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Kissimmee commission gives consensus to memorial for Bill Hanson and directs RFP for Lancaster Ranch field house
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Summary
State Rep. Jose Alvarez urged the commission to honor local events organizer Bill Hanson; the commission gave informal consensus to rename Ruby Plaza or place a memorial and asked staff to return for a public hearing. Commissioners also voted to proceed with an RFP for the Lancaster Ranch/field house project.
State Representative (and former Kissimmee mayor) Jose Alvarez asked the commission to honor community leader Guillermo "Bill" Hanson for his decades of local event work and suggested renaming Ruby Plaza in Lakefront Park or placing a memorial tree and plaque. Alvarez described Hanson as a key figure behind community festivals and local bilingual media and asked the commission to consider a permanent dedication.
The city manager said renaming Ruby Plaza would require a simple commission vote and that the city has a memorial tree-planting and plaque policy; renaming would proceed through a public-hearing process. The commission indicated unanimous informal support for pursuing the memorial and asked staff to return with a public-hearing item.
Separately, Vice Mayor Angela Eady asked staff to proceed with an RFP for the Lancaster Ranch project (field house), citing developer interest. Staff explained the city has an unsolicited-proposal process but that the commission may choose an RFP to regulate timing and receipt of proposals; the commission voted to proceed via RFP and directed staff to prepare the solicitation and return for commission review.
Outcomes: The commission gave consensus to pursue a memorial naming or plaque for Bill Hanson and directed staff to return with the required public-hearing item; it also voted to launch an RFP process for the Lancaster Ranch/field house project.
