SALT LAKE CITY — Mayor Jackie Biskupski began her second State of the City address Tuesday telling of a recent visit she received from the House of Hope choir — a group of women seeking help from a Salt Lake City residential addiction treatment facility.

Between performances, Biskupski said, the women shared their stories — from their fears of falling prey to their drug addictions to their battles to regain custody of their children.

"And they wanted us to know how grateful they are to be getting a second chance," Biskupski said. "These women serve as a reminder that we all have a responsibility to one another and this city: A responsibility to foster hope, ensure equality and create opportunity. To build a city for everyone."

As city officials work to address Salt Lake's toughest issues — homelessness, crime, affordable housing — Biskupski said "it's critical" residents "hold on to these core values."

Before a crowd of more than 100 at the new Marmalade Branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library, Biskupski painted a picture of hope, urging Salt Lake City residents to join leaders in efforts to overhaul the city's homeless service system while also spurring the creation of new programs like Operation Diversion, executed last fall.

Yet even as Biskupski spoke, a crowd of protesters occupied the sidewalk outside the library, with signs reading "No Shelter on Simpson," fighting against the most controversial site selected for one of the city's four new homeless resource centers.

Contemplating her past year in an interview with reporters after her speech, Biskupski said she and other city leaders will aim to be "more diligent" to include the community and admitted officials "misstepped" by not effectively communicating to the public what the new resource centers would look like.

She said she and other city officials learned that lesson from the homeless site selection, and moving forward, "we will do a better job for sure" — though she still stood firm on the decision to ultimately make the site selection behind closed doors to avoid neighborhood contention.

"I understand why people are frustrated with (the decision)," Biskupski said. "But I also understand that the feedback we're getting about how these resource centers will work in someone else's neighborhood is exactly what we wanted to avoid and avoided."

After her speech, City Council Chairman Stan Penfold said Biskupki presented a "very optimistic outlook on the city," though "it's been a very tough year."

What's ahead, Penfold worries, may be even more difficult, and he hopes communication between the City Council, the mayor's office and the public will be more fluid and "transparent."

"That's going to be increasingly critical," Penfold said. "Some of the difficult decisions are behind us, but when you talk about funding and what's happening on a federal level, and what that's going to look like for resources necessary for homeless services, treatment or low-income housing — it's going to be significantly challenging. We've got a tough year ahead."

Homelessness

Biskupski said she and other city leaders have taken on "one of the most difficult and concrete steps" in a multi-year process to overhaul the city — and state's — homeless service system.

That step, the mayor said, acknowledges commitments made to the Utah Legislature to capture $27 million in funding for homeless solutions over the next three years, and commits to "promises leaders have made to the people of Salt Lake City for decades: Change is on the way."

The city's current homeless system, despite efforts of many, is attempting to address a need that is "too great for any one city to manage," she said.

"I would add, one neighborhood cannot take on this issue," Biskupski said. "We all must take on this issue. For Salt Lake City, this means seizing a moment of unprecedented, bipartisan cooperation between leaders at every level of government."

As the city moves forward on its new homeless model, Biskupski said city leaders will "provide resources to neighborhoods to mitigate concerns" while also continuing to work to resolve the "toughest issues" surrounding the current system.

Crime and addiction

Through Operation Diversion in September, Biskupski said, law enforcement separated criminals from victims and "paired accountability with access to behavioral health services for those in need."

"In order to make pilot projects like Operation Diversion more permanent, we need resources, specifically treatment beds and more jail space," the mayor said, adding that she and the City Council have been in discussions about how the city can provide more funding for such programs.

Biskupski called on other local leaders to "heed the call" from Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder to immediately open available jail space while the city expands treatment options.

"The ability to have resources that allow us to continue Operation Diversion must be part of moving forward as we build new resource centers," the mayor said.

She pointed to the police department's Community Connections Center, which opened last summer, utilizing police officers, social workers and others to refer over 200 people to treatment services.

"Imagine what we could do with more staffing," Biskupski said, adding that she's funding three more social workers for the center at the request of Salt Lake Police Chief Mike Brown.

The mayor also applauded Brown's initiation of a "beat model" for policing, nearly doubling the number of officers in Salt Lake neighborhoods — a shift that the mayor said resulted in a 7.5 percent drop over the past year in homicide, sexual assault and armed robbery.

Other highlights

The mayor also previewed her administration's new affordable housing plan — the first to be released since 2000.

"We will address the root causes of affordability, create long-term solutions for increasing needed housing supply and expand opportunities throughout the city while resolving systematic failures in the rental market and preserving our existing units," Biskupski said. She expects to unveil the plan Thursday.

The mayor also paraded the formation of the Department of Economic Development and its director, Lara Fritts, who Biskupski said helped attract at least seven major companies to Salt Lake City over the last year: UPS, Big Agnes, Cotopaxi, Cicero Group, POST Consumer Brands, Stryker and Rotor Bike Components.

"These new and expanded businesses represent approximately 2 million square feet of space, more than $300 million in capital expenditures and more than 2,000 jobs," Biskupksi said.

Additionally, the mayor highlighted a joint resolution with the City Council to pledge to have 100 percent of the city's energy needs met by renewables by 2032 and reduce its total carbon output by 80 percent in 2040.

She also urged the City Council to adopt an ordinance her office recently proposed to require buildings over 25,000 square feet to benchmark their energy usage and help reveal energy savings possibilities.

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