by Beth Kassab | Aug 21, 2026 | Chain of Lakes, Environment, News
How Healthy is Lake Virginia? New Buoy Sends Real-Time Data
The project from the Freshwater Alliance at Rollins will help scientists and average lake goers know more about the quality of the Winter Park Chain of Lakes
Aug. 21, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Boaters and paddleboarders may have noticed a new yellow buoy floating near the center of Lake Virginia and hoisting a Rollins College flag.
But the addition isn’t an average buoy warning of a speed zone or marking swimming boundaries.
This buoy is a first-of-its-kind for the lake to monitor water quality in real time.
Operated by the Freshwater Alliance at Rollins, the buoy is collecting data around the clock related to water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, algae concentrations and other factors.
Eventually, all of that data will be crunched and coded into an easy-to-use dashboard for water-goers or anyone who wants to know about the health of the lake as well as researchers like Rollins’ Emily Nodine, who is interested in understanding environmental trends and how to best manage the health of the Winter Park Chain of Lakes.
“Over time we hope to develop a livestream of data that goes into a platform that will be publicly available,” said Nodine, chairwoman of Environmental Studies and faculty director of the Freshwater Alliance.
A view of the new buoy on Lake Virginia. (Photos courtesy of Rollins College)
In recent years, the city of Winter Park has closed the Chain of Lakes related to hurricane and storm activity and closed individual sections such as swimming off Dinky Dock because of algae blooms.
The buoy, which cost about $50,000 and was funded through a private donation to the alliance from the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation, will provide consistent sampling every 15 minutes and allow for more analysis of trends and future projections than the once per month water sampling currently done by the state and the city.
The buoy is floating near the deepest area of the lake — about 20 feet — and collects samples from about a meter under the surface to near the lake bottom. Temperature measurements from different depths will help Nodine’s team also understand how the water is moving through the lake.
And while the buoy is collecting samples from Lake Virginia on the south end of the Winter Park Chain, the lakes are connected both above and below ground and the data could provide clues about the entire system of water bodies. The chain of lakes is crucial to life in Winter Park where everything from real estate values to weekend skiers to Rollins crew and sailing teams to visitors on the Scenic Boat Tour rely on the health of the water.
“Someone who lives on Lake Osceola or Lake Maitland or even Lake Killarney, whatever Lake Virginia is doing, your lake is probably doing similar stuff,” Nodine said.
A view of the buoy before it was deployed.
The buoy is anchored near the center of Lake Virginia (coordinates 28° 35′ 15.45″ N, 81° 20′ 41.07″ W). While it will remain in a fixed location, it is not permanently installed and may occasionally be removed for maintenance or future research needs, according to a Rollins advisory.
It is equipped with safety features, including a flashing light and reflective markings. Boaters and other lake users are asked to be aware of the buoy’s presence and maintain a safe distance when navigating nearby, the advisory said.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 20, 2026 | Chain of Lakes, Neighborhoods, News
Neighbors Tell Court They Plan to Resolve Suit Over Virginia Heights Park
In dispute is how the private park on Lake Virginia can be used after high-profile neighbors on both sides sought to limit access
Aug. 20, 2026
By Gabrielle Russon
Lawyers representing the Virginia Heights neighbors warring over a park said they are close to reaching a deal to end the legal fight and dismiss the lawsuit.
“We anticipate resolving this matter in short order,” lawyer David Meek told Orange County Circuit Court Judge Tanya Davis Wilson during a hearing Wednesday. “We anticipate this will go away shortly.”
Meek is representing Eric and Diane Holm and Brian and Caryn Albertson who sued their Virginia Heights neighbor Stephanie Guss over “filthy” kayaks stored at the park and “offending shrubs” that are visible from the backyards of the Holms and Albertsons.
A sign hangs at the Virginia Heights park during a gathering.
The private park overlooking Lake Virginia is a beloved gathering place for residents in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Winter Park, but the spot has been embroiled in a nasty legal fight among residents.
The Holms and Albertsons, who live on either side of the park, filed an Orange County Circuit lawsuit last year against Guss. A narrow path to the park cuts along the property lines of both homes.
Eric Holm, one of the nation’s largest Golden Corral franchisees who lives in the 10,000-square-foot home just west of the park, is known for his charitable work such as serving a Thanksgiving dinner for thousands at the Salvation Army in Orlando and made headlines in 2024 when he hosted Vice President J.D. Vance (then a candidate) at his home for a fundraiser. The Albertsons built a nearly 8,000-square-foot home on the southeast border of the park two years ago.
