Craig looks back during final Aldermanic meeting

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Tuesday was the final Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting of Mayor Joyce Craig’s mayoral tenure. After public comment, Craig delivered the following speech encapsulating her time as mayor.

Serving as Mayor of Manchester has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and it’s hard to believe this is our final Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.

I ran for Mayor in 2017 to get Manchester back on track and over the last six years, we’ve collaborated with residents, businesses, non-profits, and faith-based communities to improve our city.

Together, we’ve created new opportunities, overcome challenges, and laid the foundation for Manchester’s future.

The growth we’re seeing in Manchester right now is unprecedented. We’re attracting innovative industries and small businesses, and fostering an entrepreneur-friendly environment. Manchester is home to an emerging bio-fabrication industry. In the same buildings where we once manufactured textiles, we’re now revolutionizing health care. We helped foster this industry by leading an effort to apply for a $44 million dollar Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant. We were the only municipality in the entire country to win, creating 7,000 new family-sustaining jobs. This is a game-changer for Manchester and our entire state.

We transformed an empty building downtown into the Rex Theatre, re-established the Economic Development office, and encouraged public art and community events through our Community Activation Grants. We’ve helped hundreds of small businesses open their doors and grow, with initiatives like the Small Business Grant Program, which to date has helped 128 small businesses and more to come.

We welcomed the first new airlines to the Manchester Boston Regional Airport in 17 years.

And we’ve had fun along the way – we closed Elm Street for Taco Tour, started Downtown Trick or Treat, and took our rightful place as Chicken Tender Capital of the World!

Manchester is once again a city where residents and businesses want to live and work.

But we recognized that in order to reach our full potential, we had to increase housing. I worked with the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force, the Manchester Housing Commission, and Planning and Community Development to come up with solutions to the most pressing issue in our community and state.

We’re undergoing a comprehensive rewrite of our zoning ordinances. We’re developing two underutilized city owned parking lots into housing, we increased opportunities for accessory dwelling units, and we allocated $31 million to affordable housing within the last 5 years.

Today, there are thousands of housing units in development, including over 500 new affordable units – and more on the way.

Many of these units, including those at the site of the former Police Station, will house individuals who are currently experiencing homelessness.

Communities across our state and country are seeing a rise in homelessness, and in Manchester, we’ve wrapped our arms around this challenge. We created the Mayor’s Homelessness Taskforce and Department of Housing Stability to better coordinate efforts between City departments, non-profits, and the faith-based community. We’re working with the National Alliance to End Homelessness on implementing national best practices. We expanded our city’s shelter capacity and opened up an Engagement Center — a service-enriched hub where unhoused individuals have access to basic needs as well as housing navigation, mental health and substance use programs, employment resources, and more.

These efforts have brought a 67% reduction in the number of encampments in the last six months alone.

Public safety has always been my number one priority. Together, we funded the largest police complement ever – adding over 30 new officer positions. We increased foot patrols and implemented the City’s first gun violence prevention strategy, which resulted in a 52% decrease in gun fire incidents in the first year. And we’re seeing results. Since I took office, we’ve reduced overall crime by 12% and violent crime by 38%. Because of our work, Manchester is now a safer city for our residents and visitors.

We’re also improving the lives of our employees. We implemented a first-in-the-state cancer screening program for our firefighters, which is already saving lives, approved contracts for all of our city’s unions, and are undergoing a city-wide compensation study to retain and attract our hard working employees.

We’re making Manchester a community that everyone can enjoy for generations to come. Over the last six years, we repaired 215 miles of roads and sidewalks, which accounts for over 50% of all roads in the City. And we won a $25 million federal RAISE Grant to transform the South Commercial and South Elm Street area making our community safer for pedestrians, bikers, and vehicles. Through another $2.2 million dollar grant, we’ll add over 500 new street trees in the city, promoting cleaner air, providing much needed shade, and enhanced overall well being. And we’ve invested in our parks and recreation, including a skateboard half-pipe at Rock Rimmon, a new splash pad at Sheehan-Basquil Park, and we completed construction on the Little Cohas Brook Trestle providing a major connection between Manchester and Londonderry on the Granite State Rail Trail. And for the first time in decades, we improved and expanded local bus service, with new routes and increased frequency to South Willow Street and the Westside.

Manchester built the largest municipal solar array in the state. And we’ve reduced carbon emissions in the city by 60%. Through energy-efficiency projects we’re working to keep energy costs down, reduce our city’s carbon footprint, and help to preserve our natural resources. We permanently preserved over 2,000 acres of land surrounding Lake Massabesic and opened the new Merrimack Water Treatment Plant, ensuring Manchester residents and thousands of others across the state have access to clean drinking water.

And in the middle of all of this progress – a global pandemic hit, forcing every single one of us to rethink the way we serve our residents. Our Public Health Department – which is just one of two in the state – responded to 11,000 requests to our COVID hotline, investigated over 30,000 cases of COVID, and provided 25,000 vaccinations at over 250 clinics.

Everything we’ve been able to accomplish has been because of the hard work of our talented department heads and dedicated city employees. You keep our city going each and every day. Thank you for your commitment to our community. It’s been a pleasure working alongside you.

Manchester’s diversity is our greatest strength. We’ve created links between city government and our community, increased representation on our Boards and Commissions, and worked to ensure all residents feel welcomed, respected and accepted. From increasing funding to our schools, to expanding services to our seniors, together, we’ve made a Manchester that works for everyone. Each of us come from different backgrounds and experiences, whether you’re a fourth-generation resident like me, or you chose to make Manchester your home, we all share a love for Manchester.

Our city is stronger because of this community’s ability to come together, take on challenges, and implement solutions that create positive change.

While my time as mayor is ending in 14 days, I’ll always be my hometown’s biggest supporter. I’m grateful for the friendships built, the partnerships fostered and the trust residents put in me to lead our city forward.

I want to thank members of this board. It’s been an honor to serve with you. Manchester’s future is bright — and I can’t wait to celebrate our City’s wins and our neighbors’ successes for many years to come.

Thank you.