Municipal Minutes e-Newsletter, September 2007, Volume II, Issue 9
Holiday Closing: In observance of Labor Day, City offices will be closed on Monday, September 3. All RTS offices will be closed and there will be no RTS bus service. ADA paratransit service will not be running on this date, except for dialysis appointments. Curbside collection service for solid waste, recycling and yard trash will not be affected by the Labor Day holiday.
"Gainesville 101" Citizens' Academy Now Accepting Registrants: How did Gainesville become the number one city in North America? Now you can find out at "Gainesville 101," the 2007 City of Gainesville's Citizens' Academy, where you meet your local government. Go behind the scenes at Gainesville's Police and Fire Rescue Departments, Gainesville Regional Utilities, learn the structure of city government at City Hall and more. You already live in the best city in America, now you can learn how it works, and make it even better! These free classes begin Friday, October 5 and run through December 14. Classes will be held every other Friday from 9:00 to 11:30 am. Detailed session and location information will be sent to class registrants prior to the first session. Registration is available online by clicking here or by calling (352) 334-5017. Registration ends Monday, September 24, 2007.
Career Fair 2007: Career Fair 2007 is an annual event that is open to the community and is presented by the Office of Equal Opportunity. Employees are also encouraged to attend to get more information on the functions of City departments and any current or future job openings. There will be a brief presentation about the GRU Utility Academy. This is your opportunity to ask questions and expand your professional horizons! Attire is casual and food and drinks will be provided. Career Fair 2007 will be held on Tuesday, September 25 at the Martin Luther King Center, located at 1028 NE 14th Street, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Give a Better Way! Web Site Now Accepting Donations: The new Give a Better Way! Web site is ready to accept donations. All donations made through the Web site, as well as donations collected at the donation meters, will go to the Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry to help the homeless in our community. To learn more about Give a Better Way! or to donate online, please visit www.gainesvillegives.org.
Student Adjunct Openings: The Clerk's Office is currently accepting applications for student adjunct advisory board/committee membership. Interested individuals should submit their applications to the Clerk's Office by October 1, 2007. For additional information, please click on the links below:
Board Positions
Information
Openings
Application
Updated Pool Hours: School is back in session and high school swim practices have started. To adjust for the swim team practices, the pool hours have changed. Please click on the pool name for the updated schedule:
Westside Pool Hours
Mickle Pool Hours
Designing Streets for Pedestrian Safety Workshop: This exciting training opportunity is being provided to designers, engineers, project managers, and planning professionals to enhance their skills in the field of pedestrian safety. This is an opportunity to work with two of the country's top pedestrian safety experts in a workshop in which participants will learn of engineering measures that will make communities safer and more pleasant to walk. A walking audit to a problem area will be conducted to help understand and identify obstacles to walking; potential short and long-term solutions will be identified. Please wear comfortable shoes and clothing suitable for the weather that day. Reservations should be made by September 21 by contacting Debbie Leistner or Dekova Batey via email or telephone at 334-5070. For additional information, please click here.
Eastside Community Redevelopment Area Facade Improvement Program Launched: Commercial buildings and businesses in the Eastside Community Redevelopment Area may soon receive a facelift, thanks to the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). The CRA has recently launched the Existing Commercial Building Facade Improvements Incentive Program in the Eastside Community Redevelopment Area. This program is offering a competitive, 50 percent matching grant as an incentive to commercial building and business owners to improve building facades. For additional information, please read more.
Free Small Business Workshop: A free workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 11 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at Eastside Recreation Center. This workshop will provide information for:
- Small & minority-owned business that would like to become suppliers for Wal-Mart and Sam's Club Stores.
- Explain how small & minority contractors and subcontractors can participate in the bidding process for Wal-Mart and Sam's Club building construction and renovation projects.
Seats are limited. Please RSVP no later that September 7 by emailing rehmans@cityofgainesville.org or calling 352-393-8356.
Annual Haunted House Volunteers Needed: The Annual Haunted House that is held at the Rosa B. Williams Recreation Center needs volunteers for this year's haunted house. Volunteers will help set up and assist in running the haunted house. Set up will begin the week of September 17 and the haunted house will be open from October 25-October 31. If you are interested in helping at this fun event, please contact Kelly Babin via email or at 334-2193.
