Gainesville City Commission discusses “Key to the City” and other awards

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During today’s Gainesville City Commission meeting, the commission discussed establishing procedures for awarding a Key to the City and some other possible awards.

Policy Oversight Administrator Morgan Spicer told the commission that the City of Gainesville currently has no formal set of guidelines, but as one example, Tom Petty and his band members were awarded Keys to the City in 2006. The City has a procedure for awarding special recognitions, which can include proclamations and congratulatory letters; these are handled through the City Clerk’s office and are presented by the Mayor. Spicer presented examples of procedures used by other cities.

Following the presentation, Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said she and Commissioners Bryan Eastman and Casey Willits had worked on a draft policy; she said she thought it was an honor that could be bestowed on dignitaries who visit Gainesville and that it should be at the discretion of the Mayor, with recommendations made by commissioners.

Commissioners suggest potential recipients

Chestnut said she had brought the issue forward because gospel artist Vickie Winans will be here during Juneteenth, and she wanted to bestow the honor upon Winans. Chestnut said Winans became interested in coming to Gainesville “because working with the NAACP, our Governmental Affairs Office–Yvette Carter–they’re working with a group from all over the state that’s planning a celebration for Juneteenth. Well, when they received our information from Gainesville, they said we are probably the only city in the country who’s celebrating for a month. And they were so impressed, they really reworked their schedule to make sure that we could be included in that participation. And I think that is why she agreed to come, because we have put forth such an effort, in recognition of which we will kick off tomorrow.”

Willits said he liked the idea of honoring visiting dignitaries, extraordinary achievements, and outstanding contributions, but some of them might be “homegrown,” so he wanted to leave it open to “people [who] really put Gainesville on the map.”

Eastman also wanted to suggest a possible recipient, the band Against Me!, which will be in town for Fest in October. He said he had been a friend of the band for many years, and “the lead singer became more of an iconoclast when they transitioned from male to female and became–Laura Jane Grace is the lead singer, who you may have read about in the Gainesville Sun, recently did a series about her and being… someone who’s really been a face for the transgender movement, as well as being one of the best punk rock bands in history and my favorite punk rock band, period… Part of living in a city is building that culture and building that community and making sure that we honor the people that are coming into town.”

“This is nice, but we don’t need it.”

Commissioner Reina Saco said she didn’t “want to be a killjoy, but I don’t particularly see the need for this right now.” She said that given constraints on staff to cut the budget, “I’m not a huge fan of this in general, much less now… We already have proclamations, we already have street dedications, we have other forms of recognition to those who serve and enhance our community, and we can certainly do those things… This is nice, but we don’t need it. And we don’t need the pomp and circumstance and expense that comes with something that is just nice, least of all this year.” She also didn’t support “mass producing more stuff.”

Mayor Harvey Ward responded, “I couldn’t disagree with you more. I think there are times when if you don’t occasionally celebrate, particularly when things are rough, things get a lot worse.”

Eastman said that since the City previously gave out Keys, “This isn’t really a new thing we’re doing, per se… I think we’re almost kind of reminding people that this is a long-standing tradition within the City of Gainesville.” He pointed out that the City already has a stock of Keys, so “it’s essentially just a press conference in front of City Hall.”

“We’re not just here to make rules; we’re here to help people get through this world. That’s part of our job, and any government’s job, and any leadership job, is to help folks feel a little bit better about day-to-day life.” – Mayor Harvey Ward

Ward said the City already has proclamations: “The way we do that, traditionally, is if you fill the form out, we’ll almost certainly do it. I sign several of these a week… It’s a thing people can feel good about. And I will say again, when things are rough is when people look to leadership to give them something to feel a little bit better about. We’re not just here to make rules; we’re here to help people get through this world. That’s part of our job, and any government’s job, and any leadership job, is to help folks feel a little bit better about day-to-day life. Sometimes we can do that. Sometimes we have to be the heavy. But we shouldn’t be ashamed to be helpful and to try to help people feel better about their life.”

Ward continued, “I’m thinking of another level, and I don’t know which one would be a higher level, if Key to the City or this will be a higher, less common thing. But I’m thinking about a level that is Neighbor of Distinction, for someone who has lived here at some point and they are a guest of distinction. And I don’t know, again, if the ‘of distinction’ would be better, as a higher level or like a once-a-year sort of thing, or a Key to the City would be a more distinctive thing.”

Commissioner Ed Book said he supports “forms of recognition and providing ways that you tell people they’re valued,” but he wanted it to be “as simple as possible.” He also supported a private partnership or sponsorship to pay for any awards. Book also wanted to “make sure it’s a high honor” by having a second person vet anybody who is nominated: “Sometimes you get a different perspective and maybe we find that–hopefully we don’t uncover something that makes us want to not issue it, but it’s just always helpful.”

“Hogtown Hero Award”

Eastman said Keys should go to people who don’t currently live in Gainesville but “have some kind of impact on the city.” He also liked the idea of a higher award, but he thought “award of distinction” sounded too bureaucratic and suggested a “branded” award like “Golden Gator” or “Hogtown Hero Award.” Ward suggested a train, like the one on the City seal. Eastman said the commission didn’t need a motion on the issue and that the Mayor could work on it himself.

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker was concerned about the cost after the existing supply of Keys is given out, but “Overall, I like the idea. I just want to make sure that we are not creating a situation in which we are going to have to fund something that we really cannot fund right now.”

Ward said he would make sure that any awards they come up with would be paid out of private funds. He added that the City will be “looking for sponsorships, I can tell you that, for lots of things.”

Book said the commission should be careful in the short term because “people may think that our priorities are misplaced,” so the City should be “really careful in the way we message that… We don’t want that to overshadow the difficult stuff that we’re dealing with.”

Ward responded, “For the next several months, it is hard for me to imagine that anybody will think we’re taking anything lightly.” However, he said he would “not wear sackcloth and ashes all the time” and that he would “occasionally laugh about stuff.”

Book said they should stay away from any title that links to the University of Florida because they want to focus on the City of Gainesville.

Ward concluded by saying he would update the commission on the next steps, “and we’ll get a process started.”