Remarks by Van R. Johnson, II
238 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 9 of 10
- Play at 20:40
“I just need to know. I just need to be prepared. All right, ladies and gentlemen, we'll go ahead and begin. Thank you all so much. We call this workshop of the Savannah City Council to order. Alderman Leggett, if you would, please lead us in the word of prayer.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 21:32
“Thank you very much, and I want to ask your prayers for our friends in Venezuela. It is looking like an extreme devastation event, and they're expecting aftershocks as well. So today, we're starting a little bit early because we have a lot to dive into. We have a presentation for Visit Savannah, and then we're going to look at our budget and financial update, as we do every single year. opportunity to see how we're doing and city manager and team to report to us about how we're managing. We know we're getting into our village rate season and city manager, I was talking a little while ago…”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 59:08
“Thank you. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. So, Joe, thank you for the presentation and thank you for the work. I think I've had the opportunity to be directly involved and adjacent to the work that you all do and continually impressed by it. I have a couple of questions. So go back, because I think the... Go back a little bit. Back. Yeah, go back to your life cycle, because ours is a little different. Go one more. Forward. Hang on.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 59:44
“See, for us, we build a place where people want to live. and then a place they want to work. We start with the lived experience. Because if it's a place people want to live, people want to visit. People want to visit, people want to build business here. But I mean, I get the point. We couldn't agree with you more. OK. Well, anybody have questions, and then I'll come? Go ahead.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:05:28
“To this point, the council said that we weren't going to do it no more. It wasn't a thing. It was council. It was not working for us anymore. When it worked really well for us, it did uh they changed from who they were and although it was still i think a a fair a pretty good money-making event i mean we we prioritize our residents and really disruption um and as a result uh asked to pivot um to something i think you know i don't think we'll have any large marathons like that i think we've really determined that we could you know a city like savannah that's um so compact and dense could do…”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:13:39
“I became mayor of tourism soon after, and I make no secret that I'm the biggest ambassador for the city. You call, we go, and we take over. And I've been very impressed of you and your team, particularly when I see you around your your colleagues and your contemporaries. They know who we are, they respect us, and in some cases involving cities with C's and next state, they fear us. And that's what I want, I want them to fear us. Yeah, fear us. I want them to fear us.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:14:24
“No, I want them to fear us. He understands. It's all in marketing. What is your annual budget?”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:14:43
“So, you know, I mean, great things on the horizon. We went to New York to the Meatpacking District. We took over New York. We recently went to Chicago, took over Chicago. There is a play. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which is freaking hilarious. Especially those of us who live in Savannah, it's just so Savannah that hopefully might make Broadway that creates those opportunities. And so I'm appreciative of that. And go back to Mayor Johnson, and you remember the day that you came here and we saw some of the advertisements. and council had a fit because you would have thought that,…”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:21:34
“That's what sophisticated means. I'm not sophisticated. It's your interest. The other thing is you've done really a good job, and I don't know how it's happened. We've become really big for girls trips. I've been told that we're second in the country behind Nashville. But I don't know what y'all have done, but I mean, this is like the place for girls. I mean, you know, girls just come and they just hang out and have a good time.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:22:13
“Well, that's the reality. It's not the perception.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:22:34
“Well, my final point, so that gives you a challenge.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:22:48
“There it is. So, and Joe, I would love Joe and Bird and everybody. We used to have ambassadors that helped with those two things. I would love it. And y'all sit on a bunch of money for Hotel Motel. I think we can create an opportunity somewhere because the ambassadors played a huge role not only eyes on the ground, but also being able to address things in real time. Jay, I think there's some way we can create a situation that we can work together to create an ambassador program of individuals with eyes and ears on this problem to help keep people safe, but then also to address issues of of…”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:25:02
“But what a part of our Savannah, part of the hotel motel tax was that Business Savannah would be the DMO. I believe that was part of it. So it's each jurisdiction. Yeah, so I think in accepting the 8% on the hotel motel, it was stipulated in there that Business Savannah would have to be the DMO, correct?”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:37:22
“Work for Savannah. They're also helping to register MWBEs. So this is a partnership based on some of the things that came out of the real Savannah report regarding engaging and growing black businesses. The fact is we didn't have the wherewithal within the team to be able to do that. So the accelerator, the force multiplier was the Black Chamber to help us to reach some of those points. What they do on the other side of their business is that they do destination marketing. Matter of fact, when we got into it with them doing this, they weren't doing destination marketing. They're doing it now.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:38:20
“And most of their businesses are in the new businesses. The growth has been in Savannah. So this is people who are, yeah, I mean, these are people who are helping to buy business licenses here. I know there have been some that expanded, Bernetta, to your point, of really helping to market the places and things that historically we have not really lifted up in terms of tours and tourism and storytelling for all of those things. You know, that growth has helped to spur that.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:39:22
“All right, last question, and we'll move on. Yes. Go ahead, Linda.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:43:34
“Joe, let me thank you again. I don't know if you had closing comments, but let me thank you. This weekend, starting tomorrow, we'll host the Georgia Municipal Association here, as we do every year for our summer conference, our annual conference. This weekend stands to be the largest GMA conference in GMA's history. We did not have one in January in Atlanta. So everybody's coming to Savannah. And for us, I think it's a great honor to show our home to our colleagues. And they get to go back and be jealous they don't live in Savannah. Next year, next summer, next July, the National Association…”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 1:56:05
“I think, let me just say, I mean, you don't appreciate it until you don't have one. That's right. And so there are some cities who don't. Sure. So I just want to make sure that we emphasize the importance of what you just said.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 2:03:53
“Well, as long as you come with good news, you can come whenever you want to.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 2:03:58
“Yeah, so just a quick question about your statement of qualifications. You indicated that you all serve 750 municipal and county governments?”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 2:04:23
“So in your opinion, I guess, in words, Savannah is close to some of the other ones that you serve. Pardon? Your opinion of Savannah. My opinion of Savannah? As it relates to the financial health, as it relates to the other... or our statements as it relates to the other.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 2:06:12
“Because if that's the case, then... Yeah, I don't think you're understanding what his purpose is. Explain it to me.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 2:12:21
“If my math is right. Maybe this year we can get to 90 days.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 2:12:41
“Any other questions? Well, I mean, we're really appreciative, again, the goal of this is to make sure we have the receipts and we just had a conversation last night jay of of making sure that our documents are the way they should be it's important to have someone in uh independent independently uh and someone that's experienced to be able to identify that so we appreciate your relationship uh jay i would love the Your finance team to stand, I mean, sure. You're stealing my thunder here.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 2:16:39
“And the diversity of our funding sources. I mean, we have, as Jay was saying, we have a pretty unique and diverse economy. We have money coming from everywhere.”
City Council · Jun 25, 2026