Lauren Poe, mayor of Gainesville, reflected on the city’s progress during the annual state of the nation address on Wednesday night.
In a 20-minute speech, Poe shared the city’s achievements and failures, with occasional cheers from city commissioners and local leaders. He discussed topics ranging from homelessness to social justice.
Below, WUFT News has reviewed some of the statements the city has in the address:
(Mayor Lauren Poe 🙂 In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, organizers worked together to work with members of the city community, including the Gainesville Police Department, to hold peaceful and powerful demonstrations, and Gainesville’s continued commitment to us to protect neighbors. right to protest peacefully.
- Fact check: Gainesville was one of about 30 U.S. cities that staged a “march for our freedom” protest in May after Floyd’s death. Organizers called on the community to remain peaceful and use the opportunity as an opportunity to raise awareness of police brutality. According to police, William John Connelly was driving the car to protesters. No serious injuries were sustained, and Connelly is charged with six counts of aggravated assault. The protest was the largest of several others that put an end to racial injustice and defended the police during the summer and fall.
As a city celebrating creative expression, we have also seen the opportunity for local artists to illustrate the challenges and possibilities of social justice in America through art. The mural project for social justice was the public declaration of your city, a vow to create a future where everyone feels safe, welcome and loved.
- Fact Check: Gainesville’s 352 Walls program selected 12 artists to paint murals in parks and public spaces with social justice. Each artist received $ 450 to cover art supplies. The city used money saved for the 150th anniversary celebration after it was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The artwork was painted in Possum Creek Skate Park, Cofrin Nature Park and Oakview Park, as well as areas around the Martin Luther King Multipurpose Center and Porters Community Center.
In collaboration with the newly expanded Police Advisory Board, GPD has continued to implement many forward-thinking approaches to policing, including procedural justice training, youth programming, and an extremely successful mental health response program.
- Fact check: Following the national discussion on police brutality, the city commission added an extra seat to the council, making it 11 seats. In reviewing applications in December, the commissioners decided to extend the deadline because it required a younger and more diverse pool of applicants. However, several residents were frustrated because the city increased GPD’s budget and demanded the redistribution of funds. Poe responded to concerns, saying the city had spent the money on art programs, teachers and mental health specialists instead of more sworn police officers.
(GPD chief Tony Jones 🙂 Before this team was deployed, the last resort was surely to take this person to jail, or whatever the case may be, or detention. But what we have now is a mental health specialist, attached to a police officer, and we are looking for other alternatives. It has saved this community countless dollars to imprisoned individuals. But even more, it helped those individuals in their recovery path.
Following the recent deaths of pedestrians from two Florida University students, the Gainesville Police Department, the University Police Office and the Sheriff of Alachua Province are working to prioritize education and enforcement around our traffic laws … We continue to work the Florida Department of Transportation to roadway systems that will help ensure that human error does not result in serious injury or death.
- Fact check: GPD, along with other local agencies, met on January 30 on the lawn of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to announce that it would increase traffic offenses. Since University Avenue is a state road, GPD cannot change speed limits, traffic lights, speed bumps or extra footpaths. The department also unveiled Gator STEP, a program aimed at focusing on pedestrian, pedestrian, speeding and scooter offenses.
(Ariella Bak, Community Resource Paramedic 🙂 We were able to reduce emergency visits by about 30% and hospital admissions by 60%. And both of these values mean significant cost savings, not only for the patients, but also for our healthcare system and insurance companies.
- Fact check: according to the Gainesville Fire Rescue’s 2019 report, admissions decreased by 60% and emergency visits by 40% to 38 patients in 2019. A similar report for 2020 is not yet available.
Our CRP unit launched a mobile testing program and administered nearly 900 free COVID-19 tests to vulnerable neighbors. Vaccination is now being distributed in partnership with the Florida Department of Health, reflecting the successful model of healthcare delivery.
- Fact check: The CRP unit partnered with the Florida Department of Health in May to offer mobile COVID-19 tests in an equipped RTS bus. It visited two parts of the city a day, with the places available on the city calendar. The health department has partnered with UF Health and distributed approximately 1,100 COVID-19 vaccines on February 8 at Touchdown Terrace in the largest vaccine event to date.
(Jon DeCarmine, CEO of Grace Marketplace 🙂 Overall, we expect the entire Dignity Village campsite to be close by after about a year, with absolutely no arrests, no relocation and by offering options to people who are really driven by what they wanted and what was needed.
