Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey everybody. Everybody Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. Hey.
Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey. Hey,
hey, hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. meeting of the Orlando City Council. We're going to begin today's proceedings with the invocation and the pledge of allegiance led by Commissioner Keane.
Invocation first. All right. Good afternoon. May is known as Asian-American Pacific Island Heritage Month. This month we honor the resilience, innovations, and lasting contributions of AAPI communities throughout American history. So today, I'd like to highlight one of
those contributions in honor and an important historical figure in Orlando's history, Liu Jim Gong. He was a Chinese American pioneer who became known as a citrus wizard in Central Florida, using his horicultural expertise to develop oranges that could withstand severe
weather. Despite facing discrimination in his lifetime, his contribution to the field of agriculture helped revolutionize the Florida citrus industry, leaving a deep impact on the state's agriculture and economic sectors and developing our city beautiful as it is today. As we continue to celebrate
AAIP Heritage Month, we recognize not only the historic achievements of AAPI individuals, but also the diverse voices, cultures, and leaders who continue to strengthen our community today. I leave you with the words of Liu
Jengong. No one should live in this world for himself alone, but to do good for those who come after him. Please stand. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
stands one nation under Godisible and justice for all. >> Thank you, Commissioner Keane. We will call the meeting to order. Madam clerk, would you call the role and make a determination of a quorum, please? >> Commissioner Keane, >> here. Commissioner Ortiz
>> here. >> Commissioner Chapen >> here. >> Commissioner Sheen >> here. >> Commissioner Rose >> here. >> Commissioner Burns >> here. >> Mayor Dyer >> here. >> Mayor, you have a quorum with all members present. >> Thank you, Madam Clerk. First order of business is consideration of minutes from the April 20th, 26th
>> city council agenda and workshop meetings. Motion by Commissioner Chapen, second by Commissioner Burns. All in favor indicate so by saying I. I. Those opposed. Motion carries. Okay, we're going to move to awards presentations um
and recognitions. And this is one of my very favorite council meetings of the year. And I bet um a large majority of you that are here today, it's either your first meeting or the only meeting that you will attend this year. Um and
it's because we are celebrating our 2025 employees of the year who've been selected because of their dedication for serving our residents and supporting their colleagues. And we have four very deserving individuals that we are going to recognize. Now I'm going to call on
Jessica Mason who is our assistant director of human resources to give an overview of the awards and the individual honores. Jessica. >> Thank you Mayor Dyer. Good afternoon Mayor Dyer commissioners and guests. It is my pleasure to announce the 2025
employee of the year award winners. The purpose of the city's employee recognition program is to motivate, recognize, and retain employees who demonstrate excellence in public service. The most prestigious honor presented through this program is the
employee of the year award. Only the very best employees are nominated for this distinguished recognition. This year, 18 nominations were received and four outstanding employees were selected as our 2025 employee of the year
recipients. The 2025 employee of the year recipients are L. Beth Perez, fiscal manager, departmental and economic development. Anna Cruz, office for local assistance supervisor and communications and
neighborhood relations, Alyssa Mousaceio, sustainability project manager in the office of sustainability and resilience, and Donna Abdala, computer operator 2 and transportation. Mayor, if you could please come down for
the award and presentation. Uh the director for each of these outstanding employees will now introduce them and share highlights of their accomplishments. First, uh the presenter will be Lillian Scott Payne, director of economic development, who will introduce
L. Beth Perez, followed by April Michael, director of communications and neighborhood relations, who will introduce Anna Cruz. Next, Mike Hess, director of sustainability sustainability and resilience, will introduce Alyssa Masio.
And finally, Christina Martin, director of transportation, will introduce Donna Abdala. I'll first welcome Lillian up to the stage. Good afternoon, mayor, commissioners, and guests. I am thrilled to stand here today to celebrate an extraordinary
individual, someone whose work ethic, character, and quiet but powerful leadership has elevated not just her team, not just her department, but the entire city organization. As the saying goes, the most valuable gift you can give to humanity is a good example. And LSBth
Perez embodies this truth every single day. LSBth has been the economic development department's fiscal manager for over 10 years. And this week, she celebrates 14 years with the city of Orlando. She oversees a number of operational functions within the department and an
annual operating budget of approximately $140 million across multiple funds and critical city programs. She manages financial forecasting, reporting, and compliance, and monitors budgets for 12 organizational units within the
department, requiring a deep understanding of each unit's fiscal and operational needs. Yet, even while managing such significant responsibility, she does so with an everpresent smile, moving effort
effortlessly through the challenges that would make others falter. Without a doubt, an important part of what LSE Beth excels in is team engagement and education. She is known in our department as the HR guru. Sorry,
Anna. She understands the importance of detailed research and has had great success in addressing challenging job reclassifications, which ultimately benefits the city team and her colleagues career aspirations. She directly manages a team of seven
employees as well as oversees the city's very busy cashier's office. Her unique instructional and collaborative approach coupled with her bilingual skills helps even the most reluctant employees open up, actively listen, and connect, leading to greater team success.
Elizabeth brings so much to the table each day. Her impact goes far beyond her technical abilities. She regularly displays a selfless attitude and she gravitates towards helping others achieve their goals. Having come to the United States from Venezuela in 2006,
LSE Beth as a young adult demonstrated great courage leaving her friends and relatives behind to make a better life for herself and ultimately forming a new family here in the US. Becoming a citizen two years after starting with the city, she has demonstrated resilience and true
leadership by helping others in similar situations. LSBth's kindness and generosity shine through when she coached a now retired city employee who at the time had an immigration status of permanent resident to become a citizen. She spent hours of her personal time
guiding her colleague through the tedious process and even attended his naturalization ceremony. Her kindness kindness truly has no limits. LSBth willingly and caringly administers the economic development department's care
team fund. Her creativity and compassion has elevated the care team fund and grown it over the last 10 years. The fund helps EDV employees that are struggling with unexpected life challenges. Curated amounts are discreetly provided to any employee in need.
The care team committee led by LSE Beth administers the program funds and organizes donationdriven events supporting the fund's overall mission to help others. This approach ultimately benefits not only the individual but the department as a whole since stress is
reduced, problems are lessened and the feeling of being valued is enhanced. And having received help, the recipients more often than not go on to assist in the future, either through future donations or other means, creating a legacy of care.
In closing, LSBth is more than just a talented fiscal manager. She is a cornerstone of our city family. Her unique blend of financial precision, deep empathy, and unassuming leadership has created a legacy of excellence.
LSBth, thank you for your 14 years of dedicated service, for your wisdom, and for always leading with a smile that makes the hard work look easy. Please join me in congratulating LS Beth Perez on this well-deserved honor and
celebrate the incredible example she sets for us all. I didn't know you got a check. Yeah, we did. >> Oh, yeah. 7:50. Anybody else? I'm going to be lost. Thank you very much.
All right. Good afternoon, mayor and commissioners. I'm happy to be with you today to honor Anna Cruz as a 2025 employee of the year. Anna is the kind of public servant who reminds us why this work matters.
She shows up every day with compassion, determination, and a deep belief that every resident, no matter their background, deserves to feel supported and welcomed in our city. Anna doesn't just identify needs, she responds to them. And while I can only share a few
examples today, her impact stretches far beyond what we have time to highlight. For instance, when she realized Englewood residents needed English classes, she partnered with the Adult Literacy League to bring those classes directly into the neighborhood with participation. When participation was
low in the city's energy savings program, she led outreach that boosted applications by 116%. And helped residents lower their bills. And thanks to her encouragement, Englewood had the highest turnout in the adult literacy program. Her compassion
shows in both big and small moments. When an immigrant mother and her newborn faced a sudden crisis, Anna organized a donation drive, secured food support, and made sure that they had what they needed during an incredibly difficult time. She also established a partnership with
local nonprofits and that connected 152 individuals and families, many facing language barriers and limited access to services, to essential legal support and guidance. As the leader of the OLA office, Anna has created a welcoming, resourceri
environment. She established a clothing closet and food donation program so families in crisis could get immediate help. And she has even handd delivered bus passes so residents could reach job interviews and medical appointments. She leads by example, always the first
to step in, always the first to support our team, and always the one connecting departments and partners to serve our community. Anna and her team were recently reorganized into my office. And although I've worked with her for years, I hadn't fully realized just how much she and her staff were doing, or how
deeply their work was touching residents. Seeing her day-to-day operations up close has made it clear how committed they are to meeting people where they are and helping them navigate incredibly challenging moments. Their impact is not only felt by the community, but inspired our entire
office and her co-workers citywide. What stands out most is the way Anna treats every person who walks through the Olador. She listens without rushing, guides without judgment, and walks with residents through complex systems until they feel confident and supported.
