'The Hub' with Michael Allen sponsored by Manpower Richmond

Ep. 31 | Mayor Ron Oler, Ph.D. Discusses Development, Housing, and Quality of Place on The Hub with Michael Allen

• Kevin Shook • Episode 31

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Big plans only matter when they change how people live, and that perspective frames this episode of The Hub with host Michael Allen and guest Mayor Ron Oler, Ph.D. The conversation takes a grounded look at Richmond’s most visible shifts, starting with a refreshed city brand that gives developers something solid to build against, a comprehensive plan that actually guides where housing, commercial space, and industry belong, and a downtown strategy that balances historic preservation with modern, amenity driven living.

Michael and Mayor Oler dig into the five building restoration effort and the fast moving 6th & Main project that is redefining what apartments mean in Richmond. Gyms, pet amenities, community rooms, pools, and lockers are becoming the standard. The target residents may surprise some listeners, with strong interest not only from emerging professionals but also from empty nesters looking for weekday convenience and weekend freedom. The discussion also highlights the Wayne County Foundation’s land trust model for smaller downtown buildings, keeping properties occupied, maintained, and taxable while avoiding the absentee owner cycle that often stalls momentum.

The conversation expands beyond the downtown core into housing efforts in the Starr District and the Vaile, where owner occupied rehabs and new infill aim to stabilize neighborhoods and address a well documented shortage of quality housing. Parks and quality of place take center stage as well, with a dedicated 1% food and beverage tax funding trail upgrades, gorge activation, and long needed reinvestment at Glen Miller Park. The focus is on turning everyday spaces into places people want to stay, gather, and move.

Michael and Mayor Oler also tackle questions shaping the next decade, including how I 70 tolling could prioritize out of state freight over local commuters, what a resort style casino would look like under Indiana’s rules with hotels, meetings, and entertainment, and why a new airport terminal matters for regional business access. Throughout the episode, transparency outweighs noise. Social media may amplify the loudest voices, but permits, bids, and cranes tell the real story.

If you care about urban revitalization, housing strategy, civic finance, and placemaking, this episode offers grounded insight and realistic timelines.

Learn more about The Hub and explore all episodes at
 https://www.mprichmond.com/the-hub-podcast

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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to the Hub Podcast, recorded right here in Richmond, Indiana. I'm your host, Michael Allen, and on the Hub, our mission is to share stories of people making a difference in our region. In addition to hosting the podcast, I work with a wonderful team of staffing professionals at Manpower. Manpower is helping companies all over East Central Indiana find staffing so they can continue to grow and thrive. Find out how we can help your company at MP Richmond. Hello and welcome to the hub. Our guest today is the Honorable Ron Oler, Mayor of Richmond, Indiana.

SPEAKER_00:

Mayor, thank you for coming back to the hub. Thank you, Michael. Thank you for inviting me back. And we were just talking, we got to figure this out. We're doing this in cold weather months, and we keep doing that. And we we might have to shift to summer months.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Well, I I like what we've done starting off the year, uh, just having a conversation uh this makes number three for you and me. Yes. And uh I do appreciate your part in kind of making this somewhat of a tradition for uh for our podcast. And and like you just mentioned, cold has also been a tradition.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Um before we get going, now we're we're recording this today, but as we record this, um, today is my sister's 40th anniversary with manpower.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh Debbie Worley is her name. And uh Debbie is uh she's a great sister. I wish I was as good a brother as she is a sister. But uh so Debbie, um, I know you're a uh a big follower of the hub, so a happy 40 years today.

SPEAKER_00:

So Congratulations, Debbie. Yeah, it's you must be a saint for putting up with Michael for four years. This is true. This is true. My sister would say the same thing about me.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, Mary, you got a couple years under your belt now, and uh so I don't know, how's it going? How are you?

SPEAKER_00:

It's been great. Yeah, it's been great. So yeah, two full years in, looking at the next couple of years, all the things we've been able to accomplish downtown, and progress is under the way and revitalize Richmond, just a lot of great things happen all around the city. Yeah, not just downtown, but in the neighborhoods, industrial parks, and staffing levels all throughout the city department. Staffing levels are great.

SPEAKER_01:

So uh, you know, we've done a few of these, and so sometimes we've had some leading stuff. But I think we'll just dive in and I've got a list of things just to ask you about. So um part of I think uh the past year was um working on uh the comprehensive plan upgrade. Am I saying that right? Yeah. So um kind of what did that entail?

SPEAKER_00:

What might be a maybe just a couple highlights of that? Okay. So some of the takeaways. So in 2019, the city had a comprehensive master plan uh called Richmond Rising. Okay. And when I came in, there was a couple things on that plan that city and being able to do over the leap few years leading up to 2024, 2025. Uh, one of the goals was to first off was to rebrand the city. And we did that first. We actually went through the branding process first before we started the comprehensive plan. Uh, and we came out with a really good brand that harkens back to the history, brings it to the present, and looks forward to the future. We got a really great vision statement, uh, interviewed a lot of people, took a lot of good time on it, a lot of street time on that, talking to business owners and citizens. And that led us into starting the comprehensive plan. So, what was great is the comprehensive plan has like six goals. And before we even started refreshing a comprehensive plan, there were some other things in that goal three besides branding. It was online permitting and stuff like that. And that was been accomplished. So able to check that off and put in a new one. So the comprehensive plan, though, is our is our you can call it the Bible, if you will, for the planning department for the city. So when and you put it online. So when a developer looks at a city, they look for the comprehensive plan and say, okay, well, this is the area they want to focus on industrial development. This is the area they want to focus on commercial development, this is the area they want to focus on housing. And they want to look at it from sustainability as long as it's economically sustainable. We're not going to bankrupt the city on sustainability, but we are going to plant trees and try to bring more shade back. We're a tree city, also, of course. And Arbor Day Foundation likes us for that. Um, sometimes the street department doesn't like us for that for all the leaves they have to pick up in the fall. And we had to had a little bit of fight there. But uh, so the comprehensive plan guides the planning department and it guides developers and it guides the whole city of this is this is what we want to do in what neighborhood. Kind of a master plan, if you will.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Um we have the the new logo and and uh vision statement, um part of uh you know um well the public survey input. Who I can't remember seems like I remember filling that out. I think uh it was sent to me. But who who received that and and how was the response? Did you feel like you were you happy with the response on the survey?

