Beef over Today Show visit, no more flouride and what to do over private pickleball noise
The City Commission also approved a new lease for the Benefit Shop at its most recent meeting
May 29, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park has had it up to the top of the Knowles Chapel steeple with giving away free publicity to the neighboring city of Orlando.
Earlier this month the Today Show filmed its third hour from Central Park as small crowd gathered to watch.
The city waived the park rental fee for Visit Orlando, the tourism marketing agency that coordinated the Today Show’s visit and that receives more than $100 million in taxpayer dollars intended to benefit the region.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said she was surprised that the show never thanked or even mentioned Winter Park on air. She said Visit Orlando representatives told the city the reason is because the show was an Orlando event intended to promote Orlando.
“I propose on a go forward basis that visit Orlando gets nothing from Winter Park for free unless credit is given to Winter Park or they can pay fees like anyone else renting the park,” DeCiccio said.
“They didn’t say at all they were in Winter Park?” asked Commissioner Craig Russell.
“Not one word,” DeCiccio responded.
“Oh, no you can’t … no …,” Russell said back.
“And they stayed at the Alfond Inn, too,” DeCiccio said, referring to the luxury hotel owned by Rollins College just off Park Avenue.
The segment featured an interview with Michael James Scott, the Broadway actor known for playing the Genie in Disney’s musical version of Aladdin who grew up in Central Florida and attended Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, as well as chefs from three Orlando restaurants.
The Today Show snub comes on the heels of the New York Times’ “36 Hours in Orlando,” which recommended readers actually spend many of those hours in Winter Park and featured a large photo of Winter Park’s Scenic Boat Tour.
Fluoride to leave city water
City Manager Randy Knight told commissioners that the city would stop adding fluoride to its water system by July 1 in order to comply with a recently passed state ban.
He said it’s possible fluoride will be out of the water system before July because the city’s supply may run out before then and the utility did not order more because of the new state law.
At a Utilities Advisory Board meeting earlier this week, Water Utility Director David Zusi said the concentration of fluoride in Winter Park’s water was low and the additive does not affect the taste or water softness or hardness. As a result, residents won’t be able to detect the change, he said.
Alison Yurko, a member of the advisory board, said she wanted to make sure customers know that the change is a result of state law rather than local policy.
“I think this is going to have a very unfortunate effect on kids at the lower income level who don’t go to the dentist,” she said.
The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics support using fluoride to help prevent cavities in children, especially in underserved communities. They also cite a lack of evidence for health harms when fluoride is at the current low levels used in most community water systems in the U.S.
The Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis backed the state ban in the wake of renewed scrutiny over the additive driven by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., national secretary of Health and Human Services, who has called fluoride an “industrial waste,” citing its potential health risks.
Public health studies conclude that risks related to fluoride exposure are generally associated with receiving either too much or too little and do not apply to the low concentrations found in most public water systems.
Private pickleball? Commissioners worry over noise
There’s been a change of plans for a prominent corner near Park Avenue that may lead to new city regulations for private pickleball courts.
Last year a founder of Full Sail University sought approval to develop a three-story building at the corner of Morse Boulevard and Knowles Avenue to be anchored by Storyville Coffee, a concept he started on the west coast.
But Jon Phelps’ idea for the property has changed said City Planning & Zoning Director Allison McGillis. Plans now call for a one-story building that still includes a Storyville Coffee, but also a swimming pool and pickleball court to go along with the private residence portion of the building.
Commissioner Warren Lindsey raised concerns about potential noise from the courts so close to other businesses.
“I think we need to proactively address private pickleball courts,” he said.
McGillis said the city’s codes include regulations related to tennis courts, but not pickleball courts, and said noise complaints related to pickleball are common.
Commissioners asked her to come back to the group with recommendations for how to revise the city’s rules to address noise and any other concerns.
New lease for Benefit Shop
At the previous City Commission, members voted to pursue a 3-year lease with the Benefit Shop, a thrift store that once operated out of City Hall and raises money for local charities by re-selling household goods and clothes.
But on Wednesday the Commission voted 3-2 to change the term to five years with Commissioners Marty Sullivan, Kris Cruzada and Craig Russell in favor.
The shop, a longtime fixture in Winter Park, wanted a 35-year lease to move to the Lake Island Park building in MLK Park. But commissioners felt that was too long and limited future commissions who might need to consider additional uses for the building at some point.
