Our first public hearing to take comments on the CDBG-DR Draft Action Plan took place at 6:30pm at the John Marble Recreation Center this past Tuesday. Thirteen members of the community were in attendance, notably including individuals from the construction trades as well as community representatives from the Cortez and Rubonia areas. The hearing started with Michele Davis offering introductions for each member of Lasting Manatee’s staff. This included our two newest members of Lasting Manatee, Ronda Watts (Grant Administrator – CDBG-DR) and Debbie Roller (Grant Administrator – CDBG-DR), who were present and able to benefit from experiencing one of our meetings with the public for the first time.

Introductions were followed by opening remarks from Odugo Ohizu (Communications Coordinator - CDBG-DR) about gratitude for the agencies and responders that conducted the immediate post-hurricane response, and the significance of coming together as a community as we continue to recover. Michele Davis next led a PowerPoint presentation that gave a detailed overview of the proposed funding allocations and programs, which lasted for the first hour of the evening due to taking questions as they arose relevant to certain slides. 

We closed out by holding a distinct question and answer session that ran for another full hour, offering individuals the opportunity to either speak a question for immediate discussion, or write down questions and comments intended to be included in the updated Draft Action Plan. Highlights from the spoken questions included:

• How will contractors be selected/vetted, and held to compliance?
• How much of the CDBG-DR funding has already been spent, and on what activities?
• Why were the homeowner housing programs (repair, replacement, and buyouts) allocated more funding than the rental housing program?
• How much of the CDBG-DR funding has already been spent, and on what activities?

Overall this event was a success, and continued Lasting Manatee's laying of groundwork for open and consistent discourse with our community. We are excited to come into our next public meetings maintaining that momentum of positivity and openness towards educating our constituents.

Information on the next meeting, a Lasting Manatee Workshop on Tuesday, June 10, at 6:30 pm at G T Bray Recreation Center, can be found by clicking here. Details for the following meeting, a Public Hearing on Thursday, June 12, at 6:00 pm at Eternity Temple Church, can be found by clicking here.

A PDF of the evening's slideshow presentation can be viewed by clicking here.

You can also check out the Draft CDBG-DR Action Plan and see all the details of the next public hearing by clicking here.