I think we can all agree that this past summer we saw a change in our habits, a change in relationships and a change in attitudes about many of the things we once thought were so important. The good news is that we have persevered, and over the past couple of weeks, the greater Fort Lauderdale area has shown some significant progress in the fight against COVID-19.

The infection rate locally has dropped steadily from a peak in mid-July when 15 percent of all test results were coming back positive for the virus. Thankfully, that infection rate now hovers below 5 percent. Hospital visits and the number of people dying from COVID are markedly lower as well.

This is the result of the great compliance among residents and businesses with the health safety measures we put in place: requiring masks and social distancing.

Hopefully, as this trend continues, the governor and Broward County will allow more and more of our economy to reopen. We have demonstrated that we can be safe and go about our daily lives at the same time.

The first step in this direction occurred when I joined with many of my fellow mayors to persuade the county to allow extended operating hours at restaurants.

The second step came this week. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show will proceed Oct. 28-Nov. 1 in a scaled-back version with strong safety measures in place to protect public health. The show has a major economic impact on our economy each year, providing a needed boost to many small businesses and their employees.

The Boat Show will require everyone to wear masks and will have more entry points along with a designated guest-circulation system. There will be touchless ticketing, constant disinfection of highly used surfaces and the use of thermal imaging to take temperatures of those entering the show area.

The city continues to help where it can while we await a vaccine and a broader economic recovery.

We have been feeding more than 1,000 families each week at Mills Pond Park, and we have been making extra efforts to find help for the homeless whose numbers are rising because so many people are out of work. We are also providing grant assistance to small businesses to help them through this crisis.

Moreover, as a result of my conversations with Gov. DeSantis, the state added quick turnaround antigen testing to our COVID-19 assistance operations in Holiday Park. This is the only public site in Broward to offer this test, which provides results in less than two hours rather than the several-day wait with the standard COVID test.

I would like to thank the governor for working with us to add this test as it will help businesses and amenities to open and operate safely. It also helps assist the county in its efforts at contact tracing.

Both the county and city have undertaken efforts recently to assist those needing help paying their rent, mortgage or utility bills. The city quickly ran through $727,500 dedicated for that purpose. The county then started a larger program using $25 million in federal CARES Act funding.

As we work our way through this pandemic, the city is moving ahead with infrastructure plans, police reform and key quality-of-life issues.

The City Commission is set to approve its FY20-21 budget that includes money to undertake the full-scale launch of our initiative to address neighborhood flooding caused by high tides and heavy rain. Fort Lauderdale is one of the communities across America most impacted by climate change as a result of our low-lying coastal environment.

We are focusing on seven areas that frequently flood — Durrs, Dorsey Riverbend, Edgewood, Progresso Village, River Oaks and Victoria Park as well as the greater Southeast Isles area of the Las Olas Isles and Rio Vista.

These areas currently lack significant stormwater infrastructure. For instance, Edgewood currently relies on swales for drainage but will now have a network of pipes installed. Today, pumping capacity is very limited across Fort Lauderdale as a result of having only four pump stations. This aggressive program will build eight more.

The city will add exfiltration trenches, catch basins, permeable pavement, swales, and force mains in addition to the pump stations and stormwater pipes. The work will cost about $200 million and take five years to complete.

We were able to leverage a line of credit to get an early start on parts of the project. Construction of a nine-acre stormwater retention area in the River Oaks community is nearing completion and will also function as a nature preserve with elevated boardwalks and a historic bascule bridge.

Designs for the next phase of stormwater improvements will begin. Round 2 encompasses Flagler Village, Harbour Inlet, Harbour Isles, Melrose Manors, Riverland, Sailboat Bend and Tarpon Bend.

A decision also should be made shortly regarding the aging Fiveash Water Treatment Plant. The city manager expects to bring forward to the City Commission a recommendation on building a new plant.

Reports from two expert consultants have stated that the 60-year-old plant has outlived its lifespan. They say renovation is no longer a viable option. The issues at the Fiveash Plant are numerous – with coloration being the most obvious to the public. We also need a plant that can withstand a Category 5 hurricane

The likely plan is to build a new plant further inland near the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport where we have the deep wells that pull our water supply from underground aquifers. We are looking at ways to fast-track this important project.

The City Commission recently sat down with the Citizen Police Review Board to discuss ideas on police reform.

We appreciate the hard work and dedication of those who serve our community as police officers. It is through their efforts that our community is as safe as it is today. Crime is the lowest it’s been in decades.

Yet, we can all agree that recent incidents nationally and locally serve as indicators of the need to reassess operations and procedures. We must ensure all people are dealt with fairly and with the utmost transparency regardless of their race.

In our meeting, we focused on how to give the review board more powers. While it currently makes disciplinary recommendations regarding officers after internal affairs investigations are completed, its role is limited as is its ability to dig deeper.

We will explore expanding its authority so the board hears a wider variety of cases and can offer a wider variety of recommendations to the police chief and city manager. I’ve long seen this board as playing a critical oversight role for the community.

While we look at the role of the Citizen Police Review Board, the city manager has retained national police reform experts to analyze our departmental policies, training and recruitment and offer suggestions on how we can do better. He is also conducting a national search for a new chief.

Here are some other exciting developments in our city:

Two important points in closing.

Please remember that we are now in the height of hurricane season. It’s been a very busy year in the tropics, but so far we have been unscathed. Keep your eye on the weather forecasts and continue to ensure that you have your emergency supplies at hand and are ready to secure your property if necessary.

Also, the once-a-decade census count ends this month. This is incredibly important to our community as it determines our representation in both Washington, D.C., and the state capitol and is used to allocate funding from the federal government to implement critical needs such as improving education and addressing traffic congestion.

If you have not done so, please take a coupe minutes to go to www.My2020Census.gov and be counted. And encourage your friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers to do the same.