January 2010
Community Paper
copyright ©2010 by Community Paper College Park, Inc. All rights reserved.


From the Desk of City Commissioner Robert Stuart

As we close in on 2010, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk a little bit about the past, present and the future as it relates to our Great City.

2009 has brought progress to our City even in these difficult financial times. In November we celebrated the Amway Center’s “Topping Off Ceremony,” as the last steel beam went into place. The Burnham Institute officially opened the doors of its permanent facility located in Lake Nona’s ‘Medical City and UCF’s School of Medicine celebrated its inaugural class of 40 students with its first White Coat ceremony. In a testament to the commitment of both our community and the university to this new endeavor, all 40 students received full four-year scholarships. We also saw the Plaza Cinema Café open its doors and bring a wonderful entertainment element to our downtown corridor.

In August, we saw another component of the Mayor’s three-year Public Safety Initiative come to fruition with the opening of the Orlando Police Department’s state-of-the-art training facility. And on December 2, we celebrated the official opening of the new Fire Station 1 on Central Boulevard in downtown Orlando. The opening of this Gold LEED certified building will centralize OFD personnel from three sites into one and more efficiently serve the citizens of Orlando.

As we gear up for Christmas and New Year’s, don’t forget the City of Orlando’s Buy Local program that gives us added incentive to utilize local merchants for all of our shopping and entertaining needs this season and year round. More than 300 City of Orlando businesses, including many in College Park, have signed up for the program and many are offering discounts and holiday deals. If you don’t have a Buy Local consumer card or would like more information on all of the program details and benefits, check out www.buylocalorlando.net.

The City of Orlando has also partnered with the National League of Cities to offer a prescription drug discount card for all City residents. The card offers an average 20% savings on any prescription not covered by insurance. To learn more about the program or to print the card, please visit www.strengthenorlando.com/prescription.htm. If you don’t have access to a computer, cards can be picked up at City Hall or at the College Park Community Center.

After Christmas, consider taking friends and family to one of Orlando’s two great bowl games at the Florida Citrus Bowl.  The Champs Sports Bowl is taking place on December 29th at 8 p.m. and will pit the Miami Hurricanes against the Wisconsin Badgers.  Then on New Year’s Day, the Capitol One Bowl will take place at 1 p.m. with the LSU Tigers taking on the Penn State Nittany Lions. Downtown Orlando will also host the annual Citrus Parade beginning at 11 a.m. on December 30th. 

As we remember the past events of 2009 and think about the present, let us also focus on the future of our Great City. With that in mind, I am sure you have heard that on December 8, 2009 the Florida State Senate passed House Bill 1-B by a 27-10 vote. The bill provides a statutory framework to allow the State of Florida to utilize rail as a viable modal option within its transportation infrastructure. Not only does it allow Central Florida to move forward with SunRail by putting us in a position to accept the federal funds already earmarked for this project, but it also identifies a dedicated funding source for the expansion of both commuter and high speed rail throughout Florida. By setting up the Florida Rail Enterprise and the Statewide Passenger Rail Commission, we are now positioned to leverage federal dollars to complete more commuter rail networks throughout the state as well as high speed rail corridors, the first of which would connect Tampa and Orlando.

Not only will this landmark legislation create local jobs through SunRail, but it also allows our state to move into the future prepared for the changes that will inevitably continue to take place within our country’s transportation system.

Thanks to Mayor Dyer, Congressman Mica, Congresswoman Brown, all of our local elected officials and business leaders for their vision in supporting rail transit and our thanks also to the Florida Legislature for supporting this vision.

Enjoy the season and please know that I take very seriously the job you elected me to do and now more than ever, I appreciate your input and your support. I look forward to seeing you around College Park next year!

Robert
Robert F. Stuart, District 3 City Commissioner
400 S. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: 407-246-2003; e-mail Robert.Stuart@cityoforlando.net
or check out Orlando's website (www.cityoforlando.net)