SUBJECT:
Title
WALK ON: Presented on February 17, 2026, as Agenda Item 8.2.: Requesting Board Consensus for the County Administrator, County Attorney, Clerk of Court, And Outside Bond Counsel to Continue Discussions with and Conducting Preliminary Due Diligence Assessment of a Proposal from Upward Communities to Deliver Affordable Essential Workforce Housing for Public Agency Employees
Body
|
INITIATOR: |
DEPARTMENT: |
|
Matthew G. Minter, County Attorney |
County Attorney |
DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND:
The Board will recall that Mr. Jason Roberts, CEO of Upward Communities, previously presented a concept to the Board on November 17, 2025, to provide affordable essential workforce housing that would be available for employees of Marion County, the City of Ocala, Marion County Public Schools and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, among others. To be approved, the proposed project must meet all legal and financial requirements of the Board, the Clerk, our bond counsel and Upward Communities. Upon approval, the project would meet a pressing need for these public agencies - removing the problem of a lack of affordable housing in the County that results in both difficulty in attracting new employees and retaining existing employees.
Since Mr. Roberts made his presentation to the Board, staff from the County Administrator, County Attorney, Clerk of Court, and Chris Traber, our bond counsel, have had several in-person or Zoom meetings with UPWARD representatives. We have reached a point where we can report to the Board that there is merit in the UPWARD concept, and recommend that the Board give our team consensus to request more detailed financial and project information from UPWARD that will enable us to make a recommendation whether or not to approve such a project, which would include evaluation of any significant legal or financial considerations for the Board’s consideration.
In summary, this requested action is only that we continue to engage with UPWARD COMMUNITIES to the point that we can make a final recommendation to the Board.
BUDGET/IMPACT:
None
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
Move to provide consensus for County Administrator, County Attorney, Clerk of Court and Bond Counsel to Continue to Engage with Upward Communities in Order to Subsequently bring a recommendation for final action to the Board.
end
Board consensus to continue conversation with Upward Communities.