SPEAKER_00:

So for the branding and a comprehensive plan, it went out online, plus there were face-to-face sessions, and it was interesting. The face-to-face session for the comprehensive plan really didn't have that big of a face-to-face turnout. And I hearkened back to COVID. People are doing more things online, so we had a lot of good response online, a lot of good input, but the face-to-face really wasn't that strong this time. In 2019, probably, I don't know, eight times as many people came for the face-to-face. But that was again before COVID. So, but it again, it was also a refresh though. So it's just five years old. And why do we want to change and update? So it the comprehensive plan did look at behavior, specifically consumer behavior. And we looked at people aren't buying things like they used to, they're not going to stores like they used to, but we want to encourage them and want to encourage development to get people back out of their homes as much as possible. So our plan is like downtown for all this redevelopment downtown is more boutique shops and restaurants downtown. You know, the big the 100,000 square foot department stores aren't going coming back to anybody's downtown. No. So we're doing mixed development apartments, housing, and and some boutique stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

So uh, you know, we were the city of roses, city of jazz, you know, it's kind of so those are kind of labels that we kind of moving away from. Yes. So do we kind of have a label now or not?

SPEAKER_00:

Not really a not really a label, more just a logo in the vision statement. One of the things the vision statement did, I and we worked really hard on is we identified four different demographics of people that we care deeply about, and it also helped our comprehensive plan. So long-term residents and then a new term, emerging professionals, not necessarily young professionals, but emerging professionals and then small business owners and, of course, the corporations. So we're trying to incorporate everyone into our vision and our comprehensive plan. So when it came time to do that, how will this affect neighbors? So we're we're pushing a lot of redevelopment in the gorge and in the parks, quality of life, quality of place. And that is for long-term residents and also for emerging professionals and also for you know making some things more accessible to people who need accessibility.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I might talk about the parks a little bit more because I have a comment about that. Um, but uh so I guess the next thing to kind of hit on is downtown and economic development. We've been talking about it for a while, this 100 million investment. Yes. And um and part of it's the uh kind of the five historic downtown buildings uh with the partnership with Erlum and the Lilly Grant. Um I don't and maybe I'm just not informed, but I haven't seen a lot of movement on that yet. Do you think this summer we're really gonna start seeing it? I mean, driving down Main Street here, and do you do you think we're really gonna start to see that take off now?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, the big movement when they closed on the buildings in the fall, the movement you haven't seen is clean them out internally. So when we toured the building across the street, it was if you had seen it months before, you couldn't walk through there just full of junk. And uh so there has been that movement has occurred cleaning out all the buildings and getting ready. So now we're in this really cold weather. So the next phase is to come in and do some demolition, and then they start the HVAC plumbing electrical, and they kind of like some warmer weather. Yeah, they don't want to bring in portable heaters for the workers to work. So once they start, it'll take off with five buildings. They'll have they'll bring the first crew will come in and start and doing the rough work and then they'll move to another building, and the finished crew will come into that one. So once it starts, it'll just take off.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, because it there is a little bit of a time element to this, isn't there? They have to have these projects, projects completed by a certain time.

SPEAKER_00:

I think it's the end of 28. I'm trying to think when the Lilly grant has to be fully spent. Yeah, I think it's the end of 28. Yeah, you'll be in here. You'll be in your second term by the time. Yes. Yeah, and that that that's the thing about mayors. You know, I'm I'm here for to serve the people. I'm here to do what we hope is best for the city, for uh making it a better place to live and to work. And a lot of the things that I do every day are in my second term, or if I have a third term, I don't know. Uh-huh. I mean, a first year in office, I signed an application for a federal highway grant to do some work on some streets that'll happen in like 2029 or 2030. Yeah. And will I be mayor? I don't know, but it's important to sign those things and get those balls rolling because a lot of these things are five, six years out.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, you just gotta take one day at a time and try to do best you can. And and uh I think you're trying to do that. Uh one thing you talk about this other buildings being worked on. I mean, I'm just one block away from my manpower building's just one uh one block away from sixth Main Street, redevelopment. And uh it amazes me how that project's going. I mean, uh those guys and gals working there. I mean, they're just they're going at it.

SPEAKER_00:

They are working. There were two two construction cranes over there. Uh there was one for a long time. Now there's a second one, they're just not stopping. You know, yesterday was a federal holiday, but not for contractors, construction workers, they were out there and minus whatever temperature, they're still working. They have a they have a goal in mind. They want to start leasing those end of next year or oh, end of this year, I guess. Yeah. They had an 18-month build frame. And, you know, this they're using a lot of local labor and a lot of local subcontractors, but they're when they reached out to bid it, nobody would bid for the whole project. And that's probably not surprising because it's such a large project. So they brought in people they've worked with uh around the state and around the country, and they've been building these things rather quickly because they know they're practiced at it, and the plans, you know, the plans internally are probably very similar to other problem projects they built, the external when it comes, so much brick and so much of other facade and historic look and aesthetically matching the downtown. That'll be unique to Richmond. But you look inside the structure of it, they're you know, they're putting the bathrooms in the same place, they're putting the the workout room in the same place and the elevators in the corners. It's really a I don't want to say a common design, but they know they've they're practiced at it.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I I've really enjoyed seeing them go up. I think it's been a lot of fun to see that. We've got um several people that have businesses down here. Uh uh I think of one in particular, uh Renee Yolinsky. She's a big oh, yes. She promotes this downtown and pushes pictures up of the apartments all the time.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I got I thought I was gonna go out and take pictures of it every day, but Renee's pretty much done.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, she's taking over that of their volunteer work in that department.

SPEAKER_00:

No, it's it's great. Keep people updated.

SPEAKER_01:

I gotta tell you I'm so tired of the naysayers about those apartments as well. Who's gonna rent them? I mean, what's what's the what's become of I I just don't see the what profits to speak negatively about it. Let's just see what happens, get the four rent signs up there and just see who comes. You know, if they want to afterwards say, well, I told you so, that's fine. But I just think we gotta have to get them built, get them up there, and and just see see who comes and wants to live in those apartments.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you look at the increase in housing prices and buying homes keeps becoming more and more expensive. But uh, this group that's been doing this for decades, uh, right now they're looking at these apartment blocks like this, and they're finding about 60% emerging professional professionals and about 40% empty nesters, which kind of surprised them over the last few years. That shift. A lot of empty nesters are picking these up who still have four or five more years to work in a city, need to be here several nights a week so they can work in the office, do what they're doing, but on the weekends go to their their other home or whatever they happen to do. So you know, part and it comes with everything. So these we don't have this, so we have nothing to compare it to. We don't have luxury apartments with all the amenities that this will have. So you can't you can't really say um nobody's gonna rent it because nobody has rented those kind because we haven't had those kinds. So we haven't had apartments where you have your dog spa, where you have your gym included, your swimming pool included, your community room included, your Amazon lockers included, yada yada yada, yeah, uncovered parking, covered parking. They'll leave some spaces in the garage. So that hasn't been a thing in Richmond. So it's a thing elsewhere, and they rent really well. Right.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, we'll just um hope for the best, and uh I'm looking forward to seeing uh more activity uh in the downtown. I mean, part of somebody knows, I mean, we've got downtown renovations that's kind of focused on historic preservation and mixed use development. That's kind of what we're talking about.

