'WHAT I WOULD DO'

In all the Focus Groups, the participants were asked to pretend they were the “final decision maker,” that “time was of no consequence,” and that “money was of no object.” Under those circumstances, they were asked to write a statement of “What I Would Do!” for Miami. Here are the results of that exercise:

 

PUBLIC SAFETY FOCUS GROUP

• Train the people that do work to work and pay those same people above average pay.

• Change laws to enforce drug violations.

• Due to many different law enforcement agencies I would bring funds together to have a similar pay scale and equipment budget.

• Make non-tribal police/fire/EMS jobs the highest paid in the area.

 

CITY FOCUS GROUP

• City leadership meets in person with big industry leaders to sell Miami.

• Resolve our flooding issues by having GRDA acquire all the necessary easements at fair values.

• Reliable infrastructure – clean water, clean electricity, new roads.

• Endow enough funds to update infrastructure to support current and future growth.

• Develop an actionable community-wide development plan (include all entities).

​

PUBLIC FORUM

• Hotel and event center off of the turnpike gate.

• Build 100 middle class affordable homes.

• Make GRDA follow the law – buy the easements they should have bought 80 years ago.

• EPA will clean Tar Creek Superfund site and follow up to clean up all pollution to the Pensacola Dam.

• Major trucking company depot – Turnpike.

• Make improvement to all infrastructure – water, sewer, streets, etc.

• Fix all roads.

• Provide better state leadership for this area.

• Solar farm.

• Not low-income housing addition.

• House everyone, fix everything, bring jobs, stop flooding, get rid of the casinos.

• Build new, affordable, and attractive housing.

• Eliminate crime.

• Turn all the old railroad tracks into bike trails.

• Build a unique facility (like the Gathering Place in Tulsa) that highlights our county (Route 66, tribes) off I-44 as a place where family and visitors gather and enjoy being in Miami. Entertainment, etc. Tourist stop.

• I would stop investing in flood areas – I would build partnerships with all who have the ability to create opportunities for better quality life and a future.

• Eliminate flooding.

• I would strike on the opportunity to install a Planet Fitness in our town.

• Return the curves on Main Street.

• I would love to organize our sheriff's and police departments with more patrols for all shifts to monitor and remove transients and loiterers causing crime and drug issues.

• I would do what we are doing in this meeting and develop a plan of action. One thing I would work on immediately is bike paths to help move toward a walking and biking community.

• Facility to give people life-educating tools/skills to help better their lives and opportunities.

• Fix these roads in town. Miami, clean this town up.

• It’s not just one thing.

• Large library cultural center with office spaces and XL meeting rooms/convention center style.

• Take flooding to the final level with GRDA to buy all necessary easements … then work on streets (all need repair).

• Adult education and literacy center.

• Return the curvy main street.

• Advocate loudly for removal of every bit of heavy metals from Tar Creek, the soil, and the chat piles. Celebrate Ottawa County as the place that is transferring from damaged to healed. We can have a treasured natural environment. Let’s make the problem the solution.

• Restore all historic/old properties on Main Street.

• Ensure that the number of food insecure children in Ottawa County is zero.

• Buyout flood victims.

• More housing.

• Wind Solar Farm (No More GRDA).

• Find funding for infrastructure on East side of town (away from flood).

• I would invest in the most vulnerable of our community (neurodivergent homeless, physically handicapped and abused).

• Help addicted with counseling, food insecurity, housing.

• Build my building.

• Attract significant employers.

• Housing.

• Concrete all roads in town.

• Make new buildings out of the old buildings that make Miami look dirty.

• Remove all buildings in the flood plain on Steve Owens. Build up the road and build lakes on both sides of the road. Stock with bass and rent kayaks.

• Work to address crime/ drugs/homeless issues.

• Advance tourism.

• Eliminate blight.

• Make the city/area so unappealing to criminals they just go elsewhere.

• Remove the Turnpike gates.

• Build an NFL Stadium for a relocating team.

• Bike trails, walking trails, lakes, outdoor eateries. Improve quality of life.

• Increased penalties/enforcement of crime, drugs, theft, etc.

• Develop a larger industrial park with all the necessary infrastructure in place.

• Build all levels of housing.

• Bring in a significant employer. Elon’s Cyber Truth Factory.

• Pave every street in town.

• Construct new industrial park w/ rail spur and infrastructure to handle manufacturing.

              

CHAMBER BOARD

• We must have housing for our citizens, new neighborhoods.

• Coordinate resources between tribal partners and municipal/county/state/federal entities.

• Renovate/update Steve Owens Blvd. and limit dispensaries (reduce the number).

• Build world-class industrial park to attract large businesses.

• Develop Turnpike exit (add exit) to get people off the Turnpike and into town.

• Home weatherization program – creates value/equity in homes, saves homeowners on utilities, etc.

• Bring in a renewable energy project to reduce the energy cost for manufacturers.

• Increase the amount of high quality, affordable housing.

• Clean up the town and fix infrastructure to attract more businesses.