Ellington

Mayor Frank Melton praised Jackson's economic progress and outlined some of the city's persistent problems in his State of the City address Thursday morning, Aug. 21, at the TelCom Center.

The mayor's third State of the City included a "tour" of recent and ongoing development projects in the city. "These were things that we were promising to you" a year ago, Melton said. "As I talk to you this morning, these are things that you can see."

Promising that streets and infrastructure will be "a No. 1 priority," Melton pledged to devote $36 million to the city's estimated $50 million needed for street resurfacing. The city would use $3 million and "leverage it up" through a bonding program, he said. The mayor also estimated the city's overall infrastructure needs at $300 million and said that the city would need federal funds to help cover those costs.

Melton spoke for 30 minutes, without notes, standing in front of the podium and occasionally sitting on the stage. On stage with him were three male students: Jaylin Whitlock, from Wilkins Elementary School; Teyton Adams, from Jackson Academy; and Carlos Morales, from Jackson State University. Melton referred to them as "three of my kids."

Children and youth figured heavily in the mayor's remarks. He shared several stories of his personal encounters with young people, including one about the recent shooting death of a boy he had known for years. "I don't want to put anything out there that I don't think is accurate," Melton said, "but it's pretty clear to me that we didn't have these problems when I was out there on the streets and dealing with some of this stuff."

Melton promised a tough stance on Jackson's "narcotics problem," which he blamed for the majority of Jackson's troubles. "As long as I'm your servant, as your mayor … I'm not going to have drugs sold in our neighborhoods where our children are in their yards trying to play with their toys," he said. "I am not going to have senior citizens and teachers work all of their lives … to live next door to a crack house."

Melton is under federal indictment for destroying an alleged "drughouse," although police found no drugs in it.

Melton discussed Jackson's dropout rate, saying, " don't care how they spin it; I don't care what they say to it; I'm telling you up front: 50 percent of our kids are dropping out of school. I'm just telling you up front, 50 percent!"

City Council President Leslie McLemore disagreed with Melton's estimate of Jackson's dropout rate, calling it "a bit of hyperbole." In June, the Mississippi Department of Education announced a 15.7 percent high school dropout rate for 2007 in Jackson Public Schools, a decrease from 18.3 percent the previous year.

Concerning economic development, McLemore agreed with the mayor's remarks. "I think you really have to emphasize the community development holistically," he added. "You have to talk about ways to make connections in the community."

Twice Melton referred to his ongoing legal troubles stemming from the Ridgeway Street demolition incident. Mentioning the demolition of an old car-care clinic across the street from the TelCom center, Melton joked, "I'm sure you'd be proud to know that I did it legally."

"It's no secret, everyone in here knows I'm under a tremendous amount of pressure," Melton told the audience. "I will say to you, as the people that I work for, that there have been mistakes made, but never a mistake that involved a human being."

Melton ended his speech on a philosophical note, saying, "I fought a good fight, I've stayed the course, and I've kept my faith. … Regardless to what tomorrow may hold, I'm at peace with myself.