SPEAKER_00:

Bringing back the historic standards, historic facades of these buildings, and even interiors.

SPEAKER_01:

And uh, you know, we kind of have increased interest from retailers seeking new storefront locations downtown. Do you uh I do you say boutiques? I mean, if have you I mean smaller, yeah, you may not be able to share because you I mean there's probably discussions going on about people that want to come down here, but it's but I would think there's some confidentiality that needs to remain with those while they're trying to work out those deals.

SPEAKER_00:

Erl's working with a nationwide retail firm, and they'll just come up with a really good mix that doesn't compete with local entrepreneurs. Anything the the whole hope is, the plan is whatever comes as a nationwide franchise won't compete with local organizations. So have a really good mix that'll draw people downtown and keep them downtown.

SPEAKER_01:

Part of the whole of what's going on downtown and some in the depot, maybe some other areas. I can't say that I'm uh a hundred percent informed, but there they're the Wayne County Foundation has this land trust that's been buying uh properties. Um what's your thought? I I really don't know how I feel about it. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it, but I mean, kind of what's some what are your thoughts about these purchases and and how it's affecting may or may not affect things down in the downtown area or or where they've been purchasing these properties. What's your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, well, last summer when there was a closing on the building across the street and all the other buildings, the the landlord from California was here and he was cleaning out some stuff and he kind of moaned that I've had this for 14 years and couldn't do anything with it. And I'm thinking, you weren't here to do anything with it, you just kind of left it and nothing happened because you weren't here. So um, several years ago, and all that the foundation speaks for themselves, they started that program of impact loans where they they instead of investing in Wall Street, they're investing locally, some of their money. And then they saw the value in picking up some smaller buildings, kind of the same idea. So we have some smaller buildings that aren't part of this big, big Erlum group that if an entrepreneur picks them up, and say we've got a 50-year-old entrepreneur who picks it up, and then five, six, seven, eight, ten years from now when they retire, does a person from California pick it up when it goes for sale and do nothing and sit on it? So we don't want that again. Richmond's had enough of people not doing anything with buildings. So setting up this land trust that will pick up the smaller buildings that weren't part of the bigger package and holding on to them and manage them locally. They have a local property manager now. So for example, Readmore across the street, they got their occupancy permit a week or two ago, so that's ready to be rented. So not just a commercial space, but the apartments. So they have a property manager, so reach out to them if you're all interested. Those are beautiful, really nice apartments, and also commercial space. So the nice thing about the land trust, it's not non-profit. They're gonna pay property taxes. Okay, so if they hold those in perpetuity, they're gonna pay property taxes. Now they're gonna have really good rents, so an entrepreneur can start their business there. An entrepreneur can keep their business there forever if they want, five years, ten years, whatever the normal business cycle is. We don't have to worry about an entrepreneur picking up a building and what half of the new small businesses fail. And then somebody else picking up the building, not doing anything with it. So if the new small business doesn't work out, they move out, they clean it up, somebody else goes in.

SPEAKER_01:

So why did what are they why are they gonna be paying property taxes and a land trust, not a land bank, and that's the agreement we made.

SPEAKER_00:

So they're they're doing this as if a for-profit entrepreneur owns a building, but they don't. They're gonna lease the space and it's still gonna generate property taxes to help everybody.

SPEAKER_01:

Because I I should have done better research, but I almost thought it was almost kind of like to deal with Reed Health and the properties that they've bought, and they're not paying property taxes on their their properties because they're not for profit. And so I was afraid that maybe that was an expansion of that on the from another entity, but it sounds like it's not that way.

SPEAKER_00:

It's not that way. So it's just a different landlord structure that won't let them go into disrepair and we'll keep them updated and keep them rented as best as possible, at least, and help entrepreneurs out and still pay property taxes. Sure. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01:

Win-win. Yeah, it is. Well, I I mean, there's two sides to every coin, and you know, I wanted to ask you about it because you know, I think sometimes uh again, no matter what decisions made, you're gonna have people line up on either side of it. Right. And uh but I've got to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I'm sure there's an entrepreneur right now that wants to buy that building and I've got$200,000 to buy it. And then you if you ask them a long-term question, well, you know, I've got about seven more years until I retire, and like, well, in seven years, the city's still gonna be here, and we need somebody to maintain that building.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, we have had issues in the downtown area with property outside property owners, so it's it's not surprising that a move like this has been um uh started just because to try to uh you know get away from that.

SPEAKER_00:

So and we're not the first city to do this. Yeah. Yeah, it's it's happening all around the state in the Midwest to try to capture these in a sensible way.

SPEAKER_01:

So we we kind of have a citywide housing strategy moving forward, and one of it is this uh partnership with the EDC. And the one thing that kind of interests me is the Star District project. Yes, yeah, and uh the reason uh um they've uh partnered with the uh Sagamore Institute in Indianapolis, and I was it was the person they're working with is Bill Taft, which was uh I know him. I've known Bill forever. He was in Richmond when he first graduated out of college with the Main Street program. He had a great career over in Indianapolis with historic preservation, whatever. And I was he just stopped by my office out of the blue because he was here looking at the properties. Okay. And I was really uh excited to hear that he was gonna be a part of it because he's really good at what he does. And I think he'll be a great partner for that project.

SPEAKER_00:

This interurban program inside the Sagamore Institute is what's being set up in the Star District. And I thought, you know, sometime, you know, I knew coming in downtown Main Street was it with a Lily Endowment. And I thought sometime in the future we would tackle Star and Vale, and suddenly we got people's attention, Sagamore's attention, interurban's attention. So We want to come over here and help right now. Let's continue this momentum that Richmond has. So picking up some of these um older story combs in the star district and renovating them to be owner-occupied again instead of just landlord tenant, that's going to be huge. It's going to be a big, big help for the star district to bring that back to the neighborhood.

SPEAKER_01:

And we're doing, I don't know if you have Vale in there also, but Yeah, I was going to ask you about the Vale neighborhood, Vale school site.

