by Beth Kassab | Dec 31, 2025 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety, Schools
Are Electric Scooters and Bikes Too Dangerous for Schools?
Orange School Board members and Winter Park officials say more safety measures are needed
Dec. 31, 2025
By Tilly Raij
Stricter rules over electric scooters and bikes on school campuses – or even a temporary ban — are slated for discussion next month as officials from Orange County Public Schools and Winter Park grapple with soaring injuries and accidents attributed to the high-speed vehicles.
School board members tossed around potential new regulations such as requiring licenses, training and speed limits at a meeting in November. Stephanie Vanos, the member who represents District 6, which includes Winter Park, said she recognized that regulations involving the devices can be challenging to carry out.
“It’s hard to enforce speed when some of these don’t even have speedometers. It’s hard to enforce licensure because they come from anywhere,” said Vanos, who raised the idea of a temporary ban of electric scooters and similar devices until a more complete evaluation of the situation is done.
OCPS Superintendent Maria Vasquez suggested a ban could be the easiest way to enhance safety without shouldering school staff with the extra work of enforcing new rules while a larger safety plan is explored.
“…I don’t think we want to prohibit them on our campuses, but if we’re looking at the conditions that currently exist, that’s probably the one action we can take that doesn’t add more burden to our staff while we are looking at other options,” Vasquez said.
The comments came in response to a presentation last month from Joe Silvestris, who leads the school district’s Office of Safety and Emergency Management.
An OCPS presentation detailed the different devices students are commonly using on campuses.
Since 2017, electric scooter injuries in the U.S. have surged by 400%, with Florida being a top state in emergency room visits for such injuries, Silvestris told the school board at a November work session, citing data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. These accidents have more than doubled since 2023 for children under 15, he said.
Lack of helmets, poor infrastructure, and rider inexperience and poor behavior were some common causes of scooter-related trauma that Silvestris listed. It was also noted that collisions involving distracted drivers, particularly newly licensed high schoolers, are prevalent on OCPS campuses. The district has previously provided guidance on these vehicles in the Deputy Superintendent Newsletter and on ParentSquare, an app used to send messages to families. The district has also partnered with Bike/Walk Central Florida to deliver safety presentations in schools.
But electric bikes and scooters are so common now that some school and city officials say more is needed.
Winter Park City Commissioner Craig Russell, who is a teacher and coach at Winter Park High School, said he has seen first-hand the dangers of electric scooter accidents and has worked with Winter Park Police on a safety campaign aimed at students and parents.
“A student in my class now has to withdraw and do Hospital Homebound because he was hit by a car [while] riding his e-scooter,” Russell said. “I think as a community we need to learn more about the scooters as a tool. We have to empower ourselves with knowledge of not only how to operate them, but how to teach our kids how to operate them properly and know the rules of the road.”
While some policy makers are worried about the dangers of electric scooters and bikes, many students see them as an essential part of daily life to get to school, work, sports practice and other activities.
“They’re not dangerous because if you really know what you’re doing and if you’re aware of your surroundings, you really can’t go wrong,” said Marco Malave, a sophomore at Winter Park High who uses his e-scooter to get to school and extracurricular activities. Although Malave has had accidents with his scooter before, he doesn’t believe licensing or a ban are needed as long as simple rules are created to “keep everyone safe.”
School Board member Alicia Farrant, who represents District 3, which runs from downtown Orlando south to near Walt Disney World, questioned the idea of a ban at the November meeting and suggested more safety education would suffice.
“As the school district, our place here is really to educate parents, educate the community on what is happening…but I don’t know that it is our duty as a school district to eliminate something completely, and I would be more in favor with each school having more of a say in…their area,” Farrant said.
District 2 member Maria Salamanca, who represents Lake Nona, advocated for rules governing scooters and bikes to be added to the OCPS Code of Student Conduct, which currently doesn’t mention the motorized devices.
“I have seen a really large uptick of very dangerous accidents with scooters on the way to school and very near to campus,” Salamanca said. “I think one of the things I’m seeing a lot, specifically in high school as well, is very young drivers who are distracted and then very fast scooters who are on their phone, and they crash in or around campus.”
Board Chair Teresa Jacobs expressed the need for a thorough course of action if rules are not followed.
“I would look along the lines of what is already not allowed, increase the limitations hopefully at a statewide level, and then use the authority of our Code of Student Conduct to put in place consequences for those students who are violating those,” she said.