Anna's work strength strengthens our trust. Anna's work strengthens trust in our city and changes lives every day. She is a connector, a problem solver, a team builder, and above all, a compassionate leader. Anna, we're so
grateful for all the work you do for our residents, our city teammates, and the community. Congratulations. Okay. Good afternoon, mayor, council, everyone else. Um, it's exciting to be here today. Britney's actually going to join me, our assistant director, since she
did a lot of hard work pushing this application over the finish line, but it was welld deserved. It is our pleasure today to recognize Alyssa Maceio as one of the employees of the year. And also, one day late, happy Mother's Day. She brought Amelia. Hi, Amelia.
>> She won't even look at me. Um, so Britney is just going to mention a few things about Alyssa and the amazing work she's been doing. And just to add on to what Mike said, this wasn't hard to do at all because Alyssa is an absolute rock star. So,
first, in the past few years, she has more than doubled the size of our garden education program and now teaches about 200 students per year about growing their own food. And she's also expanded that program over the past year from growing to cooking through a unique
partnership with the kitchen house. She also manages over 500 volunteers from all kinds of organizations to maintain our beautiful community gardens throughout the city. And whenever a challenge emerges outside of her normal role, she always steps up to help with a
smile on her face and a pep in her step. One recent example uh is when we had to provide a 90 uh 90 session digital literacy classes up against a pretty tight grant deadline. Alyssa jumped right in to help coordinate it with our neighborhood centers and it flowed
seamlessly. She also recently received a very welldeserved promotion to sustainability project manager for all this hard work. >> And I think beyond the work uh even more important many of us uh think of her as
our ray of sunshine because she is such an uplifting force for all of us. uh you know, the little kids that she teaches all the way up to senior staff. If you're ever ever having a bad day, just go see Alyssa and she will instantly
cheer you up with some sort of story. Um it's just amazing. So, um she also u plans all the birthday celebrations in our office. I know there's one coming up that she's planning right now. So, she's just she really uplifts the whole team.
Uh, Amelia liked that one. Uh, so because of her hard work and uplifting spirit, I honestly can't think of anyone more deserving for employee of the year than Alyssa. Uh, so congratulations, Alyssa. chair. department. Anybody
Awesome. I can't wait. >> Good afternoon. I am beyond honored to be the person from our transportation department who introduces an exceptional operator in our traffic management center for the 2025 employee of the
year, our TMC queen, Donna Abdullah. So to start off, you all must know the star that we are honoring today. Donna graduated from high school and went into the Navy stationed at Guantanamo. She moved to Orlando in 1984, worked for Disney, and then found her home in the
city of Orlando, and had three kids. Donna has been an operator at the traffic management center, get ready for this, since it opened in 1987, 39 years. Back in 1987, the city had 365 traffic
signals, and today there are over 530. So, that's quite an accomplishment. Um, but Donna's magic and what makes Donna Donna is that she listens. It is no surprise that after 39 years, Donna's aptitude and incredible depth of
knowledge about the city's signal system is a gift for all those she engages. She readily shares with those who have come behind her. And just as importantly, her warm Arkansas personality puts those who she trains and those who she listens to
at ease. Donna and our TMC team are on the front lines during times of natural disaster or crisis. Donna listens as she takes community calls. Donna listens as she coordinates responses and as she quickly but carefully works with the TMC
team to restore signals. Donna listens to her team to keep our community moving safely. You don't get the name TMC queen unless you are the goat greatest of all time. Donna serves as a vital link between the public and the city's
traffic signal operations. How does she do it? Donna listens. Over these four decades, Donna has helped keep our city moving safely where signals were essential to get our city back up and running after Hurricane Debbie, Fay, Ernesto, Tammy, Jean,
Francis, Charlie, Irene, Aaron, Gordon, Keith, and Bob. The holiday season can also be challenging time on our roadways, especially near hightraic areas like the Mall of Millennia. Donna received repeated complaints about a signal in that area. She could have dismissed it as typical holiday
congestion, but not Donna. Instead, Donna listened, identified the cause, the issue, and acted ahead of the holiday surge. Our holiday rush moves a lot smoother because it was Donna who worked with the TMC timing engineer to improve signal coordination coordination
and followed up with those drivers who had called it in. Not only does Donna listen, but she also follows through. While her work may often go unseen, especially from inside the four walls of the TMC, her impact is felt across the entire community during critical
moments. Donna, we are so grateful you are recognized today for all you have done for the city of Orlando. Thank you, Donna, for four decades of service. And thank you for listening. Find a bed. Thank you.
Congratulations. Okay, I guess it wasn't lost on anybody that all four recipients were women and three of the four department directors were women as well. Okay, that brings us to the mayor's
update. So, I have a little bit longer update than I usually do because we have so much good stuff going on. Um, I want to start with uh an announcement that we made last week that Orlando is an Olympic city.
>> How about that? We are going to play a key role in the road to the 2028 Olympics in LA. We have been selected to host the Olympic Q series in June of 28. Um the event will be in and around Camping World Stadium
and bring athletes from all over the world to qualify in up to six different sports. We're one of four global stops. So it's Tokyo, Shanghai, Montreal, and Orlando. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Um, another high-profile
event that solidifies our spot as the nation's premier sports destination. Jason Seagull and our Great Orlando Sports Commission were heavily involved in making this happen. And I want Jason to come up and give us some of the more of the specifics.
Nice suit, Jason. You want to tell us about that? Mayor, this is the air suit by twillery. Always high fashion. Um, mayor, commissioners, city staff, uh, thank you for the opportunity to be with you today. Uh, as the mayor
mentioned, some uh, some great news last week. Uh, really really happy to join you today. Um, if I could, um, this this, uh, opportunity was eight years in the making. Mayor, you often read proclamations, but I do have the award letter with me and love to read the
first paragraph. Uh uh sincerely thank the entire Orlando team for the commitment demonstrated during the candidature phase of the Olympic Q series in 2028 for 2028. We've been impressed with the visionary nature of your project. We also greatly appreciate
the valued open, respectful, and collaborative way in which you and the team in Orlando engaged to explore opportunities and address every challenge throughout the process. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that we confirm that the International Olympic Committee Executive Board at its
meetings held on May 6th and 7th has selected Orlando uh chills as a host city for the Olympic Q series in 2028. Uh the decision reflects both the strength of your concept and the confidence placed in Orlando's ability
to deliver an exceptional event for athletes and fans alike. Um with that um indeed eight years in the making. You mentioned the global gateway cities that we'll partner with. Um a long um but uh exciting process as our organization has
spent uh probably somewhat up of 30 years. Our 35th anniversary is coming up. Um working with uh a number of uh US Olympic governing bodies, but now taking it a step further with our partners in Lausanne, Switzerland for the
opportunity to now host uh an Olympic qualifier. A lot of folks involved, the US Olympic and Parolympic Committee. Uh the LA 2018, we will be partnering and be part of the LA uh summer Olympics. Um, also want to thank uh Mayor Demings and the Orange County Commissioner's
approval of the TDT funding to support the pursuit. Um, Alan Johnson and Craig Borin are both here today with us from uh the venues team, Orlando Venues team, we can't do this and and half of the work that we do with without them. Um, Visit Orlando Florida Sports Foundation,
CFHLA, um, Universal Orlando Resort will be a partner on this. our chairman Caesar Lopez and our chair elect Tammy Gustoson are here with us today as well as uh Brent Nelson who's with our organization for 30 years. Uh Jennifer Lastic's
getting ready to start her 20th year with us. Um and um we're really uh all of them played a critical role. Um we have a two-year leadup mayor. Um we have a bold vision for what this can look like. Uh you mentioned uh there'll be
somewhere between 6 and 700 athletes. um 100 to 150 of those will qualify and will have uh qualified for the summer Olympics here in Orlando in multiple sports. So, we're really uh thrilled um to welcome the International Olympic
Committee, our uh US Olympic Committee along with um a number of different international federations and um uh governing bodies of sport here to Orlando. Uh we've got a lot of work to do, but uh we're uh proud that you've put a lot of trust in the organizations
and uh thank you for your steadfast support. Mayor >> Jason mentioned the six potential sports as well. >> Sure. Uh climbing, uh skateboarding, uh uh we've got um flag football, we've got beach volleyball, we've got 3v3
basketball, and BMX. So uh six great sports. um we'll see some combination of those uh here in our community along with uh a terrific leadup. I'd be remiss if I didn't also say there's um going to be the opportunity for significant
activations in our community leading up to the event uh as we partner with each of those different sports governing bodies. Uh so we're looking forward to uh making sure that uh this is a this is not just a sporting event. This will be a music, art, and sport festival that
will take place on the grounds of Camping World Stadium. Uh if all goes according to plan, we'll have a kickoff welcome reception the evening of June 7th and then be on the fair ground. We'll be on the grounds, the Camping World Stadium grounds June 8th through June 11th, four days
>> and we're the last stop before the Olympics. So we'll have all the finals culminating here. >> Yes, mayor. So all of it will culminate here and then uh that'll be on the 11th and then the opening ceremonies uh if you want to mark your calendar for the summer Olympics in LA are July 15th. So
just a short couple of weeks later uh in Los Angeles. >> Well, awesome. Great work. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mayor. >> Thank you. So, a few weeks ago, Oh, hey the whole team over there, everybody that's involved, stand up. >> Nice.
