New programs will keep St. Paul strong, Mayor Coleman says

Initiating several partnerships and using old-fashioned resolve are keys to revitalizing the city, the mayor stressed in his annual address.

By GREGORY A. PATTERSON, Star Tribune

Last update: April 21, 2009 - 12:50 AM

St. Paul is initiating a program to give first-time home buyers who are public employees or health care workers a $15,000 interest-free loan that can be totally forgiven if the owners stay in their home for longer than 10 years.

Called the "St. Paul Heroes" program, the loans will be available to people on active duty in the military as well as to veterans, firefighters, police officers, teachers and others, said St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, who announced the program Monday in his annual state of the city address.

Coleman also announced a jobs program, a partnership between the city's Port Authority, the McKnight and St. Paul Foundations, and Employer Solutions, a nonprofit community organization. That program aims to train and place 200 people in jobs at Regions Hospital over the next two years. The city has also partnered with the St. Paul Ramsey County Workforce Investment Board to develop a jobs training program for health care occupations.

Coleman gave the address at the de Paul Tower, which opened last fall, the newest addition to St. Joseph's Hospital. Currently, more than $400 million is being invested in health care facilities in St. Paul, Coleman said.

Most of Coleman's talk was organized around a theme of resurgence. "We are struggling with a historic state budget deficit," Coleman said. "These are excruciating times. Yet I continue to be optimistic about this great city."

Reviewing some of the city's recent accomplishments, Coleman said he was proud the number of vacant structures in the city -- about 2,000 -- did not increase between June 2008 and March 2009.

St. Paul will emerge stronger from the current economic doldrums, Coleman said, if it focuses on fundamentals, plays to its strengths and makes sure that all of its children are prepared for the global economy.

Getting the fundamentals right means building the city's infrastructure, in particular completing the Central Corridor light-rail line, which Coleman called "critical to the future of St. Paul." He also said President Obama's inclusion of a high-speed rail line linking Chicago and St. Paul in his administration's plans challenges city leaders to show the resolve and unity necessary to get the project done.

The mayor underscored that there are no quick fixes to the current situation and that education is probably the best foundation for a city's collective achievement. Even St. Paul's early settlers believed that to attract the best talent to the city, they needed a top-flight education system. "There are no shortcuts to economic prosperity," Coleman said.

He reiterated several programs that have awarded scholarships to more than 900 preschool-age children allowing them to attend high quality children's education programs; on the other end, more than 700 students from Minneapolis and St. Paul have taken college level courses while in high school.

The mayor ended his talk by announcing a final program -- one to encourage and assist volunteers by putting all the city's volunteer opportunities on one website. It's called Volunteer, Inspire and Prosper (VIP).

"It is the everyday effort of neighbors helping neighbors that makes us great," Coleman said.

Gregory A. Patterson • 612-673-7287