When the Florida Legislature convenes in January, at least one member is already pushing a bill to require operators of high-speed versions of the devices hold a license and pushes for other safety measures like collecting and maintaining data on electric scooter and bike accidents.
Under HB 243 filed by Rep. Yvette Benarroch, R-Naples, operators of Class 3 e-bikes, which can go up to 28 miles per hour, would be required to have a learner’s permit or driver’s license.
“I filed this bill because government’s first duty is to protect the people,” Benarroch said, according to the Florida House’s informational page about the bill. “Freedom comes with responsibility, and when public safety is at risk, we have a duty to act. Guided by the Constitution and common sense, this bill protects lives, preserves liberty, and does what’s right for all Floridians.”
Potential new rules for school campuses are expected to be discussed at a meeting for Orange County principals in January. And Russell is planning a community meeting for parents and students in Winter Park.
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Tilly Raij is a sophomore at Winter Park High School. Her work has been published in The Community Paper, J Life Magazine and The Wildcat Chronicle.
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by Beth Kassab | Dec 18, 2025 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, Taxes, Uncategorized
Arts Board Backs Off Seven Oaks Sculptures Because of Spending Optics
The decision came this week just days before state CFO Blaise Ingoglia held a press conference in Winter Park on Thursday to call city governments “wasteful”
Dec. 18, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park’s Public Art Advisory Board this week hit the pause button on spending as much as $175,000 on permanent sculptures for Seven Oaks Park after City Manager Randy Knight appeared at the meeting to warn of bad optics and even a potential budget shortfall if Gov. Ron DeSantis is successful in his drive to reduce property taxes.
“Is that something we’d be criticized for?” Knight asked of the potential expenditure. “Should we wait and see what’s coming before we decide to spend that kind of money on public art?”
The decision by the board, which includes new Commissioner-elect Elizabeth Ingram, is evidence of a chilling effect on local governments brought by the DeSantis administration’s attacks on local spending and threat to significantly decrease local tax revenue.
Without mentioning Winter Park a single time, state Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, who is running for re-election, held a press conference in the city on Thursday morning.
A city graphic shows the proposed location of artwork in Seven Oaks Park.
He repeatedly called cities and counties “wasteful” of public dollars, particularly money collected through property taxes.
But he didn’t cite any examples of cities with bloated budgets that he attributed, in large part, to hiring more staff that far exceeded a city’s need based on its population.
Ingoglia announced a proposal for a new law that would require cities and counties to post their budgets online (which is already required by state law) and to post proposed budget amendments seven days in advance of the hearing. His proposal also would require local governments to identify at least 10% worth of cuts as part of the budget process, though fire and police could not be part of those reductions.
He said the law change would prohibit cities from considering if a business is minority or women-owned when handing out contracts.
Ingoglia called for the end of “the practice of DEI in contracts,” which he said stands for “division, exclusion and indoctrination.”
“Stop with this crap,” he said.
Ingoglia’s office did not immediately respond to a question from the Voice about why the event was held in Winter Park.
The plan for the Seven Oaks Park sculptures came about as part of the city’s public art initiative to promote culture and visitation in Winter Park’s newest public space, which opened earlier this year.
Winter Park is known as one of the top tourism draws in the region and logged 1.4 million visitors to the downtown in 2024.
A plan to bring rotating loaned artwork from Orange County to the park in January is still underway. But the board hit the brakes on purchasing new art to remain in the park permanently.
Arts Board Chairwoman Carolyn Fennell thanked Knight for the information and guidance and noted that the city should “maintain its arts and cultural branding.”
“We all know the importance of arts in our city but others looking in may not have the same value of art as you do or certainly as we do as a community,” Knight said during the meeting.
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by Beth Kassab | Dec 12, 2025 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development
Via Tuscany Homeowner Owes More Than $300k in Code Fines
Construction on the house began in 2018 and just concluded this year, prompting repeated complaints by neighbors
Dec. 12 , 2025
By Beth Kassab
The owner of an ultra modern mansion on the corner of Via Tuscany and Howell Branch Road owes more than $331,000 in code enforcement fines after the City Commission refused the man’s request to eliminate the fines he accumulated during nearly seven years of construction.
