City Council Highlights – October 23, 2023
Last updated on October 23, 2023
City Council Update 10.23.23
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Priscila Kalagian Proclamation
On November 11, we will hold our annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Orlando. We want to invite our entire community to come out to celebrate those in our community who’ve served in the military.
The parade is an initiative of our Veterans Advisory Council. Today we are honoring someone who has helped ensure that the group is incredibly impactful. Dave Arnott, our liaison to the Veterans Advisory Council, will give us an overview of the recognition.
GENERAL ITEMS
Commissioner Gray’s Birthday
We have another significant milestone to celebrate in the coming weeks. It's District 1 City Commissioner Jim Gray’s birthday in early November.
ITEMS OF NOTE
Pulse Site Purchase
On the morning of June 12, 2016 as the terror of what occurred at the Pulse nightclub unfolded, our community was defined not by the hateful act of a killer, but by how our community responded with love, compassion and unity. We also committed to support the victims’ families and the survivors. Unfortunately, seven years following the Pulse tragedy, an important aspect of the healing process – a permanent memorial to honor the victims - is still uncertain.
We’ve heard directly from family members, survivors and the community impacted by the Pulse tragedy their desire to have a memorial on the site of Pulse.
We know it is unusual to bring an item forward without a plan for the next steps. However, we couldn’t make further decisions without first securing the purchase of the Pulse site.
While we know there will never be complete consensus amongst those directly impacted by the tragedy, as we move forward, we know input from the victims’ families and survivors will be central to the process.
After June 12, 2016, many of us in this community, including this Council, faced decisions we never imagined we would have to make. Creating a memorial is a challenging process. We would like to recognize those that were dedicated to creating the temporary memorial and began a process for the permanent memorial.
As the city has not been involved in the memorial process, we are committed to taking a thoughtful, collaborative approach to understand the history of the effort to create a memorial up until this point, and then working with the victims’ families and survivors to ensure there is a memorial at the Pulse site that honors the victims, those impacted by the tragedy and pays tribute to the resiliency of Orlando.
Funding Agreements in New Fiscal Year
There are a number of funding agreements on the agenda that help the City of Orlando support community organizations doing critical work for residents and businesses. We'd like to take an opportunity to highlight some of these partners:
- First, is our Healthcare Center for the Homeless HOPE Team and the Compassion Corner, a service of First Presbyterian Church located at the Christian Service Center – both of which are instrumental in helping reduce the number of unsheltered residents in our city.
- Second, are community partners who drive economic growth and activity, from providing resources to minority-owned businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups, to supporting Orlando’s growing tech scene.
- Organizations include the Black Business Development Corportation, Central Florida Social Enterprise Accelerator, GO Sports, Florida Citrus Sports, UCF Research Foundation, Prospera, National Center for Simulation, Starter Studio and our Orlando Main Street Districts.
- Lastly, we are investing 4.3 million dollars in grant awards to 58 additional non-profits that provide vital services to residents, including in the areas of community service and arts and cultural organizations.