SPEAKER_00:

There's like 22 same idea, but a little bit different. So if you remember about oh, 15, 18 years ago, the Blight Elimination Program demolished a lot of homes around Vale and 10th Street Park, remodeled, rebuilt 10th Street Park and built, I don't know, maybe 10 or 12 homes. I don't remember. Uh low to moderate income homes that look like they fit the neighborhood. And then they ended up with several empty lots, full-size lots. So some small lots went to the neighbors and use it to expand their yards. But so the couple different agencies were sitting on 22 lots and nothing was really happening. So partnering with Intend Indiana and also the EDCs involved there too and others, um, why can't we build more of those infill housing that we built around the 10th Street Park several years ago, do more of that for low to moder income families and get that neighborhood back to a neighborhood also?

SPEAKER_01:

So once those homes are built and they're gonna go up for sale. Yes. Is there going to be any special financing available for those folks?

SPEAKER_00:

It's intended for working families, yes. Okay. Yes. What what do you think is the there'll be there'll be constraints on there that if you buy this for the low income, low-down payment, I don't know how many years you'll have to hold it for so many years, so you can't just buy it and flip it too. The whole point is to stabilize both of these, stabilize those neighborhoods and get them back as neighborhoods again.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Well, what what what do you think the timetable is on on that project?

SPEAKER_00:

I think they're starting this spring. Start some moving some dirt and building some homes this spring, I believe. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. Uh parks and recreation. So part of the park system was rebalanced to prioritize high use destinations. So I think what that means, and you can help me, is that more focus on the parks that are more commonly used than some of these other maybe little parks that aren't haven't been used. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_00:

Right, right. Over the last three years, they've divested of several of the smaller parks that weren't really being used and focused on the flagship parks, the more important parks, and keep those nice, better maintained, and also investing in the gorge. So the parks department is investing a lot of money in the gorge in partnership with the DNR, Lily, and others, and the Earl and Grant, Lily Grant also.

SPEAKER_01:

So what it if we could and I ought to have Denise on here.

SPEAKER_00:

But she has a book. I didn't bring the book with me. There is a book.

SPEAKER_01:

But what we're talking like, well, Little Fork Reservoir, that's part of the parks.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. The parks parks has a lease with Indian American Waterworks who it falls under DR's jurisdiction, so there's rules about fishing and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

So we've got that, we've got Glenmiller Park. Glenmiller Park, yes. Um let's see. Um what would be some of the other ways?

SPEAKER_00:

Tenth Street Park or Star, Mary Scott, uh Clear Creek, Clear Clear Creek Park, and then Elstro Plaza.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

And then the Veterans Park and Stargeanette Park, but we can just lump that all in the Gorge Park, if you will. So three and a half miles of the Whitewater River cutting through Richmond, two and a half miles of that is basically parks from Springwood Park all the way down to the new lawnship.

SPEAKER_01:

Are we looking to eliminate any that you're aware of, or is that I don't know if we're eliminating any more?

SPEAKER_00:

I think we did a couple last year. Plus, we have the trails.

SPEAKER_01:

That's I don't know if that's really falls in a park.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, parks has trails. So a lot of the parks, especially around Middle Fork, there's a really nice trail up here. If you like hiking, there's no reason to go to Franklin County anymore. Come up and hike around Middle Fork, hike around other places where we have a really great trail leader, and Brandon is doing a lot of good things. A lot of challenging stuff too. There's uh yeah, there's some fun stuff in the trails.

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know. I'd ask Denise on because I would love to really get in more detail about the parks, which we don't have time to do that.

SPEAKER_00:

So that's quality of place, quality of life. So there's a lot of reinvestment coming in the parks. And I don't think most of us, most of us forgot or didn't realize that Glenmiller Park, the playgrounds and that splash pad's over 20 years old, and it's it's having some maintenance issues. So they're reinvesting in that this year.

SPEAKER_01:

I spent a lot of time in Glenmiller Park because I grew up on North 22nd Street. So all I had to do is cross the street. I was in the park. Sure. And I remember good or bad when we had the zoo. And I remember the zoo waking up, I could hear lion the lion roaring at my home. I mean, it's not everybody, every kid grows up having a lion roaring the middle of their city. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

But I always like the buffalo.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, the buffalo. Um uh unfortunately, as uh some of us neighborhood kids on our bikes, we would kind of drive ride our bikes over there where that pen was and kind of torment those bison a little bit. They would get a little bit angry and and then we we thought we were you know hitting our tires on the fence and they would get a little agitated, and then we were wondering if that was a really smart idea.

SPEAKER_00:

No, no, but no, like don't tease a dog that's on a chain.

SPEAKER_01:

No, no, but I I remember that, you know, it was a I'm showing my age now, but I mean it I a lot of people think they had bison in the park? Bison in the park, yeah. We had a zoo. I mean, it was interesting. I I think it's best that we don't have those things in the park now, but um it was an interesting time when that was there, and it was uh kind of a neat thing, but uh I don't think you know parks department of our size and city really having a zoo like that, it would, you know, isn't it not very sustainable. No, so but we had one at one time, so it was interesting.

SPEAKER_00:

Well and that's a great thing about Richmond. We're within driving distance of three major zoos, yeah. And and you have children. I just I don't I don't go to the Indianapolis Children's Museum very often, but I just heard the other day that's the largest children's museum in the United States is Indianapolis. And of course the Columba Zoo. When we were kids, the Columbus Zoo was it with Jack Hannah on his Wild Kingdom. Yeah, that's about an hour and a half away in Cincinnati Zoo. So you have access to some really world-class zoos living here in Richmond and other things, and even Chicago, go up to the pier and stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah, I uh have a couple grandkids that are back in Richmond now and living here, and we went over to the Cincinnati Zoo and then to the Newport Aquarium. Newport Aquarium, yes. Uh both really great facilities and just a short drive to get there from Richmond. That's one of our assets is that we do have accessibility in this in our town to uh things like that with minimal driving, really.

SPEAKER_00:

And you know, you you can choose your football team, you can choose your baseball team, your basketball team.

SPEAKER_01:

It's yeah, it's outstanding. So part part of the to try to build up the parks was this one percent food and beverage tax, which could kicks in March 1st.