Guss and the two couple’s lawyers filed a joint motion last week asking the courts for a two-month court delay to finish negotiating and reach a resolution to avoid going to a civil trial.
“It has had a lot of back and forth on negotiation,” Meek said during Wednesday’s hearing.
Neighbors gathered last year at Virginia Heights’ private park with homes belonging to Brian Albertson and Eric Holm in the background.
Their court filing expanded on the behind the scenes talks for the park shared by the 200 homes in the neighborhood.
“This case is unique in that while there is one named Defendant, the interests of numerous other owners of the park are involved both in the relief sought in the litigation and, to an even greater extent, in the negotiations towards a resolution that have been ongoing for an extended period of time. The extensive negotiations towards a resolution have included multiple Virginia Heights neighborhood meetings, votes of the interested homeowners, and extensive back and forth aimed at a resolution,” the lawyers said in the court filing. “The parties have been engaged in good-faith negotiations regarding a global resolution of this dispute, and anticipate having a final resolution in place in the very near future.”
The joint motion added “once a resolution is reached there will be certain tasks to be performed by both sides to bring about the full resolution of this dispute and its dismissal.”
When reached for comment, Brian Albertson said in an email Thursday, “We remain optimistic that this can be resolved between the sides and that we are nearing that resolution.”
Both sides did not respond to questions to elaborate on what “tasks” needed to be done.
Some neighbors left about 30 kayaks, oars and lifejackets on storage racks at the park, located at 1240 College Point, the lawsuit said.
The kayak rack at the park.
“Recently, that private right to use and enjoy the park has been invaded through the taking of a portion of the Park property for private use,” the lawsuit said. “Many of the kayaks in and around the racks are filthy, showing no signs of use within the last year or more and are covered in dust, dirt, and mildew.”
The Holms and Albertsons complained bushes were also planted at the park.
“The planting of these bushes, like the erection of the racks, is an improper taking of the park for personal use,” their lawsuit said.
Guss became the target of the lawsuit since she helped coordinate the neighborhood’s inquiries for the boat racks. Neighbors quietly rallied around Guss and raised money to help with her legal expenses. Some neighbors said they feared they might be sued next.
The lawsuit noted Guss had “co-conspirators that are yet-to-be-identified members of the community” as the Holms and Albertson took Guss to court in 2024 to unsuccessfully find out the other neighbors’ identities.
“Consequently, Plaintiffs have initiated this lawsuit for the purpose of pursuing available remedies against Guss, and as their identities are revealed, Guss’s co-conspirators,” the lawsuit said.
Residents of the neighborhood said Holm and Albertsons installed cameras and floodlights and are using legal action to intimidate people from using the space for neighborhood holiday parties, Halloween costume contests and more.
The Holms and Albertsons previously told the Winter Park Voice in a statement their lawsuit’s goal “is to get clear, workable guidance that everyone can follow in 2026—so deeded homeowners can enjoy the park while the adjacent homes can maintain reasonable privacy and security.”
Some neighbors sent an anonymous statement to the Voice in January.
“For over a century, Virginia Heights Park has been our neighborhood’s heart, where families gather, children kayak, and over 200 homeowners enjoy deeded lakefront access specifically platted for community use. The park has evolved over the decades through neighbors’ collaborative efforts: maintaining and mowing the grass, planting trees, maintaining kayak racks, installing picnic tables, all funded and maintained by volunteers preserving our shared space,” their statement said. “Today, this tradition of community stewardship faces an existential threat, not from neglect, but from litigation.”
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 14, 2026 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety
Commissioners Want Safety Class and Other Rules for Kids on E-Bikes
Winter Park is still considering exactly what rules to put in place and how to enforce them
Aug. 14, 2026
By Gabrielle Russon
Winter Park is considering imposing new regulations aimed to crack down on people driving electric bikes and motorized scooters dangerously around town.
The City Commission held a workshop Thursday to discuss how they want to craft a future city ordinance although they did not take an official vote. No public meeting date has been scheduled yet for the City Commission to vote on the final ordinance, spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said afterward.
The issue of e-bikes and e-scooters has been a hot topic in Central Florida. Just ahead of the new school year, Orange County Public Schools banned the devices for all students unless they have a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit. School officials expressed frustration that state and local governments have not acted sooner to pass any safety reforms.
