by Beth Kassab | Jul 11, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Residents to pay more for parks, utilities, garbage pick-up and more
City points to inflation, looming recession, weaker housing market as drivers for raising local fees in proposed budget
By Beth Kassab
Winter Parkers will notice a jump in fees for park facilities, ambulance rides, water utilities and garbage collection if next year’s budget is approved. The proposed $207 million budget represents a 4.2% increase over FY2023.
The preliminary budget, which does not include a property tax millage rate increase, also does not include several high-profile requests such as the purchase of the Bank of the Ozarks property, keeping the library open on Sundays, two additional police officers, one additional firefighter or increasing the city’s cash reserves.
The budget will be considered by the City Commission for the first time on Wednesday and final approval is expected by September.
City leaders pointed to inflation and the higher cost of wages as justification for raising fees and trimming other costs even as home values increased and translated to 10% growth in the city’s General Fund led by property tax revenue.
“As a result of upward pressure on operating costs, the proposed budget defers and trims some capital investments, raised fees across many areas, and had to prioritize among many needs presented by departments and community stakeholders,” reads the budget overview.
Proposed fee increases include:
- The cost of the city’s garbage collection contract with WastePro is set to go up by 45%, sending fees up by about $20%. The budget estimates homeowners will pay about $5 extra on average each month to account for the higher prices.
- Fees associated with the city’s parks, facilities and programs will go up by 5% to raise an additional $350,000 to cover higher expenses of maintaining the buildings and greenspaces.
- Ambulance transport fees will go up by 10% to raise an additional $100,000 to $150,000. The fee hasn’t been raised in more than five years and is sometimes covered by health insurance or Medicare rather than residents, the proposal noted.
- Water and sewer rates will go up by 7% in line with the index put out by the Public Service Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities across Florida.
- Stormwater rates, which help cover the cost of drainage and infrastructure to prevent and reduce flooding, will go up 8% next year following two previous years of increases of 5% each. Owners of the largest homes will pay more while owners of smaller properties could pay less, according to the new rate structure.
Meanwhile, nonprofit groups traditionally supported by the city or its Community Redevelopment Agency are seeing across-the-board proposed increases:
- Winter Park Library will receive $1.9 million, a $92,000 increase.
- Mead Botanical Gardens will receive $93,500, an $8,500 increase.
- Winter Park Historical Association will receive $88,000, an $8,000 increase.
- Winter Park Day Nursery will receive $38,500, a $3.500 increase.
- United Arts will receive $18,400, a $1,400 increase.
- Blue Bamboo will receive $11,000, a $1,000 increase.
- Polasek Museum will receive $25,300, a $2,300 increase.
- Enzian Theater will receive $10,000, a $3,000 increase.
- Heritage Center will receive $50,000, a $10,000 increase.
- Welbourne Day Nursery will receive $38,500, a $3,500 increase.
- Winter Park Playhouse will receive $44,000, a $4,000 increase.
- Depugh Nursing Home will receive $25,000, a $2,000 increase.
Leaders noted that the yearly $100,000 obligation to the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center will end after next year. But the city’s local share of operating the SunRail commuter train, which has a stop in Central Park, is expected to come due next year and the first payment is budgeted at $146,000. The annual payment is expected to be $350,000 in future years.
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by Beth Kassab | Jun 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Commissioners: Florida Legislature overreached to block local development rules
Winter Park attempts to put some guardrails on affordable housing projects after state’s Live Local Act removed local control
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park is working to ensure developers don’t exploit a new loophole in local development codes created by the Live Local Act passed by the Florida Legislature this year in an attempt to promote more affordable housing projects.
Commissioners expressed unanimous support for a new city ordinance that would require developers to document that affordable housing projects are actually providing units that are truly affordable and won’t quickly convert to market-rate apartments or condos.
Mayor Phil Anderson said the new ordinance being crafted now by city staff represents an attempt to “preserve home rule” after the new state law prohibits cities from restricting the height and density of new affordable housing projects.
