Pontiac Mayor Mike McGuinness lays out plans for first state of the city address

On Thursday, Pontiac's new mayor will deliver his first state of the city address.

"We have so much forward momentum and excitement here in Pontiac, and I'm looking forward to celebrating that with the community," said Mayor Mike McGuinness.

It's a milestone moment for McGuinness as he lays out his plans to propel Pontiac's future.

"Things are moving forward in Pontiac. A lot of good stuff is happening," McGuinness said. 

McGuinness will deliver his first state of the city address at the newly renovated Webster Community Center, a symbol he says represents Pontiac's past, present and future.

"No longer is it a vacant school in the heart of a neighborhood. It's now a thriving, beautiful roadmap for what's possible and what makes us so special," said McGuinness.

The mayor tells CBS News Detroit that he intends to spotlight the city's growth.

"Underway right now is hundreds of millions of dollars of private development, public investment, infrastructure, improvements; there are shovels in the ground on all sides of town. We've diversified our economy, we're stabilizing our neighborhoods, but there's still a lot of work to do," McGuinness stated.

McGuiness also points out that crime is down nearly 50% from last year.

"We'll definitely be honing in on that, but a huge remaining challenge that we have to tackle is that neighborhoods must be safe; they also must look safe and feel safe for the people who live in them," said McGuinness.

Putting people first, the focus for McGuinness to move Pontiac forward.

"We have beautiful, interesting and historic places, spaces and neighborhoods...that's what it's about. It's about us leaning into what makes us uniquely Pontiac, we're not trying to be some other city, and it's about embracing our people. Centering our people," McGuinness said. "Every year we're getting stronger, we're getting more financially stable, we're diversifying our economy, and we're making neighborhoods more whole and improving services for residents."

Thursday's state of the city address is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the Webster Community Center located at 640 West Huron Street.