Inweekly Nov 28 2024 Issue

When the mayor met with Inweekly last week, he shared that his third year would be about implementation. He said, "We have generational projects from American Magic to Hollice T. Williams Park to the Fricker Center to Baptist Hospital to the SUN Trail, on and on. I think we've got a lot of work ahead of us. We've got a hundred million dollars in grant funds, and it's time to get going."

He understands pushback comes with difficult decisions. "We have to stand in there sometimes and just reassure on the promises that we do what we say we're going to do. For instance, when you increase parking, we have to tell what we're doing with the money, and we're coming back with a new parking garage and the revitalization of Palafox."

The mayor continued, "I understand early on change causes anxiety, but we're going to see in Year Three how much better a place we're in than when I started. So, between getting these pins lined up in terms of generational projects that we now are going to spend the next few years making happen, we will make some decisions that are not going to be easy on our stress levels but are the right thing to do. And I'm excited to show, and I expect to be accountable too, that we end up in a better place than we were after some of these issues—whether it's Malcolm Yonge, recycling or parking."

He is confident in his decision-making process. "We wanted to take problems head-on early and not wait because then, if you do that, the argument becomes, why didn't we do it sooner? Why do we wait three or four years to fix something you believe is a fundamental issue?"

Reeves added, "That doesn't mean I don't hear about it, and it doesn't mean that it doesn't cause me anxiety the same way it causes others anxiety. But I'm confident in our process and that we make data-driven, sound decisions, not based on rhetoric or a comment we see on Facebook."

His administration will continue to be driven by data. "If something isn't working, how do we make it work? I feel confident that we've done that, and I think we'll see even more results of that coming up."

Reeves added, "That doesn't mean I don't hear about it, and it doesn't mean that it doesn't cause me anxiety the same way it causes others anxiety. But I'm confident in our process and that we make data-driven, sound decisions, not based on rhetoric or a comment we see on Facebook."