Mayor Kevin Johnson called for city government reform, the launching of a green initiative, increased public safety and moving forward with the arena project at his second State of the City address Thursday.
“The state of the city is in our hands,” Johnson told the members of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce members. “The key is not about getting hit, it’s about getting up again.” Johnson discussed the hits the city has taken over the past year, including 13 percent unemployment, high crime rates and lackluster business performance, but he emphasized the need to be optimistic.
“This is our time, Sacramento,” Johnson said.
He highlighted four areas of focus to bring Sacramento back to a stable economic environment and take it forward to being a world-class city.
Downtown
Johnson’s first goal is to strengthen the Downtown core. Saying the success of Sacramento is in its neighborhoods, he stressed the need to make them successful.
His plans for doing that are to “put cars back on K Street” and actively bring in new retail stores to revitalize the currently pedestrian-only mall. He said he also intends to “unlock the grid,” making it easier to access the downtown area from all parts of the city by removing the current barriers that hinder the free flow of traffic.
Another goal is to develop a viable plan for the Downtown Plaza mall over the next few months, which currently has one third of its retail space vacant.
Green Initiative
With New York being the capital of finance, Los Angeles being the capital of the entertainment industry and the Silicon Valley being the capital of the technology industry, Johnson said he wants to make Sacramento the capital of the green industry.
“I strongly believe Sacramento has the potential to be a national leader when it comes to green space,” Johnson said, adding that he wants to make Sacramento the “Emerald Valley.”
In developing jobs in the “green sector,” Johnson said Sacramento will be a host to myriad new jobs on all wage levels, which can help diversify its employment.
“Sacramento is over-dependent on government jobs,” Johnson said. “We need to diversify.”
Johnson compared the possibility of harnessing a new green industry to the Gold Rush.
“We have the opportunity to have a Green Rush,” Johnson said.
Arena Project
“We need a new entertainment and sports complex in Sacramento,” Johnson said.
His comments followed a panel discussion with members of the Sacramento First Citizens’ Task Force, which was formed in November.
During the panel discussion, member Larry Kelley gave a brief outline of the seven proposals the task force has received thus far, which range from using the current Arco Arena site in Natomas to bringing the new arena downtown to the railyards, the docks or the K Street Mall.
“This is something the voters have voted down previously,” Kelley said. “It’s something I think we need as a community. People don’t know where Sacramento is.”