The new Broward County Mayor urged our community to stay cautious with the upcoming holidays. He continued his remarks by stating that he will continue to work on several of his priorities which include, affordable housing, our local environment issues, growing cultural activities in our community and getting more high paying jobs to Broward County. You can click on the link below if you would like to watch the entire Reorganization Commission Meeting.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhXciBoeqRU

County Government Offices Reopening for in Person Services

Throughout the pandemic Broward County’s government services have been provided mostly in virtual settings in order to keep our employees and members of our community safe. Earlier this month Broward County announced the gradual reopening of in-person services. A comprehensive “Back to Business In-Person Plan” has been developed, with specified requirements for all County services, from Libraries to the Animal Shelter and many others. The plan provides for comprehensive safety measures in all county government facilities. Below are some of the strategies that have been put in place to keep our employees and customers safe.

Daily or more frequent deep cleaning of County facilities
Signage and floor markings to mark 6-foot social distancing in public areas.

Required facial coverings by members of the public while in County facilities.
Reconfiguration of lobbies, public meeting rooms and spaces to accommodate social distancing.

Public education and awareness messaging, including print and digital signage, public service announcements and social media announcements

Hand sanitizer and/or disinfectant wipes in public areas.

Flex appointments for customers in some locations and Curbside service where available (e.g. libraries)
Remote participation opportunities for public speakers for public meetings

Reduced public hours in some facilities to allow time for staff cleaning and sanitizing before opening and after closing Increased cleaning of restrooms, elevators, and other high- touch areas (e.g. door handles, water fountains, etc.) in County facilities

To check out the plan for each county facility and available in-person services, please visit www.Broward.org/Coronavirus.

CARES Act Small Business and Non-Profit Assistance Program

Broward County’s Small Business and Non-Profit Assistance Program launched on Monday, November 9th thru Monday, November 16th and extended thru Wednesday, December 2nd. The Board of County Commissioners allocated $35 million from theCounty’s federal CARES Act funds to support this grant program; $25 million for small businesses and $10 million for non-profits. I am happy to report that our very own Office of Economic and Small Business Development administered the grant program and provided free technical assistance for those interested in applying. Many applications have been received and are being evaluated to make sure all eligibility requirements are being met. I hope that this assistance provided by the County can help many of the small businesses in our community that are hurting during this pandemic.

For more information please visit, www.Broward.org/Cares.

Our Economic Engines Receive Recognition

Our very own Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL) both received incredible recognition recently. Kudos to our Port and Aviation leadership as well as all the staff members for their well-deserved recognition!

Port Everglades received three prestigious national awards of excellence for leading the way in port sustainability practices:

• The National Association of Environmental Professionals' 2020 Environmental Excellence

  Award

• The North American Marine Environment Protection Association's 2020 Marine Environment

  Protection Award for Ports

• The American Association of Port Authorities' (AAPA) 2020 Award of Excellence for the Port

  Everglades Comprehensive Environmental Management Program
  For more information on all the great things happening at the Port, please visit www.PortEverglades.net.

  FLL: For the second time this year, the North Runway Rehabilitation Project at FLL has won industry recognition as an outstanding aviation undertaking. In the last month, the Florida Department of Transportation announced FLL's runway reconstruction project as its 2020 Commercial Service Airport Project of the Year.

  In May, the project received the Southeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport 2020 Corporate Award for Commercial Airport Project of the Year – Airfields.
  For more information on everything that is going on at FLL please visit, www.FLL.net.

Segment II – Broward County Shore Protection Project

Our Broward County Environmental Planning and Community Resilience Department recently held a public outreach informational session to inform residents and take comments/questions regarding the upcoming Segment II Shore Protection Project. Thank you to all those that tuned in, asked questions, and provided valuable comments. Staff will continue to keep the community apprised as this project moves forward. The County expects to hold another webinar session in the first quarter of 2021.

You can visit www.Broward.org/BeachRenourishment to access the presentation.

35th Annual International Coastal Cleanup

Broward County is excited to join the Ocean Conservancy and many from around the world to redesign a safe and new way to conduct this year’s Coastal Cleanup due to the pandemic. Instead of a specific date, as in years past, this year trash and data is being collected from September 1st thru December 31st, 2020. During the 2019 International Coastal Cleanup, 3,692 Broward County volunteers removed 6,710 pounds of trash from our coastline. I encourage anyone that is interested in participating in the 35th Annual Coastal Cleanup to visit www.broward.org/NaturalResources/BeachAndMarine for complete details or you can email coastalcleanup@broward.org for further information.

We are less than two weeks away from the end of hurricane season. I am hopeful it remains quiet. With the holiday season fast approaching us, please remain vigilant with COVID 19. Each and every one of us can do our small part which in turn helps us get through this pandemic.

This Thanksgiving I am truly thankful to serve you and Commission District 4. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance, you can contact me at 954-357-7004 or LFisher@broward.org. Also, you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Commissioner Lamar Fisher Lamar P. Fisher

Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

Best regards,

Lamar P. Fisher
Broward County Commissioner District 4