Council Highlights – February 21, 2022
Last updated on February 21, 2022
Council Update – February 21, 2022
MAYOR’S UPDATE
General Items
Redistricting Meetings
As part of the city's redistricting process, there will be a series of community meetings for public input, we want to encourage residents to attend the upcoming open houses on Monday, March 7 and Monday, March 14 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Beardall Senior Center, to learn how to get involved with the redistricting process.
These open houses are an opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback and learn about the redistricting map drawing tool to ultimately, ensure equal population among the city commission districts.
Appointments are encouraged. If you would like to schedule an appointment or provide feedback visit orlando.gov/redistricting.
Lynn Nicholson
We are saddened to announce the passing of Mr. Lynn Nicholson a longtime Parramore resident who spent much of his life working to make his community a better place. We are especially grateful for Lynn as founder of the Parramore Community Garden, his services to the Mayor's Committee on Livability and Healthy Aging and most recently, his involvement in the Parramore Community Engagement Council.
Lynn was an advocate for his neighbors and his neighborhood, always encouraging others to get involved and do their part to make Parramore a better place. There is no denying Lynn's legacy will live on in Parramore. We'd like to send our condolences to Lynn's family and friends as they gather to honor his life tomorrow.
COVID-19 Update
As we get closer to March, it’s hard to believe but we are approaching the two-year mark of when COVID-19 first impacted our community. We simply want to remind us all that the best way to protect ourselves and others from the serious impacts of the virus is to get vaccinated and get boosted.
Items of Note
F#1-5 Housing CARES Act Funding
And as we continue to be impacted by the pandemic, there are several items on today’s agenda we want to highlight that allow us to leverage federal funds to help our community continue to respond to and recover from COVID-19.
This includes five funding agreements of nearly $850,000 to help our partner agencies care for some of our most vulnerable population, including those experiencing homelessness.
We are grateful these partners help advance our shared priority that every resident has a safe place to sleep and their basic needs of clothing, food and hygiene are met and help prevent of the spread of COVID-19.
A#3, A#4 and B#12 RISE Employment & Training Program and Office
Also related to COVID-19, there are items to support the city’s new RISE Employment & Training Program.
Supported with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, this new program will ensure residents impacted by COVID-19 have equitable access to opportunities for job training, coaching and support services to help them gain employment. Additionally, as part of this program the city will open a new office to provide in-person assistance.
We are grateful for our partnership with our region’s official workforce agency CareerSource Central Florida for providing staff to offer on-site connections with employers, training partners and apprenticeship programs, as well as access to scholarships.
RISE is open to any city resident and is the newest iteration of the city’s original BluePrint program which connected residents to jobs on the Community Venues Projects and the BluePrint 2.0 program which through a partnership with the Central Florida Urban League connected residents to job training opportunities.
We’d like to acknowledge Commissioner Hill for her leadership in our employment and job training programs which have been expanded to residents across the entire city.
We’d also like to acknowledge CareerSource staff, Pam Nabors, President & CEO and Cliff Marvin, Director of Public Affairs who are with us today.
C#10 Parramore Main Street
Also on today’s agenda, we want to highlight an item that would add the Parramore District Main Street as the twelfth Orlando Main Street district. This designation will provide technical support and training to foster growth and prosperity for small businesses within the district.
Commissioner Hill, we’d like to acknowledge you and the role you continue to play in ensuring the prosperity of the Parramore community, which extends to our small business owners and the commercial district.
A few years ago, we approved the expansion of the Church Street District, now known as City District, to include the Parramore footprint.
Since that time, business owners, property owners, residents and the Parramore District’s Executive Director Natasha Gaye have come together to create the district’s first Board of Directors and are in the process of launching their four committees.
D#1 My Brother’s Keeper Grants
Lastly, growing our My Brother’s Keeper program is a key part of our ongoing equity efforts. Through the program, we are working to connect more of Orlando’s boys and young men of color with mentoring and support to help them improve academically and increase employment opportunities.
That’s why today we are recognizing the five grassroots organizations that are receiving MBK Orlando grants to help at-risk young residents. These groups have longstanding, trusted relationships with young residents and their families and we are grateful for the services that they are providing in our neighborhoods.