Alachua County Commission hears update on relationship with Cure Violence Global, Gainesville City Manager objects to comments about the City “sabotaging the grant”
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At their January 28 meeting, the Alachua County Commission voted to move forward with the Gun Violence Prevention Alliance instead of contracting with Cure Violence Global to provide services, and the next day, Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry said she took issue with some comments made during the meeting by County Commissioner Anna Prizzia.
History of interactions with Cure Violence Global
County Manager Michele Lieberman went over the history of the County’s interactions with Cure Violence Global (CVG), which began during a joint meeting between the County Commission and the Children’s Trust of Alachua County on May 6, 2024. Following direction from the County Commission at that meeting, County staff began the process of discussing a contract with CVG; during that process, CVG separately obtained a federal grant to provide services in areas that included Alachua County.
After CVG attended a meeting of the Alachua County Gun Violence Prevention Alliance (“the Alliance”) on December 11, a representative from CVG sent an email saying the “tone and conduct of city representatives during the meeting were deeply concerning… Given the hostility encountered, we believe it is in the best interest of all parties for Cure Violence Global to graciously bow out of this partnership.”
Lieberman said that at that point, she and Alachua County Executive Liaison for Public Safety and Community Relations Carl Smart tried to persuade CVG to continue their work in Alachua County, but those conversations “proved ultimately not successful.” She said CVG has decided against performing services under the grant in our community, but “they are still willing to perform services in the community under a contract basis.”
Lieberman asked the board whether staff should continue down the path of a contract with CVG.
Discussion regarding continued participation in the Alliance
Lieberman reminded the board that the County had also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the other entities in the Alliance and asked whether they wanted to continue participating in that organization. “So basically, the options are: contract with CVG – yes or no; continue our participation in the Alliance – yes or no; do one, the other, or both, or discontinue our participation in the Gun Violence Initiative altogether?”
Smart said the Alliance continues to meet monthly with stakeholders “to move toward fulfilling the proposals that we presented to the Children’s Trust and the funds that we received for that… That includes a strategic plan; that includes putting together an Interrupters program; that includes small grant awards; and that also includes the Youth Steering Committee and the technology hub.”
Alford: “While I appreciate the work that these, you know, flashy nonprofits do, I feel like we know our county the best”
Commissioner Mary Alford asked whether a strategic plan had been completed, and Smart said one option was to contract with CVG to do that. Alford said, “I feel like we have so many experts here in our county… And while I appreciate the work that these, you know, flashy nonprofits do, I feel like we know our county the best… Success does not hinge on just the City of Gainesville reducing violence. It hinges on all of us reducing violence across the county… And so I personally would like to see us create our own strategic plan that goes hand-in-hand with whatever the City of Gainesville is doing,… making sure that we are addressing those at-risk communities… in the county area and addressing our small communities… We need to not ignore those communities that are struggling, and I can only believe that, given the current political situation that we are in, that it’s only going to get potentially much worse.”
Prizzia: “We had a unanimous vote… with the Children’s Trust [on moving forward with a contract with CVG for Interruption services], and I’m not sure why we’re re-legislating it… The reason they pulled out of that grant is because the City of Gainesville basically said they didn’t want them working in the city of Gainesville, that they didn’t want them here, and that they wanted them gone, and embarrassed them in front of… the Department of Justice.”
Commissioner Anna Prizzia said, “We already agreed that we were going to move forward with a contract with Cure Violence Global to do Interruption services in Alachua County,… and we had a unanimous vote on that with the Children’s Trust, and I’m not sure why we’re re-legislating it… They will do it. They absolutely will do it. The reason they pulled out of that grant is because the City of Gainesville basically said they didn’t want them working in the city of Gainesville, that they didn’t want them here, and that they wanted them gone, and embarrassed them in front of… the Department of Justice.”
Prizzia said she did not want to contract out the strategic plan; she said the Alliance gave money to Santa Fe College to run the strategic planning process, and Santa Fe College was “contracting it out with those funds. That, to me, is not what we were looking for.” She said she thought the Alliance was on the right track, “but I do not want to just give money to an Alliance to then contract out the services to a consultant, because if we’re going to do that, we can contract it ourselves, and then we can actually go through our procurement processes and make sure that we’re getting the best bang for our buck.”
Cornell: “I am very much all in with the City and the Alliance and the work that they are doing throughout our entire community, and I believe I can speak for the Trust, as the Trust Chair, that they are, as well. I’m sorry it didn’t work out with CVG – I was with you on that motion.”
Commissioner Ken Cornell said he was against contracting with CVG “at this point… I saw an email from the Executive Director of the Children’s Trust, who indicated that much of the funds the Trust is actually providing for the strategic plan through Santa Fe are now being moved to the City of Gainesville, which I think is great. I think the City of Gainesville is taking a county-wide approach through the Alliance; it’s not a city-wide approach… And so I am very much all in with the City and the Alliance and the work that they are doing throughout our entire community, and I believe I can speak for the Trust, as the Trust Chair, that they are, as well. I’m sorry it didn’t work out with CVG – I was with you on that motion.”
Gainesville Fire Rescue Interim Chief Shawn Hillhouse said money had been moved to the City of Gainesville for the strategic plan, but “it is being done through the Alliance… It will include all of the parties of the Alliance, and it will include the entire county.” He said the City has a Request for Proposal out to contract for the strategic plan.