Uh, a few weeks ago, our region lost a great leader and community champion, and that's Charlie Gray. Charlie's diplomacy and advocacy resulted in countless monumental developments in Central Florida. He's involved in bringing Disney here. He's involved in bringing
UCF here, the Turnpike, the Expressway Authority, and on and on and on and on. If you ever had an opportunity to listen to Charlie's stories, um you'd be amazed at the insight and advocacy and vibrance he brought to our community. Charlie and
his wife sailed around the world. Um not too many people other than Mellin, I guess, have done that. and they actually tracked Mellin's path all the way around the world. So he leaves a lasting legacy in our community and I'd like to just have one more moment of silence for him.
Thank you. The swans have been in the news uh unfortunately for a number of them passing away from the aven flu and they've been a constant in our community for a long time having started out
Sentinel had a good article uh yesterday I think it was on the fact that they had started out and Lake Lucern when Lake Lucern didn't look exactly like it uh did today and had to navigate alligators and all types of thing but have survived
um through this latest um tragedy in terms of losing a number of them and the well-being of our swans is first and foremost of importance to us remains our highest priority and since we had the aven flu we have been closely consulting
with state federal partners um and experts in swan care and we have decided that it would be prudent to pause the swan program and work with partners in animal care to rehome them. Um, if
you've been following our master plan, we're about to undertake major construction in Lake Eola Park and it would not be conducive for the well-being of the swans over the course of probably the next 3 years or so. So, at the end of that construction period, we will revisit um whether to
reintroduce the swans. It would probably be in a more limited number than we currently have. Um it turns out that uh most of the experts would tell you that we have had more swans than we need to have. Now that does not mean that there
won't be wild swans that visit us um from time to time and there may be a number of wild swans that decide since the swans that were resident there have left it's a good place for them to come and visit and we will try to establish the same rules of not feeding the swans
and and caring for them. So I want to thank the staff and the volunteers, Commissioner Sheen for all their work and advocacy over the years, but I think this is the most prudent step we need to take right now. Items of note on the
uh consent agenda. We have a contract for design build services for our Orlando fire training facility and that is with McCree Builders. a new start state-of-the-art training facility that'll be over by the expressway
authority and our emergency operations center to provide advanced hands-on um training including a burn tower, trench rescue, vehicle extrication, confined space rescue, structural collapse training to enhance our firefighter
readiness. It'll be the first time we have everything together in one place. Also on today's agenda item B15 is Church Street Festival Street design project as part of the DTO action plan enhancing Church Street to support
greater mobility, walkability and economic activity in downtown. We have a strive agreement that is item D4 with Kratos Defense and Security Solutions. They provide military organizations worldwide with training related products
and services ranging from curriculum development to AirQu training centers. Um they will be investing 67 million into their new 200,000 square foot facility creating a 100 new jobs by the end of 2032.
Last week, we celebrated the graduations of our Orlando Kids Zone programs and recognized the 20th anniversary of PKZ. We'll be supporting our kids zones partners by funding new image youth center, which provides afterchool programs and page 15, which is a not
for-profit offering literacy and youth development programs. Um, today's agenda also includes several projects that continue strengthening Orlando's foodie scene in our downtown. Um I don't know how many Michelin recognized restaurants
we have now. Um but we are have great momentum in bringing restaurants downtown with our restaurant incentive program. So there's a new food hall near Lake Yiola Xiang Kitchen and the expansion of Crest are a few of the
actions that'll be um taking place. So great news for all of the foodies that want to have a great meal downtown. All right, with that we're going to move on to the consent agenda. And the consent agenda is a number of items acted upon through it. Single vote of council. We give each of the council members an
opportunity to comment on the consent agenda and updates you on important happenings from their district. We rotate the order that we do that. And first up today is Commissioner Keane. >> All right. Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate that. Uh on April 23rd, I
toured a gift for teaching. It's an amazing program that offers free supplies directly to teachers across Orange County and and the city of Orlando. And I'm proud to join them and community partners and volunteers on June the 4th to help a good for teachers prepare backpacks for students as they
head back to school uh in the fall. If you'd like to participate, you can reach out to my office. Investing in our students means investing in the future of Orlando. I was honored to attend the expansion celebration of the Renaissire Foundation in East Orlando uh on April the 30th.
This organization plays an important role in supporting local families in strengthening the community investment in programs that provide opportunity, resources, and support services help create a stronger future for residents across the region. And I want to thank the Renaisser Foundation for their continued efforts in Orlando. On May
5th, I participated in the groundbreaking celebration for Heron Bay neighborhood in in District 1 and celebrated important investment in future of our community. New neighborhood development brings opportunities for families, support economic growth, and helps meet the needs of Orlando's growing population.
I appreciated the opportunity to meet with leadership from Greater Orlando Aviation Authority on May 6th at Orlando International to discuss continued growth, infrastructure investments, and the future of air travel in Central Florida. As one of the region's most important economic drivers, MCO plays a
vital role in supporting tourism, business development, and job creation throughout Orlando. I recently visited the YMCA swim classes in District 1. Lake Nona YMCA is a truly unique community asset. District 1 is home to the only YMCA colllocated with an
elementary school, allowing swim lessons to be directly integrated into the children's physical education curriculum. This partnership ensures that water safety and swimming skills are taught early and consistently as part of school learning. In addition to serving students, the YMCA offers swim
instruction to residents of all ages, creating opportunities for lifelong learning, recreation, and water safety. On the consent agenda, just like to echo the mayor's comment on 3D4 uh with the Strive uh incentive agreement with
Kratos. looking forward to their expansion here in District One and the hundreds of jobs that they're going to be adding to our local uh workforce. And lastly, but certainly not least, I want to extend my heartfelt grad uh congratulations to the graduating seniors of Innovation High School be
their first uh high school graduation, Lake Nona High School, Cypress Creek High School, and Colonial High School. I commend these students for their hard work, perseverance, and achievements throughout their high school careers. And I recognize the support of families, teachers, and school communities who helped guide them along the way. As they move on to the next chapter, whether
college, career training, or military service, I'd like to encourage them to continue striving for excellence and take pride in the strong foundation that they built here in Orange County and Orlando. Thank you, sir. >> Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Ortiz.
