City Council Highlights – June 11, 2018
Last updated on June 11, 2018
GENERAL ITEMS
Officer Involved Shooting
One of our Orlando Police officers was shot Sunday night while responding to an incident.
He is in the hospital with serious injuries and came through an emergency surgery.
As of Monday afternoon, several other officers were still on-scene responding to this ongoing incident as well as members from our Orlando Fire Department, who are on-scene and also helped provide critical medical care and emergency transport earlier for our officer following the shooting.
Thank you to our first responders, who risk their lives every day to keep all of us and our community safe.
June 12
Tuesday, June 12, 2018, marks two years since the darkest day in our city’s history. Through inclusiveness, compassion and kindness, our community continues to honor the 49 innocent lives taken on June 12, 2016, at Pulse, as well as the survivors and the victims’ families.
The City Council has again joined Mayor Jacobs and the Orange County Commission to proclaim June 12 as “Orlando United Day” in the City of Orlando and Orange County. Tuesday night we’ll be joining the community at 7 p.m. at Pulse for a remembrance ceremony.
There are a number of art installations and exhibits throughout the city, including the Prayer Ribbons from Provincetown, Massachusetts in front of City Hall, and of course, there is the Acts of Love and Kindness campaign that encourages us all to act, love and give.
This is a difficult time for so many in our community and anyone who is seeking support should know that they can reach out anytime to our Orlando United Assistance by calling 407-500-HOPE. Our advocates and mental health providers are standing by 24 hours a day, ready to help.
M/WBE Event Recap
Last week, Mayor Buddy Dyer joined Commissioner Ortiz and the Hispanic community to launch the M/WBE Hispanic Outreach Campaign to create awareness about the City’s minority and women-owned business certification which offers business opportunities for City contracts in the fields of construction, professional services and good and services.
The event was held at Sky Builders USA, a local Hispanic construction company in the SODO District. During the event, the city announced a revision in the M/WBE application process that makes it easier for Hispanic-owned businesses to apply for certification and is more reflective of our local community.
Mayor Dyer thanked Commissioner Ortiz for his leadership and support to our Hispanic business community and our local Hispanic chambers and organizations for joining us on this cohesive effort to continue offering opportunities for our minority businesses.
Sidewalks
Council had many discussions on the process of sidewalk installation throughout our city and discussed having a workshop on this topic at a future meeting.
That workshop has been set and will be held on City Council’s first meeting day when they return to their regular City Council Chambers.
ITEMS OF NOTE
B #5 – Amendment 1 to Lease with Orlando Ballet
And one item of note on Monday’s agenda was the proposed amendment to the City’s lease agreement with the Orlando Ballet that will help move forward their permanent home in our Loch Haven Cultural Park.
The new facility will allow for a new state-of-the-art building and also ensure that it remains a gathering space for our community and memorializes the long history of dance that has occurred at this site in the Loch Haven Community Center.
Partnerships like this continue to take the arts and culture in Orlando to the next level and benefit the entire Central Florida region. Mayor Dyer recognized Commissioner Stuart for his involvement and leadership on this issue.