by Beth Kassab | Jul 13, 2024 | Election, News
Your vote-by-mail request expired. It's time to request another
A state law that took effect in 2021 means that voters who want to cast a ballot by mail must make that request after each general election cycle
July 13, 2024
By Beth Kassab
If you haven’t requested your vote-by-mail ballot, the deadline to do so is looming.
Requests to cast a mail ballot must be made by Aug. 8 at 5 p.m. for the Aug. 20 primary election. The deadline to switch parties or newly register to vote in the primary is July 22. (For information about what will be on your ballot check the supervisor’s site here and the Voice’s race preview here.)
The Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office reports that it has received nearly 8,000 new vote-by-mail requests since late June for a total of 82,838 requests.
But that total is still less than half of what it was in 2022, according to the supervisor’s office.
Officials think this is because voters are still learning they must re-submit mail requests as a result of a 2021 state law that says those requests expire after each federal general election. That means previous vote-by-mail requests expired on Dec. 31, 2022.
“Thanks to the great work of our staff, we have already started processing vote-by-mail ballots for the primary and will be sending them out very soon,” said Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean in a news release. “While there is still plenty of time to request a vote-by-mail ballot, the deadline is now less than a month away.”
Gilzean is also reminding voters to update their signatures if they believe it could have changed due to age, injury or illness. Voters can find instructions on how to update their signature on the “Vote-By-Mail” section of the Orange County Supervisor of Elections website under “Signature Updates.”
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by Beth Kassab | Jul 13, 2024 | City Commission, News, Taxes, Uncategorized
City budget talks kick off with modest increase in spending proposed
Commissioners will be called on to set priorities in coming weeks
July 12, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Residents got a first glimpse at next year’s city budget — a $214.6 million proposal with a 3% or $6 million increase over the current year as property taxes remain a key driver of growth in the general fund.
The plan calls for the city to maintain the same property tax rate its held for 16 years, though residents will see additional fee increases for trash pick-up as a result of a contract negotiated last year and there are signals pointing to more fee increases for other services ahead.
Public safety remains the biggest expenditure in the general fund, rising from about 35% in 2024 to more than 42% in the new budget. The increase comes with four new proposed positions, including two new firefighters/emergency medical technicians, a fire logistics manager and a police grant and accreditation manager that will be upgraded from a part-time to a full-time position.
While inflation continues to put pressure on wages and building costs, the city’s general fund will see almost 7% growth to nearly $83 million as a result of increases in home values, fees for services and Winter Park’s share of the state sales tax. Other funds are flat or seeing declines.
The city’s proposed budget shows where dollars are coming from in the general fund. Source: City of Winter Park budget documents
The water utility, for example, is expected to see declining cash flow as inflation pushes up the costs to maintain the system, according to the budget presentation. The water rates customers pay are driven by the state’s regulatory agency called the Public Service Commission, but the index for regular increases are “are likely insufficient to handle future demand for investment,” the presentation said.
In addition, the city-owned electric utility will “likely need to consider a rate increase” next year due to higher costs within the power portfolio.
Also at play is the future of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which uses a portion of county tax dollars to fund projects in a special district that covers downtown. The city is looking to the county to extend the CRA (which otherwise would sunset in four years) and expand its borders, but the Orange County Commission has yet to take up the matter.
Overall, there are about $126 million worth of projects in the city’s 25-year plan that don’t currently have a funding source attached to them. That means commissioners will need to continue to set priorities and make choices about how to manage the competing interests that come from wanting to maintain relatively low property taxes and fees for residents with improving services, infrastructure and amenities.
The proposed budget set aside a contingency of about $450,000, roughly the same as last year. The city’s reserves are expected to grow to about $21.2 million or about 27% of the recurring annual operating costs in the general fund, the proposal says. It would take about $2.7 million more to reach the goal of 30%.
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by Beth Kassab | Jul 12, 2024 | City Commission, News
Blue Bamboo earns final approval to lease old Winter Park Library building
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio cast the only vote against the lease
July 12, 2024
By Zoey Thomas
The Winter Park City Commission voted 4-1 on Wednesday to allow Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts to move into the former Winter Park Public Library.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio cast the sole vote against the new lease with the jazz club, although she said she wished its owners the “very best” and offered to help if the situation doesn’t work out.
DeCiccio questioned Blue Bamboo’s financial viability as a tenant during the first hearing about the lease in June. She ultimately voted for it during the previous meeting after it became clear there was not enough support on the Commission for a competing bid from Rollins College to convert the old library into an art museum.
At least one hurdle remains before Blue Bamboo can move forward with retrofitting the library building. Commissioners must approve a zoning change for the land, a potentially controversial move because the property is zoned for residential uses and needs a new designation that allows for commercial use.
Commissioners appeared poised to accept a recommendation from Planning & Zoning Director Allison McGillis, who said the land could be changed to a zoning called PQP or public and quasi-public.
To do so, commissioners will also need to change existing PQP rules to allow city-owned PQP properties to operate as commercial venues.
Commissioner Marty Sullivan said he wanted to avoid setting a “bad precedent” of rezoning residential buildings. But he also pointed out the property operated as a library for decades and wasn’t used for housing before that, either.
“It’s never been residential,” he said. “In this case, I don’t believe that precedent is really something that is of concern.”
Vice Mayor Todd Weaver agreed, pointing out the Alfond Inn, a hotel and event space, is next door to the building.
