Despite pleas from the city s Black community angered by claims of racial insensitivity in communities where newly named Fort Myers City Manager Marty Lawing has worked, the city council approved his $230,000 contract Wednesday night.
The vote was 4-3 with the council s three Black members Teresa Watkins Brown, Johnny Streets Jr. and Terolyn Watson voting against it.
The allegations include a proposal to build a toxic waste dump in a long-abused but revered historically Black community in North Carolina, failure to promote women and minorities in his last job, and Lawing s denial of the appeal of a fired Black employee accused of hacking into other employees county email accounts.
It starts with honoring the past: Dunbar community envisions Franklin Park Elementary rebuild
Franklin Park Elementary School rebuild to focus on honoring its past
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As alumni and Dunbar community members filed into the Franklin Park Elementary School cafeteria Tuesday evening, pictures drawn by current third-, fourth- and fifth-graders lined the walls.
The pictures represented the students’ visions for what they wanted their school to look like once one of Lee County’s most historic schools is rebuilt toward the end of next year and finished in 2024.
Getting input from students and teachers was just step one as Franklin Park is on track to become the county’s first community partnership school.
By midday Monday, word was out that the Fort Myers City Council would be talking about a mayoral pledge made last week to work toward creating a housing trust fund to support construction of more affordable housing in the city.
Within hours, dozens of members of LIFE, Lee Interfaith for Empowerment, descended on City Hall to demand that the council meet Mayor Kevin Anderson s promise to get a housing trust fund ordinance in the pipeline.
After a public comment period Councilmember Johnnie Streets made a formal motion Monday asking that the ordinance to restart a housing trust fund be on the city council agenda in two weeks and that the funding level for the trust fund be established as the council sets its budget for next year.
Fort Myers city leaders have selected a new city manager. The council voted to hire Marty Lawing, former county manager of Guilford County, North Carolina. Friday is Fort Myers City Manager Saeed Kazemi’s last day after he retired at the request of Mayor Kevin Anderson. Lawing said he’s ready to hit the ground running. “I […]