VOLUME 5 ISSUE 35
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AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 5, 2024
County’s five-year plan will allocate over $16 million to alleviate homelessness, increase affordable housing By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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arion County’s Five-Year Consolidated Plan is about to take effect in October; Here is a closer look at how the county plans to appropriate over $16 million toward housing development to serve the low-income community.
Through this federal funding, the county plans to develop and preserve affordable housing, prevent and end homelessness, stabilize communities, maintain and enhance public facilities and infrastructure, provide accessible public services, and enhance community development, according to the consolidates plan. Since Marion County is considered
a federal entitlement community by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, every five years county staff must implement a plan to implement any federal programs that fund housing, community development and economic development. Community Services Director Cheryl Martin presented this rendition of the plan to in March, with a final approval from the County
Wear Gloves is expanding its Dignity House outreach After renovations are completed in about a year, referrals of the most vulnerable persons in the area needing shelter will come from the Ocala/ Marion County Joint Office of Homelessness Prevention.
Ken and Wendy Kebrdle, the founders of Wear Gloves, talk about their planned Dignity House for homeless people as they give a tour of the facility on South Pine Avenue in Ocala on Thursday, August 22, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.
By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
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ignity House, an emergency intake center for unsheltered people, which was opened in March by the founders of the local nonprofit Wear Gloves, is
expanding from a three-bedroom house into a 13,000-square-foot building in southwest Ocala. The expanded Dignity House will intake persons who were living unsheltered for a 30-day emergency stay. Plans include offering future residents an 18-month “workforce readiness
training” program with in-house case management People living unsheltered—such as in cars, under bridges and in camps— will be referred through a coordinated entry list administered by the Ocala/ Marion County Joint Office of Homelessness Prevention. The building was the former site of domestic violence shelter. The renovations should be completed in about a year. Plans are to initially house 12 people a “non-congregational,” or one person per room, setting for about a year and eventually house up to 60 people. The Dignity House is another initiative by Ken and Wendy Kebrdle, founders of Wear Gloves and the outreach’s Dignity Center work program and Dignity Roasters coffee shop and coffee sales in Ocala. The Dignity House is aimed at transforming lives and restoring hope “through the power of housing,” according to a post on the organization’s website, which states, “Our initiative is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves a place to call home, where they can find stability, security, and a sense of belonging.” “This won’t be a shelter with people See Dignity, page A4
Ocala International receives FAA grant to pay for design of terminal rehabilitation By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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he Ocala International Airport is planning to rehabilitate the area surrounding the airport’s terminal, thanks to a grant that will provide funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. Jim Taylor Field’s terminal will be getting much-needed improvements, with the rehabilitation of the apron surrounding the structure. The terminal apron is the area of the airport where aircraft park, refuel, and load cargo and passengers. The existing apron’s condition has deteriorated and has “cracking, spalling and rutting,” according to the project scope. The 140,000 square-foot area will be load tested, then the asphalt will be milled to 5 to 7 inches deep and replaced with cement concrete during this phase of the project, according to the project scope. Currently in the design phase, this portion of the project will cost $96,530, with $86,877 funded by the FAA and $9,653 funded by the airport’s reserve
Commission on Aug. 6. “It outlines the needs analysis for Marion County, our housing market, and then outlines our strategic plan for the next five years and how we’re going to budget our Community Development Block Grant, our Home Investment Partnership funds and our Emergency Solutions grant,” Martin said. See Five-year, page A2
County approves higher payout for firefighters with cancer Union continues support of legal fight for ‘wrongfully denied’ case By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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urrent and former Marion County firefighters who have been diagnosed with cancer will now be eligible for benefits, regardless of their enrollment in the county-sponsored health plan. While the move overturns two outstanding claims from firefighters of wrongful denial of benefits, retired firefighter Phillip Shinn continues to pursue legal action against the county for the denial of his cancer benefits after his 2016 retirement. Cancer benefits for firefighters are secured by Florida State Statute, enacted in 2019, to compensate firefighters with a one-time payment of $25,000 and for their out-of-pocket medical costs. To receive these benefits, the current or retired firefighter must have been employed for at least five years and be on the employer’s health plan. The county’s recent move expands benefits past the state requirements, allowing firefighters to receive this benefit whether or not they are on the Marion County-sponsored health plan, as long as they meet all of the other requirements. “Through the continued support of the Marion County Board of County Commissioners and the Professional Firefighters of Marion County, our health, wellness and safety programs are a model for other departments in the state of Florida to emulate,” said Marion County Fire Rescue Chief James Banta. Regardless of this, Shinn, supported by the PFFMC union, has not received these benefits after his diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a form of leukemia. Shinn served as a firefighter in Marion See Expanding, page A2
File photo: Planes are shown on the tarmac in the general aviation area at Ocala International Airport on Monday, April 18, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
fund for contingencies. The funding will allow engineers to evaluate the cracks on the ramp, estimate quantities for the bid schedule, perform surveys and investigations of load testing, develop concepts for rehabilitation of the apron, develop a plan, mill the surface of the existing pavement, and install
cement concrete pavement. The city of Ocala will submit another grant application to receive funding from the FAA for construction of the project, which is anticipated to start in mid-2025. The entirety of the project is anticipated to be finished by January of 2026.
Former Marion County firefighter Phillip Shinn filed a lawsuit against Marion County after being denied health benefits related to cancer. [Professional Firefighters of Marion County]
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