Council approves grant from UAE

[Steve]

Jacksonville City Council members approved legislation Tuesday allowing the city to receive a $2.775 million grant from United Arab Emirates to help address damage done by Hurricane Irma a year ago.

The grant will fund projects including:

• $425,000 to Duval County Public Schools for an architecture career academy and computer labs at William M. Raines High School and Jean Ribault High School.

• $250,000 to Builders Care and $400,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville Inc. for the Ken Knight Drive Neighborhood Home Repair and Restoration Project.

• $900,000 to I.M. Sulzbacher Center for mobile medical clinics.

• $800,000 to the City of Jacksonville to restore Charles Reese Park and to improve public infrastructure on Ken Knight Drive.

Projects could begin in late 2018 or early 2019.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/the-cawton-report-gulliford-making-progress-on-mayport-plans

[Steve]

So, while I don't question the validity of these initiatives (they all seem like good things), what does any of this (aside from the funds for the Ken Knight Drive Home Repair Project and the $800k in the last bullet) have anything to do with Hurricane Irma?

Further....why does the UAE have a passion for this project?

[Tacachale]

This is interesting in light of the city withdrawing from the Rockefeller Center's Resilient Cities initiative back in 2016, before Matthew and Irma hit.

http://news.wjct.org/post/jacksonville-drops-out-rockefeller-foundations-100-resilient-cities