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DeAnna Prince applauds as her husband, Mayor Jerome Prince, delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
Students from Gary Lighthouse and Calumet New Tech high schools attend as Mayor Jerome Prince delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
Mayor Jerome Prince and his wife, DeAnna, step out onto the field as for the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
A color guard presents the colors at the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
GARY — The city was built by the steel industry in 1906, which still has a major influence on the city’s economic prospects. But an important diversification is happening, Mayor Jerome Prince said Thursday.
“Gary is poised to be a clean energy hub,” Prince said in his State of the City address at U.S. Steel Yard, the RailCats stadium.
Fulcrum BioEnergy is building a $600 million plant at the site of the former Lehigh Cement plant to turn household waste into jet fuel.
“We believe that it will contribute to a more sustainable path for future growth,” Prince said.
The plant promises to divert household waste out of landfills and make jet fuel emissions less noxious. Prince believes it will also attract like-minded businesses and industries.
Confronting climate change “is going to put people back to work,” Prince said.
Prince’s enthusiasm for the bioenergy plant capped a long list of positive developments for the city.
“This is how to reimagine Gary, and this is absolutely how you rebuild Gary,” he said.
Gary Commerce Center is a $50 million investment planned for the former Lake Sandy Jo site, which was declared a Superfund site in 1983.
A trucking company is spending $10 million to operate out of the former Edison High School site.
The $649 million Double Track NWI project is bringing Gary closer to Chicago, at least in terms of commuting time, and is opening opportunities for retail and residential development surrounding the downtown Metro Center station as well as the entire downtown footprint, Prince said.
Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, the state’s first land-based casino, is bringing $12.2 million in casino revenue along with $6.6 million in local development money. “Folks, this will be an almost $2 million increase,” Prince said.
At the same time, the city has paid off $7.1 million in debt without borrowing new dollars. “We are rebuilding the city’s economic foundation one step at a time,” he said.
Both the property tax collection rate and the dollars collected have increased. The county income tax and casino revenue have been huge contributors to the city’s finances, too.
The American Rescue Plan Act has been a game changer for the city, too. Gary’s share is $80 million.
Part of that money is going toward sewer and broadband infrastructure. Just 64.6% of Gary’s households have active broadband service. “We’re going to change that,” Prince said.
Some of the money will go toward razing blighted and abandoned structures. Without the ARPA dollars, the city is on track to tear down 76 buildings this year. The federal gift means razing 100 more.
The new Gary Health Department facility will cost $5 million.
The city is also offering tuition assistance for library science students with the aim to offer well-trained librarians at local libraries.
Deferred maintenance and the general condition of parks are also being addressed with ARPA funds. Two park pavilions have already been renovated, and another is underway.
Next spring, the city plans to work on six “jewel parks,” one in each council district.
The city has issued $4.4 million in contracts for street paving. “That’s probably the most street paving that has occurred in one season in quite some time,” Prince said.
A spending spree for police and firefighters will result in 10 new firetrucks and 35 new police vehicles. Community Development Block Grant money is paying for new bunking gear for the city’s firefighters. “These purchases are something that hadn’t been done in over 20 years,” Prince said.
Sworn police officers and firefighters got 12% raises, which addresses the problem of underpaid and overworked employees leaving for jobs elsewhere, he said. Spending $1.3 million on new police gear and technology also helps.
The city’s manned real-time crime center, operating 24/7, is the first for Northwest Indiana, he believes.
Prince thanked the Indiana State Police and others for their support “to ensure we operate at the highest level of professionalism possible.” Accountability, too, is important. “These changes will require much discussion and much collaboration in open forums,” Prince said.
The mayor highlighted a series of initiatives that promise to help fight crime. “Deterrence alone can never be the only way to fight crime,” he said.
Operation Safe Zone helps address the problem of crime at businesses open late. Within three days of the program’s debut, an arrest was made at a local gas station. “We learned to do this with less resources,” too, he said.
Prince credited the Common Council, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and others for working with his administration to improve the city. “Working together really works,” he said.
Mayor Jerome Prince chats with Lester Hughes, from Juiz De Fora, Brazil, following the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
Mayor Jerome Prince and his wife, DeAnna, step out onto the field as for the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
DeAnna Prince applauds as her husband, Mayor Jerome Prince, delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
DeAnna Prince introduces her husband, Mayor Jerome Prince, as he prepares to deliver the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
Mayor Jerome Prince delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
DeAnna Prince introduces her husband, Mayor Jerome Prince, as he prepares to deliver the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
A color guard presents the colors at the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
Mayor Jerome Prince delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
DeAnna Prince looks on as her husband, Mayor Jerome Prince, delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
Students from Gary Lighthouse and Calumet New Tech high schools attend as Mayor Jerome Prince delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
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Doug Ross, an award-winning writer, has been covering Northwest Indiana for more than 35 years, including more than a quarter of a century at The Times.
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DeAnna Prince applauds as her husband, Mayor Jerome Prince, delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
Students from Gary Lighthouse and Calumet New Tech high schools attend as Mayor Jerome Prince delivers the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
Mayor Jerome Prince and his wife, DeAnna, step out onto the field as for the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
A color guard presents the colors at the Gary State of the City address Thursday at U.S. Steel Yard.
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