Danville mayor Rickey Williams, Jr and mayoral challenger Jackie Vinson took part in Monday night’s mayoral forum at Danville Area Community College’s Bremer Center. An issue brought up early on was what to do with the Village Mall. Vinson said a lot of it, such as the movie theater closing, was a matter of, “the city should have seen this coming.”
AUDIO: We need to have shopping centers. We need to have the ability for our families to buy essential goods and services. But we also have to understand that fundamentally, our society is changing the way we consume goods and services.
But Mayor Williams stated meetings with interested parties are actively being held, and one particular future spot is starting to take shape.
AUDIO: I’m proud to tell you that the former Carson’s is currently being divided into three spaces. There is one larger space, for which we already have a letter of intent; and the other two smaller spaces are in the works.
When asked about future casino funds leading to opportunities for youth. Mayor Williams said the current top priority, funding pensions, must continue. But in the long run, absolutely; giving youngsters a chance to get busy, and learn.
AUDIO: Getting our young people out there in the streets. Out there in the parks, working and learning skills. So absolutely, we support that. But our public safety pensions must come first, and after I would support additional funding with those funds.
Jackie Vinson said sometimes having anything to do can change the attitude of youngsters. As Executive Director of the Vermilion Housing Authority, she recalled a time when some pre-teens had to clean up a mess they made in the laundry area with a fire extinguisher. And just having a sense of purpose had amazing results.
AUDIO: So we had those boys punch a clock to work off the the amount of damage they had caused in our facility. And the results of that astounded me. They loved being with us. They loved coming to work in the morning. They loved having something to do. I think that mentality needs to be spread across our community, where youth need to have access to opportunities.
When the East Side of Danville came up, Vinson says too much emphasis has been placed on tear downs.
AUDIO: We will never demolish our way out of blight. We’re chasing our tail doing that, and we’ve been chasing our tail for the last decade.
Mayor Williams, however, said the demolition work has been a productive part of the overall plan.
AUDIO: One of the things that it calls for on the East Main Street Plan is for the elimination of bad housing, particularly along the main corridors of Williams Street and Main Street. We’ve been aggressively picking up every house that we can off of the Vermilion County Trustee Sale, to tear down those dilapidated houses. Because when we get rid of blight, then it allows room for new development to come in.
Towards the end, Mayor Williams said the key thing for him has been going out and about to visit with residents at events such as First Fridays downtown. And sometimes, just saying, “I’ll handle this.”
AUDIO: One time one of my constituents called me and said she had a tree in her road. I went out there to look at that tree in the road with her. And guess what; I was able to get the tree moved out of the road personally. I didn’t wait to call Public Works. I didn’t bother my guys.
Jackie Vinson also said she would be out and about as mayor; just like her approach running the Vermilion Housing Authority.
AUDIO: The people of Danville deserve to be heard. They deserve to be included. I’m running for our children, for our elderly, for our businesses. I am running to be your voice and your representative.
The election for Mayor of Danville will be Tuesday, April 4th.
To hear the entire Danville Mayoral Forum, go to: https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/news-on-demand/
