The City Commission will meet on May 15th to discuss agenda items that include filling the gap in committee seats and an e-scooter program.
Filling the Gap in Committee Seats
Tallahassee’s City Commission will fill three vacancies on the Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise Committee at its upcoming meeting Wednesday. The committee promotes minority and women-owned businesses. Deputy Director of the Office of Economic Vitality, Darryl Jones says the committee tries to even the playing field when contracting work comes in.
“To get a job done like Cascades Park you need landscapers. You need painters. You need electricians. You need HVAC. You need cement companies. Concrete companies. And so, in an effort to ensure that when that work is done and that money is spent that a number of minority and women-owned businesses are a part of that same spending,” says Jones.
He continues by saying, “They also are principle recruiters and ambassadors for the program and help us to identify minority and women owned businesses throughout our community who can benefit from our program as we endeavor to increase the level of minority and women owned business participation through our procurement processes.”
Mayor John Dailey has recommended the reappointment of Brenda Williams and Wayne Mayo as well first-time appointee Gallop Franklin. There are 11 seats total, four of which are appointed by the city.
E-Scooters in my city?
Tallahassee’s City Commission will decide whether to greenlight an e-scooter pilot program during its upcoming meeting. Florida state lawmakers are letting local governments regulate micro-mobility devices, such as electronic scooters. Before, Floridians could only ride e-scooters on sidewalks. But now, the city can treat e-scooters as bikes and allow them on roads. Senior Planner with the Tallahassee Leon County planning department, Julie Christesen says e-scooters can be a benefit.
“Yeah, so I think everybody is looking for a way to get around and micro-mobility is a really great thing that we can offer the people that live in Tallahassee because it offers them a new way to get around," says Christesen.
The e-scooter pilot program will be on the City Commissions May 15 agenda.
