On this week's Behind the Headlines on WKNO/Channel 10, John Zeanah, newly appointed Chief of Development and Infrastructure for the City of Memphis, joined host Eric Barnes and Daily Memphian reporter Bill Dries to discuss his role in streamlining government development and infrastructure agencies, efforts to address the housing shortage in Memphis, and ongoing maintenance efforts of state and local roads throughout the city.
Zeanah explained that his role was created by the Mayor's Office to increase efficiency between the city and third-party development and infrastructure departments and agencies.
He clarified, "It's a chief-level position in the Mayor's Office that coordinates the internal divisions and quasi-city agencies that have roles or responsibilities that relate to planning, housing, community development, economic development and infrastructure with the goal of bringing cooperation across those agencies, so the city can take a more proactive approach to ensuring our physical-built environment has a dedicated focus within the Mayor's Office."
The conversation also addressed efforts to increase Memphis's housing shortage, including general housing supply throughout the city and affordable housing.
He said, "There's a lot of roles for the public sector here. So, we think about the work that needs to be put toward not just affordable housing but increasing our housing supply generally." He mentioned how working through zoning and subdivision regulations would allow for more types of affordable and attainable housing to be built.
Also included in the discussion, Zeanah talked about the ongoing maintenance of state and local roads. He explained the complexities of working with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to improve state-owned roads and interstates. He shared some possible reasons why some roads want for more maintenance.
"They have in house crews [staff] that are responsible for this maintenance," Zeanah said. "This issue is that they have a lot of those positions that are vacant. So, there's not nearly enough resources on the ground here in Shelby County from TDOT to perform the responsibilities that they need to perform." Zeanah also briefly mentioned possible renegotiations for the city to take over maintenance of state-owned roads only if ensured contractually that the state would fairly compensate the city for their work, unlike in the past.
Wrapping up, Zeanah quickly addressed any concerns about federal funding cuts that his department and agencies may experience in the future. He reassured that funding has remained relatively the same, but some grants awarded under the Biden-Harris Administration are not under contract yet, though none have been rescinded.