RTS New Downtown Station Opens and Fall 2007 Service Began August 20: RTS began running the Fall 2007 Service schedule on Monday, August 20 at the new Downtown Station located at 700 S.E. 3rd Street off Depot Avenue. All downtown routes have been changed to service the new Downtown Station. RTS has two new routes this fall - Route 17 provides services from Shands to Downtown and Route 29 provides services from Shands to Cobblestone. RTS has made route adjustments and frequency enhancements to several routes to improve service efficiency. Check out the Fall 2007 Service Schedule link and list of Fall 2007 Service Changes on the RTS website, www.go-rts.com.
RTS Announces Two New Gator Aider Park-n-Ride Bus Shuttle Locations: RTS is excited to announce two new Gator Aider Park-n-Ride sites, one in the Downtown area and one at Tioga Town Center, will provide service during the 2007 Gator football season. Let the RTS Gator Aider take you right to the stadium. Single game tickets may be purchased at Park-n-Ride locations only on game days for $6 per game. You can pre-purchase a season pass at the new Downtown Station for $30 and save $12! For additional information, please read more.
A to Z Recycling Source Guide: Have you ever wanted to know where to recycle or properly dispose of items? To find out where to recycle everything from aerosol cans to zinc (and everything in between), please check out the guide by clicking here.
Community Development Department Reorganized: City Manager Russ Blackburn has completed a reorganization of the Community Development Department into two (2) distinct, but coordinated, areas of city government. Effective August 20, the Economic Development, Planning and Zoning and Building Inspection Departments and Divisions were grouped to form the Planning and Development Services Department, managed by Planning and Development Services Director Erik Bredfeldt (formerly the Economic Development Director).
The other neighborhood improvement based areas will be managed by new Assistant City Manager Fredrick Murry, which will focus mainly on neighborhood improvements. The departments reporting to Assistant City Manager Murry will include Code Enforcement, Community Development Block Grant Administration, General Services, Housing, the function of neighborhood planning and the Community Redevelopment Agency. A Community Development Functional Group comprised of all department heads in the Community Development Department and/or reporting directly to the Assistant City Manager has also been established and will be facilitated by the Assistant City Manager. This group will meet regularly to exchange ideas and develop coordinated and strategic policy strategies.
Gainesville Ranks High... Again!: In May, Gainesville was ranked the #1 city in North America. Gainesville was proud to discover that the city was recently ranked among the top ten small college towns for investment by NuWire Investor. Perhaps even more exciting is the recent recognition as one of the 50 best cities to live and play in the September 2007 edition of National Geographic Adventure Magazine!
Assistant City Manager Lee Ann Lowery to Leave September 14: Assistant City Manager Lee Ann Lowery has accepted the position of Assistant County Administrator of St. Lucie County, Florida for familial reasons. Her last day with the City of Gainesville will be September 14. Ms. Lowery has overseen the Communications and Marketing Office, Gainesville Fire Rescue, Public Works, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and has been responsible for managing a number of special projects, including Grace Marketplace, the One-Stop Center for the Homeless and serving as a liaison to outside agencies, such as the Alachua County School Board. We wish her well in her new endeavor.
Gainesville City Manager Selects Additional Assistant City Manager, Fred Murry: Gainesville City Manager Russ Blackburn announced in August the selection of Fredrick J. Murry, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, as Gainesville's newest Assistant City Manager. "Despite a very well-qualified pool that included several impressive candidates, Mr. Murry's 20 years of governmental management experience, combined with his demonstrated leadership in community development and building consensus for stronger neighborhood programs, were key factors in his selection. I look forward to working closely with Mr. Murry as he assumes his new duties," said City Manager Russ Blackburn. Murry assumed the new position on August 27, and reports directly to the City Manager.
3CMA Savvy Awards Finalist for Three Awards: The Communications and Marketing Office was recently notified by 3CMA (the international City and County Communications and Marketing Association) that it is a finalist in its Savvy Award Competition in the following categories: 1) Marketing and Tools - Branding/New Logo, Population Group 120,000 - 1,800,000 for the City's re-branding efforts; 2) TV and Video - Public Service Announcement, Population Group 92,000 - 199,000 for their Cut to the Curb public service announcement and 3) Communications Technology - External Newsletter, Population Group 18,000 - 1,400,000 for Municipal Minutes. Winners will be announced at the 19th Annual 3CMA Conference in October. The Savvy Awards competition recognizes outstanding local government achievements in communications, public-sector marketing and citizen-government relationships. The Savvies salute skilled and effective city, county professionals who have creatively planned and carried out successful innovations in communications.
City Staff Elected to Florida Recreation & Park Association State Board: Brian Shea, Athletic Supervisor, and Jeff Moffitt, Recreation Supervisor, were recently elected officers of the board of the Florida Recreation & Parks Association. Both will be installed and sworn in at the FRPA State Conference in Orlando on August 30, 2007. Brian Shea will chair the College and University Relations Committee, and Jeff Moffitt will chair the Membership Committee. Both Brian and Jeff have been members of FRPA for over 15 years.
