Also on the agenda: More Christmas lights, canal murals, town architect
The City Commission will consider several measures to maintain or enhance Winter Park's aesthetic
May 16, 2024
By Beth Kassab
The City Commission on Wednesday will consider how to add to the annual Christmas display in the Central Business District.
The $300,000 proposal from the Park Avenue District includes $200,000 from city funds and another $100,000 from fundraising by the district, according to a staff memorandum. About $100,000 is already included in the upcoming city budget.
A sample mood board for the additions includes lots more lights, magnolia flowers and oranges and immersive light experiences such as archways.
Commissioners will discuss the proposal and give guidance for the next steps.
Canal murals
The Public Art Advisory Board will ask for direction on a proposal to commission artists to paint murals along the Chain of Lakes’ canals, a well-known attraction on the Scenic Boat Tour.
One of the canals that connects the Winter Park Chain of Lakes can be enjoyed by passengers on the Scenic Boat Tour.
The idea would be to add the art along the sides of the Venetian-style canals that connect the city’s famous lakes.
Still to be determined are the logistics and price of such an installation. A staff memorandum estimated the cost at about $20 to $30 per square foot for the concept that came from the city’s Natural Resources and Sustainability Division.
City commissioners will discuss their appetite for the project.
Town architect
Should the city hire an architect to help ensure developers are keeping new buildings compatible with the old?
Commissioners will consider whether to put such a position out to bid on Wednesday as the group also makes appointments to a new advisory group that will help set design standards for Winter Park’s commercial areas.
“Compatibility is crucial to preserving the charm of Winter Park,” a staff memorandum reads. “The City has facade guidelines
for our most important architectural corridors (i.e. Morse Boulevard, Orange Avenue, and the Central Business District) but approving designs that are “compatible” with the existing buildings and the community vision is often challenging.”
A town architect would assist planners in determining whether a development proposal works within the existing neighborhood. No cost information was provided in the memorandum.
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Full Sail founder looks to bring Storyville Coffee concept to Winter Park
The Seattle-based company owned by Jon Phelps also occupies a spot at Pike Place Market
May 17, 2024
By Beth Kassab
A founder of Full Sail University is seeking approval to develop a three-story building just off Park Avenue to be anchored by Storyville Coffee, a concept he started on the west coast.
Jon Phelps, who declined to be interviewed for this story through Zane Williams of Z Properties, a design-build company, started Storyville Coffee and operates a mail business and two locations, according to the company’s website.
The coffee shop will occupy the first floor for the building proposed at 111 S. Knowles Avenue, which is owned by a corporation with the same address as Full Sail.
City commissioners will consider the 11,289-square-foot project on Wednesday. The second floor would contain office space and the third floor would serve as a residence.
Storyville Coffee was mentioned last year in the Seattle Times for serving the city’s most expensive latte at $8.50 — or $10.37 after tax and a $1 tip is included.
The story said the coffee concept was founded in 2006 by a group associated with the Seattle-area evangelical megachurch Mars Hill, which was disbanded in 2015. Phelps served as a member of Mars Hill’s board. He is the manager of Storyville Coffee, which filed with the Florida Division of Corporations in 2009 and also lists the same address as Full Sail, according to documents on the division’s site.
The development is proposing 14 parking spaces, which would accommodate both the commercial and residential uses, according to a city staff memorandum. The parking is in line with what was offered by the previous tenant at the property the Imperial at Washburn Imports.
Staff is recommending that the proposed tenant and any future tenants comply with the city’s noise ordinance, including no outdoor speakers or live entertainment on the patio.
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Minors told police campaign treasurer offered them $50 for 50 of opponent's signs
The campaign treasurer for Craig Russell denied he had any involvement in the incident in an interview with detectives detailed in newly released records
May 11, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Newly released police records provide more details of the allegations that teenagers were offered money to steal campaign signs, leading to three misdemeanor charges against Christopher Hoats, campaign treasurer for Commissioner Craig Russell.
Four minors interviewed separately by Winter Park Police provided consistent accounts of what happened, police said. Two of the boys identified Hoats from a photo line-up and said he was the person who approached them on March 21 as they were skateboarding outside Floyd’s Barbershop in Maitland. The boys said Hoats offered to pay them $50 to steal 50 of Jason Johnson’s campaign signs, according to the document.
The incident occurred as Johnson and Russell were two days into a heated runoff contest for Seat 2 on the City Commission.