SPEAKER_00:

March, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Some much and uh so those funds are day dedicated exclusively to the parks department. Yes. So how does that affect the city budget? So because I'm sure the parks are part of the city budget. So in the budgeting process, how do you take into account this these funds that are becoming in and then your sk then your funding? So it do you do we have some minimal funding requirements that we have to have for the parks, and then we're hoping that this additional income will help elevate the main, you know, the maintenance of these parks at a high level.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. With a new governor and declining property tax, that's kind of his mandate, is to reduce your reliance on property tax. So the park department was was struggling to just meet its own budget. So this 1% food and beverage tax on prepared food and beverage is just for the parks, trails, and the and the and the yeah, the gorge, gorge project, gorge gorge activation project, I'll say in a second. So it's earmarked just for them, and that'll bring in revenue that they wouldn't otherwise have. So it doesn't really affect their budget, other than in the past, we were able to issue uh the city issued usually a park spawn every five years, had a park spawn and it would fund some cool projects, and then you pay it off and do another one. So coming into this new season where you don't have property tax revenue to do a park spawn, that that made it not possible, and that's why the the playground is 20-something years old at Glenmular Park. You know, it should have been placed a while back, but we knew what was happening with property taxes, so this will provide a funding source for that. So it doesn't affect their budget, their budget's already been cut just because property taxes are cut, and this will help all the projects that they're not able to do otherwise, because uh citywide we weren't comfortable issuing another parks bond, so that was on hold. Right. The last one was paid off in 23 when I was running for mayor, and I was asked, I said, well, let's hold it because I think we have some other means now, because I'm I'm hearing from the state house that they want us to do something different, and lo and behold, here it is.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. What do you what's the what's the projected income from this tax?

SPEAKER_00:

Do you uh the original calculation was like 1.4 million, but that was before recent inflation, so it'll probably be higher than that.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

So this will be really this would be really great revenue scene. And and one of the things I want to say to people, if you complain about I've heard people back to some of your online negative people say, Well, I'm not going to eat out in Richmond anymore because I don't want to pay one percent tax. So my my feedback to them is this for 20 years on this the one percent tax only goes on prepared and food and beverage that already has a 7% sales tax, doesn't go on groceries. So for 20 years or more, you've been paying 7% to the state. You've been paying 7 cents on the dollar for prepared food and beverage in Richmond that goes to the state and doesn't necessarily help the city. Pays the governor, pays for helicopter, pays for some SUVs and a bunch of other stuff. So you've been paying seven cents on the dollar for most of your life while eating out in Richmond that goes to the state. Why not pony up one cent on the dollar that'll help your city where you live and work and play? Yeah, I mean earmarking just for parks, quality of life, quality of place, that was that's perfect.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, I'm not I think as a country we're we're probably taxed more than we need to be. But um yeah, but in terms of the total individual impact it's gonna have on people, I I don't and I don't somebody that's struggling financially, whatever I can't I don't want to discount the impact it might have. I don't want to discount the impact. But it's like um if you bought a thousand dollars of food, it's what, ten dollars?

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Yeah, so it's but you're already paying seven times that to the state.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. No, I get it. And hopefully uh we can um manage that money well and the citizens will see the uh the positive impact it it makes and it will it will uh have have a good impact on what's going on. Um so we can expect it's not the only thing, but so we have a kind of big overhaul of Glenmuller Park, that playground, and that's gonna be part of it. Do you think that's gonna happen this summer?

SPEAKER_00:

A lot of work. Maybe, maybe it depends on our bonding agent because that's gonna take a bond, and we need the revenue coming in for a certain period of time or if they can issue a bond, so they're kind of weighing that right now. The revenue won't start coming in until what May. All right. Once this is enacted, and the state will start to finally send us the money because it I mean it's collected at the point of sale, it goes to the state, and the state says, oh, this is one percent goes back to Richmond, and we'll keep the 7%. So I think it's in May when it starts flowing back. And once we see how much is flowing back, we think we know how much will flow back.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

And honestly, it's gonna be more than the original projection. I mean, Chick-fil-A's open now and they're bringing in new business. Wawa is gonna be open in a couple weeks. They're bringing in new business, so that stuff didn't exist when we estimated. And I don't think those will take away from people spending money elsewhere. They're gonna bring in new business off the interstate and from Ohio.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it'd be interesting to see when Wawa opens what kind of impact that's gonna have in that in that area. I mean, it's it's it's gonna be quite the facility. I've never been in one before, but maybe it's like a baby bucky's or something.

SPEAKER_00:

I think it is. I think like a that's what I'm calling it a baby bucky's.

SPEAKER_01:

The uh um had the uh unpleasant exercise and happened to do these staff reductions, and that was all part of the lack of funding for those positions because of the change that you hit on about the the change in the property tax revenue. Like the governor's changes in property tax and income tax. That had a significant impact on the city's financial resources. Is that accurate? Am I saying that accurately? Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

And so we had to find about a million, one and a half million dollars roughly to cut.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. That had to be that had to just be awful to have to try to figure that out.

SPEAKER_00:

Probably my worst day as mayor because on October 30th, the council finally passed the budget of last minute. And on the 31st, I sat in all those meetings with HR and they said, Mayor doesn't have to be here, mayor's not normally there, and I said, No, the buck stops with me. So I will sit across the table from all these people losing their jobs and understand that I feel their pain. That's yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, I've been in the employment business now this uh April for 36 years, and and I've had a lot of conversations with people with their jobs weren't gonna continue, and it's never easy, it's never fun. And especially when it comes to something like just the lack of funding. I mean, sometimes when the conversations that that I've had, and and I'm sure you've had some in your career where somebody was gonna lose their job because of a performance or some issue. For cause, yes. Yeah, for cause, good good job on the HR term. And uh so uh, but this was kind of a different different animal, yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So it did it need to be done. Yeah, and uh it's unfortunate, but it needed to be done to to right-size government, if you will. And that's what the state legislators want us to do. They want us to right-size government, downsize government, and well, we're managing, so we're relying more on automation, you know.

SPEAKER_01:

Created some of the it created the need, I'm sure, for some government efficiency because you don't have these people doing these jobs. So um, do you see those positions kind of gone forever, or do you think some of those there could be a re-emergence of positions that come over time with maybe resources as they increase? Uh I I mean, I don't I don't know if there's any departments that you kind of like, man, we're kind of short staffed here, or wish we had a little bit more manpower.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, I don't know how that there could be more shifts to come and some could come back and some could change. So we did the best we could in a couple of months to figure out which ones made sense, and then over time you'll see, and you know, nothing's perfect. You make a decision with you never have a hundred percent of the information when you make a decision in business. Yeah. So 75, 80 percent, you have you know it, you know 80% of what you want to do, and you have to make a decision and go with it, and and then you do, and then a year or two later you decide, well, what that was too much over here and not enough there. Yeah. So we'll we'll we'll watch. We're just watching and we'll answer that question when it comes around. Sure.

SPEAKER_01:

No, I sympathize with that situation that was uh had to be very challenging. So you you were at the state house last week? Was it last week?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I've been to the state house every week. Okay. For different things.

SPEAKER_01:

But you it did have a recent visit there because I saw your picture of some other people uh on on social media. So how did that last visit go? Who'd you who'd you end up meeting with? What kind of became of that recent visit?