Fernando Bermudez, the owner of the home through Casselberry-based Developer and Builder Group LLC, told city officials in a letter dated Sept. 5, 2025 that the drawn-out construction timeline was the result of complications brought on by COVID-19, which killed one of his partners, and Hurricane Ian, which struck in September of 2022.
A snapshot included with Winter Park code enforcement documents shows a notice of violation posted in front of the home.
But the construction process at 2661 Via Tuscany started long before those events when the first permit was granted by the city in September of 2018. The certificate of occupancy for the 4-bedroom, 4,500-square-foot house was finally issued in July of this year.
Bermudez, who attended the City Commission meeting on Wednesday, said through his attorney that he was unaware of the fines and blamed a number of problems on his contractors, which changed repeatedly during the project.
But Gary Hiatt, building and permitting director, showed commissioners minutes from a Code Enforcement Board hearing in November of 2022 that showed Bermudez was in attendance and spoke along with a contractor about the timeline of the project. At that meeting, the board ordered that fines of $250 a day per violation would begin accumulating if the house wasn’t completed in 60 days, according to records.
“There were multiple times where they gave us, ‘We’ll be done by here or we’ll be done by here,’ and it just never came to fruition,” Hiatt said.
Violations, which included allowing permits to expire without completing the project and failing to meet deadlines, went on in at least one case for more than 900 days and, in another, more than 300.
“The incomplete vacant structure remains a public nuisance,” the code board concluded in a March 23, 2023 order that said fines would continue and the city would place a lien on the property.
In his letter to city officials to request the fines and lien be eliminated, Bermudez claimed ignorance about the existence of the fines and detailed how construction materials ordered from Europe were delayed by the pandemic as well as how the project was impeded by his own illness and the loss of his partner to the virus.
A Realtor.com listing for the property, which is now up for sale for $6.6 million (more than $1,400 per square foot), boasts of two primary suites (one on each floor), lighting fixtures from Greece, Italian porcelain flooring and “unparalleled craftsmanship, high-end finishes, and an open-concept layout for those who appreciate architectural brilliance and luxury living.”
The house, “follows commercial-grade construction standards, making it a bunker-style fortress unlike any other,” according to the listing.
But Bermudez wrote that the amount of the fine is “a debt impossible for us to pay.”
He said “the real estate market is now extremely slow” and he faces potential foreclosure by a private lender.
But commissioners said they didn’t hear any good reasons to reduce or eliminate the fines.
“These are legitimate fines in my opinion,” Commissioner Craig Russell said, noting that Bermudez’s company had developed other houses so should have had some familiarity with the process.
Russell and Commissioner Warren Lindsey also noted how the lengthy construction process affected the neighborhood.
Neighbors complained to the city about the project repeatedly, citing the unfinished work, debris and other violations.
“Overall, the process has been unprofessional (single workers showing up after hours or on weekends as if the whole project is some sort of shady after thought), unnecessarily drawn out and damaging to our property,” one neighbor wrote the city.
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by Beth Kassab | Dec 11, 2025 | City Commission, News, Zoning and Development
Up to Eight Billboards in Winter Park to be Removed
The concept of a deal approved by the City Commission calls for four new billboards along I-4 while eight billboards along surface roads come down
Dec. 11, 2025
By Beth Kassab
For years, Winter Park officials have wanted to rid the city of billboards — considered by some to be analog roadside spam — and this week brought the first step in taking down as many as two billboards on Fairbanks Avenue, four of the structures on Aloma Avenue, one on Lee Road and one on Interstate 4.
City commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the concept of a deal that will require a series of land swaps and annexations and the permitting of four new billboards along I-4 in exchange for the eight other signs coming own.
“We’ve been working for many, many many years to try to eliminate as many billboards in the core of the city,” City Manager Randy Knight told the commission.
The terms call for:
- Clear Channel Outdoor will remove two billboards at 1873 and 2095 Fairbanks Avenue and one at 2522 Aloma Avenue. All three of those signs are double-sided. In exchange, Winter Park will issue a permit for Clear Channel to construct a new billboard at 2600 W. Fairbanks with a digital sign facing westbound I-4 traffic and a static sign facing eastbound traffic. Clear Channel would also remove a three-sided billboard at the southeast corner of I-4 and Lee Road. It would be replaced by a new billboard about 300 feet to the south, which will require a property swap with the city. The property swap could come before the commission as early as January.
