Commissioner Murman quoted in this Observer article on FCC:

Firehouse Cultural Center looks to the future with expansion plans

MITCH TRAPHAGEN PHOTO Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman and Firehouse Cultural Center Executive Director Georgia Vahue speaking at the Oct. 23 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the center’s expansion.

By MITCH TRAPHAGEN

Art and culture are more than pastimes or pretty things to look at. Both can bring diverse people together as neighbors and serve as the foundation to bind communities together. They also mean jobs and money: A 2016 study commissioned by the Arts Council of Hillsborough County found that nearly 15,000 fulltime-equivalent jobs are supported by the nonprofit arts sector, contributing $433 million to the local economy.

A part of those numbers is the growing presence of the Firehouse Cultural Center in Ruskin. The center, which opened in 2012 in a closed Hillsborough County fire station, as the brainchild of a cadre of dedicated, community-minded volunteers, began full-time programming in 2013, has served more than 30,000 people in the local area through a vast array of programming, including arts, education and entertainment, designed to reach nearly every demographic in the region. That was in 2016 alone.

Georgia Vahue, the cultural center’s first and only executive director, came to the center from running a cultural center in the New York City area. She appreciated not only the vastly different dynamics involved in coming from a much more densely populated area, but also the opportunities she had to be among the first to bring the arts to the southern part of the metro Tampa Bay area. Soon the center became a full-time presence, expanding the reach through educational programs for all ages and interests, and entertainment opportunities where none existed in the past. Today, the Firehouse Cultural Center has a strong relationship with the Straz Performing Arts Center in downtown Tampa and even has its own radio station at 101.9 FM.

And now they are planning an expansion to an empty building, formerly a hair salon, across the street on 1st Avenue N.E. in Ruskin. The plans for the building include meeting the growing needs and demand for the arts, education and entertainment resulting from a rapidly growing South Hillsborough population. The 501(c)3 nonprofit center is working towards a $350,000 fundraising goal.

On Oct. 23, the public was invited to join with the center’s board of directors, county representatives, and center patrons to celebrate a ribbon-cutting for their new, increased presence and future, larger capacity for serving the region.

MITCH TRAPHAGEN PHOTO As if to prove the regional footprint of the Firehouse Cultural Center, the ribbon-cutting was an event for three area chambers of commerce: SouthShore, Riverview and Sun City Center.

Speakers at the event included Bruce Marsh, president of the FCC board of directors and one of the original founders; Janice Bayruns, vice president of the FCC board of directors; Lorrin Sheppard, chief financial officer of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts; Dr. Allen Witt, Hillsborough Community College; Martine Collier, executive director Arts Council Hillsborough County; and Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman.

“This is an investment — a long term investment,” Commissioner Murman said. “I am very honored to be a part of this.” The commissioner has supported the center since the beginning.

The event also included a performance by young musical theater students.

For more information about the Firehouse Cultural Center and how you can help, become a member or take part in their programming, visit www.firehouseculturalcenter.org.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on stadium site:

Crist angry he had no say in proposed Tampa ballpark site before it went public

• Steve Contorno, Times Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 25, 2017 3:34pm

But that’s not all who were surprised.

Commissioner Victor Crist was livid Wednesday that he learned about the plan through the media. Crist said it was a violation of protocol for Hagan to unveil a location as a county plan and present it to the Rays without first getting the approval of the entire commission.

Crist’s fear is that this has been branded publicly as Hillsborough County’s plan, when the county commission hasn’t even seen it, let alone vote on it.

“This has had no vetting of the county commission. This has had no vetting of public input,” Crist said. “This whole thing has been done in a vacuum behind the scenes, out of the sunshine and that is not how the Board of County Commissioners operates.”

Crist pointed out that Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn told reporters that he, too, was caught off guard by Hagan’s announcement. County Administrator Mike Merrill told the Tampa Bay Timesthat he wasn’t given a warning by Hagan either, but said, “That’s his prerogative.”

Hagan informed reporters Tuesday that the county had solidified site control of 14 acres in the area between the Channel District and Ybor City through a nonprofit that will be run by Tampa lawyer Ron Christaldi and businessman Charles Sykes.

Crist said he met with Christaldi the day before, along with Rays President Brian Auld. The Ybor site never came up. Instead, during the conversation, which included about 12 other people, Crist talked about the merits of the Tampa Greyhound Track for a ballpark.

