Placement: New Business
Action Requested: Discussion
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Hear a Presentation on the Love Your Block Program, A Year in Review
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Submitted By: Stephanie Vernot, Community Engagement Manager, Communications Department
Strategic Plan Link: The City’s Mission to utilize engagement.
Executive Summary (General Business): The Love Your Block program is powered by the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins and brings city leaders and residents together to build stronger neighborhoods, one block at a time. The program works alongside local organizations, neighborhood groups, and community members in Port St. Lucie to achieve its goals. Port St. Lucie was selected as one of 16 cities in the nation this year to participate in the Love Your Block program in the pilot neighborhood of Whispering Pines. Serving as a model for future engagement initiatives, Love Your Block reflects the City’s Strategic Plan, emphasizing neighborhood engagement to build an Engaged and Connected City. Representatives from the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins and the Port St. Lucie team will present the first year’s progress.
Presentation Information: A 15-minute PowerPoint presentation will be provided by staff and representatives from the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins, along with a brief video.
Kate Parmelee, Deputy City Manager, and Melissa Yunas from the Communications Department will introduce and share the program’s progress with our guest speakers, Kali-Ahset Amen and Renata Campante from the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University.
Staff Recommendation: Move that the Council hear the presentation and accept the progress report.
Alternative Recommendations:
1. Move that the Council hear the presentation, amend the recommendation and accept the progress report.
2. Move that the Council provide staff direction.
Background: In September 2024, the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation (BCPI) at Johns Hopkins University announced that City of Port St. Lucie will receive a Love Your Block grant to fund resident-led, neighborhood revitalization projects.
As one of 16 newly selected U.S. cities, Port St. Lucie joined the largest cohort in the history of the Love Your Block program - which reached nearly 50,000 community members who have improved nearly 4,000 public spaces - creating nearly 800 art displays, cleaning 102,000 square feet of graffiti and removing 6.7 million pounds of trash in cities nationwide since its creation in 2009.
The Love Your Block grant was awarded to the City of Port St. Lucie to help address community concerns, enhance quality of life and foster stronger ties among residents in the Whispering Pines neighborhood. This initiative has not only focused on physical improvements but also on fostering a sense of community and belonging among the residents.
The program team set a goal to engage with Whispering Pines to improve public spaces, promote community events and cultivate equitable access to green spaces in ZIP code 34953 by 2026 to increase love of the community, neighborhood connectedness, identify community champions and build strong partnerships with existing city programs.
Over the past year, 18 projects, including neighborhood clean-ups, tree plantings, little free libraires, bench installations and minor home repairs were implemented with the active participation of local volunteers. These efforts have significantly improved the neighborhood's quality of life and strengthened the bonds among residents and community partners.
The City awarded 16 mini-grants, with 710 volunteers engaging more than 1,329 residents, cleaning 17 acres, installing 20 new features, planting trees, completing minor home repairs and removing 839 pounds of trash. Through consistent outreach and relationship-building, City staff has become honorary members of the community, fostering pride, strengthening connections and driving meaningful lasting change.
The City of Port St. Lucie’s Love Your Block team will present an overview on the 18 completed projects, including before-and-after images and key success metrics.
Issues/Analysis: N/A
Financial Information: The Love Your Block program is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The City of Port St. Lucie was awarded $100,000 over two years to support the initiative. Funding will be disbursed in two equal payments of $50,000. The first payment of $50,000 was issued upon execution of the award agreement. The second $50,000 payment will be disbursed upon satisfactory completion, in BCPI’s sole discretion, of Year 1 grant activities and submission of the first annual report.
Special Consideration: N/A
Location of Project: The Love Your Block Program targets the Whispering Pines neighborhood. This program will serve as a model for other neighborhoods and could be replicated in other areas of the City moving forward, as a model for the City’s renewed focus on Neighborhood Engagement as prioritized in the City’s Strategic Plan and goal of Engaged and Connected City.
Attachments: PowerPoint presentation and video.
NOTE: All of the listed items in the “Attachment” section above are in the custody of the City Clerk. Any item(s) not provided in City Council packets are available upon request from the City Clerk.
Internal Reference Number: Numerical Reference Number or enter N/A
Legal Sufficiency Review:
N/A