Council Highlights – June 8, 2021
Last updated on April 12, 2021
Council Update - June 8, 2021
General Items
Welcome Back to City Hall and 2021 OBJ’s Healthiest Employer Honoree
We wanted to start off today by welcoming everyone back to City Hall again as we have ended remote work officially last week. We couldn’t be more proud of our team in your professionalism and quick response to adjusting to serve our residents throughout this pandemic.
We are also pleased to announce that the City of Orlando was recently named as one of the Healthiest Employers by the Orlando Business Journal for this year. We want to thank all our employees for helping us achieve this honor.
The health and safety of our employees continues to be a top priority for the city. We want to remind everyone to continue to prioritize your whole health, especially throughout this pandemic - we must continue to take care of ourselves, to take care of others.
Pulse Five-Year Mark
We know it is hard to believe but this Saturday is the five-year mark of the Pulse tragedy. Time may have passed, but our community continues to mourn the 49 angels taken on June 12, 2016, and remains committed to supporting the survivors, families of the victims and first responders.
Under the management of the LGBT Plus Center Orlando, our Orlando United Assistance Center continues to provide personalized services, including mental health support, to those directly impacted.
We were all so proud of our community’s response to the tragedy, when we showed the world what love, unity and compassion look like. And we should all be proud now of how we continue to honor the 49 victims and the survivors by committing to the work to make Orlando even more inclusive and equitable for every person who calls our city home.
Juneteenth
And one week after we recognize the five-year mark, our community will celebrate Juneteenth and the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth provides us an opportunity to recognize the strives gained by Black Americans through determination, perseverance and greater opportunity and to acknowledge that the struggle for equality continues.
Fireworks at the Fountain
Also, a few weeks back we announced the return of the Annual Fireworks at the Fountain at Lake Eola Park. On Sunday, July 4 from 5 to 10 p.m., you can enjoy family fun, live entertainment and food and drinks throughout the park. The spectacular fireworks finale at 9:15 p.m. is accompanied by a live patriotic performance by the Orlando Concert Band.
For COVID-19 safety information and details on how to watch from home, visit orlando.gov/fireworks.
Items of Note
Housing Items – CARES Act Funding
Moving on to items of note, there are a number of items on the 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 12 funding agreements totaling nearly $2.8 million to help our partner agencies care for some of our most vulnerable neighbors 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.
A#3 Mayor’s Matching Grants
Also on today’s agenda we will vote to approve funding for 15 Matching Grant projects.
These grants will support our local neighborhood associations, nonprofit organizations and schools that offer programs that enhance the quality of life in our city by providing adult-supervised enrichment programs for youth during non-school hours, ensuring that we provide opportunities for everyone.
Today's grant projects include adding neighborhood safety features and enhancing the beauty of our neighborhoods; providing critical summer mentoring programs and providing increased access to creative arts, education, career exploration and athletic programs for our youth.
We have representatives from some of these organizations here today and others are joining us virtually.
Thank you for your partnership with the city and for helping us shape a brighter, better future for our residents.
Downtown Safety Item – Ordinances 2nd Read #4
Lastly, at our last council meeting, we voted on a number of items to help provide a safer social environment for our patrons and residents in the Downtown Entertainment Area and to address criminal activity which in one recent instance resulted in a tragic loss of life.
Among the measures discussed was the possibility of limiting the use of sidewalk café space after 10 p.m. Staff is no longer bringing this recommendation forward for consideration at this time.