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This request has been purposely timed to coordinate with the report from the Gifford Community Workforce Enhancement Task Force which will be presented at the August 81 County Commission meeting. A number of significant events have occurred in the Gifford area over the past year. I have met with the community leaders almost monthly to work through numerous problem areas: roads, drainage, zoning, law enforcement, and code violations. The removal of the C.O.P.E. office lead to discussions with Sheriff Wheeler who has assured me that an office facility will be returned to 45t° Street. Our Code Enforcement officers have stepped up inspections. Public Works has continued to move forward with a much needed drainage system while Habitat for Humanity has continued to provide new housing. Presently, I am working with the Gifford Progressive League on the designation of Gifford as one of the Governor Bush's "Front Porch" communities. If successful, this designation will lead to additional grant monies for many of the items listed above. In order for all of these important components to come together, the Gifford community needs professional planning assistance. This planning assistance will help them review their land use and zoning; identify and make improvements along their main corridor, the Martin Luther King Boulevard 145t° Street]; and help implement the findings of the task force. Therefore, I recommend that this Commission request our Planning Department to assist the Gifford Community in establishing a Small Area Plan review including a corridor study of 45te Street as soon as possible. Commissioner Stanbridge complimented the Workforce Development Task Force's fine report and their significant efforts in Gifford over the past year. She noted that Sheriff Wheeler has promised that the COPE unit will be reinstated and the Code Enforcement Department will step up their efforts. She felt the Gifford area would be enhanced by application for the Governor's "Front Porch" initiative which is for areas that need a hand up. She asked the Planning Department to designate someone to work with the committee on the Small Area Plan, including implementation of the 45' Street Corridor Study and to implement the findings of the Task Force. AUGUST S, 2000 Bit 114 PG 5 2' -67- L