The Memphis City Council Chair's Recap for Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Good Thursday morning Memphis and please forgive the late nature of this recap.  I am just catching my breath after yet another productive and robust “Council Tuesday” down at City Hall. On Tuesday your City Council continued working hard to advance an ambitious agenda for Memphis.  As usual, the full picture is here. 

Chairwoman-Elect Patrice Jordan Robinson (l) and Vice Chairman-Elect Frank Colvett, Jr. (r)

A New Year of Leadership: Tuesday marked an important milestone as the Council, by acclimation, selected current Vice Chairwoman Patrice Jordan Robinson as Chairwoman and Frank Colvett, Jr. as Vice Chairman of the Council in 2020.

I have had the privilege of knowing Patrice and Frank for many years and it has been an honor to serve with them over the last four years.  Rest assured that they will be amazing leaders of the Council in 2020.  Congratulations!

     

  Rendering of the proposed Pinch development 

Re-envisioning the Pinch with a $600M Investment: Presently home to the Bass Pro Shop, and adjacent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Pinch District represents an invaluable piece of Memphis history as our city’s first neighborhood and first business district. In committee the Council approved a Downtown Tourism Development Zone within the Pinch District. This vote will kickstart the dramatic economic growth we know the neighborhood can achieve in the long-term.

   

       Rendering of the proposed Loews Hotel development 

Loews Hotel Site Plan Approval – another $200M Project: On Tuesday, the hotel’s ownership group came before the Council with the full support of the Downtown Memphis Commission and Mayor’s team for site plan approval.  The Loews project will complement our world-class $200M convention center renovation by providing Memphis with a leading hotel option for citizens, businesses, and visitors, alike.

                                            

    Councilman Ford Canale (left), Ms. Flora "Flo" Wallace (middle), and Councilman Worth Morgan (right)

Thanking Flora “Ms. Flo” Wallace: Lovingly known as Ms. Flo, Flora Wallace has been serving as a school crossing guard at Grahamwood Elementary School since 2011. During that time, Ms. Flo soon realized her gift to serve our youth and recognized this earnest work was self-rewarding as she ensured that every student made it to and from their destinations safely every morning and afternoon, despite the weather. On September 11, 2019, while diligently assisting the parents and students to cross one of Memphis’ busiest streets and ensuring that our most precious jewels get into their parent’s cars safely, Ms. Flo was suddenly struck by a vehicle, cracking her rib, wounding her right arm, and scrapping skin from various parts of her body. Soon after her release from the hospital, Ms. Flo returned to work and was greeted by her beloved Grahamwood Elementary family with cheers, hugs, and a roaring round of applause. Our children and city are safer because of Ms. Flo’s selfless actions. Thank you Councilmen Canale and Morgan for honoring this true Memphis Hero.

Keeping Memphians Safe: The Council again discussed and debated the best strategies to continue our quest for a fully staffed police department. The item to allow commissioned officers employed with the divisions of police and fire services to reside in any locale within two hour travel time from the City of Memphis passed on first reading and we expect a full vote by the end of the year. Keep in mind we’re only voting to allow the citizens to vote on a referendum in 2020.

               2020 Memphis City Council (above)

 

  Councilwoman-Elect Rhonda Logan (l) and Councilwoman-Elect Michalyn Easter-Thomas (r)

Council-Members Elect Already Hard at Work:

• Councilmembers-Elect Rhonda Logan, Michalyn Easter-Thomas, Edmund H. Ford, Sr., JB Smiley, Jr., Chase Carlisle, and Dr. Jeff Warren attended the committee meetings and full Council meeting again on Tuesday. I want also want to congratulate Rhonda Logan and Michalyn Easter-Thomas on their run-off elections. Welcome to the City Council!
• Current, returning, and newly elected members connected after our meeting at the Hu Hotel to get to know one another better and build relationships.
• Today at 8:00 AM the newly elected members will be again hard at work for the first orientation session.

To close, as we enter the Thanksgiving and Holiday season, all of us can find points of light we are thankful for.  I am thankful for, among many other blessings, that you read this far!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and on behalf of the members and staff team of the Memphis City Council, thank you for calling this wonderful river city home.  It’s an honor for all of us to be able to serve you each and every day.

With humble gratitude,

Kemp Conrad
Chairman, Memphis City Council
Super District 9, Position 1