The act is Gov. Ron DeSantis’ $711 million investment in affordable housing, but changes in the new law will alter how cities and counties can govern themselves. For example, the act allows affordable housing developers to construct buildings at maximum height and density, limiting a City Commission’s ability to restrict the number of units per acre to protect the the aesthetics, charm and consistency in a neighborhood.
“Occasionally the state Legislature overreaches and, in this case, they have overreached by preempting some of our land-use ordinances in the spirit of trying to create more affordable housing,” Anderson said during Wednesday’s meeting. “I want to thank our planning department for taking a look at the unintended consequences of this preemption.”
Planning and Zoning Director Jeff Briggs said the Live Local Act (SB 102) now allows affordable housing developers to ignore certain local requirements such as the height of new buildings. But the law does not require those developers to prove they are building affordable units.
“There are no requirements for a developer to provide any data that they are, in fact, providing affordable housing,” Briggs said. “All this does is ensure that people are authentically and honestly doing affordable housing.”
The Live Local Act takes effect on Saturday and the city’s new ordinance is slated to come back to the City Commission for approval later in July.
“I think we’re getting quite used to preemptions,” said Commissioner Marty Sullivan, a reference to a number of prohibitions by the Legislature in recent years that have usurped the authority of locally-elected city and county officials.
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by Beth Kassab | Jun 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Largest homes will see increased stormwater fees
Costs will go up on some properties as the city seeks revenue to fight flooding, improve water runoff system
By Beth Kassab
City Commissioners this week approved higher stormwater fees for owners of the largest homes while those in the smallest homes will pay less, a move which could bring in an estimated additional $600,000 a year for sorely needed infrastructure projects to help control flooding and drainage.
The more than 540 owners of homes larger than 8,900 square feet will see the largest jump in price — an estimated $24.61 per month or nearly $300 a year more than under the old fee structure.
Houses less than 2,899-square-feet are likely to see a decrease in stormwater fees, with the smallest homes seeing the largest savings. The price drop is estimated to range from about $9 a year to about $60 a year.
That’s a reversal from the old fee structure, which required smaller homes to pay more per square foot than many larger ones.
“Right now the fees were a little bit regressive,” said Finance Director Wes Hamil. “The rate proposed is a little bit of a decrease for residential customers who have less square footage and it’s going to be an increase for residential properties that have more impervious surface area … It does give us some additional funding and we’re hearing a lot about demand for stormwater improvements so it’s a much needed funding source.”
Some on the increased revenue will come from another change approved by commissioners: monthly stormwater fees will now be part of property owners’ ad valorum tax bills rather than collected as part of utility customers’ monthly bills. That means owners without active utility service will now be billed. As a result, renters, who typically pay monthly utility bills, but not annual property taxes, will no longer be directly billed for the fees.
Residents on the city’s west side experienced severe flooding after Hurricane Ian as well as other storms and have voiced concerns for months over whether the city is doing enough to address the problems.
Douglas Avenue, just across Denning Drive from Martin Luther King Jr. Park, flooded again recently after a 45-minute rainfall, resident Bonnie Hamilton told commissioners on Wednesday.
“I really hope and pray that the city is doing everything … whatever you can do to fix the infrastructure in the Hannibal Square area,” she said of the historically Black neighborhood, noting one neighbor recently left her car keys behind while she went on vacation so other neighbors could move her car if the street floods again.
Commissioner Sheila DeCiccio expressed some urgency later in the meeting, asking city staff if reports related to proposed improvements will be ready for the heavy storm season later this summer and early fall.
“When are these reports going to come in? Six months from now? The season’s going to be over,” she said. “We have to do something.”
Final approval of the new rates will come later this summer as commissioners finalize the next budget.
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by Beth Kassab | Jun 26, 2023 | City Commission, Library, News
City to finalize parameters for old library redevelopment
Commissioners are set to approve requirements for interested developers at Wednesday’s meeting
By Beth Kassab
Residential units combined with a home for arts and culture nonprofits are likely to take over the old city-owned Winter Park Library building based on a list of standards for redevelopment of the site up for consideration by the City Commission this week.