>> Thank you, Mayor. First of all, let me start by congratulating the recipients of the employee employees of the year award. you know, these these guys work hard and sometimes we just live our life without really acknowledging the hard work they do. So,
uh, congratulations once again. I'm going to start with the agenda. Um, item 4G, the um that's going to be uh the CRA um agreement we have with the the NEC neighborhood improvement center. I mean,
National Entrepreneur Center led by Miss Belinda Kirkar. I'm really proud of that agreement and I'm looking forward to the great things that you guys continue doing. So, thank you so very much. We appreciate it. All right. On issues of our community,
on April 25th, I proudly attended the 10th annual Florida Puerto Rican parade. Woo! Boy, that was place was packed. Festival in downtown Orlando, joining thousand in celebrating Puerto Rican's culture, heritage, and community. This year's theme was build the future in
Puerto Rico. I would have called it build a future in Orlando because that place was really pack um owner Jabukoa and highlighted the resilience pride and spirit of the Puerto Rican community from the music and dancing to the flags lining Orange Avenue. Uh the event was a
vibrant celebration of unity and tradition. The place was really packed. I've never seen Orange Orange Avenue is so packed with people. On the evening of April 26, I had the honor of attending the mayor's MLK Youth Humanitarian Award, which recognized outstanding
students who embody legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through their leadership, service, and character. It was an inspiring evening celebrating young uh change ma uh change makers who are making a meaningful impact in the schools and communities throughout
through compassion, dedication, and service to others. Thank you, Marcia Hope Goodwin, uh Reggie McIll for the invitation. Mayor, thank you too. I know that you were there earlier. On the morning of April 30th, I attended the Renaissance Foundation ribbon coding
ceremony celebrating the opening of a new facility and the expansion of community organization service east Orlando and Avido. These expansions reflect strong collaboration and continued commitment to increasing access to services and supporting the growth and well-being of our community.
On the morning of May 1st, I had the privilege of joining Mayor Dyer, Commissioner Burns, and Wendover uh House Partners for the groundbreaking of Legacy Place, the Clear Lake uh neighborhood. The important project will be bringing uh 100 affordable housing
units for seniors earning over 80%. I want to congratulate Commissioner Burns and his community. I know this development will make a huge difference to that community and it keeps adding affordable housing to a community so much needed here in the central Florida
region. So many people arriving and so many people finding themselves in distress because of not enough. But it's not that we don't want to. We want to build as fast as we can. It's just that people are arriving here faster than what we can uh accomplish or finish this this project. So we're moving forward.
Later that afternoon, I attended a celebration. A celebration reorg uh recognizing 19 students graduating from the youth employment program provides young people with meaningful internships opportunity to gain real world experience, develop essential skills and prepare for the future. Um through
workforce development initiative, it was a privilege to congratulate their students and celebrate the important milestone in their personal and professional growth. May 5th, I attended Downtown Orlando Partnership, Golden Brick Awards, and the Dr. Phillips at
the Dr. Phillips uh Center for the Performing Arts, celebrating outstanding projects and leadership shaping the future of downtown Orlando. Congratulations to all of this year's honores, including Ryan, Mr. Ryan Young, who was named Downtowner of the Year for
his lasting contributions to our city's growth and development. That same afternoon, I was honored to attend Hope Community Center up in Apopka, Seed of Hope 2026. The event highlighted the organization's impactful work supporting local youth,
families, and educational programs while sharing powerful stories from those directly affected. It serves as a meaningful reminder of the importance of investing in opportunities that strengthen and uplift our community and also highlights the uh accomplishments
of our um immigrants in the central Florida region that sometimes go um go through the sidelines and we don't recognize them. I think it's one of the reasons why we're seeing inflation also how we're seeing it because we have let go of so many who has been working with
us for so long and now we are desperate looking for people to fill those places. So anyhow the afternoon that afternoon I was um I'm sorry on the morning of May 6 I joined Mayor Dyer fellow commissioners Orange County Mayor Jerry Dammings and community leaders for the announcement
of the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida's new center for Women and Families. This new campus will provide safe shelter, meals, healthc care access, and housing support for women, children, and families experiencing homelessness, helping move individuals from crisis to stability and
permanent housing. It reflects strong partnerships at every level and a shared commitment to uh dignity, opportunity, and long-term independence for our residents. The city, county, and congressman Frost Federation contributions were amazing. So, uh, we
see a community growing, a community involved, a community inclusive, um, and by all means trying to, uh, overcome the needs that we're having right now, working together. So, later that evening, I join Mayor Bod Dyer and my
fellow commissioners in celebrating the class of 2026 Orlando Kids Zone graduates. This year's also marks the 20th anniversary of the Paramort kids zone which has expanded into Holden Heights, Anglewood, Mercy Drive, continuing to support students and families across Orlando. I want to
congratulate all the students, all the graduates for their incredible achievement. Thank you, Rodney, Abe, Alex, and all the staff. This program and our police department works is what is driving crime statistics down, and we should be proud of it. Finally,
uh, on May 6, 2026, I attended the 44th annual Orange County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony, honoring 44 Central Florida officers, deputies, investigators who lost their lives in the line of duty. Law enforcement memorial ceremony is more than a gathering of uniforms,
flags, and solemn salutes. It is the heartbeat of a grateful community pausing to honor those who stood between peace and chaos, between safety and fear. It is a sacred moment where we remember that every badge carries a promise of sacrifice,
courage, and service beyond self. For our community, this ceremony is a reminder that the freedoms we enjoy and the peace we cherish are often safeguarded by men and women willing to face danger so others may sleep in comfort. We gather not only to mourn the
fallen, but to celebrate lives lived with honor. To embrace the families who carry both pride and pain, and to reaffirm that their sacrifice will never fade into silence. In their memories, our community finds unity, gratitude, and enduring strength to stand together.
That's all I have, Mayor. Thank you. >> Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Chapen. >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I've had a great couple of weeks. It's been very educational and and joyful and uh I feel like I'm might be starting to hit my
stride a little bit. Um I had a great opportunity to visit the Rolling Loud Festival this weekend at the uh Camping World Stadium. Uh Police Chief Eric Smith, Fire Chief Jason Revolt, and the head of uh venues, Alan Johnson, um showed me around. Uh it's very
impressive what they were able to do to keep everybody safe, to keep everybody organized. Um, they have drones, they have on-site hospitals, they have um, uh, traffic management. So, I want to thank all the officers, all the fire department officials, all of the city
workers, code enforcement. Uh, it was a big three-day festival that I think went very well. Um, I'd like to congratulate Gerald Childs, who is the director of the Rosemont Neighborhood Center, on being inducted to the 2026 City of
Orlando Youth Sports Hall of Fame. Gerald has impacted the lives of countless children through the supportive environment he fosters within our sports programs. I had a fantastic time attending the trash to trends at the Orlando Science
Center in Lock Haven. I want to especially thank Commissioner Patty Sheen for encouraging me and inviting me to attend. We sat together and had a great time. Keep Orlando Beautiful. Certainly knows how to put on an event and the evening showcase the best of our
community by highlighting creative and innovative ways uh to approach sustainability with imagination. Keep Orlando beautiful executive director Madison Smith Smath Mary exemplifies the spirit through her energy and dedication. Um she also organized an
Earth Day event in my district which may or may not have started and ended at Ivanho Brewery. Um, but I attended that on uh enjoyed that on April 22nd. Uh, as Commissioner Ortiz stated, we had an opportunity to attend the Golden Bricks Award hosted by the Downtown Orlando
Partnership. I'd like a special shout out to District 3 winners, uh, Sparrow Winebar and the Good Poor, both recognized for their success. um also enjoyed attending the uh Coalition for the Homeless kickoff where they
announced they are already $50 million into their $60 million raise and I've been happy to be a part of that capital campaign. Uh recently attended the Orlando Homeowners Association in Rosemont. Um I want to thank Linda Kaufman uh for hosting me as well as
Commissioner Ortiz at the Seeds of Hope uh immigrants are welcome lunchon. Um, very enjoyable, uh, very educational, uh, a great group advocating on behalf of immigrants out in Apopka. I'm looking forward to attending the ribbon cutting for the Orlando Fringe
