A Letter From The City Manager

Greetings Honorable Mayor & City Councilmembers:

It seems like I joined the organization only yesterday, but I‘m excited to declare that we are officially over my 100-day mark. To our city residents, for whom I serve with the utmost sense of pride and purpose each and every day, I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for welcoming me with such open arms. The faith and trust you have placed in me over the past several months has been remarkable. It is you – our fathers, mothers, children, students, legacy residents, volunteers and countless others – who make up our city's very strong, unbreakable fabric. Without you, there surely would be no Forest Park. To the members of our distinguished Forest Park City Council: Mayor Angelyne Butler, Councilwoman Kimberly James, Councilman Dabouze Antoine, Councilman Hector Gutierrez, Councilwoman Latresa Akins-Wells, and Councilman Allan Mears, it is true that an organization is only as strong as it’s leadership, and I must say, our leadership is pretty strong.

On the evening of May 4, 2023, I stood before you all as the newly elected city manager eager to articulate a progressive vision for our city. I delivered a swearing-in speech filled with hope, excitement and determination. More importantly, I rolled out my 100-day action plan, titled ONE Forest Park. This distinct plan served as the roadmap for my first 100 days as city manager and focused on three critical areas: operation efficiency, neighborhood sustainability and economic development. These three important tenets weren’t chosen lightly, as they all are vital to the success of any municipality – big or small.

I want to take a moment to recap some of the outstanding accomplishments that have been achieved during my first 100 days as city manager in order to truly create ONE Forest Park. Those accomplishments include: recovering of $600,000 of delinquent taxes, sanitation and business license fees; unveiling of the brand-new City App, entitled OneClick. The ONEClick app will allow residents to report issues directly from the palm of their hand. From potholes to park maintenance or even trash collection concerns and downed trees, ONEClick serves as a one-stop shop for reporting local service requests within the City of Forest Park. We also launched OneLight, a collaborative effort to repair and upgrade nearly 1,900 light fixtures throughout the city so that we can increase our street lighting footprint. This holistic effort will not only improve safety and reduce crime but also significantly reduce the city’s energy usage and lower our annual carbon footprint. We have also worked diligently to develop a new incubator space to be located off the city’s main thoroughfare that will feature a commissary kitchen, flex workspace, and food hall. We recognize that many entrepreneurs within our community lack the financial resources or brick-and-mortar space to launch a business. This incubator will not only help budding startup companies get off the ground but will also help tackle the city’s food desert concerns.

Although there are times of hardships and uncertainties that many in our community continue to face, it is also a time for exceptional opportunities, extreme optimism and yes, even much success! We can, we shall and we will, and you know why. It’s because we truly are ONE Forest Park. It is with great pride that I serve as your City Manager.

City Manager