If approved, the Request for Proposal would be the second attempt in about a year by the city to solicit ideas for the building on New England Avenue that became vacant when the new Library and Events Center opened about two years ago.
Commissioners have expressed a desire to reuse the old building, but are also open to razing it if the right concept comes along.
Requirements in the draft RFP include: a maximum of four stories; preferred C-3 zoning, excluding restaurants and food halls; no residential units on the first floor; preservation of an oak tree on the property; only on-site parking; preference to arts, culture and nonprofit organizations and providing space for a traffic roundabout if one becomes needed as S.R. 426 undergoes safety changes.
The draft specifies that proposals will be scored on a variety of factors including financial benefit to the city through a “strong lease payment,” noting the city does not intend to contribute dollars to construction. The amount of community support built into each proposal as well as those submitted by businesses or organizations with a valid city business certificate and physical address in the city for at least one year can help provide proposals an edge, based on the draft scoring matrix.
At least six nonprofits, including the Winter Park Playhouse, the History Museum and the Sidewalk Art Festival, have already expressed an interest in securing space in the building.
Earlier this month, commissioners rejected two offers of land swaps for the building, opting to keep the building as a public asset in keeping with a sentiment strongly expressed by residents at public meetings.
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by Beth Kassab | Jun 16, 2023 | City Commission, Library, News
Three commissioners want to buy Bank of the Ozarks property for park space
The purchase discussion came up as most commissioners said they opposed an offer to swap the property for the old library
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park Commissioners appeared to reject two different land swap proposals for the old Winter Park library building this week, saying they preferred to keep control of the building as a gateway to the city. They opted instead to attempt to purchase the Bank of the Ozarks property offered in one of the potential swaps.
Commissioners Sheila DeCiccio, Todd Weaver and Marty Sullivan said they were in favor of authorizing City Manager Randy Knight to offer $6 million for the property at 1100 N. Orange Avenue, just across Denning Drive from the future site of Seven Oaks Park.
“If we don’t purchase the property we will forever regret it,” DeCiccio said, noting that a multi-story bank building on the Ozarks land would be “out of character” with the neighborhood.
The purchase amount would potentially include $5 million in city bonds and $1 million from other sources.
Mayor Phil Anderson and Commissioner Kris Cruzada expressed concerns about taking on more debt in what is expected to be a lean budget year.
“I’ll count myself into the minority who questions whether a $350,000 per year debt service bill will fit into the next budget,” Anderson said, adding that amount could cover between two and four firefighters or police officers.
Commissioners are set to begin next year’s budget discussions in July.
“By all accounts we are headed into a recession,” Cruzada said. “I like the idea of purchasing it eventually. I just don’t think it’s appropriate at this time given the tight constraints on our budget.”
For now, though, the majority of the elected board asked Knight to pursue the potential purchase as well as to finalize a Request for Proposal to develop the old library site.
The details of what commissioners are looking for on the library site are likely to be approved at the next meeting on June 28.
Public comments at a special meeting about the old library land development earlier this week and those heard at Wednesday’s Commission meeting trended against the city selling the land.
“I have not heard a lot of favorable comments to dispose of the library property,” Sullivan said.
In recent months, commissioners have expressed a desire to favor nonprofit or arts-centered groups for the old building as well as potential residential units. So far, six nonprofits have expressed interest in the old library.
Heather Alexander, executive director of the Winter Park Playhouse, said Wednesday she is still interested in the possibility of the theater finding a home there. But the city is still exploring whether it could save the playhouse, which is losing its lease, by also purchasing the building it currently occupies.
If the city pursues the playhouse building as well as the Bank of the Ozarks land, that would make two properties snapped up by commissioners in the North Orange Avenue area where Seven Oaks Park construction is underway. The bank property would allow the park to expand and provide more greenspace in the midst of an increasingly dense urban corridor.
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