Festival this Thursday. Uh, I also had the opportunity to attend the Orlando Fire Department's awards ceremony at Harry P Gardens last week, uh, which was amazing to hear the stories and hear the actual 911 calls and see the positive
results of our men and women at the fire department helping save lives every day. Um uh I am also uh coming up this Thursday, May 21st, is the Ivanho Village Main
Street State of the Village uh where they're going to update us on lots of things going on uh in the Ivanho Village area. On legislative notes, I want to highlight item 3K1 on today's consent agendum consent agenda which initiates
segment a segment A of the Edgewater Drive complete street projects including the planned roundabout at Edgewater Drive and Lake View. And we all know how everybody feels about roundabouts. Half of us love them and half of us hate them. So, we've got that to look forward to. So, thank you to the city
transportation department for working with FDOT through the local planning program to begin uh to bring this project forward. Thank you, mayor. That's all I have. >> Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Commissioner Sheen. >> Uh thank you, Mayor. And uh I too want to say congratulations to Li Elizabeth
Perez, Anna Cruz, Neves, Alyssa Maceio, and Donna Abdala for the Magnamera Awards. That is a tremendous honor. I also want to thank the Magname um family for continuing to support this every single year. Um these are the best of our best and and I'm glad that we're
recognizing people who usually people don't who don't get recognized. So I think it's a wonderful thing um for us to do that. Um I am very sad about the Lake Ula Swans of course that we had to said we have to relocate them during construction. That stress in addition to
aven flu is just too much. Um I really hope we can bring them back after aven flu either subsides or there's some herd immunity or a vaccine. Um this disease is also decimating not just the icon of our city, the icon of our country. It has decimated the bald eagle population
as well. So this is impacting us nationwide. It's impacting the poultry industry and it's just a very very sad thing that it's happening here in Orlando. Um, I've been visiting the Swans since I was 14 years old, since I was a kid and I've been, you know, actively involved in the program for 15
years. Um, I've picked up most of them personally, mo know most of them, you know, by name. And it's really a sad time for me. And I want to tell people, it's okay. You you have every right to be sad and grieve. A lot of folks have been saying, you know, it's better for them, blah, blah, blah. Don't don't be sad. This is a loss for our city. It's
okay to be sad. Um, I want to thank all the long-term volunteers who've worked to make the program successful. And, uh, you know, while this is a loss for now, I'm hoping someday we can have some swans back. And you will see the flyers. We always have a few flyers that come in during the roundup and they come to
visit, but we won't have as many. And we certainly will not have five of the seven varieties of the world. Um, but, you know, in light of this, you know, we we had to really pivot when we had COVID for humans, and we're going to have to deal with this with the aven flu. Um, I
also want to trash a trends. It is a great event making fashion out of trash, out of out of discarded items. But we can all do our part by recycling and not throwing trash out our windows. All of our all of our um all of our culverts
drain to lakes. So if you throw something in the road, it's going to end up in one of our lakes. So we want to make sure that people are doing the right thing. And this is just an awareness event. It's a lot of fun. And Commissioner Chapen, I'm glad you had a good time. maybe you can be a model next year. Um, my sincere condolences to Sandra
Gray and family over the loss of Charlie. Um, Charlie had his hand in so many cool things and uh, just a small thing that I worked with um, was the Jack Castanza star. He wanted to make sure that that was there for his friend Jack. And um, you know, he was just a
great guy and uh, you know, he was but he was a person that could work in a bipartisan fashion. You know what? now everybody's always fighting and fussing and can't get along and uh is it's it's performative rather than you know performative rather than service
unfortunately now with a lot of people and Charlie was there to to make things happen and for the good of our community. So he will be sorely missed in this community and he was just an absolute great guy. Um on the agenda today, all I really have um is is on uh
on item 3B3. I'm really glad we're doing ashbrit for disaster recovery and debris removal because that's very very important. We did not have assistance with debris removal after the freeze. That's why it took so long to get everything picked up. And I know everybody was mad and everybody's upset,
but there's a reason why we have these debris removal companies that we hire in addition during hurricanes because it's a lot of stuff to pick up. And I would say we probably had more stuff to pick up yard debris after this hard freeze than we've even had after hurricane. So
I want to shout out to the public works department. I you know and solid waste. I know it's been hard and we can do our part by bagging and bundling. Um but it was just a lot of volume and they were and something else that happens that people don't realize during um during hurricanes they keep the dump open 24
hours. That didn't happen this time because we did not have a disaster declaration. So again, they did the best they could. It's finally we're finally getting caught up and I'm glad to see that. And that's all I had. Mayor, thank you. >> Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner Rose. >> Good afternoon, everyone. Good
afternoon, mayor commissioners. Um, happy belated Mother's Day. First, um, many of the events we've all attended together, so I won't repeat um I won't repeat them. I do want to congratulate the 2025 employees of the year recipients. I have had the pleasure of working with many of the employees
throughout my years here at the city and as well as being a resident and now as the commissioner. And as you can see, we have a great functioning um city. It's not perfect, but our employees work really hard um to keep our city beautiful.
Happy her happy Haitian Heritage uh month. This month we celebrate the rich culture, history, resilience, and countless contributions of the Haitian community. From art and music to food, language, tradition, Haitian heritage continues to inspire and strengthen communities around the world and right
here in the city of Orlando. I also want to say happy Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Um, this month we celebrate rich cultures, traditions, achievements, and contributions of AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander communities who continue to shape and inspire our nation every day.
I want to thank OPD for keeping our community safe this weekend. Um, rolling loud was three days of excitement. Um, but OPD did their best and I want to publicly say thank you for keeping um the community safe, working well with
transportation. Um, the road was not as bad as it has been with some of our larger events at Camping World Stadium. Um, I want to thank OFD for your incredible work protecting and saving lives during our first successful Rolling Loud weekend. Your dedication, professionalism, and teamwork. OPD and
OFD made this a major event a safe and unforgettable experience for everyone involved. Orlando showed up in a big way and it would not have been possible without the hard work of our first responders and staff included uh venue staff as well. We appreciate you all. I also want to thank the Rolling Loud team
for many of the community activations. Um it wasn't just a come and party for three days. There were a lot of youth activations, a lot of small business participations. Um one of the things I advocated and work with Rolling Loud is making sure that we had local businesses from our community to be vendors. So, a
lot of our um local restaurants um from Nikki's Place to Poppy Smashburgers here in downtown um were vendors at the location. There were also some activations with business businesses within the community where they were kind of like encouraging some of the artists management to kind of book at
the nightclubs. A lot of our nightclubs got to also see I would say what we miss the small mom and pop economic drivers while the hotels and the um airports see the big locally from our corner stores to our gas stations to even down to the
parking. Um the economic impact while there will be a number it's priceless. Um but I want to thank Rolling Loud for the community activations. They gave out skateboards. They took the kid part of their um the event was a skate park. They brought kids from the neighborhood in. Um we got they got skateboards, they
got some lessons, they got helmets. Um they did behind the scenes tours and kind of understood and explained to the youth job opportunities from productions to building sets to being a management and an understanding that it's more to an event than just the artists that are
performing. And then we also had a one of the local um one of the rappers who were main one of the headliners. He came and performed for a bunch of our kids and kind of spoke to them to tell them about you know there's more to life. stay in school, continue to get good grades. So, I just want to thank Rolland
Loud um and all of the partners involved for being great partners this weekend and we'll see where it goes from there. Um I want to thank Publix. Um recently volunteers came out to the Northwest Community Center. We have a community garden. Um we cleaned out some of our
beds. We added new mulch and Publix continues to be an annual um great partner at Northwest helping our community garden there. Um we bring we have a head start that's associated with the um the Northwest Center. So our kids come out and they learn about garden as well. So it's a great experience.