Three misdemeanor charges against Hoats — two counts of contributing to the dependency or delinquency of a minor and one count of petit theft — were made public for the first time last week after Hoats was issued a summons to appear in the case.
Hoats did not respond to messages seeking comment from the Voice. Russell, who did not respond to messages seeking comment, released a statement to the Orlando Sentinel last week that said he is “deeply concerned” about the allegations and noted that his campaign has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
One of the boys, who was interviewed by police at his school on March 29, told the detectives that the man said he “was going to pay me to steal signs in Winter Park,” according to a capias request, which details probable cause in the case for the State Attorney.
“The man told us to steal these signs that had Jason Johnson on the signs,” the boy said. ” It was for a city election if I’m not mistaken. He told us the other candidate was stealing his signs so he ran out from the barbershop and asked if we were willing to steal signs for some cash.”
Two boys identified Hoats from a photo lineup, according to the document.
They also told police the man gave them his Instagram account and showed the account to police.
On April 2, police also obtained video footage from the barbershop and observed Hoats at the business on March 21 and also verified with employees that he had a haircut scheduled for that day.
The report goes on to say that detectives went to Winter Park High School, where Hoats helps coach football, in an attempt to talk with Hoats, but learned he is not a teacher and was not at the school.
Police then arranged to meet Hoats at the police department on the afternoon of April 2.
According to the report, Hoats told police he coaches high school football and did not recall any juveniles who were skateboarding. Later he said he recalled speaking with kids outside the barbershop and “immediately stated that he spoke to the juveniles about a local city election.”
He asked the kids who they were voting for and who their parents are voting for, the report stated.
“He stated they were younger; and that it was a ‘harmless conversation,” according to the report, and asked police if the kids were “stealing campaign yard signs.” Police noted that they had not mentioned “campaign signs” to Hoats, only “signs.”
Police asked Hoats why he would want to follow someone he did not know on Instagram after he noted one of the boys sent him his Instagram profile.
“Yeah to tell them who to vote for, who not to vote for, this is who we’re going up against, this is our competition,” Hoats responded, according to the report.
Hoats told police he did not encourage the kids to steal signs and was not a “kingpin” and “that no one asked him to have the signs stolen, he only informed the juveniles not to vote for Jason Johnson and to vote for Craig Russell.”
“Here’s the good guys, here’s the bad guys,” Hoats said, according to the report, and denied offering the kids $1 for every sign they stole.
The report goes on to describe how police arrived at Winter Park High School on April 8, eight days before the runoff election, in an attempt to talk with the candidate, Russell. The school resource officer took police to the gym and football coach’s office, but they learned Russell was not there.
Police later arranged to speak with Russell at his house and he told them that he contacted Hoats to tell him police had been at the school looking to speak with him.
Russell told police that “when he began the campaign he had little knowledge about the political makeup of the city and how involved people were, or the extent people would go to to make things up,” according to the report.
Russell also told police that he gave his campaign volunteers rules and told them not to touch the signs of his opponent.
“Mr. Russell further stated he did not have time to conspire to get kids to take signs,” the report stated.
Russell told police that Hoats served as his campaign treasurer but had asked Hoats to step away during the runoff portion of the campaign because Hoats had become too busy.
“Craig Russell repeatedly stated there was no way Christopher Hoats would have sent the juveniles to take the signs, and believed his opponent’s supporters were involved with this incident,” the report stated. “… He found it suspicious this occured after he won the general election.”
Russell won the April 16 election by 34 votes and was sworn in on April 24.
Winter Park Police concluded there was enough evidence to turn the case over to the state attorney, though the date that occured is unclear from the records.
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Russell responds to allegations against treasurer
The new city commissioner told a newspaper he is 'committed to upholding ethical and legal obligations'
May 10, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Craig Russell said Friday that he is “deeply concerned” about allegations against his campaign treasurer, Christopher Hoats, who he called a “good friend and fellow educator.”
Three misdemeanor charges against Hoats became public this week when he was issued a summons to appear on two counts of contributing to the dependency or delinquency of a minor and one count of petit theft related to soliciting minors to “steal campaign signs in exchange for money,” according to court documents reported first by the Voice on Thursday.
In emailed comments to the Orlando Sentinel, Russell said Hoats “served for a period of time as our campaign treasurer,” though there does not appear to be a public filing with Winter Park’s clerk to show he was ever removed from that role.