SPEAKER_00:

So that was about the potential for a casino in Richmond, as I'm sure you're aware. So that was initiated by the by the Chamber of Commerce. So the chamber's taking the lead on that. We were we were surprised that uh right before Christmas break that we got a call that Richmond's in this study. So last year, when a new license didn't make it out of committee for a town outside of Fort Wayne, uh the state legislators said we'll do a summer study group. And the summer study group is hire this professional company that does this nationwide. And they looked at Indiana and our neighboring states and they compared this, compared that, and compared that. And suddenly Richmond's number three on the list. And then and talking over the break and stuff and leading up to this, you know, the number one really isn't interesting because they have so many other things going on. Then you want to protect the casinos within 40 minutes of driving of that number one spot. So now Richmond is number two, if you will. And there's actually two license could be two licenses available because one surprising error is relocating a casino off the river. So they still have the one new license and then relocate a license off the river. So we said we need to start meeting with these people right away. So we did. So the meeting last week was met with the chair of the gaming commission, a representative, and then met with the actual speaker of the house.

SPEAKER_01:

So the driver on the casino is the chamber.

SPEAKER_00:

We decided, yeah. So uh elected officials aren't out here rooting for this because yes, we could use more money, but that's not the driving thing. One thing we're learning is this is an industry. So casinos in in Indiana are different from other places. So one of the things that makes Indiana attractive, I've learned all this. I just this is all new in the last couple of weeks. You know, a lot of the states allow slot machines in in in bars and restaurants and even in churches and in gas stations. And we don't do that here. So we make casinos and entertainment venue. So the big hitters from Churchill Downs to the East Coast, the West Coast, Las Vegas, they're really interested in building resort-style casinos with some convention space, meeting space, hotel, and a little gaming area, well, decent-sized gaming area. So so one of the things that's that's what we're looking at. So it became when we we understood that now this this is an industry for Indiana, like pet food manufacturing or plastics. This is an industry and it's treated. There's a committee in the statehouse that kind of works with them, issues licenses. It's more regulated than, of course, dog food and plastics and stuff, but it is an industry that brings jobs, it brings money and jobs, and it brings tourism, especially when you put it on a border city. It brings tourism, especially when you put it in your interstate, it brings tourism. So it brings dollars that you don't necessarily have. It doesn't really draw from your community anymore. And these aren't, you know, these aren't your your grandmother's casino where it's full of smoke and stuff. If you if you've ever, we were in Terre Haute for a couple of meetings, so we looked at that, looked at the hotel and the the meeting space and and the casino itself is like a sports feel. I feel like you're in a sports arena. It's just totally different from what you knew as a kid or yeah. So I don't know. And we're here to collaborate. And the state, we're learning from state legislators that he really appreciates the city and county are on the same page, and we're in agreement this this would be a good thing for our part of the state. And it's really a good thing for the state overall to put a a casino, a a resort casino here, because it doesn't really it won't draw from other existing casinos around the state. We're so far away from others.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I went um I went online to see there's about thirteen in the state. So you got like East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Michigan City, South Bend, French Lick, Lawrenceburg. Now some of these might be the racetracks too, but you got Elizabeth Florence Evansville Rising Sun Anderson which is a little close. Shelbyville. That's that's a racino.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, Anderson and Shelby were both racinos. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And then you have Terra Hope that you mentioned. So um so yeah I was kind of looking at a map and I I could see where strategically Richmond could be a a good location. You know do you th do you think it needs to be seen from 70 or if it's moved to like a site like the former where Reed was, is that too far in town for it? I mean what I know you're not you're you're not the driving for this but what's your thoughts? Is it does it need to be seen? Because a lot of them you you see you can see from the major highway.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah my personal perspective you need to see it from the major highway but the way this process works if the if the gaming commission the state legislators say Richmond Wayne County can have a casino first thing we'll do is take it to a referendum in November. So the people will vote. The citizens of Richmond Wayne County will vote yes or no. And if they vote yes then it goes back and they'll start bidding on it. So the companies will bid on it and they'll decide where they want to locate.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

You looked at the map you looked online all the big ones like this the resorts are typically on the interstate if they can be on the interstate they want to be on the interstate they want to be visible. They want to get that cross country traffic they want to have a hotel they want to capture people like oh I can stay here for the night in my trip across the country and go down and hit the casino and play a little bit or watch the game on all these TVs.

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know I mean if if if I were a betting person I would say that it would probably pass. I think so I think it would pass if it's a referendum I think it would just my deal with the with this with our community it probably would pass.

SPEAKER_00:

So before we even met with when once we started meeting with the chamber and thought about what we might do with this we reached out to other cities to see what problems or benefits they've had. And when one police chief said when when this was started four or five years ago and the idea was here I was opposed to it. Now that we've had it for a couple of years I've seen only benefits from it. Okay brought in funding that we didn't otherwise had and the only thing we've had to do because they have their own security is transport somebody to the jail who got in a fight. If you don't put it in a neighborhood that already has problems with crime it doesn't bring crime. Yeah you put it in a well lit area where people have to drive to so we're back to somewhere along the interstate probably and it's more of a a destination and you don't have the problems you would have if you you know build it in a town on a river. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And even those they don't have the problems they used to have I haven't processed totally my feelings about it. I think there's probably there's probably a lot of good things that could come of it but there's probably there's definitely some negative things. I've been in casinos and there's a combination of different people that you see in those places and and there is a certain element of people participating in gambling that you I s I walk by and I think boy you and it's not my place because it's a free will thing. You people have a free choice to do what they want to do but I'm thinking you really shouldn't be in here spending your resources because at least on this and you can't always go by looks but it seems like these are people that are that don't really have the means to be spending money at at a slot machine. So that there's a certain part of that that is a little sad, a little concerning but I agree there's all kinds of decisions people make that are unwise and and that's not wouldn't be the only thing. I mean we do these things every day.

SPEAKER_00:

But one of the things one of the things that's surprising too that we found just like on the the six main apartments they're getting like 40% of the nesters a lot of their workers are retirees who want to get out of the house for a few hours a day and a lot of the people you see working in those places and hospitality and other parts of it are retirees who just looking for a part-time job on the side. That kind of surprised me so one of the things somebody said we were on the radio last Friday and and somebody said a couple of times well where are you going to find you know if it's 400 people to build it and then it's 100 to 200 to run it where are you going to find those 100 to 200 to run it? I said this is four to five years out. They're still in high school you know all the hospitality workers sure there'll be a dozen or so managers that are more older experienced adults but with the housing coming in then they those are jobs you can relocate for some of the management could move in. Yeah. But a lot of the just the the hourly workers they're still in high school they don't we're not we're not gonna we're not competing with the factories and other things here in this industry.