Recently I joined United Against Poverty for a community forum to discuss food insecurity. I want to encourage you all if you have time to volunteer with UP. Um, it's an amazing organization making sure we address not only food insecurity, but providing uplifting
resources to help individuals get out of poverty and to get to self-sufficiency. I want to congratulate sustainability and staff for another great Earth Day workday event here at city hall. Um, I got to hold the snake and I got to hold
the the baby alligator. I also joined and I want to thank Coke Florida. um they're in and around the district and we did a um Earth Day their Earth Day celebration. We did a community cleanup. I want to thank USF Alumni Association for choosing District 5's Legacy Cafe to
celebrate Bose Dining Across America. And I want to thank the mayor um for a congratulatory letter. So, um, USF alumni across the nation, they go to different local businesses and they support and so we recognize them with the letter and, um, thank them for
choosing, um, the city of Orlando. Um, I also want to echo, um, congratulate Arena on their significant expansion. Um, they now serve a broader Hispanic community across Central Florida. They're connect they're not just connecting people to resources, they're building pathways to stability, dignity,
and opportunity. And I've had the opportunity of working alongside of a Renaissar a couple years ago with an agent in place program where went to do I guess you would call it case management with our seniors and provided resources and we provided millions of
dollars of tools and resources for our aging seniors from you know refrigerators to stoves um things that they would not be able to typically afford living on fixed income. had my first corporate 5K. So, I guess I'm looking for the next one. I participated
it a couple of weeks ago and um I guess that's a new thing for me. Um I want to thank the Florida ASN Medical Association. Uh this is an organization that's comprised of dedicated professionals committing to advancing health care and the well-being throughout our state. They are here in
the city of Orlando and they recently attended their anniversary um to congratulate and uplift the work that they're doing. on to the agenda. Um, honoring the past is really important and I'm glad to support CNC 2026 10,000. We are changing
Alexander Place to George Stewart Place. Um, I'm happy to see the changes at Lake London. Uh, there are two agenda items. We are reszoning uh Lake Ladun from holding to public use because we are building a 6,000 square foot city families park and recreation office that
will also have public assembly space. Um and on we'll get to it later but in CRA glad to support the expansion of Crest the NEC as well as the EOLA food hall that's coming into the district. That's
all I have. Mayor, >> thank you commissioner. Commissioner Burns. >> Uh thank you uh Mayor D and good afternoon everyone. First I'd like to congratulate our uh employees of the year as well and just say thank you for all that they do over these years because we could not uh serve our city
uh without the great work of our employees. So to our employees of the year and all employees, thank you for all that you do. Also, Jason, like to just say thank you for uh continuing to work to have Orlando recognized as the premier sports um sports city in the US
and abroad. Uh it's exciting of everything that continues to happen. So, uh good work on on that. Also, over the past uh week, we uh had the chance to celebrate Mother's Day in District 6 with several uh events. I'd like to say thank you to the staff of El Claudia
Allen Senior Center and the Grand Avenue Neighborhood Center for putting on great events that really made our mothers feel loved and appreciated. Also uh thank you to the Carver Shores Neighborhood Association. I see the president uh Miss Heath sitting here for hosting their
Mother's Day event in the newly renovated Poppy Park. So again, we showed our mothers uh a lot of love uh over the last week. Um, also, uh, I was able to join Mayor Dy and fellow commissioners at the annual, uh, volunteer appreciation reception. And I
just want to encourage everyone to, uh, if you can give of yourself to support, uh, initiative that support our city because again, we wouldn't be able to do our work with without you. Uh, on April 24th, celebrated the Henkins Park ribbon cutting. Uh, and it was great. Uh thank
you to Mayor Dyer and uh Commissioner um Rose for coming out. This playground is special because the upgrades were um the youth actually had an opportunity to participate in selecting the colors and what type of equipment. So it was good.
Uh the upgrade includes equipment for ages 2 to 5, 5 to 12, multiple slides, ADA accessible swings and dual swings. So, uh, our kids are taking full advantage of that right in time for, uh, for our summer months. Also, uh, had the
opportunity to participate in Earth Day at City Hall. Uh, it was great. I always learned something. One of the things I learned this year, uh, you all, I'm sure, have eaten an apple with the uh, with the little plastic tag on it. And, you know, we kind of rinse them off and the tag probably goes into your sink.
Well, what I was told is that pull the tag off first before you wrap it. throw it in the trash because that that plastic doesn't dissolve and it can impact our our water system. So, uh again, a fun fact, something I earn I learned at uh Earth Day. So, thank you
to our sustainability team for that. Also, um on April 30th, I had the pleasure of awarding uh seven scholarships during the 4th annual Dr. Christy Hardy Senior Awards Ceremony at Jones High School. Uh
we honored uh seven seven um graduating seniors from Jones High School. In total, uh my office will be awarding 17 scholarships to seniors who live or attend school in District 6. So, we're so proud of our uh seniors as they
graduate. Um, also on May 1st, um, had the pleasure along with Mayor Dy and some of our commissioners to, uh, attend the groundbreaking for Legacy Place, which is a, uh, affordable senior facility with 100 units. Um, and they're
at or below 80% of the federal poverty guideline. And I know we've had some discussions about uh, the percentage of AMI of of these units. These units will have 15 units at 30% AMI, 63 at 60% AMI,
and 22 at 80% AMI. Um, as we continue to advocate for affordable housing, I think we also need to advocate for more units at the lower uh percentage of the AMI. Also, um, I'd like to say kudos to Bobby
Belton and Alexis Hicks and the rest of the FPR team for, uh, opening opportunities for the youth employment program. Uh, I had an intern in my office for, uh, eight weeks. She did a great job. Ka Braggs, she's gone now,
but I wish I could bring her back, but I just wanted to say uh, kudos to the team. We need to continue to uh support this program so we can give employment opportunities uh to our youth. Also on May 4th, I celebrated the teachers appreciation week by honoring teachers
uh faculty and staff at the Washington Shores Primary Learning Center along with uh we provided a grazing table uh with uh beverages and and things of that nature. Also uh May 5th attended the Orlando neighborhood uh improvement on
Prodigy Prodigy Showcase. This is where youth performers who live in several of their uh apartment complexes showcase talents in dance, theater, music production and additional creative arts discipline. Uh the youth did a great job and that's one of my favorite events. It
takes place at the uh Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center. Uh also, um just some upcoming events. Central Florida Diaper Bank uh mobile distribution event will happen uh tomorrow, May 12th at 9:00 a.m. at Grand
Avenue uh Neighborhood Center. Diapers and hygiene items will be available will be distributed uh while supplies last. Registration closes at 10:30. So, please, if you know someone who's in need of uh that type support, let them know. I have my satellite office hours
this Wednesday, May 13th. Uh if you want to meet with me uh outside of city hall, please reach out to me and we can meet out at the Elcla Allen Senior Center. Also, um Haitian Flag Day celebration uh charity basketball tournament will be
happening uh this Saturday, May 16th at 1:00. Uh also uh this Saturday, May 16th at the Willie Mays Park, uh Generational Mindset, Inc. will be hosting their third annual mental health awareness day and it has a 5K walk associated with
that. Uh and then on the agenda, uh may I want to express my support for items 3E1 again the funding agreement with New Image uh youth center that will provide uh support for their trauma-informed approach of supporting over 130 youth in
our community. Uh, and this is especially a special time because uh, a lot of them are out for uh, for the summer. So, we need to make sure that they have um, uh, uh, activities that are are beneficial to them. Also, I'd like to express my support for items
3E2, funding agreement between uh, the city and page 15 for literacy support uh, of our youth. And with that, mayor, I move approval of the consent agenda. >> Motion by Commissioner Burns, second by Commissioner Sheen. discussion and hearing none. All in favor of the motion
indicates so by saying I. I. Those opposed. And so the motion carries. Without objection, I'm going to recess the city council meeting. Um and if you were just here for the consent agenda, now would be a good time to make your way to the exit. We'll give you about 30 seconds.
Okay. And we will convene the CRA meeting. I can handle A, B, and C. So A is advisory board meeting minutes from February the 18th. Who grab the motion? Commissioner Rose. Motion by Commissioner Rose, second by Commissioner Sheen. All in favor indicates so by saying I. I.
>> Those opposed. Motion carries. B is CRA meeting minutes from April 6th. >> Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Sheen. Second by Commissioner Rose. All in favor indicate so by saying I. I. Those opposed. Motion carries. C is CRA meetings from April 20th.
>> Motion by Commissioner Sheen. Second by Commissioner Rose. All in favor indicate so by saying I. I. Those opposed. Motion carries. Okay, David, I'm going to let you take the rest of the show. >> All right. Thank you very much, Mayor. Good. Good afternoon, commissioners. Uh
so it's an exciting day in the CRA. Mayor, as as you mentioned, uh we have three different restaurant incentives that you'll be voting on today. Uh and together, it actually represents almost 20 different new or expanding eating establishments in downtown as we
continue to move forward on our foodie scene. Uh so the first of which is for the Eola food hall. Um so that is at 150 uh East Central Boulevard. So that's right across the street from the library or caddy corner to Lake Eola. Um, so
they're uh opening a nearly 15,000 square foot food hall there. It's on the first and the second floor. It's going to have 17 different vendor bays uh for different restaurant tours to be able to come downtown and uh showcase uh their exciting foods. Um they're spending
approximately $2.5 million on that buildout. uh so for which they qualify for $400,000 in assistance uh from our restaurant incentive program in addition to $50,000 in first years rental assistance and I'm happy to address any questions.
>> Motion by Commissioner Rose, second by Commissioner Sheen. Discussion hearing none. All in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I those opposed. Motion carries. E >> thank you mayor. So E is another restaurant, Yang Kitchen. So, uh, this
one is specifically moving into, um, 27 East Robinson. So, that is the FedEx building area if you can kind of place yourself there. Uh, so this restaurant tour actually has 15 years of experience. Mayor, you mentioned it in your opening. Uh, uh, Michelin starred.
