MARION, Ind. (WISH) — The mayor of this north-central Indiana city said Wednesday the way to bring the city back is to make it a place where people want to live.

In the year since Mayor Ronald Morrell, Jr. took office, he has launched several projects. A park near the city center has been revamped with new workout equipment and a Little Free Library to encourage people to exercise their bodies and minds. Morell, Jr. has also initiated blight elimination programs and plans to expand the city’s riverwalk. He said his goal for all these projects is to promote health, cleanliness, safety and quality of life.

“I believe all of these things together will help us on an upward trajectory and attract more people to live, work and play in our city,” Morell, Jr. said.

Marion was hit hard by deindustrialization. Twenty-eight percent of the city’s residents live below the poverty line, according to the most recent census dataand the city’s population has declined by nearly 2,000 people since 2010, a decline of more than 6%. Last November, Morrell defeated incumbent Jess Alumbaugh and became the city’s first black mayor and the state’s first black Republican mayor. He is one of Indiana’s nine black mayors, a record number.

Morrell, Jr. said he was excited to be part of this group and was not surprised by the number of black mayors elected.

“I think Indiana is making progress by electing more minorities,” said Morell, Jr.. “When we put people of color in positions of power who are qualified and doing a great job, it shows that this next generation, that anyone can be whatever they want to be, regardless of race, gender, color, or any of these previous barriers. »

Morrell, Jr. said investing in quality of life issues will help the city recover. Although Marion still has some industrial presence, he said the city needs to make the investments necessary for people to want to live there. Morrell, Jr. specifically highlighted the city’s Riverwalk, a project that has continued to grow since its inception more than 30 years ago. He said he wants to finish it during his term and expand it, eventually creating a citywide network of pedestrian paths. Among the connections will be a segment connecting the park system to a planned development at 1st and Branson streets that will include restaurants and 45 market-rate apartments.

Morell, Jr. said he wants this development approved by the end of the year.

“People like water, don’t they?” So if you offer people something on the water, they’re drawn to that,” said Morell, Jr. “And we’ve seen that work in different cities across the state of Indiana. So we’re not reinventing the wheel, we’re just scaling it to the appropriate size for the town of Marion, Indiana.