2021 City Catalyst Grant Winners

Partnership program supports projects that strengthen our communities

by Scott Dudley, Florida League of Mayors, and Beth Rawlins, Business Watch

The Florida League of Mayors partners with Business Watch each year on the City Catalyst Grant program to support projects that foster a sense of community and enhance the lives of city residents. The projects are often in partnership with local organizations, making the dollars and impacts go even further.

Applications are judged by current Business Watch members and former Mayors. They always comment on how exciting it is to see each city creating specialized opportunities for their community needs. The winning projects are scheduled to be completed no later than this winter, so their citizens will have great opportunities in the cooler weather.

The Florida League of Mayors and Business Watch announced the 2021 City Catalyst Grant winners and their projects at the Florida League of Cities Annual Conference in Orlando August 12-14.

City of Atlantic Beach

Photo courtesy of Bonnie Gaupp

▸ The City of Atlantic Beach is partnering with Beaches Kiwanis to improve accessibility for the disabled in their parks, beginning with Jordan Park in the heart of their community. Atlantic Beach will build a colorful music garden bed including flowers, butterflies and a tenor tree with sounds coming from petals, wings and leaves. The design allows the hard of hearing to feel the vibrations. The garden is being installed on concrete pads along a concrete path to ensure easy physical accessibility and will also include accessible picnic benches. Of course, those without disabilities will also be able to use the space and share the creation of music.

▸ The Town of Jay is transforming an old State of Florida Livestock Market into the Marketplace on Commerce Street. Before the pandemic, structural and aesthetic repairs had been made. (For more information, see previous city spotlight article at bit.ly/jayspotlight.) The grant and continued support from the Town will add lighting and speakers, improve handicap access, upgrade washrooms and refresh landscaping. These updates will allow the marketplace to be a destination for outdoor group events such as reunions and church events and improve the farmer’s market atmosphere for all attendees.

City of St. Cloud

Photo courtesy of Bonnie Gaupp

▸ The City of St. Cloud Parks and Recreation Department is building a new Adaptive Sports Program for their residents. The nearest adaptive recreation program is about an hour away. To address that problem, St. Cloud is partnering with Autism Speaks, the Osceola County School Board and the Special Olympics of Central Florida to offer weekly sports and specialty programs. Larger organizations will be recruited soon to coordinate Little League and other team sports.

City of Waldo

Photo courtesy of Bonnie Gaupp

▸ The City of Waldo has been building back the heart of their community by turning a closed school into Waldo City Square. The space is being used to hold city-hosted events such as car shows and fall festivals as well as job fairs, food giveaways and a drive-thru Santa event. City Hall has been relocated to Waldo City Square, which also provides Head Start space to help avoid educational loss. A recently held movie night with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office was a huge success. City Catalyst Grant funding will help Waldo make movie night a regular event for the community and even have the movies connect to other events’ themes.

Together, the Florida League of Mayors and Business Watch are committed to finding common-sense solutions and helping strengthen our communities. Both are proud to once again host the City Catalyst Grants Program. Congratulations to the winners!

Scott Dudley is the Executive Director of the Florida League of Mayors and also Director of Field Advocacy and Federal Affairs at the Florida League of Cities. Beth Rawlins is President of Business Watch. Business Watch connects businesses and local government officials, leaders and managers to open dialogue and work toward common goals.