[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] he [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] n [Music] n [Music] n [Music] h [Music] [Applause] [Music] n [Music] he [Music] n [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] w oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay good afternoon and welcome to the December 9th 2024 meeting of the Orlando city council we're going to begin today's proceedings with the invocation of the Pledge of Allegiance LED today by commissioner Shan Rose commissioner good morning oh good afternoon everyone um if we could bow our heads for those who recognize religion um dear heavenly father thank you for letting us live this the of the day thank you for bringing us together I ask that you continue to watch over us as we make policies and procedures to for the lives of this community and for the betterment of the city of Orlando ask that you continue to watch over us and bless us keep the city safe in Jesus name I pray amen amen I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States United States of America and to the Republic indivisible jusice for Tony Tony time delay he the voice of God I know it'sot is the voice of God so chill out it's okay okay Madame clerk uh would you call the role and make a determination of a quorum and acknowledge that commissioner Ortiz is appearing virtually from it looks like the passenger seat of his [Laughter] car May okay that's a good thing commissioner gray here commissioner Ortiz here commissioner Stewart here commissioner Sheen here inter interim commissioner Rose here commissioner Burns here mayor Dyer here mayor you have a quorum with all members present thank you madam clerk first consideration of business is the uh minutes from the workshop agenda review City Council meetings of November 11th 2024 motion by commissioner Shen second by commissioner Rose all in favor indicate so by saying I I and those posted and so the motion carries okay believe it or not this is the final council meeting of the year so I want to wish everyone here and our entire Community happy holidays and a Happy New Year and I want to thank all of the city of Orlando team members for a great year of incredible service to the city um over the last 12 years continuing the string of service of best municipal services and the entire State of Florida so thank you for that it is also the final council meeting for our chief administrative officer Kevin Edmonds who is retiring where is Kevin there he is he is retiring after 35 years with the city of Orlando and that means he's worked for more than 13,000 days in the service of the citizens of Orlando and Kevin wanted to be as he usually is reserved and without a whole lot of fanfare in the meeting but we certainly want to um acknowledge him deserving recognition for all that he's done for our community over the years he's been guiding our city functions as CAO for the last six years and he has served in virtually every Department in the city of Orlando beginning with OPD um and it's hard to sum up the impact that he had but because of Kevin's leadership the city has been able to deliver the best municipal Services of any city in Florida so Kevin we thank you for your service and wish you and Amy the best and I know you'll be traveling quite a bit and uh wish you safe and fun travels come on I love which brings us to one of our agenda items because Kevin is retiring um the first item on our consent agenda is the appointment of SJ FJ Flynn as our next CEO and FJ has been Deputy C CAO for The Last 5 Years and has 25 years with the city of Orlando and I did not add up the number of days that comes with 25 years but that's a lot and he has uh been well trained whenever I appoint either a a chief administrative officer or chief level or a department level I tell them their very first job is to train the person that will replace you and Kevin has done an excellent job in training the person that will uh replace him so FJ you've got big shoes to fill but we know you can do that and he's hiding in the corner he's learn how oh yeah there he is okay and it we always acknowledge birthdays uh since our last meeting commissioner Stewart has had a birthday so as is our custom commissioner gray would you lead us in happy birthday oh get ready folks ready Happ birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday St happy birthday thank you very much I'd like to Tony now do it acapello okay it's an incredible time to be a sports fan in our city especially a soccer fan since we met last the Orlando Pride brought home the nwsl championship along with the shield uh which is means they had the best regular season record and they set every type of record you could think of from uh longest winning streak to longest street week not losing to most points scored in a season points being uh points for games one and tied so um we celebrated them on the uh with a parade and then a celebration on the steps of City Hall but not only that the Orlando City team Advanced to the Conference Finals which is the furthest they have been and uh the magic are probably the biggest surprise in the NBA and they are on fire even when their their uh two most important players are hurt they continue to win so could be a pretty darn good year here in the city of Orlando and next up is college football postseason and again we'll be hosting three bowls bowl games at Camping World beginning with a cure Bowl on December 20th couple other items on the consent agenda today uh we'll be voting to approve funding for 13 mayor's matching Grant projects and they these grants support local schools neighborhood associations uh not for profits and enhance our communities quality of life I know there's a number of representatives from these agencies here today organizations here today um if you would stand up and let us recognize you for the work that you do in our community and then also on today's agenda are two funding agreements for rehabilitation projects that support the preservation of affordable housing uh we'll be Prov providing a million dollars from cdbg Grants to Grand Avenue economic Community Development Corporation and to housing and neighborhood development services hands um one is to replace roofs on 132 permanent permanent Supportive Housing units and the other is to fix the plumbing fixtures and bathroom facilities at 36 Apartments so we continue to work with our Community Partners to make sure that everybody regardless of economic status has the ability to access quality housing that is safe and affordable with that we're