SPEAKER_01:

Well when I met with um Val Schaefer last week when she came on the hub I mean we talked about housing you know I think at that time the number was somewhere around deficient of about 2,000 units. Does that sound right? That's what we need yes yeah and these are quality units to be sure there's some empty homes that nobody wants to buy yeah it means everywhere but so once some of these apartments and down here and houses I mean there'll definitely be some more hopefully available housing where to make room for people who would want to come here. Hopefully our industry can stay be stay can be stable if not increase I haven't heard a lot about any other additional jobs coming kind of happening right now. We have Liberation Labs which is hopefully going to open up start up uh sometime this year uh the number of jobs they have is going to be under a hundred but uh there'll be places like Wawa that are gonna employ people but I I'm I'm not aware of any new manufacturing that's kind of on the books right now.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean is there something that I'm forgetting or no there's there's been some loose conversations but nothing really solid just now. I think in the manufacturing sector everybody's waiting to see what Trump does with the terrace.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah yeah it's uh it's a mixed bag uh with him and some of the things he's trying to do um in the automotive industry so we still have quite a few automotive parts manufacturers here so I think they're doing okay but even they are there a lot of them I think are relying on their current employees instead of adding new just to see where everything ends up. I agree it seems kind of like it's just kind of level right now. I don't hear I don't I don't I don't hear of any layoffs I don't hear of any reductions but there's no great buildups going on. It's more of maintaining the workforce that they have and our workforce is interesting.

SPEAKER_00:

So the Indiana Business and economic research center at the first of the year issued their their report on employment in Indiana and if you pull it up the Indian the Richmond micropolitan area has 1,375 firms, companies organizations employing 29,114. So if you look at Richmond micropolitan area with a population of 35,000 and you think of the working age of 3500 people that's probably only 17,000 because some are too young to work too old to work some just don't work for medical reasons or whatever.

SPEAKER_01:

Some just don't work and unfortunately.

SPEAKER_00:

So there's but there's 2900 this is in 2025 there are 29,000 people working here. So all these reports saying there's 1200 people commuting into Richmond to work 100% true. Yeah 100% true unless there's some children working in that 35,000 population that are adding to that 2900 which I kind of doubt unless there's a lot of children working places then we are pulling in a lot of people commute here and and they tell us it's we need quality housing. So that's what we're trying to build up is quality housing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah well we'll see how things progress in the next 12 24 months with some of these housing builds and and uh hopefully we can um get them rented and get them sold and and all the money we're putting into parks all the quality place quality life all the stuff we're doing downtown bringing back some businesses bringing back walkability we're on a roll Richmond's on a roll yes I I believe we are I mean it's interesting um I gotta ask you this one question I don't want to forget here but on the parks part I do hear and you know you always hear the the negative voices are the loudest unfortunately but there's a lot of like negative stuff I hear about parks or those kind of things but when I've gone my son just moved here back from the Nashville Tennessee area but I'm going to visit him there have a son up in Crystal Lake Illinois those areas have tremendous parks that are well used by the populace around there. And so I see how important they are in those communities and how well attended and used. And I but ours aren't at that level at least currently I think we're working on it but I can see where and especially up in Crystal Lake Illinois the weather the seasons are much more brutal than they are here. I I think people hopefully people will take advantage of of these resources and and it will improve the quality of life.

SPEAKER_00:

So we'll just see how it look like at Elstro Plaza the park that a lot of people naysayer says would would never work well it's the most programmed park the most rented the most activities happen at Elstro Park but if you go to the winters farmers market down at the Star Jeanette building there's some Saturdays you can't even park down there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah it's so crowded so you don't see it because it's down in the valley a lot of the activity that's going on out of eyesight yeah but it's going on so back to this casino real quick. So a scale to one to ten what do you think the chances are what do you think if you're over the next over the over the next 10 years it's a 10 because we will be the second one.

SPEAKER_00:

So the question is will they do two licenses in this round? Will they go ahead and do the new license and relocate the license if they do both of those then we're in. If they don't do both they just do one they typically like to do one thing the gaming commission likes to do one thing every four years and just wait and watch so we're we're we're Allen County Fort Wayne has more than twice the AGR they'll get more than twice the revenue than we will so the gaming commission wants it up there. The legislators want it up there because they'll get tax revenue more so than Richmond but after that we're we're next because they both happen at the same time very low chance okay it just depends on their their mood.

SPEAKER_01:

And I know you're not driving this but I'm it's just you but you know you're involved you're connected you talk to people you I mean you're you've been part of the conversation so you you think it's inevitable it's gonna probably happen.

SPEAKER_00:

Is it inevitable is it this round or is it next round? Okay. Because we're we'll after after Allen County we're number one. Yeah as long as so Indianapolis wants to protect the ones they can drive to so they're not interested in and they're their tourism you know you talked about tourism Nashville Tennessee we went to Nashville Tennessee in uh summer before last and I thought wow tourism's great here this is great a lot of stuff happening so I did a quick analysis of well what's a tourism in Indianapolis it's like three times what Nashville Tennessee has between the Indy 500 the NCAA uh just everything that happens the the big convention center all the events that happen downtown Indianapolis has about three times the tourism of Nashville you don't see it you don't notice it because Nashville's so compact right compared to Indianapolis but you get what half a million people out at the racetrack on a weekend that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_01:

That's kind of my gripe about this the pot Indianapolis politics like you know and not that I'm advocating I like I I'm kind of on the fence on the casino but but it's always like oh well it they're always like Indianapolis or for these bigger they're always going to get the first look and I just it just seems like when are they going to take understand that people towns like our community maybe should get the first look over some of these other larger communities. And it's all about the money I guess you kind of hit on a little bit but it's about the traffic and the headcount yes yeah yeah but I understand it. I don't have to like it but I understand it.

SPEAKER_00:

But then you have smaller schools like Indiana University of Bloomington winning the national football championship. So it's Indiana's time and the smaller cities are getting notice just like the smaller universities are getting notice.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

That's a good point.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you think the uh toll road's gonna happen? Do you think that's gonna happen?