Why didn’t Christaldi or Auld clue him in? Crist wondered.

“You can find this whole thing breaks down quickly just because it was handled inappropriately,” said Crist, who opined that his colleagues were just as upset.

But if they are, they declined to lash out, as Crist did.

Commissioners Al Higginbotham, Les Miller and Sandy Murman said they weren’t expecting an announcement Tuesday but nevetheless had no problem with Hagan making public the preferred site.

In a vote last year, the board formally designated Hagan the commission’s point person to lead the site search with other community and business leaders, and to negotiate with the Rays and landowners.

“We gave him that authority and to my knowledge he did exactly what we asked him to do,” Miller said.

Murman said, though, it is important to note that no deal has been struck — “We’d have to approve that,” she said — and she expects a conversation on the board soon.

“It’s a process,” Murman said, “and we’re in the conceptual stage.”

Commissioner Murman quoted in this ABC Action News article on her 3^rd Annual County Job Fair:

Sandy Murman’s County Job Fair on Friday at HCC Tampa features 50 employers looking to hire

Virtual Job Fair to be held Friday afternoon

Sean O’Reilly

11:08 AM, Oct 12, 2017

Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

TAMPA, Fla. – Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman’s 3rd annual County Job Fair on Friday features dozens of employers looking to fill openings.

“The most important thing that we can do in county government is to help our unemployed or under employed residents to find jobs,” said Commissioner Murman. “When more people are working, more people are saving and spending money at local businesses, and the economy continues to improve.”

The fair is being held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Student Services Building at Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry Campus located at 4001 W. Tampa Blvd. in Tampa.

Nearly 50 employers are expected to participate in the job fair. Some will interview potential employees on the spot, while others will provide online links to jobs.

The participating employers have hundreds of positions available in both part time and full time work.

“We are very excited this year to have employers like Amgen, Tampa General Hospital, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Aramark, Bank of America, Hillsborough County Public Schools and many more,” said Commissioner Murman.

If you cannot attend the job fair in person, you can still participate in the Virtual County Job Fair on Friday afternoon.

From 1:00 to 6:00 p.m., job seekers can access www.careersourcetampabay.com/pages/murman_job_fair to apply for any jobs featured at the morning event.   The following businesses are confirmed for the job fair:

• Amgen
• Hillsborough County Consumer & Veterans Services
• Primamerica Financial Services
• Hillsborough Environmental Protection Commission
• Hillsborough County
• Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
• Canterbury Tower
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions
• AAFES MacDill Exchange
• Hillsborough Technical College
• Macy’s Logistics and Operations
• College Hunks Hauling Junk
• CareerSource Tampa Bay
• Hillsborough County Public Library
• United States Army
• Signal 88 Security
• ChildCare Careers
• Truecore Behavioral Solutions
• Kelly Education Staffing
• Bank of America
• Angel Unaware
• Cognizant
• Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections
• NeuroRestorative
• OOVERTSIE, LLC
• Hillsborough County Public Schools
• Allied Universal
• Brookdale Senior Living
• G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc.
• BayCare Health Systems
• People Ready – A TrueBlue Company
• JP Morgan
• Target
• T-Mobile
• Dynasty Building Solutions, LLC
• Tampa Armature Works
• Computer Generated Solutions, Inc.
• Mediagistic, Inc.
• Alliance Workforce
• Convergys
• Tampa General Hospital
• Napa Auto Parts
• Greenway Health
• Aramark Sports & Entertainment
• Telephone Service, Inc.
• West Florida Health
• Roy’s Staffing, Inc.
• Manpower
• Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Tampa Bay Times article on her County Job Fair:

Commissioner Murman hosting Hillsborough job fair Oct. 13

• Times Staff

Thursday, October 5, 2017 4:09pm

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman, pictured, is hosting a job fair Oct. 13 for Hillsborough County with CareerSource Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Community College. [EVE EDELHEIT | Times]

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman is hosting a Hillsborough County job fair Oct. 13. CareerSource Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Community College are partnering with Murman for the event.

About 50 businesses will attend the job fair, ranging from biotech company Amgen to Brooksdale Senior Living and JP Morgan Chase.

The event will be held at the community college’s Dale Mabry Campus at 4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd. from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. For more information, call CareerSource’s Angela Lyons at (813) 930-7836 or visit sandymurman.com/job-fair-registration.