The Plant City City Commission met Monday night to discuss city business. In their meeting, they approved a resolution allowing the Plant City Police Department (PCPD) to participate in the Florida Attorney General’s Helping Heroes program to receive naloxone at no cost from the Walmart Supercenter Pharmacy.
Commissioners heard a presentation by Captain Al Van Duyne, who explained that there is no cost to the city to participate in this program. “In 2021, Florida’s emergency responders treated nearly 105,000 people for an overdose and nearly 6,400 Floridians died from an opioid overdose that year, those are staggering numbers when you think about it,” he said. “Naloxone quickly reverses the effect of opioid overdoses.”
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, restores breathing in a person in danger of overdosing.
The Helping Heroes program is a Florida Attorney General program that provides the life-saving drug to emergency response agencies at Walmart pharmacy locations (Walmart Supercenter store #547 located at 2602 James L. Redman Pkwy. is a participating location) for participating first responders and law enforcement officers. The available naloxone was procured as part of the Attorney General’s opioid settlements with Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (Teva) and Walmart. Over the next 10 years, Teva and Walmart will partner with Florida Health and the Attorney General to manufacture, distribute and dispense $84 million worth of lifesaving naloxone to first responders and law enforcement officers throughout Florida.
After the application process and acceptance into the program, participating agencies will certify with training requirements. They’ll also be required to document and report uses of naloxone, which will be dispensed to PCPD. The program will run until 2033.
Commissioners quickly recognized the benefits of participating in the program.
“The addition of naloxone to our police officers’ toolset is an important enhancement to their ability to respond in critical overdose situations,” said City Manager Bill McDaniel. “Participation in this program is yet another demonstration of the City’s commitment to public safety and the well-beiong of the community we serve. I am pleased that our Police Department has undertaken this initiative to enhance their ability to serve the community.”
“This is not just for people that might be overdosing but also for field officers that might come in contact with the drug,” said Mayor Nate Kilton.
The resolution was unanimously approved by commissioners.
Additional agenda items discussed at the meeting include:
- The City of Plant City won the Executive Director’s Award for McIntosh Preserve Integrated Suite of Water Projects at the 41st Annual Planning & Design Awards on Oct. 18. The awards program, hosted by the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission, recognized inspirational people for plans, programs, projects and developments making a big impact on the community. “Our amazing team deserves credit for this great accomplishment,” said Mayor Nate Kilton. “It’s nice to be recognized for this project, and I’m very excited about the next phase.”
- Execution of a Grant Agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in the amount of $70,000 to hire a consultant to perform a Flood Vulnerability Assessment to meet the requirements of Florida Statutes. Completion of the assessment is a prerequisite qualification for receipt of further grants from FDEP’s Resilient Florida Program. There is no out-of-pocket cost for the city.
- A resolution setting a quasi-judicial public hearing on a resolution approving a final plat entitled Southern Quality Professional Parcel, creating a two-lot subdivision within the Walden Woods Planned Development District. This public hearing will take place at the commission meeting on Monday, November 13.
- A resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a contract extension with Labor Solutions, Inc. through March 31, 2024 for temporary staffing services. The original contract was scheduled to end September 30. The staffing company fills certain positions on a temporary basis, including Refuse Collector, Parks Equipment Operator, Stormwater Operator and Utilities Maintenance Specialist.
- A resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with NET Facility Services, LLC for city janitorial services. NET Facility Services, LLC was awarded the contract after a Request for Proposals (RFP) was published and 17 proposals were received. A staff evaluation committee ranked the respondents and, after an interview of the three shortlisted companies, it was recommended NET Facility Services, LLC be awarded the contract with an agreement term for two years with three optional single-year renewals. The annual cost of the initial contract term is $287,518.08, a decrease of $37,400 from its former vendor.
- The commission recognized Interim Fire Chief Mossgrove for earning the re-designation of “Chief Fire Officer” by the Commission on Professional Credentialing (CPC).
- City commissioners reappointed Shelby Bender, Masha Passmore and Bennie Lubrano to the Historic Resources Board for two-year terms commencing Nov. 1.
- Legislative and quasi-judicial public hearings were held for a map amendment and rezoning of 16.58 acres on Lindsey Road from Hillsborough County Agriculture Single Family-1 (AS_1) to the Central Florida Commerce Center Phase 5 Planned Development (PD) District to allow up to 200,000 square feet of industrial uses. Mayor Nate Kilton expressed approval for the project. “I’m grateful to Central Florida Development for their commitment to go above requirements in the planning process to help ensure minimal impact to their neighbors,” said Mayor Kilton. “They have been great corporate partners with us in Plant City, and I appreciate their continued investment in our community.”
The next city commission meeting is Monday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.