- The Lamar Company will remove a digital billboard at 1621 Lee Road and the city will permit a new digital billboard at 909 N. Wymore Road. This means the city will also need to annex a portion of land for the structure.
- Outfront Media will remove three billboards at 2090, 2145 and 2431 Aloma Avenue. The city will issue a permit for a new digital billboard at 1885 Dartmouth Avenue. The city must annex several properties on Dartmouth to make that portion of the deal happen.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio asked if Clear Channel could also remove a billboard on U.S. 17-92 and Gay Road. The company would not agree to remove it but said it would replace the digital side of that billboard with a newer technology that creates less light pollution.
“We definitely want that,” DeCiccio said of the upgraded features.
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by Beth Kassab | Dec 8, 2025 | City Commission, Election, News
Unopposed Races Seal Seats for Craig Russell and Elizabeth Ingram, Canceling Winter Park’s March Vote
The Winter Park High School coach will get a second term and a political newcomer will join the commission in March
Dec. 8, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Two City Commissioners were elected without opposition on Monday after the qualifying period ended at noon with only one candidate filing for each of the two seats that would have appeared on Winter Park’s March ballot.
City Commissioner Craig Russell was re-elected to his first full term in Seat 2 after winning a tight race in 2024 to finish the term vacated by Sheila DeCiccio when she became mayor. First-time candidate Elizabeth Ingram was elected to fill Seat 1, which was an open seat after Commissioner Marty Sullivan chose not to run again.
Elizabeth Ingram. Above photo: Ingram talks with a supporter at a recent event. Photos courtesy of the Ingram campaign.
Ingram, 38, will become the youngest member of the five-person commission.
A trained opera singer, she serves on the Public Art Advisory Board and previously led the Dommerich Elementary PTA. She said she hopes to focus on protecting the character that sets Winter Park apart from other communities.
She has been campaigning since the summer and filed to run in July.
“I’m so, so thankful for all of the supporters who rallied around me from the beginning,” Ingram said Monday afternoon, shortly after learning she would be elected without an opponent. “The most important thing for me as a commissioner is just being there for the residents. Am I representing them as well and as accurately as I can? Because that’s truly what my job is about. I’m excited to be a new young voice for Winter Park, and I’m excited to represent everybody.”
She raised just under $13,000, according to the most recent campaign finance report.
Michael Carolan, chairman of the real estate department at Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman, told the Voice in September that he planned to run for Seat 1 with backing from the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. But Carolan announced on Facebook last month that he had decided not to run.
Russell said Monday that he is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve another term.
The Winter Park High School teacher and coach made history nearly two years ago as the first Black candidate elected in the city in more than a century. At 45, he is the youngest current commissioner.
Craig Russell
“I’m excited to continue the work that I started,” Russell said. “And I’m excited to hopefully gain the trust and respect of those who didn’t vote for me, because I work for and speak for all the residents.”
He listed engaging young people, improving infrastructure and transportation, and boosting community volunteerism and civic involvement as priorities. He helped spearhead the formation of a youth advisory council as well as an educational series on the safety of e-bikes and e-scooters for kids.
He has not yet filed a campaign finance report because he just filed his initial campaign documents last month.
Unopposed contests—particularly in local races—aren’t unusual and may even be increasing. According to data from BallotReady, 61% of city contests across the country were unopposed last year, compared to 44% in 2020.
Craig Russell poses with students who came out to support him at a candidate forum in 2024.
Fewer candidates mean voters have fewer choices about who represents them at the level of government closest to home—the policymakers who decide police and fire budgets, set road and traffic priorities, and shape the community through decisions about development, parks and how much residents pay for electricity and clean water.
Because both Winter Park races drew only one candidate, the March city election is canceled, and Russell and Ingram will be sworn in that same month. Commissioner Warren Lindsey was also elected without opposition earlier this year to Seat 4, meaning three of the five members of the incoming commission did not face voters at the polls.
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by Beth Kassab | Nov 13, 2025 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety, Taxes, Uncategorized
New Firefighter Contract Boosts Pay as Winter Park Faces Rising Public Safety Costs
Base pay will rise 12% this year after negotiations with the union plus cost-of-living and potential merit increases as part of a new three-year contract
Nov. 13, 2025
By Beth Kassab
The base pay for Winter Park firefighters will increase by 12% this year, along with additional cost-of-living and merit raises, under a new three-year contract with the department’s union.