- Fact check: Dignity Village had no arrests or known cases of COVID-19. DeCarmine also says Grace Marketplace has reduced homelessness in Alachua County by 36%
(City Commissioner Reina Saco 🙂 With this new protection we will inspect home property. We will know where they are. We will know that it is safe and decent housing for all our families. ‘
- Fact check: The ordinance requires landlords to pay $ 120 per rental unit annually and subject them to inspections every four years. Their properties must also meet safety and energy standards.
(City Commissioner David Arreola 🙂 I think Gainesville did better than most cities, and I think we did just as well as any of the best cities in Florida to respond to the pandemic because we took it seriously from the beginning. recorded. We took the guidelines seriously and asked people to trust us.
- Fact check: Weeks after the pandemic hit Florida, the city commission declared a state of emergency and had limited occupancy of restaurants and businesses. At a joint meeting in Gainesville-Alachua County in March, city commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos submitted a proposal to make face coverings mandatory in the city. The Alachua County Commission, just six hours after the requirement was removed, voted to reinstate a nationwide mandate.
To meet the immediate needs of our neighbors, the city reallocated existing financial resources and CARES Act dollars to provide working capital grants to local businesses, giving them temporary financial relief for rent, mortgage and utility payments. through the GNVCares Program and the Coronavirus Aid Fund. In total, the city’s repair and relief effort provided more than $ 1.5 million in financial aid to support more than 100 businesses and 700 neighbors.
- Fact check: the programs were funded with more than $ 1.5 million from the city’s general fund. Data on how many businesses and neighbors benefited from it are not available.
Our Gainesville Police Department, Department of Public Works and Gainesville Fire Rescue have joined forces with local faith organizations to distribute nearly 656,000 pounds of food to more than 119,000 individuals through the Farm’s program for the community. Free ride through COVID-19 testing at Citizens Field was part of a comprehensive East Gainesville outreach effort to ensure residents have access to testing, personal protection supplies and educational information about the coronavirus.
In partnership with the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce, the city has launched a successful eight-week grab-and-go food program, providing access to nutritious meals for vulnerable residents while also providing the much-needed cash to our local businesses. Feed GNV has served more than 3,100 meals to vulnerable residents for more than eight weeks, cultivating local partnerships with 42 different restaurants.
Strreaterie GNV links the regulations for street eateries and open containers with a quick review process to help restaurants serve more customers while complying with the COVID-19 recommendations for social distance.
- Fact check: The city has expanded the outdoor seating permits, suspended certain parking fees and closed some roads. West University Avenue was one of the roads and the blocks from 1700 to 1900 were closed 24/7.
(City Commissioner Harvey Ward 🙂 One of our goals as a community, as a city, is to be 100% renewable in terms of energy by 2045. We took a big step towards that in 2020 by implementing the start-up of a 50 megawatt solar farm. for GRUs [Gainesville Regional Utilities] fleet.
Gainesville’s solid waste division, along with the USDA, Grow Hub, Working Food and Beaten Path Compost, has embarked on an 18-month pilot project to recycle organic materials and keep the powerful greenhouse gas methane out of the atmosphere.
- Fact Check: Gainesville began a food waste and composting pilot program after receiving a grant from the USDA in September 2020. The program begins in April and costs the city only $ 17,000, apart from the $ 51,000 linked to the federal grant. is.
Through a new Edible Groves project, the city is planting fruit and nut trees in public parks to which all neighbors will be invited. The city will also work with community partners in the coming year to explore opportunities to improve the city’s community garden program and to support small markets in low-income communities to sell healthier food options.
- Fact check: The project has already started in Fred Cone Park, Smokey Bear Park and Bountiful Boulevard. The city states that it will improve access to health, local food, while also affecting the environment, such as producing oxygen and increasing the diversity of species.
Thanks to our Wild Spaces, Public Spaces half-tax sales tax, the renovations at Albert Ray Massey Westside Park, A. Quinn Jones Museum, The Hippodrome Theater and Northside Park have made a visible and lasting impact on our community this year.
- Fact check: The city improved Albert Ray Massey Westside Park’s baseball fields, added a new lawn, rebuilt a driveway and built a new accessible lookout area. The improvements cost nearly $ 810,500. It also installed the A. Quinn Jones Museum’s security system and refurbished storage. No cost information was available. The city renovated the front porches of the Hippodrome on the first and second floors, which cost just under $ 200,000. It also built a bridge in Northside Park’s golf course that cost about $ 9,500.