He was, uh, trained by a Michelin star chef uh, specifically in soup dumplings. So, you're going to have to try those out ultimately when they when they open up. Um, they're going to be open 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day. uh and they're spending approximately $400,000 on their buildout uh for which they
qualify for $225,000 in assistance um uh from the CRA's program. That's a combination of $175,000 for tenant improvements and then the $50,000 for rental assistance. And I'm happy to address any questions. >> Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Rose, second by
Commissioner Sheen. Discussion hearing none. All in favor of the motion indicates so by saying I >> I those opposed motion carries and F >> F. So this is uh one of downtown's staple uh restaurants. So uh many of us have probably din there or at least know
where it is. It's Crest uh right there on Church Street. So happy to have them kind of locking arms with us and expanding and going to add some additional dining area. They're going to add almost 70 seats. Uh and this portion of the restaurant will be actually accessed off Orange Avenue. So, it will
go all the way around um and provide even more access when we start to to go our uh kind of reconstruction and rebuilding of Church Street. Um so, um they've signed a six-year lease for that space. They're going to invest uh just shy of $800,000 in this expansion for
which they qualify for just under $340,000 in assistance in the CRA's tenant improvement program as well as the $50,000 for uh initial year's rent assistance. and I'm happy to address any questions. >> Motion by Commissioner Rose, second by
Commissioner Sheen. I see Rob Jerger in the back. Thank you for continuing to invest in downtown, which you've been doing for what, two decades now, or more than that, probably >> at least. Yeah. Okay. Well, we look forward to the expansion of Crest um over into the
Orange Avenue side, the old Seagulls building, right? Yeah. Okay. Uh discussion hearing none. All in favor of the motion indicates so by saying I. I. Those opposed. Motion carries. All right. Congratulations to all the restaurant tours who are making progress
in downtown. How about the National Entrepreneur Center? >> Yes, another another great story. So, we have the National Entrepreneur Center. Uh uh the NEC 2.0 goes well with DTO 2.0. Not sure if it was planned that way, but we'll take it. Uh so, they're going to be relocating. They're going to
be moving out of uh our Fashion Squared Mall and right into Creative Village where they can really um look to augment the amazing things that are happening in that corridor. Um the CRA is proposing to contribute $1 million towards the buildout of that space. It'll be paid in
one lump sum uh payment. Uh the agreement is actually uh with UCF and we have the appropriate um components to ensure that the the building is delivered in that agreement. And I'm happy to address any questions. >> Second. Motion by Commissioner Rose, second by Commissioner Sheen. And before
we vote, I would like to Commissioner Sheen has already me uh Commissioner Ortiz has already mentioned that Belinda Kirkard, the CEO of the National Entrepreneur Center here. Would you stand up and let us thank you for moving downtown and all you do for our small
businesses. All right, discussion hearing. None. All in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I. I. Those opposed? And so the motion carries. Congratulations, Belinda. >> I like that type of celebration.
Okay. And H. Thank you, Mayor. Uh H is the last item for the CRA. This is a service authorization with uh Jacob's Engineering Group. This is for our phase one of Church Street Reconstruction. Um there was an additional um OU line that was found as we were doing some soft
digs. So, this just compensates them for um um relocating some utilities for that line as well helping us design some raised planter beds to not interfere with it. The total cost is just shy of $210,000. >> Motion by Commissioner Rose, second by Commissioner Ski. Discussion hearing
none in favor of the motion indicates so by saying I I those opposed and so the motion carries. Any further business, David? >> There is none. >> Then we will stand adjourned as to the CRA. Without objection, we will reconvene the city council meeting. And
that brings us to hearings. And the first and only hearing um is charter hearing for the acquis acquisition of three parcels at 806 and 850 South Huey Avenue and 405 West Gore Street. This
public hearing for the purchase of real property in excess of $3 million as required by chapter 13 section 7 of the city charter. Notice of the hearing was published in the Orlando Sentinel on May the 4th, 2026. Approval of the purchase requires a majority vote of all members
of the city council. Subject property is the former Triangle Reporaphics facility on Huey Avenue and Gore Street consisting of three parcels on 3.4 acres with over 57,000 square feet of office and industrial warehouse space, a 10,000
ft square foot covered parking and loading area. 21 paid parking spaces, three parcels located at 806 and 850 South Huey Avenue, 405 West Core Street. The buildings will provide needed space near city hall for multiple city
services including the sign and signal shop, sustainability, and several other city departments. City will purchase a project property subject to the existing le lease with in bloom floors which occupies $6970
square ft at the current rent of 11,15754 per month with a 3% annual increase. The le lease expires March 31st, 2028 with two five-year options to renew. The owner of the property is the Jenny F.
Thomas Revocable Trust and the Joanne F Garner Revocable Trust. The city's estimate of the fair market value is between 8.8 million and 11.3 million. The proper proposed purchase price is $9.4 million.
Madame clerk, I don't have any requests from the public to speak. >> No speakers, Mayor. >> No speakers. Uh is there a motion then? >> So move, >> mayor. Motion by Commissioner Sheen, second by Commissioner Chapen. Um, I'll
just say it's well needed space. It's a great location and I was surprised at how huge and much great space there is there. So, commissioners, if you get a chance to get a quick little tour down there, it's worth your while. >> I had to be care I had to be quiet. >> You had to be quiet.
>> I had to be quiet. I couldn't tell anybody about the >> right. Um, okay. All in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I. Those opposed and so the motion carries. >> All right, madame clerk, you're up. So
we'll move to ordinances on first read 13A. Ordinance number 2026-8, an ordinance of the city council of the city of Orlando, Florida, relating to solid waste management, amending chapter 28, article 2 entitled solid waste collection and disposal to revise collection and disposal fees and rates
for residential and commercial premises providing for serverability codification correction of scrimmers errors and an effective date. >> Second motion by Commissioner Sheen, second by Commissioner Burns. I don't have any requests to speak from the public. Discussion hearing none. All in favor of the motion indicates so by
saying I. I. >> Those opposed and most so the motion carries. 13B. Madam clerk. Ordinance number 2026-9, an ordinance of the city council of city of Orlando, Florida, amending chapter 39 of the city code regarding parking by amending the hours
and days of operation for parking, civil penalties for parking violations, delinquent fees, and immobilization device removal and replacement fees, providing legislative findings, and for separability, codification, correction, scrimage errors, and an effective date. >> Move to approve.
>> Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Burns, second by Commissioner Sheen. I have no request from the public to speak. Discussion hearing none. All in favor, the motion indicates so by saying I. I. Those opposed. Motion carries. >> And 13 C.
>> Ordinance number 2026-10 an ordinance at the city council of the city of Orlando, Florida relating to regulation of sewer use amending chapter 30 entitled regulation of sewer use and rates to revise wastewater treatment rates and fees providing for servability codification correction of scrimmers
errors and an effective date. Move to approve. Second. >> Motion by Commissioner Burns, second by Commissioner Sheen. I again I have no request from the public to speak. Discussion hearing. None. All in favor of the motion indicates so by saying I. I. Those opposed. And so the motion
carries. Okay. We have one more item on our scheduled agenda and that is a quasi judicial hearing. Um, so there is a recommended order from the hearing
officer in case number QJ 2026-00001 relating to the historic preservations board's recommended denial of a major certificate of appropriateness to to demolish and construct a new tutor style single family home at uh 321 East
Copeland Drive within the Lake Copeland Historic Districts. the petition petitioners are the owners and their councils. Um Jason's ready to go it looks like. So he will give us um the background on the case and then we'll hear from the petitioners.
>> Thank you Mr. Mayor and good afternoon commissioners. My name is Jason Burton. I'm the planning official with the city of Orlando. Um we will go over the quasi judicial appeal of 321 East Copeland Drive. It's in the Copeland Historic District, Lake Copeland Historic District. And um just to give you a
little bit of a background information on this particular project, this location is in the Lake Copeland Historic District at 321 East Copeland Drive, generally at the corner of East Copeland Drive and Delaney Avenue. It's just an under an acre of site that goes
down to the lake in district 4. Um this is a legal conforming lot within the district, so it's it's a rather a little bit of a larger lot. The proposal was to demolish a contributing single family residence within the historic district
and construct a new tour style residence which I'll show you in a moment. Um the the existing building itself was just over 2,000 square ft and then the proposal was for an over 4,000t building.