The City Commission approved the contract with little discussion in a 4-0 vote. Commissioner Marty Sullivan was absent.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio briefly remarked that the city was “fortunate” to have a “high-quality department” serving residents.
Under the new agreement, base salaries for firefighter EMTs will rise from $50,618 to $56,700. Firefighter paramedics will see their base pay increase from $61,908 to $69,300. Both groups will also receive a 2% cost-of-living adjustment and up to 3% in merit raises.
The contract includes merit and cost-of-living adjustments in the second and third years, consistent with those provided to other city employees.
Union President Joe Celletti, a firefighter paramedic who has been with the department about eight years, said the contract will provide increased financial stability for firefighters.
“We’re appreciative of the commission,” Celletti said. “It’s a historic raise for the fire department … we’re on par with Orlando, which is our biggest competitor.”
In addition to the built-in increases over three years, firefighters also have plenty of opportunities for overtime pay and special holiday pay. The contract changed the way firefighters are paid when they call out sick, but Celletti said it was a small concession.
“I think it will definitely keep us at an elite level,” he said. “People might even move out of state to come to a department like ours … you can be a great fireman, a great paramedic and have the financial stability to raise a family comfortably.”
Fire Chief Dan Hagedorn told The Voice in an email that the contract is designed to “maintain Winter Park’s competitiveness in a rapidly evolving regional market.”
Fire Chief Dan Hagedorn. (Photos courtesy of the city of Winter Park)
He said other area fire departments are “negotiating base pay increases as high as 25–30%,” making it harder for Winter Park to retain firefighters. Turnover, he noted, is costly.
“Losing experienced personnel costs the city thousands of dollars in retraining, onboarding, and lost operational expertise,” he said. “Any turnover impacts the continuity of service and public safety readiness.”
The pay increases come as the Florida Legislature prepares for its session in January, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has urged lawmakers to cut property taxes. Such a measure—if it reaches the November 2026 ballot and passes—could significantly reduce local government revenues.
Property taxes provide the largest share of the city’s General Fund, which pays for police, fire, parks, roads, and other services, including cybersecurity for public data. The General Fund totals about $90 million this year, with property taxes contributing roughly $39 million, or 44% of the total—enough to cover both the police and fire budgets, which are the fund’s largest expenses.
Hagedorn noted that the fire department doesn’t have the option of operating short-staffed, even briefly, when someone is out sick or on vacation. That means paying overtime or other costs to ensure stations are fully staffed every day.
The contract also includes policy changes for personal leave and overtime management aimed at “reducing unscheduled leave, improving staffing reliability, and lowering overtime costs.”
Staffing levels directly affect how quickly paramedics and firefighters can respond to 911 calls for medical help, fires, accidents, or other emergencies.
In 2024, the department’s average response time was six minutes and 52 seconds. So far in 2025, that average has improved to six minutes and 41 seconds. The goal for 2026 is to reach six minutes, according to performance metrics listed in the city’s budget.
The raises will be funded by an additional $350,000 allocated for fire department personnel in the city’s 2026 budget, which took effect Oct. 1.
The increases reflect a broader trend of rising public safety costs for local governments.
Winter Park’s budget includes an additional $700,000 this year for public safety wages across the fire and police departments. Meanwhile, city pension costs for public safety employees are expected to rise by $671,000, according to budget documents.
“Additionally, the governor has recommended in HB 929 that fire personnel have reduced weekly shifts with the same pay,” the budget states. “If this becomes the new standard in the state, the Fire Department would need to hire over 15 additional personnel to provide shift coverage. While only a few cities, such as Kissimmee, have enacted this change, staff is watching closely to see how it might affect future budgets.”
Police and fire expenses account for about half of the growth in the city’s General Fund this year—roughly $3.2 million.
Overall, the fire department’s budget increased by more than $800,000 this year to $17.1 million, with 85 full-time positions.
Just four years ago, in 2022, the fire budget was $13.6 million with 81 full-time positions.
The police budget increased by $2.4 million this year to $21.8 million, with 122 full-time positions. In 2022, the police budget was $16.3 million with 114 full-time positions.
No new positions were added this year. The higher costs stem from wage increases and the city’s new responsibility for providing dispatch services to Maitland, which will reimburse Winter Park for those services.
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