going to move on to the agenda which is a number of items that are act upon through a single vote of council we uh give each of our commissioners the opportunity to comment on the consent agenda items on important happenings from the districts we rotate the order that we do that and commissioner Rose is first up today good afternoon again and Commissioners and everyone in the audience um so it's a lot going on in District 5 um so I'm going to do a small recap um I was thrilled to cut the ribbon at Tech Hub Orlando which is located at 36 West Pine Street this is a significant milestone in our community this is a partnership between UCF business incubation program innovate Orlando OMG Labs starter studio and many others this is our forward movement of um securing the next generation of tech here in Orlando if you haven't been you should check out the location um partnership with WWE is continued to be amazing they allow our youth in the community to come Tuesday evenings to watch it live um a lot of the centers that have visited uh come back and they are Nows and they come in um Wednesdays after the shows and talk about the great things and the the different wrestlers so it's a different opportunity for me exposing our youth to all possible opportunities of jobs doesn't just include your typical going and working a 9o5 but it could be in production it could be in sales it could be in anything dealing with the outside world so it's just an exposure um it's not just a wrest and I've made a promise and a commitment I've had all my youth that go I remind them no wrestling moves allowed uh in the community um I want to remind everyone that I continue to host a monthly food distribution every second Thursday of the month at 8:04 CER Street starting at 11:00 a.m. until supplies are gone this is the opportunity to address food insecurity um I want to congratulate old school 101 they celebrated three 3,000th episode um they're a great Community partner here in the city of Orlando not just in the district District I want to do a special shout out to my staff marjerie uh don as well as Corporal Manny um the police liaison for their dedication and commitment to District 5 meeting the needs of this community um Corporal Manny is probably he brings a different perspective because he's been a detective so meeting some of the needs of this community but more so our youth and spending time with our community he's been able to bring out OPD to do drone shows and car painting um to do community policing and bridge the gap between law enforcement and our youth and so just want to do a special shout out to all the staff um I want to congratulate FAMU for winning Florida classic game against bth cook this year go ahead I'll give him a second of my during my announcements um um thank you to the Florida centr Sports and all the partners we had a record 56,57 people in attendance at the game I want to give a special shout out to Rodney Williams from the parks department Justin Kinsey um with Westlakes District Pat Nicks with Nicks exclusive and other partners for making my free free community concert with um the rapper pla at Lake ladun a success um we look forward to next year being bigger and better um during the con before artists started performing I was able to recognize over 64 Community leaders uh this work isn't just me as the commissioner it is everybody's collaborative effort both our neighborhood association presidents as well as all of the other Community Partners who play a role in our youth's lives in the community um providing safety coming and talking about their concerns so I took some time out before the concert to really recognize them um during classic weekend I want to also thank the Metro Orlando National panh helenic Council which nphc is the name um we had a great they had a great stroll and some fun at the yard on the Saturday um in the Lake ladun Park one of the things that we're looking to do is to activate Lake ladun Park as we have activities and events at Florida CIT Sports so for my venue staff that's a WI wink um and as well as to Rodney over in Parks but it's to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to experience the great things that we have to offer here in the city um commissioner Stewart and I had a showdown at Camping World um the day after Classic uh the Rosemont Ravens which is his football team and the Jackson Saints which are from District 5 based off in the uh football championship the Ravens won a flag but I'm glad to say that he did not home all the Championships because my peeee and juniors they won so congratulations to the um the Jackson Saints um for that it was a great time um more than just being a football game we allow the kids to play at Camping World so they see the bigger picture like that's what they have to look forward to being in The Big Field and playing um big congratulations to Orlando Pride for those who don't know Orlando Pride our women's soccer team they won the champion the national championship we had a parade to celebrate them um and this is not just about them this is about our city and our community as a whole and we look forward to um as commissioner Sheen would say everyone coming um uh holder passholders season passholders season ticket holders and um getting your tickets um I want to thank United against poverty for their partnership for Thanksgiving we provided meals to our neighborhood centers within the district and they also unveiled their new mobile food truck which will be a way to address our um food insecurities within District 5 for those that don't know we don't really have a grocery store so we do a lot of food drives in the community to address our um food insecurity our food needs I also got to learn that our kids um I might have to work on a cooking class for them because what I did was on talking to the kids when the youth at the center is they're telling different things that they're going to cook so I'm going to look at um hopefully uh Lisa and and Rodney don't get me too hard but looking at expanding some cooking options for the kids at the centers I also want to thank Lee Wesley for assisting with turkeys throughout the community we were able to help the West Orlando Jaguars Rock Lake Elementary and many of the residents uh with turkeys we had a large event and I want to thank Orlando City soccer Republic United Way interco Black Ink Orlando Health Pepsi Takis Fredo Spice World o ovg spice and many other volunteers we were able to we were able to provide over 1500 families at the soccer stadium with um uh meals for Thanksgiving