City Council Highlights – February 18, 2019
Last updated on February 18, 2019
COUNCIL UPDATE 2.18.19
WORKSHOP
Central Florida Regional Housing Trust
Affordable housing is a complex challenge that is not just affecting Orlando, but most cities across nation.
That is why the City of Orlando has been focused on developing new policies and partnerships to spur investment and create more housing options for residents at every income level.
Director of Housing and Community Development, Oren Henry, provided an update on the city’s housing initiative and an overview of two new strategies to build or rehabilitate more housing in our community.
Orlando.gov
As more consumers are conducting their business online, governments must update their business models to meet this demand. This morning, Matt Broffman, the city’s Director of Innovation, shared an update on the city’s new website, Orlando.gov, and how it will offer new and updated features that will enhance the digital experience of our residents and make doing business with the City of Orlando even more convenient and efficient.
CITY COUNCIL-
General Items
Neighborhood and Community Summit Update
Mayor Dyer encouraged everyone to join him for the upcoming annual Neighborhood and Community Summit on Saturday, March 2 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando.
ITEMS OF NOTE
Mayor #1- Employment Agreement- Michael Hess – Project Director for Smart City Projects
Over the last several years, the city has led initiatives and projects to become a smarter city. This means leveraging technology to improve government responsiveness, provide services that are more efficient and improve the quality of life for our residents and businesses. The city has made great strides in this area from being selected as a Smart Cities Council Readiness Winner 2017 to being a co-creator of the Central Florida Automated Vehicle Partnership and being designated as 1 of 10 Providing Grounds for Automated Vehicles by US DOT.
On today’s agenda is a contract for a new city position, Project Director for Smart City Projects. This new position will allow the City of Orlando to further advance our smart city efforts and develop a comprehensive road map and action plan to serve our city.
SUSTAINABILITY ITEMS
Mayor # 3- Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge
On today’s agenda are several items that further our efforts in sustainability…..
The first is an item approving the City of Orlando’s participation in the American Cities Climate Challenge, which will allow us to continue to be among the leading cities nationally who are tackling climate change. Through the Bloomberg Philanthropies challenge, our Green Works Orlando team will receive technical assistance and support to work with our partners to:
· Add electric vehicle charging stations
· Expand community solar and other renewable energy projects
· And transition more than 100 city fleet vehicles to electric vehicles
Last week we had the opportunity to host former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and share with him our efforts to become one of the nation’s most sustainable cities and thank him for Bloomberg Philanthropies support.
Ordinance 1st Read #2 & #3- Multifamily/Commercial Recycling
Also on today’s agenda is an item that will help provide residents who live in multifamily housing and people who work in office buildings an option for recycling.
Through these proposed code amendments, we will increase our City’s ability to recycle – and further reduce the amount of waste sent to our local landfills and continue to preserve and protect our “City Beautiful” for generations to come.
Business #9 Execute a Task Authorization with GAI Consultants, Inc. for Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update
Also on today’s agenda is the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update. This project is looking at existing parks and green spaces in the city and helping create a road map to further enhance access to current and new parks. The update of the Parks Master Plan will also include a walk time analysis for each park to determine real-world accessibility of current parks.
The vision process to continue building upon the city’s existing 120 parks is part of a U.S. Conference of Mayors 10-Minute Walk grant of $40,000 from the National Recreation and Park Association. The approximate year-long process will include multiple opportunities for community feedback and input, including online and in-person surveys and community meetings held throughout the city.
Economic Development #17 Dialight Corporation
On today’s agenda, we have a resolution supporting Dialight Corporation’s request to receive funding through the State of Florida Qualified Industry Tax Refund program. Dialight Corporation is the world leader in LED industrial lighting technology with more than one million LED fixtures located worldwide. If approved by the State of Florida, Dialight will consider Orlando as a potential location to relocate their headquarters, which is currently located in Farmingdale, New Jersey. If Dialight chooses to relocate in Orlando, the company would create 73 high-wage jobs in a targeted, high-impact growing industry, paying an average annual wage of $71,663 and would result in $2.8 million in real and tangible personal property investment, as well as the likelihood of continued job growth.
Economic Development #1 Meeting Minutes and Approving the Actions of the Southeast Town Design Review Committee (SETDRC)
Commissioner Gray has requested that we defer action on case MPL2018-10092 (Narcoosee Cove | Multi-family) which is the first application on the Minutes of the Southeast Town Design Review Committee (SETDRC), under C-1 of today’s City Council Agenda. The balance of the SETDRC minutes may be considered for approval. The Commissioner has asked for this deferral so that he has an opportunity to meet with the developer prior to taking any final action on this project.