A Message from Mayor Stimpson - February 10
Feb 10th, 2021
Good evening,
It is 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10, and I am writing to give you an update from the City of Mobile. Today, the Mobile County Health Department reports 34,529 COVID-19 cases, an increase of 98 cases. To review the most recent detailed report, click here.
The MCHD will be hosting several vaccination clinics at the Alabama Cruise Terminal beginning February 10 to offer second "booster" doses of the Moderna mRNA vaccine. You can find details about those events and other information about COVID-19 vaccines on the City of Mobile’s website. We have created this page dedicated to COVID-19 vaccine information and will be updating it regularly with new information about vaccine availability and upcoming clinics.
Today I was joined by Mobile Fire Rescue Department (MFRD) Chief Jeremy Lami and Mobile City Councilwoman Gina Gregory as we cut the ribbon at the City of Mobile’s newest fire station. Station 18 in Spring Hill is a state-of-the-art facility that is replacing a nearly 64-year-old structure.
It includes unique features like co-ed living spaces, bifold garage doors and dedicated decontamination equipment to keep firefighters safe and their gear clean. Since 2013, the City of Mobile has made significant investments into our public safety departments, and in 2018, MFRD achieved an ISO-1 rating in part because of the enhanced equipment, training and resources we’ve been able to allocate.
My hope is our citizens can recognize we don’t invest in new fire stations and fire trucks so we can cut a ribbon or have something that looks shiny and new. This is all about making sure we can protect you, your family and our first responders. If you’d like to see more of our newest fire station, there’s a video tour of Fire Station 18 below. Our firefighters seem to like it, and I believe you will too.
Last night, I shared some specifics about our plan to create or preserve more than 1,000 homes in the City of Mobile by 2026. The newsletter implied that 550 residents had already taken advantage of our Owner Occupied Emergency Repairs programs. While dozens of Mobilians benefit from these grant programs each year, 550 is the number of homes we aim to have impacted through the programs by 2026.
Tonight, I wanted to talk about our Down Payment Assistance Program, which we believe will account for around 200 of the 1,000 homes the City of Mobile aims to create or preserve over the next six years. This program assists with the funding and financing gaps that are often barriers for first-time homebuyers.
It has been really beneficial for those who find themselves making too much for income restricted properties and too little to cover rent or purchase a home in an area where they need to. We’ve actually been able to help some of our first responders purchase their first home through this program, which is something I’m very proud of. You can find out more about the program below and on the City’s website.
In Reading Leadership Promises for Every Day yesterday, I saw a passage that talked about why we should avoid shortcuts when pursuing our goals. Author J. Maxwell writes that “One of the most common obstacles to success is the desire to cut corners. But short cuts never pay off in the long run.”
Reading that I was reminded of the time it’s taken to make some of the impacts we have. Seven years ago, Mobile had fire stations that were unfit for our firefighters to live in, and every truck in our frontline fleet was at least 15 years old. This morning we opened the second new fire station in our City since 2018, and within the next few months, no truck in our frontline fleet will be more than five years old.
There was no shortcut to get here. It took strategic planning and hard work from every member of our team. We still have work to do, and there’s no shortcut for that either. We plan to keep moving forward the right way.
Sleep tight,