BOISE, Idaho — Boise Mayor Lauren McLean held her State of the City address Thursday afternoon. Her speech covered a wide range of topics ranging from homelessness and affordable housing, to enhancing accessibility to the outdoors and supporting child care providers.
- You can watch the full State of the City address here.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
"Oh we always have more work to do," says Boise Mayor Lauren McLean.
She held her 2024 State of the City address Thursday afternoon.
In her speech, she highlighted some of her future goals for the city including addressing homelessness in the community.
"We set bold goals for 250 homes for folks exiting homelessness by 2026. We are hard at work at that and with that new fund at the Idaho Community Foundation, the first time we've ever partnered with the foundation, we will be able to provide the services necessary to make that happen. We're gonna keep at it, working hard for Boise," says McLean.
Diane Bevan is the President and CEO of the Idaho Technology Council. She tells me that the Mayor is focusing on issues that she has experience with.
"So I love her focus on homelessness. I've served on boards for the Idaho Foodbank, I've served on boards that address housing as an urban renewal commissioner and they all flow together. So whether it's housing, or economic development or employment, it all is the ecosystem. And so what I love about this event, as you can tell it is a convening of the Idaho ecosystem," says Bevan.
Len Corless and his daughter stuck around after the address. He tells me that affordable housing is an important issue for him and his family, he was happy with the mayor's plan.
"She covered a lot of facts. She covered everything that she has planned and what she's committed for," says Corless.
"It's so important to acknowledge the progress we've made and celebrate the wins and thank the people that made that happen and so that's a really big part of this. And then you see tonight there's so many people coming together after and during to listen to what's happening, to hear about where the city is headed and how as Boiseians and we can roll up our sleeves and work together to make sure that we're a safe and welcoming city for everyone," added McLean.