Craig Russell
“We do want to make it very clear that we have always been committed to upholding ethical and legal obligations in all our actions. Neither we nor the campaign have been accused of any contrary conduct, nor are we aware of any such conduct,” he said in the statement to the newspaper he signed along with his wife Kate Demory, who served as deputy treasurer.
Russell, who was sworn in last month after winning the April 16 runoff by 34 votes, did not respond to multiple messages from the Voice and canceled a scheduled interview with this reporter on Friday regarding an unrelated topic.
The court documents and a heavily redacted police report provide few details about the evidence or circumstances in the case, which stems from an incident on March 21, two days after the first election in Winter Park and as the runoff between Russell and Jason Johnson was underway.
Hoats, 33, who has worked as a non-faculty coach at Winter Park High School, where Russell is also a teacher and a coach, did not respond to a phone call and email requesting comment. His arraignment is scheduled for June 7.
A Winter Park Police report from the date of the incident describes how a witness called police after she saw a group of kids taking Johnson’s campaign signs from yards as she was driving in Winter Park.
Nancy Elizabeth Cocchiarella, who is named in the court documents, was a volunteer for Johnson’s campaign who called police after she noticed signs, including her own, removed.
She stated she “saw the signs under the arms of [redacted],” and “she let her window down and told [redacted] and [redacted] to just put the signs back, and the juveniles kept riding on their skateboards.”
The report stated that the signs promoted Johnson’s campaign.
Officers eventually caught up with two of the juveniles, who called two other juveniles and asked them to come back to the area of Magnolia Avenue and Sunnyside Drive, according to the report.
At that point the narrative becomes heavily redacted except to describe that all four juveniles were, at one point, at a barbershop in Maitland.
None of the publicly available documents explain how or if the young people know Hoats or any details related to the offer to steal signs described in the court documents.
Hoats signed all of Russell’s campaign finance reports filed with the city clerk through March 15. The final two reports were signed by Demory, Russell’s wife who served as his deputy treasurer.
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Craig Russell's campaign treasurer charged with asking minors to steal political signs
The incident occurred just days into the runoff between Russell and Jason Johnson, according to court records and a heavily redacted police report
May 9, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Christopher Hoats, who served as campaign treasurer for new Commissioner Craig Russell, is facing three misdemeanor charges related to soliciting minors to “steal campaign signs in exchange for money,” according to court documents.
Records say Hoats is charged with two counts of contributing to the dependency or delinquency of a minor and one count of petit theft related to the alleged theft of Jason Johnson’s campaign signs that occured on March 21, two days after the first election in Winter Park and as the runoff between Russell and Johnson was underway.
The court documents and a heavily redacted police report provide few details about the evidence or circumstances in the case.
Hoats, 33, who has worked as a non-faculty coach at Winter Park High School, where Russell is also a teacher and a coach, did not immediately respond to a phone call and email requesting comment. He was issued a summons to appear in the case this week.
Russell, who won the April 16 runoff by 34 votes and took office last month, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ryan Williams, chief assistant state attorney, said he could not provide any details about the charges because the case is still open and active.
Johnson said he was disheartened to learn about the case and would like more questions to be answered.
“I was very disappointed to learn about this when it happened and while there remain lots of unanswered questions about the extent of who was involved, who knew what and when and whether my opponent’s campaign funds were used, I made the conscious decision not to turn this alleged incident into a campaign issue before the runoff election date,” Johnson said on Thursday.
A Winter Park Police report from the date of the incident describes how a witness called police after she saw a group of kids taking Johnson’s campaign signs from yards as she was driving in Winter Park.
Nancy Elizabeth Cocchiarella, who is named in the court documents, was a volunteer for Johnson’s campaign who called police after she noticed signs, including her own, removed.
She stated she “saw the signs under the arms of [redacted],” and “she let her window down and told [redacted] and [redacted] to just put the signs back, and the juveniles kept riding on their skateboards.”
The report stated that the signs promoted Johnson’s campaign.
Officers eventually caught up with two of the juveniles, who called two other juveniles and asked them to come back to the area of Magnolia Avenue and Sunnyside Drive, according to the report.
At that point the narrative becomes heavily redacted except to describe that all four juveniles were, at one point, at a barbershop in Maitland.
None of the publicly available documents explain how or if the young people know Hoats or any details related to the offer to steal signs described in the court documents.
Hoats signed all of Russell’s campaign finance reports filed with the city clerk through March 15. The final two reports were signed by Kathleen Demory, Russell’s wife who served as his deputy treasurer.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com