Resident urges board to address South Apopka's unincorporated status, reallocate policing funds and oppose ICE contracts

A resident who identified herself at the May 21 meeting urged the CRA board to take up several community concerns about South Apopka, which she said is an unincorporated area with a segregation-era history. She asked the board to give South Apopka residents a vote on the area’s governance status and urged a reallocation of some taxpayer funds away from police budgets toward social services such as social workers and housing supports.

The resident criticized certain city expenditures for police items — including uniforms and scholarships for officers — and suggested those funds be redirected to college reimbursement programs and unhoused-population services. She said, "If we could swap those numbers and invest in social workers, that would be super dope. It would really help our unhoused population."

She also urged the CRA board to publicly support Orange County if the county pursues an end to an Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She cited national reporting that related deaths in custody had occurred since November and asked local leaders to show courage in resisting federal involvement.

The board acknowledged the public-comments period and did not take formal action on those requests during the meeting. Board members deferred any policy response to later meetings or to other bodies with the authority to change county or city agreements.

Separately, Sylvester Hall, a public commenter, suggested broad outreach methods — such as including program information in the city water bill newsletter — to make residents aware of CRA programs and resources.