by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
Mayor John Peyton has allocated $3 million in his 2003-04 budget for downtown improvements.
Presenting his budget Tuesday evening to the City Council, Peyton said “Downtown is on the verge of greatness” and that the money would be well-spent because “I see a forward-looking city.”
His chief financial officer, Walt Bussells, said after the presentation that the $3 million would be mostly aimed at visual improvements “although we will invite public input before we make the decisions.”
While records of previous budgets were unavailable, it’s believed to be the largest sum a mayor ever has included. It’s probable that the Council will approve it.
Bussells added, “There are some areas that need work. Take the rest rooms at Friendship Park, for instance. They’re awful. They need to be fixed. But the rest needs to be spent in the best way to make our downtown look good.
“We have the Super Bowl coming in 2005. We need to make improvements for that, but they also need to be improvements that will benefit all of us.”
After leaving the Council chambers, Peyton stood in the City Hall rotunda and talked about “streetscapes and the need for better access to the river. We can do all of these things.”
Bussells said that the administration would strive to “have downtown in tip-top shape for the Super Bowl and beyond.”
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Over 200 turned out for Peyton’s message and City Council president Lad Daniels recalled the final meeting of the 2002-03 Council.
“We were here until 4:30 a.m.,” he said. ‘I hope you’re here to hear the mayor, and then you’ll leave.” About 50 remained after Peyton left, and the Council adjourned at a reasonable time.
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Peyton’s speech was in line with his brevity displayed at his inauguration.
This one lasted less than 17 minutes. It was interrupted by applause eight times, though he had to encourage one round.
When he announced the $3 million item for downtown, only one person responded.
“C’mon,” said Peyton. “That’s worth a clap.” The audience gave a large round.
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The evening marked former Ch. 4 reporter Heather Murphy’s debut on the public relations side. She managed it well, producing a clean press release and organizing the post-speech rotunda press conference.
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Daniels produced the evening’s big goof, introducing Peyton as “Mayor John Delaney.”
Daniels, presiding at his first Council meeting, apologized, saying “I’m as nervous as John is.”
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The Council made two presentations after Peyton’s speech and before the evening’s business.
The men who stopped a gunman in City Hall Annex earlier this year were recognized for bravery and Council member Lake Ray asked to take part. One of the heroes was his brother-in-law, Gene Hagan.
The other marked Bailey Publishing’s 90th birthday and Council member Lynette Self made the introduction of her longtime friend, Bailey president Jim Bailey. In turn, he introduced daughter Melissa, who joined the company last month and is the fourth generation of Baileys.
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On hand was the mayor’s mother, who starred at the inauguration ceremony two weeks ago with a loving introduction of her son.
She revealed that she hadn’t used the prompting devices during her speech.
“There were there if I needed them, but I just spoke from the heart and it went OK,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many people have said something about my talk! I’m amazed.”
Her son, who used a prompter that night, also used one Tuesday and it wasn’t a secret — the operator was front and center, and almost everyone could look over his shoulder to see the coming words.
Mayor John Peyton delivered his first budget to the City Council Tuesday night, calling for $787 million, almost a five percent increase from last year. It was also the first Council meeting attended by the newly elected members.