Words From The Mayor
To all of our elected officials, residents, employee’s and businesses, because you are special you’ve earned the respect of family and friends in making Vinita Park a better place live by building stronger community, engaging families, and raising successful children. Thanks to all our volunteers who have worked hard at all of our events including, planting trees, Easter Egg Hunt, 4th of July Parade, Senior Citizen and Youth Programs, National Night Out, Breakfast with Santa & Santa Comes to Town. I know many of you have taxing day jobs, but you are willing and able to give our work your time and attention. For that, all of the elected officials and I are sincerely grateful for your hard work.
I appreciate your feedback from the 2019 Vinita Park survey, safety committee, code enforcement task force, seniors committee, youth committee, and police review committee. With your feedback we developed a blueprint for moving Vinita Park forward. It has been one of continual learning and evolution in a quest for greater results and lasting change. This plan will again move us forward and challenge Vinita Park to be unwavering in its commitment to changes that will forever impact the lives of those we serve.
Another key facet to our blueprint was the importance of public education which helps create a successful, thriving community. In order to have a strong community, strong education is required. Working with other communities’ leaders we have developed the Co-ops that consolidate police services, Courts, contracts for street repairs, trash, health, sidewalks and other projects. Though we have achieved some desired results in many of the impact areas, we realized it still is not enough.
The survey identified several additional areas that need to be addressed in order to create a thriving community and families; housing, health, education, personal finance, economic development, and employment.
Our new framework will consistently ask and consistently hear what our residents have to say and what is being shared with the elected officials. Our economic development efforts and helping Vinita Park build a stronger infrastructure must continue and accelerate. Our relationship with the Normandy School’s Collaborative must continue to grow and strengthen. Providing housing stability for families creates the opportunity for financial and family stability. Culture and internal practices that promote equity, collaboration, communication and respect. Involvement in problem solving around specific concerns will set the stage for participation in the strategic planning process. Providing real-time resources to solve immediate challenges in families’ lives is critical to preventing larger issues from emerging and to creating opportunities for families to grow.
This framework is unprecedented in Vinita Park’s development. No one to date has combined these elements together: a holistic approach, built on trusted relationships, with partnerships and resources to support the infrastructure designed for real change and transformative results. This framework provides the blueprint on how Vinita Park can finally address the longstanding issues holding us back in order to move our City forward.
We’ve come a long way, but there is still work left to do and we need your help in working together, standing together to make our City a better place to work, and live. I am proud to work with employees and elected officials who care about making our City clean, beautiful, safe, and a better place to live.
Working together moving Vinita Park forward.
Sincerely,
Mayor James W. McGee