City Council Highlights – May 11, 2020

Last updated on May 11, 2020

City Council Update - 5.11.2020 

General Items 

COVID-19 Update 

Good afternoon and welcome to our fourth virtual City Council meeting. 

This meeting format helps ensure that city projects and programs are able to continue, while allowing for physical distancing, and ensuring public participation. 

Last week was National Public Service Recognition Week and although we were not able to celebrate in person, we want to again thank our city staff for their dedication to continuing to serve our city.  

During this challenging time, City of Orlando employees continue to deliver critical municipal services to residents and businesses. Commissioners, we want to thank you for all of the ways you continue to recognize and thank our staff for all that they do. 

We also want to thank every person in our community – our residents, workers on the front lines, business owners – for their continued efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

We’ve all played a role in getting to where we are today. And we must all continue to do our part to protect ourselves and every person in our community. 

That means being diligent about practice physical distancing, wearing a face covering when around others outside the home and washing hands frequently. Our path to recovery is dependent on our behavior. 

Testing to monitor the infection rate, and continue to control, is also key for us moving forward. 

That’s why we are proud to partner with Orange County Government, GENETWORx (JEN NET WORKS), AdventHealth and Orlando Health to open new free, mobile testing sites in the City. 

These new mobile testing sites were selected to ensure broad coverage of the City and based on data from Orlando’s data tracker to target location where a higher number of positive cases has been reported. To date, Orlando has had a total of 444 positive cases. 

Located within city neighborhoods, the sites will also provide enhanced access for pedestrians and users of other forms of mobility, like biking and public transportation. 

These mobile testing sites will operate two days per week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rotating to a new location in the city on each operating day.  

This week, on Thursday, May 14, the first site will open at our Engelwood Neighborhood Center there. The following week, testing will be made available at the Northwest Community Center on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. 

Anyone 18 and older, with an Orlando ID, can get tested at these sites. All you need is an appointment, which can sign up for today at orlando.gov/covid19testing.  

We will continue announce new locations each week as we work to increase opportunities throughout our city for those who want to get tested to be able to. 

Along that same measure, we are again partnering with the Department of Health in Orange County to offer testing again at our Camping World Stadium. That one day testing will be offered on Wednesday, May 13, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by appointment. To make an appointment residents can call 407.723.5004. 

Items of Note 

EDV #10 & CRA #1 – Assistance for Business to Open and Operate Safely  

In an effort to help our local businesses operate responsibly under the new guidelines as part of the Phase I plan to reopen Florida’s economy, last week we announced we are allowing for businesses to temporarily expand their operational space and market their businesses outside, including:  

  • Allowing businesses to expand into outdoor areas such as private parking lots  

  • Authorizing businesses to use small tents for sales and seating outdoors  

  • Granting businesses the ability to use extra banners and signage  

On today’s agenda are a few additional actions:  

  • Allowing businesses to use our public rights-of-way like our city sidewalks for seating and selling 

  • A program to offset the cost of parking to encourage residents to patronize businesses downtown 

We are also suspending the need for businesses to obtain any permits or pay any fees for these new programs which will be available to businesses until September 1, 2020. 

EDV #5, #7, #9 – QTI Programs 

We also have businesses considering relocating and expanding in our city - including KPMG proposing to open a new streamlined Tax Client Service Delivery Center and SIMCOM’s relocation and expansion of its aviation headquarters.  

On today’s agenda are a number of items to support these two companies creating more than 250 new high value, high wage jobs in our city.  

Both of these companies are considering other states for these projects and we’re hopeful both SIMCOM and KPMG will ultimately choose to invest and grow here in our community. 

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