Chesapeake's State of the City, not immune, but sound

by Andrew Sinclair, HRP Program Manager

On March 4, Chesapeake Mayor Alan Krasnoff delivered his annual State of the City address to a packed room of Chamber of Commerce members at the Chesapeake Conference Center.

Mayor Krasnoff lamented the hard economic times. "Fortunately for Chesapeake and Hampton Roads, a robust and expanding military presence at installations like the Naval Support Facility Northwest Annex, and a vibrant maritime economy have helped minimize the effects of this recession on our region, but we have not been immune."

Mayor Krasnoff discussed the increased strain on city services during these times and lauded the response of city employees. He highlighted efforts in the schools, by emergency response personnel, and at community organizations that make Chesapeake a special and wonderful city. Mayor Krasnoff also gave special attention to the economic development efforts underway: from business relocations and expansions to tourism efforts and new start-ups to significant infrastructure projects like the Jordan Bridge. Chesapeake is in the process of reviewing many of its internal processes to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Mayor Krasnoff ended his remarks by again reflected on the current economic troubles, saying, “as a region and as individual cities, we have already been through much together,” but Mayor Krasnoff saw hope in people’s spirit that we would recover and declared the state of Chesapeake to be “sound.”

For a complete transcript of Mayor Krasnoff's remarks, visit http://www.chesapeake.va.us/council/state_of_the_city/2009/stateofthecity2009.pdf