But former Winter Park Mayor Phil Anderson, who left office in April, stood up during public comment to oppose the change.
Rezoning the building will allow alcohol sales on the premises and let Blue Bamboo rent office space to organizations that may or may not be nonprofits, he said.
“No matter how you cut it, this is a dramatic change in use,” he said.
The zoning change is set to go before the Planning & Zoning Board in the coming weeks and then will go back before the City Commission for final approval.
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by Beth Kassab | Jul 2, 2024 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development
Medical office approved on corner of Aloma and Lakemont
The project led by a group of physicians will bring development to the long vacant lot
July 2, 2024
By Beth Kassab
A new medical office building will stand at the empty corner at Lakemont and Aloma avenues after the City Commission unanimously approved the project with conditions late last month.
Residents objected to the height of the building and raised questions about traffic, particularly left-hand turns, but commissioners settled on conditions that they said would alleviate many of the concerns.
The nearly 18,000-square-foot proposal for the two-story building came after Verax Investments purchased the land from Fifth Third Bank earlier this year for about $2.7 million, according to property records. Verax is a real estate development group led by a group of local physicians including Dr. Ravi Gandhi, a well-known brain surgeon with Orlando Neurosurgery.
The development will herald a major change for the last wooded parcel of the intersection.
“We all know that SR 426 is broken,” said resident Beth Hall. “Please don’t let this be the commission that breaks Lakemont.”
The developers agreed to preserve two live oak trees on the property.
They also agreed to build a 6-foot high wall on the edge of the property that backs up to residential lawns and the wall must be constructed before the building is started.
Among other conditions, the developers will also post signs prohibiting left-hand turns out of the property and give over a strip of the land to the city to eventually widen Lakemont. .
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by Beth Kassab | Jul 1, 2024 | Election, News, Uncategorized
What's on the Aug. 20 ballot in Winter Park?
There’s big focus on November because of the presidential election, but August is key for local races
July 1, 2024
By Beth Kassab
With so much attention already on November because of the presidential contest, it’s important for Winter Park voters to know Aug. 20 is just as crucial of an Election Day when it comes to deciding how your local tax dollars are spent or how our schools and our elections are run.
The way the August primary works in Florida can be something of a mystery even for those of us who have lived here for a while. A series of state and local rules determine whether races are decided in August or November based on whether the races are partisan and how many candidates are running.
Here’s a preview of what to expect on the Winter Park ballot and keep following the Voice for more coverage of these Orange County races:
You are likely already hearing about (and being asked for money) for the most competitive races heading into August.
They are:
Orange County Commission District 5: This is a technically non-partisan seat that is open because current Commissioner Emily Bonilla, who represents Winter Park, has reached her term limits. The candidates are: Former Maitland City Council member and former legislator Joy Goff-Marcil; former Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary; attorney Joel Antonio Montilla and Kelly Semrad, a UCF associate professor of tourism economics. If none of the four candidates receives 50% plus one of the vote in August, then the top two vote getters will face off in November.
Supervisor of Elections: Glen Gilzean, who was appointed to the post earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis after longtime Supervisor Bill Cowles left the job early, decided not to run. Vying for the now open partisan seat as registered Democrats are current School Board member Karen Castor Dentel, former Orange County Democratic chairman Wes Hodge, attorney Dan Helm and “Sunshine” Linda-Marie Grund, a real estate broker. Cynthia Harris, a non-profit executive who has also served as chairwoman of Valencia College Black Advisory Committee, according to her LinkedIn profile, qualified as a candidate without a party affiliation. Because there is an NPA candidate in the race, only registered Democrats can vote in August on the Democratic candidates. Then the winner will face Harris in November.
Tax Collector: Scott Randolph, the incumbent, and David Nelson Freeman qualified as Democrats for the partisan seat. Dennis Spencer Levy also qualified as a write-in candidate. Once again, because there is a write-in candidate, the August primary will be only for — and likely decided by — registered Democrats. The winner will appear on the November ballot with the write-in candidate.
School Board District 6: This seat, which represents Winter Park, is open because Castor Dentel is leaving to run for Supervisor of Elections. The candidates are Jeni Grieger, a former teacher, and Stephanie Vanos, an education advocate. Because this is a nonpartisan race and there are only two candidates, it will be open to all voters and will be decided in August.
Property Appraiser: Amy Mercado, the incumbent, and Kevin Pribell are the only candidates in the race and both are Democrats. As a result, the ballot will be open to all voters and decided in August.
State Attorney: Andrew Bain was appointed by DeSantis after the governor suspended Monique Worrell from office. Bain is running as an NPA and Worrell is running as a Democrat. In November, they will face whoever wins the August closed Republican primary. The Republican candidates are Thomas Feiter and Seth Hyman.
Public Defender: Bob Wesley is retiring from this post after 24 years, leaving the seat open. Melissa Vickers, a 21-year veteran of the office and former chief assistant, and Lenora Easter, also a former public defender in the district, are both running as Democrats. As a result the race is open to all voters and will be decided in August.
Automatically elected because of no opposition:
Clerk of Courts: Tiffany Moore Russell, the incumbent, is the only candidate who qualified and is automatically elected.
Comptroller: Phil Diamond, the incumbent, is the only candidate who qualified and is automatically elected.
Sheriff: John Mina, the incumbent, is the only candidate who qualified and is automatically elected. This is the first time an incumbent sheriff ran unopposed in Orange County since 2000.
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