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know. I understand the governor's so when when you're mayor one of the first things you do is you get a meeting with a bunch of people from NDOT and understand the state highways in the interstate. And one of the things the governor complains about and even they complain about is the semis that cross the state on Interstate 70 don't have to stop for fuel. So while 89% of them probably don't pay taxes they don't help pay for that road and I think that's what the governor wants to capture more than us. I don't think they want to capture our money going back and forth to Indianapolis every day and hopefully totals are now based upon license plates. If you've ever gone to um Kentucky across that new Louisville bridge you know we we did it a couple months ago so you go across and six weeks later you get a bill in the mail because then they wait to see if you cross it again because they know you're an out of state plate and you're not a regular user. So they wait like six weeks and they mail you a bill to get you both directions so you send them a check one time. So this will be a smart whatever if they do it it'll be a smart system and we're working really hard one of the things we're talking legislators about you know people who live in Richmond working in Annapolis don't charge them a toll. They're driving a passenger car. People who drive through on vacation do what they do at the Louisville bridge you know wait six weeks four weeks see if they come back and then send them a bill if they're out of state but definitely you know the trucks who aren't paying the fuel tax who are damaging the roads need to help pay their share some way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah yeah there's not going to be gates it's not it's yeah it's gonna be the new system is I mean local politics we have no say in this thing I mean it's a it's a state thing so they're gonna do what they want to do.

SPEAKER_00:

And I think they do meet with N Dot because we have we're for a city of size it's unusual. We have four exits off the interstate so in dot's over here a little bit yeah in the mayor's office telling us our plans and working with them.

SPEAKER_01:

One of the things that's uh come up recently is this new terminal building out at the airport that's proposed um that is great I think it's a great it's a great idea I think it will be uh outstanding um so our airport if you don't know and you can get the airport manager on here it was built in and during World War II as a relief for training pilots from right path so they built this as a place to train pilots and it opened in 1945 right after the war ended.

SPEAKER_00:

So that terminal building they have now that block building is 60 years old it's not handicapped accessible it's it's not nothing about it's great and it's it's really in bad shape. So uh we're very fortunate that Jefferson Shreve is our new U.S. representative and has an office in City Hall and is on the transportation committee and sees small airports how they get money. So uh last go around Lafayette's small airport got one of these so he's he's fought for ours so he got funding for the design last year and we got the design done. Now we're asking for the funding actual for the build and you know praying cross your fingers knock on wood whatever you do that the federal government would come through the FAO come through to to pay for that new terminal because they see the value in Richmond. They already see the value in Richmond because they help maintain the runways and all that equipment because it's it's it's an important airport for this part of the state we have two runways most it's not it's less about the city and more about the region having two large runways like that. And there's several corporate hangars there corporate jets flying and out and now we have self-pay fuel so they can fuel overnight without an employee having to come in and pump it. They can you swipe a credit card and self-serve fuel there which is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01:

So I I think we could get some good benefits out of that and I think it would be good for business. Good for business it's a good regional like you said but I think it could be good for business and I think it would be could be attractive to companies looking at Richmond to have a quality airport like that.

SPEAKER_00:

We have more land for more hangers so there's like I said there's several corporate jets out there now. There's quite a few that fly in and they have the opportunity to build some more hangers even if needed we're getting close here.

SPEAKER_01:

One of the things I want to talk about social media. So I see you in the city uh put information out there you're looking to share through this medium um and uh and you're using Facebook is there anything else I think Facebook's in X a little bit a little bit um a couple city departments so parks departments on there police and fire on there and then the city itself is on there and yeah I I like the fact that you're trying to be transparent you're trying to share information out there um and uh the thing that uh strikes me because I see him I read him and then I'll go through comments and I tell you there are some nasty nasty comments out there the anger the sarcasm and these are the cruelty but they but these those are things that get more clicks.

SPEAKER_00:

These are the the well you can call them the trolls if you want they don't come to meetings they don't really show their face they hide behind a computer screen a keyboard and you wonder how many of them actually live here work here because a lot of them don't so it's just they're they're trying to get attention they they listen to that old montage at negative news sells newspaper and that's what they're hoping for.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. But we're still positive we're still doing good things regardless of what they say I just uh you know these platforms they unfortunately I mean they're good we use them our company uses these platforms um and we plan to even accelerate that in part of our marketing plan for 2026 but they do unintentionally amplify extreme voices and uh and somehow they teach people that being nasty gets their attention you know and so but it doesn't really get them anywhere that just gets attention.

SPEAKER_00:

Right, right I've addressed it doesn't change what we're doing and how we're doing it. We're still moving forward in a positive fashion with a positive mental attitude.

SPEAKER_01:

Anytime there's been uh some uh negative comments through like a Google review or something on Facebook um I've read those and I respond I respond to every one of them um in terms of you know offering to meet with that person hear them out understand their story whatever and uh they never take me up on it so I just drop a bomb and move on their goal no they know we have public meetings and they don't want to come to them so that's their choice. So it kind of came up a little bit and I'm not trying to it feels like might put you on the spot but I I I get the impression that you would like to continue you're halfway through but now you're getting to a point I mean the way politics works you have to start thinking about reelection and I I I think you want to do this job more than four years. And so when do you have to start worrying about that or planning for that or maybe you're always it's just always on the on the back burner all the time. I mean um so I guess you always Thinking about it. Yeah, it's your plan to try to uh be in this position another four years. And so um when does all that kind of have to kick in for you?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, officially it'll be next January, February when you actually file 27.

SPEAKER_01:

So you don't have to worry about it right now.

SPEAKER_00:

But I'll do some stuff this summer. I plan to do at least two terms, and the people will have me. It's up to them.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I have I have two terms in me. I mean, you know, yesterday was a federal holiday, but I was still in the I was working at my home office and invisible came to City Hall. It was just me and a few police officers in there, and I don't mind that. It's I signed up to do a good job and I'll still give 100% and work those sometimes sometimes 70 hours a weeks. I really don't mind. I've got it in me for six more years if they want me.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Well, I appreciate your transparency, your availability. Um appreciate you having me. And uh anything else uh before we wrap this up, is anything that we didn't really hit on that is kind of noteworthy from your perspective?

SPEAKER_00:

Just a lot of good things happening. So watch the construction that ends the end of this year and some other stuff will begin this spring. So just keep your eye out there. Follow the city's Facebook page and say good things. Yeah. And then follow it and say good things. So you see, wow, this great thing happened. Wow, they really did this. Wow, they straightened out Main Street and took out the speed bumps. Yeah, these things take time. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

They really do. So uh thank you, Mayor, uh, for coming on the hub. Uh thank you for your service to our community. And uh, I wish the best uh to you and your team. And um again, if if the efforts that you're doing and and you have wins in that, uh, our whole community wins. So uh best for the new year, and uh thank you so much. All right, have a good day.

SPEAKER_02:

Good week.

SPEAKER_01:

That's all for this episode of The Hub. Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next time for another conversation with a difference maker from our region. Manpower is proud to support the hub. Find out how they can support your business at mprichmond.com.