must grow our tax base. With 47 percent of our property tax exempt in a fully developed and geographically small city, this is a Herculean task not fully appreciated by most. Yet we continue to defy the conventional wisdom that says the suburbs are businesses' first choice.

Downtown is the economic engine that drives Norfolk and returns annually $7 million more in tax revenues than we invest.

MacArthur Center will boost that return, and is already generating tax revenue on a parcel of land off the tax rolls for nearly 40 years. With the piling not even finished, it has stimulated additional development: first, a $32 million residential development in Freemason Harbour, followed by the announcement of plans to construct a $25 million all-suites hotel with no financial assistance from the city.

In another encouraging sign, office vacancy rates downtown fell to their lowest levels in nearly 10 years.

And just two weeks ago the BLP Group announced its intention to open a major facility in Commerce Park that will create 300 high-paying new jobs in the city. They join vanguard industries: TWA, The New York Times, The Coast Guard and others as businesses newly located to Norfolk.

This, combined with the expansion of existing businesses, has increased the number of jobs and exerted an economic impact estimated at $250 million in wages alone.

Our cultural and entertainment attractions, our educational institutions, our strategic location, and our downtown . . . have proven their ability to attract the kinds of businesses we have targeted - new age, entrepreneurial, high-tech companies and port-related corporations. . . .

Let me turn for a moment to the port. It is estimated the economic impact of the port on the Hampton Roads economy equates to over 120,000 jobs with a $3 billion annual payroll. And a recent study has predicted significant growth in the port and port-related business. . . .

I would offer the observation that a city's neighborhoods largely determine its character, and the diversity of Norfolk's approximately 150 neighborhoods says a great deal about us. . . .

To have a city that works - that is, an inviting and desirable place to live, work, play and raise a family - a variety of attractive neighborhoods with a balanced mix of housing opportunities is an essential ingredient.

Lafayette Shores, Attucks Square, Pleasant Point, Middle Towne Arch and Pinewell-By-the-Bay represent critical additions to our housing stock.

They have been joined by Bay Oaks Place in Ocean View, to be followed shortly by Stonebridge Manor, by the Collins development in Freemason Harbour, and the new community planned for East Ocean View.

At the same time, we have heeded the input of our civic league leaders concerned about problems that plague a number of our older neighborhoods. In response, a new department for neighborhood and environmental improvement will come on line this year to provide for seamless code enforcement.

And we plan to fund additional neighborhood projects that will exceed $16 million, exclusive of capital funding for water, wastewater and road resurfacing projects.

Last year, I invited you to attend a community forum we called ``Neighbors all: a conversation about our community and its future.'' More than 400 citizens participated in this event, where every Norfolk citizen had an opportunity to offer input to us on their priorities. That input served to unify the vision and priorities of our citizens with that of City Council. As a result, we have achieved a community consensus on where to focus our efforts.

Neighbors All symbolizes what I believe is the dawning of a new era in government, the revitalization of a spirit of willingness, a determination even, of citizens to take an active role in the affairs of their neighborhood, their community and their government.

I am determined to preserve and nurture this rebirth of citizenship. . . .

My assessment is that in 1997, Norfolk is positioned, or as some say, ``poised,'' for greatness. I know of no time when she was so well placed. We are about to enjoy a full renaissance.

It's measured in the pile drivers that are the beginnings of MacArthur Center. It's seen in the students who are moving in and out of the new community college campus.

It's captured in the physical changes that are occurring in East Ocean View. At Norfolk State University, where a 30,000-seat football stadium is about to be inaugurated, along with a new president. In the East Campus expansion at Old Dominion University, and at the centers of excellence at the medical school complex.

And, it is shining brightly in the fierce, competitive spirit of our great corporate citizen, Norfolk Southern.

Again, I am honored to be mayor at this point in Norfolk's history, to be serving with colleagues on City Council and with community leaders such as yourselves, who love this old seaport town as I do with a passion that comes from the heart.

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