Motion
Alford made a motion to move forward with the Alliance and create a sub-strategic plan for the County, “but that we basically stay with the Alliance and continue this important work.”
Prizzia said, “I don’t know why we would ask the City of Gainesville to contract [with] a strategic plan organization to develop a strategic plan for the County. That makes no sense.” Alford agreed, “Oh, I don’t want that… I want us to have a strategic plan.”
Cornell said the City was just “doing the leg work” on the contract, which would be “on behalf of the Alliance, utilizing all the stakeholders that are participating in the Alliance.” Chief Hillhouse agreed, saying the Alliance members weren’t sure a committee could enter into contracts, so the City offered to “take that specific item and move it forward.”
Smart said he would be involved in Alliance meetings to make sure the strategic plan includes the whole county, and Alford said that in that case, she would be comfortable with the City contracting for the strategic plan.
The motion passed 3-1, with Prizzia in dissent and Chair Chuck Chestnut absent.
Gainesville City Manager reacts to Prizzia’s comments
During the City Commission’s Agenda Review meeting on January 29, City Manager Cynthia Curry said she took issue with Prizzia’s comments “about the City sabotaging the grant… And I’m not trying to pick a fight, but I don’t mind a fight if it’s necessary, but clearly I don’t want to go there. I just think that is a bit much.”
Mayor Harvey Ward responded, “Well, it looks like they voted it down.” Curry agreed, “They voted her motion down, but you know, it is a shame that on a subject matter like gun violence, where we are doing such… good work… – and again, it did fail, three to one. So it’s not like a majority of Commissioners picked that up, but it’s just unfortunate. And I just had to say that.”
Ward said, “I agree with you, but let’s take the winning vote while we’ve got it.”
City Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker asked what the motion was, and Curry said, “They actually had a motion as to whether the County would withdraw from the Alliance, align themselves with Cure Violence Global.”
However, Curry’s summary mischaracterized the motion voted on by the County Commission: There was never a motion to withdraw from the Alliance. Prizzia favored entering into a contract with CVG for Interruption services, but she did not make a motion to do that and never advocated for withdrawing from the Alliance. Alford’s motion was prompted by a discussion of which entity should create a strategic plan for gun violence prevention in the county, and three members of the Commission voted to “move forward with” the Alliance, effectively voting to let the City issue a contract to create a strategic plan for the whole county.
This kind of thing right here is why we need single member districts. The City of Gainesville couldn’t plan their wsy out of a wet paper bag but these county commissioners are all with the the city… yeah, go figure. We in the county need equal representation. Gainesville’s violence spills over to the county, not the other way around. Violence has done nothing but gotten worse in Gainesville in the little over 6 years I have been here.
Sad! Move to Union. Lower taxes and a bustling economy with plenty of public infrastructure.
This is all any common sense individual needs to know about Gainesville leadership:
“A representative from CVG sent an email saying the “tone and conduct of city representatives during the meeting were deeply concerning… Given the hostility encountered, we believe it is in the best interest of all parties for Cure Violence Global to graciously bow out of this partnership.”
That’s what many of the truly intelligent, non-indoctrinated residents of Gainesville have seen for years from this group of hypocrites who pretend to care about the community.
Besides the childish squabbling in these comments, it is obvious that our wannabe county and city bumpkins still refuse to acknowledge that enforcing existing violence and gun laws would reduce violence, by helping misunderstood thugs understand there are consequences for their actions. Even the unsuccessful big blue cities then try to copy are realizing they have to have cops and enforce crime and punishment.
What a bunch of utter nonsense
It must have been that oh-so-typical ‘attitude’ you run in to when a certain ‘culture’ doesn’t get their way.
What does this famed group do besides take tax dollars and spread them around other agencies and themselves? They give it to gang leaders to change their behavior by training them to rely on that money instead of working or stealing? That is what it seems from their website.
Alachua County is getting to be as wasteful as Gainesville.
BTW, with all the renaming and so on, when will Gainesville repent and change their name, after all they are named after the mass murderer at Negro Fort, killing many and returning others to slavery.
About time the city leaders realize they are mass murdering those they don’t protect with understaffed police and so on. Hiring happy thoughts ambassadors just doesn’t do it.
Everyone knows the Gainesville city manager is difficult to deal with from the day she started, and even less qualified. She is not part of the national city manager trade group nor does she have interpersonal skills. The question is what will the city commission do about it? Nothing and we all know why.
“Alford: “While I appreciate the work that these, you know, flashy nonprofits do, I feel like we know our county the best””
“Alford made a motion to move forward with the Alliance and create a sub-strategic plan for the County, “but that we basically stay with the Alliance and continue this important work.””
She knows it’s not right but since she’s hell bent on being an ideologue she just couldn’t help herself. This is sad.
What’s even more sad is how comments on nearly every local article are co-opted by brain washed partisans on both sides.
,,,Y’all need to stop biting Jazzman’s (and those similar) weak a$$ bait. He’s good at redirecting the discussion away from local and to federal (or state) issues every time. Don’t entertain it. If you want to talk about Zion Don or Carmelo Harris do it somewhere else
CVG or GVPA, they’re both just profiteering parasitical organizations who are superficially promising to fix what can’t be fixed without cultural change, which they can’t get close to delivering. Still the GCC and ACC desperately want to believe that these profiteers can make a difference.