Anyway, this is in the R1 traditional city overlay, HP district overlay and aircraft noise overlay district um right there on Lake Copeland. And just give you a little bit of background on the actual proposal itself. There are several additions to this particular
home. So, if you can see my cursor on the right hand side of the house is an addition that occurred. The original structure is sort of the middle part. The garage was an addition a later addition and there were further additions to the rear of the property.
So about onethird of the property was the original. So the house predominant predominantly faces south. This picture shows the rest of the house on the left east and right end are those additions on the on the left and the right end are those particular addition. So the
proposal was for this particular structure is a tutor style type of a residence. The proposed structure was taller than many of the surrounding K properties and the maximum allowable height is just under 30 feet. So this
property met the typical maximum allowable height. The historic preservation reviewed that and the staff recommended that there be a greater setback to match the historic context of the district. So the site plan did not meet the typical historic preservation
standards for setbacks and recommended at least a 46 foot setback while the applicant showed a 24 28t setback. The idea is that the height and the setback was not meeting the standards for mass and scale. Um anyway, moving
right along. The HPV looked at this request on January 7, 2026. staff re recommended a denial of the petition as submitted but offered alternative solutions. The HPB approved the staff alternative with additional conditions. Essentially, they did not allow them to
demolish the existing structure that was there. They allowed um some of the additions to be demolished, but they wanted the original contributing structure that was in the middle of the site to be kept, if you will. So they also recommended that the roof could be replaced because there is some
compromise of the actual roof itself. Um anyway the the applicants appealed the decision and went to a quasi judicial hearing office. Um the petitioners were Andre Pressler and Carmen Ziss. They've ti finally timely filed a request for
quasi judicial hearing to appeal the circ preservation board's denial of their request for a major certificate of appropriateness to demolish the existing home and construct a new tutor style residence. The property of course is in the lake historic Copeland district. A quasi judicial hearing took place on
March 12th, 2026 before the hearing officer Derek Schroth. On April 1st, the hearing officer issued a recommended order recommending the city council grant in part and deny in part the petitioner's petition in opposition. So, just so you know, HPP applications are
quasi judicial matters that are implementing actions. Um, they're implementing policies, if you will, and are conducted per Florida Supreme Court decisions. um people that are dissatisfied are entitled to a denovo or new hearing
before those hearing officers. And of course they did that. That hearing as we mentioned was was done on March 12th. The hearing officer's findings were that everyone was able to present their evidence and this is from the actual order itself. The petitions met the
criteria for demolition barely but not for the proposed replacement of the structure. Um, the petitioner's claimed of due process violations inconsistent treatment and the HP'sb's arbitrary and capriccious decisions were meritless. The petitioner may demolish
the entire structure once a replacement structure has been approved by the HPB which not be unreasonably denied. And based on the findings in fact um and conclusions of law, it was recommended that petitioner's request to overturn
the HPB's recommendation approval was granted in part and denied in part as set forth. And upon approval by the HPB of an alternative replacement structures, petitioners may demolish the existing structure in its entirety and build a replacement structure which
shall not be re unreasonably withheld. Um, and just so you know, um, there are three things that the council can choose to do in this situation, which is adopt the recommended order, which is the staff's recommendation, or adopt a recommended order with changes, but you
have to present findings for those particular changes, or direct staff to prepare a revised order and prepare new findings, if you will. Um with that, um our staff recommendation is to adopt the hearing officer's recommended order
approving the petitioner um petitioner's petition in opposition in part for demolition and denying in part the replacement structure as previously submitted. Um and I'm available for any questions. >> Okay, questions. >> Also, the applicant is here as well as
an attorney representing the applicant should you um should they like to speak as well. our tradition um in the quasi juditional procedures is that they each would have a maximum of five minutes to speak if they wish. >> Okay, Jason just took the part I was
going to say next to is explain the process. >> My understanding is since they're also in agreement with the staff recommendation. So hopefully >> who's going to speak on behalf of the petitioners? Come on up. Michelle Henden.
Good afternoon, mayor and city commissioners. Thank you for your time. My name is Michelle Hinden. The address is 1303 North Orange Avenue in Orlando, Florida. I am here with the law firm of Nishad Khan PL and I am here on behalf
of the petitioners Nishad Khan along with the home homeowners Mr. Andre Krestler who is here with us today and Mr. Carmen Ziss. We are here today to respectfully request that you please adopt the hearing officer's recommended
order. As the city mentioned an appellet hearing was held on March 12th before hearing officer Mr. Derek Schroth. At the hearing, the petitioners presented evidence establishing that the demolition criteria under section 62.707
of the city code was satisfied. Multiple reports and testimony from qualified professionals identified serious safety concerns, including compromised structural elements, turbite damage,
fungal growth, and ongoing drainage. and flooding issues. Furthermore, the evidence showed that a small portion of the structure was confirmed as original. The hearing officer conducted a denovo review of the evidence presented in
which he methodically applied the criterion of 62.707 and conduct and concluded that the evidence weighed in favor of demolition. The hearing officer further found that the structure lacks meaningful
historical significance was substantially altered over time and is not unique within the district. There is also support from residents within the Lake Copeland Historic District, including George Anne Carter of 310 East
Copeland Drive, Charlie and Becky Becca Sloan of 219 East Copeland Drive, Nancy Brown Aberdescu of 311 East Copeland Drive, Robert and Deborah Moore of 733 Delaney Park Drive, and expert witness
Keith Ury of 1640 Delaney Avenue. These residents expressed concerns related to safety, the property's deteriorated condition, flooding, and the safety concerns due with the risk of another potentially abandoned property in the
neighborhood. Members of the district appeared at both the historic preservation board hearing and the appellet hearing to express their concerns and their support for demolition. Finally, I would like to emphasize this is an very important aspect of the
case. This did not begin as a demolition project. Before purchasing the property, Mr. Krestler and Mr. Ziss intended to renovate it. They love the district. They envisioned this as their long-term forever home, and they explored
renovation renovation options with the city before and after they purchased the property. They retained professionals with historic preservation experience, including individuals familiar with the city's standards, and they submitted a
renovation application in good faith. However, during that process, the architect who was selected from the city's list of preservation professionals determined that the structure posed a life safety hazard and
was at risk of imminent collapse. Even then, the owners sought additional opinions from multiple professionals, all who again and again and again reached the same conclusion. The structure is unsafe.
The demolition is the only reasonable and responsible option. It is structurally compromised and it is not reasonable reasonably capable of rehabilitation. At this point, this was no longer a matter of renovation. it became a matter
of safety and and basically to them at that point they decided that demolition would be the only responsible thing to do. In conclusion, the hearing officer carefully evaluated the evidence, applied the correct legal standard, and
reached a recommendation that is supported by competent substantial evidence. His recommended order appropriately balances the city's preservation goals with the overriding concern for public safety. But the petition the petitioners do not object
to the requirement that the historic preservation board approved the replacement structure. They are willing to work with the historic preservation board and city staff to agree on a structure that works for everyone provided that such approval is not unreasonably withheld by the board.
Accordingly, we respectfully request that the city council adopt the hearing officer's recommended order and approve demolition of the existing con structure. We thank you for your time and your consideration. >> Okay, we have a recommended order that
both staff and the the applicant um support. Are there questions? Commissioner Ortiz, >> is anybody opposing this? because it seems like everybody's happy. >> I don't think so. >> Oh, really? At
>> this point, >> everybody be happy if we adopt the recommended order. text. As a result, if you were to adopt the recommended order, the action would revert back to the historic preservation board for the new structure and they'll have to submit a
new proposal for the replacement structure and be still considered against the merits, if you will, um be happy because you'll get new fees for >> designing the neighbors. >> Neighbors are happy. Neighbors are happy. The the uh hearing officer is
happy with this. >> Okay. Commissioner Sheen. >> Yeah, Mayor. I'd like to make a motion to adopt the hearing officer's recommended order approving the petitioner's petition in opposition in part for demolition and denying in part the replacement structure as previously
submitted in case number HPB 2022-10202. >> Okay. Motion by Commissioner Sheen, second by Commissioner Ortiz. Discussion hearing none. All in favor of the motion indicates so by saying I. I. >> I. Okay. Motion carries and everybody goes home happy.
All right, that's the end of our um scheduled agenda. Commissioners, you'll be happy to know that we have 29 general appearance requests. Yeah. So, that may set a record. I'm not sure, but as I look around the room, I
don't think all 29 are here. Okay. So, the rules related to general appearance are that I will Oh, Ed, could you get us ready for general appearance? I'm sorry. Heat. Heat.