um we are having another free tree fruit tree giveaway with the sustainability team on December 17th at Mig Farm there is no registration it's a first come first serve we had an event a couple weeks ago and some of the residents said that they weren't able to get a tree and this is the opportunity I want to thank OU and Arbor foundation for this partnership I want to thank the adult literacy league for their hard work in the community I was able to recently join them for a fundraiser event it was amazing um it was held at the Orlando Science Center there are a lot of great things happening in District 5 I want everybody to take out their phones and follow the page on Facebook and Instagram to keep in tune with what is going on cuz I can spend all day talking about what we are doing so I'm going to move on to the agenda cuz the mayor's probably like giving me faces down there um I'm sad to see Kevin leave um through the years he's been super supportive of the ideas and projects that I've had um we're kind of figure out a way uh staff and I going to figure out a way to make sure he doesn't leave we're going to work on that I'm also glad for the appointment of FJ as a new CEO um it has been a pleasure working with FJ for over the last 11 years I look forward to many more so I'm going to share a story that FJ probably he does remember so when I first started in the city of 20 here in 2013 um we had a lot of issues of people almost getting hit under the underpass underneath the coming from the parking garage into the city so the parking people kept saying we need to do something we need to do something FJ was the deputy director of edv at the time and I said FJ I need your help I said something big but something small he said what I said we need to put a speed bump and so the speed hump that you see there is a partnership that we worked out and it shows that like you can can talk to you can talk to upper level management here at city with ideas that you have on how to create better safety opportunities and so that's just small story hope he's not blushing cuz I can't see him he's hiding um under M3 I am a little disappointed because um I do not see any District 5 appointments when we talk about the for so those who may not have an agenda M3 is the reappointments and appointments to our city advisory boards I'm disappointed because I don't see anyone from District 5 I have made a request and I first started to get a breakdown of what boards District 5 is represented on um and I will continue to work with the clerk's office there are a couple of vacan coming up I would say this District 5 residents and some of the businesses are kind of disappointed because through the years they have not had appointments but I will guarantee and reassure the community in District 5 that I am going to continue to fight I want everybody to be encouraged and continue to apply for advisory boards that are open let me know when you apply and I'll continue to work with the clerk's office but I am kind of disappointed that there's no one from District 5 under M4 Dr Florence Alexander has reached out um about the hairs matching Grant application and I'm asking staff to work with her to address her concerns I am glad to see a lot of the organizations being awarded cdbg and I will now turn it over to next in line thank you mayor thank you commissioner Burns all right thank you mayor good afternoon everyone uh City staff and everyone who who are in attendance today uh I like i' like to say congratul FJ for his appointment as our new ceao and I would like to also say thank you to Kevin uh for your service to our great City and just being uh there always answering the call answering my phone calls when I called you but also for your great Council uh when I joined the the commission and uh had a few questions so I just want to say thank you and I wish you godp speed with uh everything you have planned for your future uh mayor we did forget about one big major additional uh Sports um excitement that's happening if you don't know Jones High School 14 and0 is has progressed to the um state for a state championship which will be played this Friday so just want to say congratulations to our Tigers congratulations to principal Norwood uh coach Williams uh the parents and supporters uh cuz we're really excited the uh Jones has had a great team over the last few years but going for 15 and0 we're pushing for 15 and0 for the state championship and so uh when we get there uh I'll make sure I grab uh commissioner Stewart so we can celebrate together because we did beat the Eagles this year I've I've already bought them pizza that's might need something else Champion yeah so we we're excited to uh support the Tigers this this weekend commissioner my aola Cowboys are in the other as well yeah Central Florida is is well regulated yep yep y well represented all right also uh on 11:12 I was honored to partner with the My Brothers Keeper uh program to for a backpack giveaway at Carvin middle school and Memorial Middle School uh November the 13th I had the opportunity to present a proclamation at the Florida coalition to end homelessness annual meeting to the homeless Services Network on of Central Florida on the mayor's behalf uh proclaiming November 2024 as youth homelessness Awareness Month I would like to congratulate the homeless Services Network for their success in their brighter days Community initiative to combat youth homelessness through a housing first approach providing safe immediate access to Housing Solutions so uh homeless Services Network please keep up uh that strong work also in an effort to ensure that the families throughout district 6 had all the trimmings for Thanksgiving my office collaborated with uh the ifu foundation he got up Route 7 of Orlando the kaah chapter of Omega scii fraternity uh for thanks uh Thanksgiving food uh distributions now I'd like to thank the staff of the Dr James R Smith Center Grand Avenue neighborhood center and the El Claudia Allen Center for helping to make these events uh a success also on 11:20 I had the pleasure of participating with my police Lea on Corporal Rogers at the uh Wasington Shores Primary Care Learning teach in it was a great event uh also on uh the Friday of the Florida classic I had the opportunity to at the Florida classic Consortium kickoff lunch and I was honored to present uh Scholarships in the amount of $2,500 to four deserving students attending Florida A&M and bth cookman universities these this money uh is given directly to the students to help with uh anything you know associated with