Council Highlights – February 22, 2021
Last updated on February 22, 2021
Council Update - February 22, 2021
General Items
Neighborhood and Community Summit Special
We wanted to start with a friendly reminder for residents to sign up for the 16th annual Neighborhood and Community Summit that will be held on Saturday, March 6.
And even though it will be virtual, we still plan to bring together residents and community leaders to connect, learn and grow through this full day of online workshops, exhibitions and networking opportunities all focused on building strong, vibrant communities and organizations in our city.
Registration is $15 and those who wish to register can do so at orlando.gov/summit.
COVID-19 Update
Together we’ve been through a lot over the last eleven months as the pandemic continues to impact us all. There is hope on the horizon as the state and federal government vaccine rollout continues.
But we must remember to be cautious and continue our pandemic precautions – especially wearing a mask when around others. By protecting ourselves and others, we can keep our community safe and keep our city and our economy moving forward.
Items of Note
CRA#1 – Small Business Rental Assistance Program Funding Agreements
Moving on to items of note and speaking of the pandemic, last fall the CRA created the Small Business Rental Assistance Program to provide rental assistance to retail and consumer service businesses within the downtown CRA to provide funding to local businesses impacted by COVID-19.
In partnership with the Orlando Economic Partnership, we have received several applications. Today, we seek to approve 10 additional applications based on OEP’s recommendations. This brings the program total to assisting 47 approved businesses for a total of about $885,000 in funding.
This program serves an important and significant purpose in maintaining economic vibrancy of downtown Orlando and is necessary in order to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the area.
Ordinances/1st read – No. 2021-13 Business Tax Receipt
We know that many of our businesses city-wide continue to feel the financial impacts of COVID-19.
That is why, in another effort to support our businesses during these trying times, we are hearing the first reading of an amendment to an ordinance that would allow City Council to reduce the penalty fees for delinquent business tax payments.
This item will come for its second reading at the March 22nd City Council meeting.
At the second reading, we will also consider a resolution to reduce the $250.00 delinquency penalty typically assessed for unpaid business tax invoices for this year.
We hope that reducing this fee to zero will provide some relief to our businesses are they continue on their path to recovery.
C#8 – I-4 Ultimate Public Artwork Selection
Also on today’s agenda, we seek to approve a recommendation on the sculpture design for the I-4 Ultimate art selection. The City of Orlando received funding from the I-4 Ultimate Art Endowment for a public art installation. The city held a call for artists for installations that capture the rich history and character of Central Florida and its unique communities.
We received more than 300 submittals and this recommended sculpture design reflects the relationships in our communities and the strength found in unity.
This sculpture will be installed in August near the Colonial Drive Pedestrian Bridge.
A#6 - Tanya Wilder Appointment of Transportation Director
Also, we wanted to highlight the appointment of Tanya Wilder as Transportation Director. She has been serving as the interim Director since December of last year and we know her knowledge of transportation initiatives and expertise in working with local transit and government agencies will be instrumental toward achieving the city’s goals of reimagining and reinventing our transportation network to ensure equitable access for all.
We look forward to continuing to work with Tanya in her new role. Congratulations.
B#7 – Use of Sourcewell Contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc. for the Purchase of Body Worn Cameras, Conducted Energy Weapons, and Related Solutions
As you know, we as a city continue to remain committed to making change to ensure all our department policies and practices, our programs and our investments help to address the gaps in racial disparity here in our community.
And that work includes our Orlando Police Department who remains committed to improving police-citizen encounters, transparency and accountability.
Today we’ll vote on an item that will continue to further those efforts by implementing the latest in body worn camera technology. Advancement in Body Worn Camera technology has significantly improved since OPD first implemented BWC in 2014 and this new equipment will further ensure OPD continues to serve all citizens with professionalism and equips our police officers with state-of-the-art equipment to keep our citizens and officers safe.
The new equipment will feature auto-activated technology which is essentially an automatic “turn on” feature to help allow for officers on-scene to focus on the immediate action in front of them without needing to push a button to record. This technology activates all body-worn cameras on a scene to turn on automatically and begin recording whenever a firearm or a taser is removed from its holster.
We want to thank our Orlando Police Department and officers for their continued commitment to professionalism, transparency and keeping our community safe.