Placement: Proclamations and Special presentations
Action Requested: Discussion
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Award Presentation - Neighborhood Improvement and Community Engagement (NICE) Recognition Program Awards
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Submitted By: Bolivar Gomez, Project Manager
Strategic Plan Link: The City's Goal for vibrant neighborhoods.
Executive Summary (General Business): At the February 14th City Council meeting, Neighborhood Services Department staff will recognize the recipients of the 2021 NICE Recognition Awards.
Presentation Information: Staff will give an overview of the NICE Recognition Program and present each recipient their respective award. The awards recognition will take approximately 10 minutes.
Background: The Neighborhood Improvement and Community Engagement (NICE) Recognition Program celebrates the vibrant, diverse neighborhoods that contribute to Port St. Lucie’s unique charm and also recognizes the people, programs and accomplishments to help individual neighborhoods and the overall community. The Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) is pleased to recognize and award those persons or organizations for contributing towards making our neighborhoods more vibrant.
Issues/Analysis: Residents were encouraged to nominate neighbors and/or agencies or groups for each of the available award categories. The following four award categories were available for nomination submission entries: 1). NICE Contributor of the Year, 2). NICE Outstanding Neighbor of the Year Award, 3). NICE Outstanding Neighborhood of the Year, and 4). NICE Community Involvement Award. Nomination submissions were accepted from May 1 through November 30, 2021 and applications were available on the Neighborhood Services Department - NICE webpage (www.citofpsl.com/nice <http://www.citofpsl.com/nice>). Following the submission deadline, a Judging Committee consisting of staff from Neighborhood Services, Parks and Recreation, Utilities, Communications Department and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), evaluated each submission and scored each entry using the established scoring criteria. The following are the 2021 NICE Recognition Award Recipients:
NICE Contributor of the Year - Gary Smith. Mr. Smith is awarded for volunteering his time over the last several years to ensure the St. Lucie West Boulevard corridor is well maintained and free of litter. This has been a daily early morning routine and Mr. Smith can frequently be seen picking up litter on weekday and weekend mornings. In 2011, Mr. Smith also launched People Serious About Litter, an organization devoted to getting residents involved through litter collection in and throughout the City of Port St. Lucie. Mr. Smith was also instrumental with implementing ‘Evolution of Darwin’, an initiative dedicated to keeping a section of SW Darwin Boulevard clean and free of litter. Specifically, from Port St. Lucie Boulevard to SW Becker Road which spans 3.5 miles. This section of road was chosen due to its mix of businesses, schools and housing associations.
NICE Outstanding Neighbor of the Year - John Lomba. Mr. Lomba is awarded the Outstanding Neighbor of the Year Award for his efforts and devotion to animal care. Mr. Lomba over the years has taken stray cats and assisted with spaying and neutering at his own expense and also feeds neighborhood strays. Additionally, he purchases and donates cat food for shelters. His time and generosity makes the job of the City’s Animal Control easier by cutting down on the number of feral cats, saves the lives of cats that might turn into a nuisance, and helps organizations that rely on donations to remain in operation.
NICE Outstanding Neighborhood of the Year - Tradition. Tradition is awarded the Outstanding Neighborhood of the Year Award for having the highest neighborhood participation in the Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful (KPSLB) Cleanup Day event held in April 2021. The cleanup event is part of Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup, a nationwide movement to reduce litter in public areas and improve the natural environment of their city. Ten residents of Tradition attended and participated in the Port St. Lucie Cleanup Day Event.
NICE Community Involvement Award - The Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County (CSCSLC) has been a dedicated community resource for families in the City of Port St. Lucie and surrounding areas for more than 30 years. In the wake of the recent pandemic, CSCSLC found strategic ways to support families to keep their children healthy, safe and strong. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, as schools and offices began to shut down, the programs funded by Children’s Services Council quickly realized that some families would not be able to manage the new virtual school requirements. Working with afterschool and summer program providers, the Children’s Services Council of St. Lucie County was able to invest funding to allow those organizations to open their doors for “Learning Launchpads” - or virtual learning hubs - offering 450 students a safe place to complete their virtual schoolwork while still allowing their parents to work. This model was expanded by an additional 300 seats for an important group of parents deemed essential workers, who were needed to continue serving our community.
Location of Project: Award recipients recognized have provided a benefit to various neighborhoods throughout the City of Port St. Lucie.
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