Mayor Bliss highlights hotel tax, homelessness in farewell address

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss delivered her last State of the City speech Thursday night.

Bliss took the stage at Fulton Street Market in Midtown.

“The changing of the seasons reminds us about the march of time,” the mayor aptly opened what she called her “farewell speech.”

Bliss is no longer eligible for reelection once she finishes her term on Dec. 31. She was elected in 2016 after serving as Second Ward city commissioner. Bliss thanked the city for giving her an opportunity to serve and for all the work being done to make Grand Rapids “an ever-more beautiful, just, thriving and livable city.”

One example of this, Bliss noted, was the Fulton Street Market itself. Neighbors came together in a grassroots effort to make it happen, just like many community spaces across the city.

“It wasn’t local government that reinvigorated Ionia Street, Cherry Street, Wealthy Street, Bridge Street, Leonard Street, Grandville Avenue and increasingly Boston Square. It was people with a vision and a willingness to act,” Bliss said.

Clinic at Boston Square Hub ’07 to open this year

She said similar initiatives are going on in Grand Rapids today, including the restoration of Valley Field, the effort to bring rapids back to the Grand River and a new outdoor amphitheater, among many others.

Though Bliss acknowledged it was her farewell address, she vowed to keep working for Grand Rapids.

“I’m not done planting and nurturing seeds to continue growing our city, because I love this community and I know you all do too,” she said. “I sincerely hope and expect that you all will stay engaged and involved. That’s what I plan to do as I step aside from public office.”

She touted achievements over her years as mayor, including “improved community-police relations;” an enhanced public park system; investments in low-income and affordable housing; a bike, scooter and rideshare program and modernized fire stations.

Bliss noted there is still work to be done. As she finishes her final term, she said her priority will be “ensur(ing) that there are opportunities, possibilities and hope for everyone, particularly those who historically have not fully benefitted from our city’s success.”

One of her main goals will be increasing the visitor-paid lodging tax, which could fund the Acrisure Amphitheater and soccer stadium as well as help maintain the DeVos Place and DeVos Performance Hall, according to Bliss. She encouraged voters to approve a hotel excise tax that will be on the ballot in August.

Hotel tax question heading to Kent County voters

With over nine million overnight visitors each year, Bliss said tourism funds Grand Rapids and surrounding Kent County.

“Our guests come and go but their money stays here, providing significant benefits to Grand Rapids’ residents,” she said.

She expects the additions of the amphitheater and a proposed soccer stadium will inspire new housing, business prospects and other opportunities in Grand Rapids that will make a countywide impact.

How GR could add 1,267 parking spaces, 735 apartments downtown

Along with the lodging tax, Bliss intends to focus on housing during her remaining days as mayor.

“Homelessness is a problem I am convinced we can solve,” Bliss said.

Organizations like Community Rebuilders, Degage Ministries, Trinity Health and Heartside Landing are already running programs to help house and care for people who need it, Bliss said. She pushed a continuation of that effort, highlighting a joint effort with the Kent County Continuum of Care to house 100 people who have been chronically homeless by the end of the year.

Bliss called for alignment between service providers, a coordinated system to help people get housing resources, maps to identify gaps in services and a dashboard to track the data.

“If there is any city that can end chronic homelessness, it is Grand Rapids,” Bliss said. “We can make significant strides toward a future where homelessness in our city is not just managed but substantially reduced.”

New dashboard shows realities of Kent County housing crisis

The strength of Grand Rapids, Bliss remarked, is that dedicated people get involved and aspire to make a difference.

“I will be stepping away as mayor but Grand Rapids is in very good hands, because Grand Rapids remains in your hands,” Bliss said.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.