Debbie Glaser, a co-manager of the shop, said it plans to re-open on Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the new location beginning this week. She said the shop now has more than 20 volunteers and hopes to add additional hours in the future.
Information from Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy was used in this report related to the impacts of fluoride.
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So let me get this correct. They use our picturesque city facilities to promote their city because they lack anything comparable and completely snubb Winter Park. Was the gold to make it seem as if the area being used was part of Orlando? I see so much social media content promoting come see lovely town in Orlando called Winter Park so ai assume the goal is to make it seem like they own Winter Park etc.
Orlando wants so bad to have Winter park be an actual place within their city but they would just run it into the ground much like college park. So they used Winter Park a meticulously kept beautiful city to promote themselves. Pretty shady.
Visit Orlando just used a trick from the tried and true playbook of Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. Get a waiver of fees that every other non-charity pays to use City Parks and then use that for their benefit, not the Residents/citizens of Winter Park. WPCC has been doing it for years, getting hundreds of thousands of $ of free stuff from the City while fees for residents to use the same facilities go up every year. Wake up and smell the coffee, Commissioners, and close this loophole, please!
Buddy Dyer would never shamelessly promote himself or the City Beautiful. It’s absolutely imperative visiting tourists hear his name on repeat in the airport trams.
To be fair, College Park was never credited with having the “most crashable” front porches either.
Visit Florida should reimburse park fee. The Today Show ignored Winter Park as the Mayor noted. In addition the show didn’t promote tourism. It promoted some Orlando businesses but said nothing about Morse Museum, Scenic Boat Tour, Central Park or other reasons to visit Central Florida. Whomever at Visit Florida that directed the show should be held responsible for an insult and a waste of money.
The “Beef” over the Today show and Visit Orlando sadly comes as no surprise. When there are requests to use venues, it is very standard for there to be a “Rider” that becomes part of the agreement and lays out specific details, conditions and requirements. This is where the hosting venue, in this case the City, would state its expectations as to how the venue would be mentioned/represented and credited. Given how poorly Winter Park is represented in the local media….Folks that area out on University Blvd is Unincorporated Orange County…..NOT Winter Park… is represented making sure should be top of mind and the norm.
As the saying goes, you are (or get) what you negotiate. Am sure folk involved were well intended, had stars in their eyes about the event being hosted in Winter Park but the devil is in the details, or in this case, The Rider.
Does the Full Sail property have an educational tax exemption? If so, the commissioners should challenge the project in its entirety.
No, the piece of property in question is privately owned by a person who is a founder of Full Sail. But this property is not part of Full Sail.
Disappointing, but it could’ve been worse….the City could have been outsmarted by the geniuses on The View.
Is this Greg Gutfield commenting? That little toad is obsessed with insulting the women of The View even when it is irrelevant to the conversation, too.
The most interesting moment of the meeting isn’t mentioned in this article. During final comments, Mayor DeCiccio recommended reducing the time residents can speak at Commission meetings. She suggested Winter Park reduce the time given to residents to a minute instead of the current 3 minutes. She suggested that Orange County – (population approximately one million residents) only allows a minute. Her suggestion didn’t sit well with Commissioner Lindsey who stated he would never support the change.
Hi Jan, I’m actually planning a separate story on this matter. But, to be clear, that is not what she suggested. She proposed limiting speakers to one minute for items NOT on the agenda and in the event there is a packed house or a long line of speakers and there is a need for efficiency and to avoid repetition. I’ve sat through hundreds of public meetings all over Central Florida and there are various ways of structuring public comment. I’m taking a closer look at it before I write a story.
I appreciate the Mayor sticking up for Winter Park. However, her supporters led an effort to derail the Library and Events Center, specifically calling the Events Center an “I-Drive Convention Center.” They embarrassed the City when they went in front of the TDT Board to try and stop funding for the Events Center. People have long memories. Those same people do not want tourists using the Events Center. They are against anything that would bring tourists to Winter Park. They’ve shamelessly tried and repeatedly failed through the Commission to go after the Chamber, who does a fantastic job of promoting and working to bring tourists here. And where was the Park Avenue District? They are subsidized by the City to promote Park Avenue. Instead of a clenched fist and maybe our City leaders should follow the Chamber’s lead and work with the other regional actors.