Two City Employees Selected to Join the 2007 Congress of Outstanding Young Floridians: Two City of Gainesville employees, Carolyn Cassidy and Shaad Rehman were selected to join the 2007 Congress of Outstanding Young Floridians. Every year, the Florida Junior Chamber (Jaycees) recognizes ten individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 for their exceptional service in a specific organization or profession. Carolyn, a Crime Analyst with the Gainesville Police Department, was the recipient of the Cooper-Taylor-Moon Memorial Award (Public Safety/Law Enforcement Award), presented to the Florida citizen who has done the most to promote public safety. Shaad, the City's Small Business Development and Procurement Coordinator, received the J. L. McMullen award (Good Government Award). For additional information, please read more.
Gainesville Police Department Community Calendar: Did you know that GPD has a community calendar? The calendar shows meetings like neighborhood crime watch meetings, the Black on Black Task Force meetings and the Homeless Coalition meetings. Click here to find out the dates of these meetings and more!
"Let's Go Downtown" Entertainment Series: The Plaza comes alive every Friday night as local talent and other cultural events are showcased under the stars. Hundreds come out to enjoy free live bands, theater groups, dance performances, Movies on the Plaza and much more. The Plaza is located on the corner of Southeast 1st Street and East University Avenue in historic downtown. So grab your blanket and lawn chair and plan to be downtown this Friday night! These events are held each Friday night from 8-10 p.m. at the Downtown Community Plaza. The following entertainment will be offered during the month of September:
September 7: Charles Ray and the Righteous Kind, The Ones To Blame (rock and roll, female alternative country)
September 14: Electronic Subsouth presents Girls On Film, IndigoVox, Oddknock, and featuring...Mr. Spagandy as "The Master Of Ceremonies" (electronic music)
September 21: Holopaw (alternative/indie/country/folk), Michael Holland (folk, country, blues)
September 28: Umoja Orchestra (world beat), Worldwide Zoo (jazz, funk, acid jazz)
Dedication Ceremony: The Hope Powell Pavilion at Kiwanis Safety City will be dedicated Friday, September 7 at 11:30 a.m. at 1025 NE 13th Street. Wife of GFR Driver Operator Jason Powell and Acting Fire Chief of Waldo Fire Rescue at the time of her death, Hope was dedicated to educating the children of our communities. For more information, please contact Deputy Chief Tim Hayes at 334-5065.
Living History Days: Every Saturday from September 1 to May 31, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., the Living History Farm comes to life with staff interpreting day-to-day life on a rural Florida farm. Sample biscuits, fresh butter and a slice of life from 1870. Animals are fed twice daily around 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. This event is free.
Barnyard Buddies: Barnyard Buddies is offered on Wednesdays and Sundays at the Living History Farm from September 2 to May 28, 2008. Youngsters and parents can meet and greet animals by helping staff with the afternoon feeding. This free program begins at 3:00 p.m. and lasts about 45 minutes to an hour.
Feed-A-Frog-Fridays: This event is held the first Friday of the month, from September 7 to May 9, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. in the Education Building. Join the fun, get the facts! Youngsters, with an adult, can join a Morningside Nature Center animal caretaker for amphibian and reptile feeding during Feed-A-Frog Friday. This free program begins at 2:00 p.m. and lasts about 45 minutes to an hour.
Teen Zone Programs Kick Off the New School Year: School is back in session and so are the Teen Zone programs! An innovative middle school after-school program, the Teen Zone is a partnership between the city, county, school board, federal government and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The program is offered to middle school students free of charge. Registration is ongoing and will continue until all available slots are filled. Registration is currently available for children attending the following middle schools:
Fort Clarke and Westwood Middle Schools
Howard Bishop and Lincoln Middle Schools
Thomas Center Gallery: The Thomas Center Galleries are proud to present two new exhibits in the Main Gallery and the Mezzanine Gallery:
- Nature and Still Life, featuring over forty paintings and drawings by Allison LeBaron, Michael Everett and Angela Hoppe, will run August 25 - October 14, 2007 in the Mezzanine Gallery. A free public reception will be held Thursday, September 20, 2007 from 5 - 7p.m.
- Miriam Novack: Evolution, at the Thomas Center Main Gallery, will run September 8-October 28. A free public reception will be held Thursday, September 20, 2007 from 5 - 7 p.m.