Mayor touts Columbus’ progress on top issues, but declares, ‘We’ve got to improve.’

Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson focused on many of the same topics in his 2024 State of the City address as he did last year because of the importance of the initiatives, he said.

During his address, Henderson focused on economic growth, quality housing, poverty and public safety. Many of these issues were highlighted in last year’s address, Henderson said, but it was important to keep them in the forefront.

“They were initiatives that we wanted to see carried forward for the next three years and the rest of my term,” he said.

The Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce hosted the State of the City luncheon Tuesday at the Cunningham Center and followed the address with a short conversation between 2024 Chamber of Commerce chair Carolyn Bermudez and Henderson.

Economic growth

The Columbus Council and other city officials have done a good job of pushing the city’s economic agenda in front of the right people in Atlanta, Henderson said.

Part of this comes from participating in the Red Carpet Tour, he said, which is an event hosted by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Georgia Department of Economic Development to provide business leaders gathered for The Masters golf tournament each spring an opportunity to learn about the state’s business industry.

Henderson lauded the expansion by Pratt & Whitney as a testament that the city is moving in the right direction economically. The company announced last year it is investing $206 million in Muscogee County and bringing around 400 new jobs.

Another key company moving to Muscogee County is the semiconductor manufacturer Micromize, which specializes in energy-efficient electronics for wearables and mobile devices.

The Chattahoochee Hub for Innovation and Production of Semiconductors (CHIPS4CHIPS), led by the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley, is credited with bringing Micromize to Columbus.

“We’re thrilled that the company is going to be located in Columbus,” Henderson said. “And it is a company that, frankly, we may look back in a couple of years and see that it was a pivotal point for an entire industry.”

Lastly, Henderson applauded bringing a Double-A baseball team from the Atlanta Braves to Golden Park — a deal that could cost the city up to $50 million in a bond issue.

He anticipates the deal will bring $200-$300 million in private investment. The city also plans to bring in an experienced “master planner” who can determine how to develop the property.

Officials envision a hotel near the field, single-family residential property and a mix of retail and commercial opportunities. The Housing Authority expressed interest in being part of the conversation during the development, Henderson said.

A non-binding advisory board will be assembled to communicate with the individual over the master plan, he said.

“This is going to be transformational for Columbus, Georgia,” Henderson said.

Public safety

Columbus Council appointed Stoney Mathis as the new police chief last October.

The city saw success in recruiting law enforcement officers over the last seven to eight months, Henderson said, resulting in a net gain of police officers.

“We have more people in the police academy right now than we’ve ever had on a regular basis,” he said. “We are now graduating between 16 and 25 in almost every Academy that comes out.”

Changing shifts to 12 hours allowed the department to increase visibility on the streets. Overall, major crimes in the city were down 12% last year, Henderson said, but homicides were up. The sample size thus far this year is too small to consider, he said.

“I don’t like statistics because if you’ve had a crime committed against you, it doesn’t matter if it’s the only one,” he said. “It’s still a horrendous event.”

Officials re-established the gang task force, Henderson said, and law enforcement is utilizing technology a lot more. This technology may not stop crime from happening, he said, but it speeds up investigations.

Columbus is a safe city, he said, but there are pockets where crime is higher. These are the same pockets that are dealing with food deserts and problems accessing health care, Henderson said.

Housing & poverty

Henderson credited Columbus Council’s actions in enhancing the city’s ability to cut down on poverty, which included committing money to United Way to create a vice president of poverty.

“The poverty bucket is a big bucket,” Henderson said. “Everything that happens in Columbus is fueled with some challenges. Whether it is health, whether it is mental health, they all pour into and pull out of the poverty bucket.”

Affordable housing continues to be a struggle all across Georgia, he said. A task force at the state level is working on ways to incentivize communities to reconsider zoning practices to figure out if they can have a higher density, Henderson said.

“In exchange for that, they’re making funds available for grant programs to help allow folks to get into some of these houses that, right now, they’re shut out of,” he said.

Initiatives in Columbus going well include NeighborWorks’ Elliott’s Walk community off Victory Drive and the reopening of The Ralston.

There are still challenges facing Columbus, Henderson said, primarily making it a top city in Georgia to do business.

“And that means we’ve got to improve,” he said. “We understand that.