On the workshop’s agenda, draft language of the ordinance proposed a 10 mph speed limit for any electric bicycle or motorized scooter traveling on sidewalks, shared-use paths, trails and parks. E-bikes and e-scooters would be banned on sidewalks within the central business district, Hannibal Square Neighborhood Commercial District or Orange Avenue District just like bicycles are.
But city officials questioned whether to include a specific speed limit at all.
Winter Park Police Chief Tim Volkerson said he was hesitant about the challenges of enforcing a 10 mph limit.
“Conceptually, I like the 10 miles an hour, but the reality is if you set a speed limit of 10 miles an hour, I’m going to have a line of people at my door wanting to know why we’re not running radar on sidewalks and giving kids tickets for going 11 and 12 mph on the sidewalks,” Volkerson said. “If it’s in ordinance, there is going to be an expectation that we are going to enforce it.”
He also warned some electric vehicles young people are riding don’t have speedometers.
“It’s hard to hold a 13- or 14-year-old kid accountable for going 10 miles an hour when he doesn’t have any method of determining that he’s going 10 miles an hour,” Volkerson said.
City officials suggested not having a specific speed limit at all but crafting the ordinance to say “unsafe speeds” or “carless” driving was prohibited on e-bikes and e-scooters.
However, Commissioner Elizabeth Ingram said if the city left it “broad like that, everyone’s going to have their own opinion of what is careless.”
Under the proposed ordinance, e-bike and motorized scooters would need to yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian.
Winter Park officials nixed a proposed provision to require e-bike and e-scooter drivers to carry a government-issued photograph ID.
Anyone under 16 will be required to take a city-approved safety education class to ride in city limits.
“I absolutely love the idea of requiring kids to attend the class. I think it’s very, very smart,” said Volkerson, who added that young people are already required to take a class to ride dirt bikes.
Volkerson balked at the idea of the city issuing a card to prove young people took the course. He preferred they get a certification of completion.
“They blow through stop signs,” Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said of young offenders she has witnessed. “They need to just learn the basic rules of the road.”
The proposed ordinance said parents or legal guardians would be held responsible for minors who get cited for violating the ordinance. City officials did not discuss how much the fines would cost.
“This is about accountability,” Commissioner Craig Russell said.
Other city officials acknowledged the city had limited leverage to handle repeat offenders since the city would not be giving licenses although Volkerson pointed out the city can impound e-bikes and e-scooters
“Tow company doesn’t care if it’s a bike or a car. You are going to pay a high impound fee for that,” Volkerson said.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 13, 2026 | News, Police and Public Safety
Winter Park Police Chief Adds New Rules for Flock Cameras
Chief Tim Volkerson said the cameras that capture license plates are helpful in investigations, but wants to respond to concerns about the potential for abuse
Aug. 13, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Police Chief Tim Volkerson said Winter Park’s three flock cameras provide valuable information when it comes to tracking down criminal suspects.
But he told the Voice this week that he also understands growing concerns about how the cameras are used and worries about the potential for abuse.
That’s why he put new rules into place this week that no longer allow out-of-state agencies to access Winter Park’s system, continue to prohibit access by federal agencies and limit his own officers from using the data except for in cases of current and active investigations.
A Flock Safety image shows an example of what the cameras look like.
In addition, he said he’s adding more checks to monitor for misuse. The camera manufacturer announced on Thursday it made its own changes to enhance accountability and has rolled out a new audit mechanism and will require law enforcement agencies to adopt it by the end of the year, though Volkerson said he had not heard from the company directly as of Thursday.
“We’re going to build in a more robust audit system,” Volkerson said. “We value the tool and the safety it provides our community, but we also value the trust of our community and will continue to work to maintain that trust.”
Flock cameras, which get their name because they are manufactured by an Atlanta-based company called Flock Safety, are mounted along roadways and photograph vehicles. They create a searchable database of license plate numbers and other details such as the vehicle’s make, model and distinguishing characteristics.
On Thursday morning, the company announced a set of changes and new features that it says are designed to increase transparency and responsibility and prevent misuse.
“Abuse of Flock technology, at any level, is unacceptable,” said a message on Flock Safety’s website. “We have strengthened safeguards over the past nine years, from basic audit logs to proactive monitoring. Sixteen weeks ago, we introduced Audit Assistance, which detects abnormal activity and flags it for administrator review. In recent weeks, those reviews have been associated with arrests of several law enforcement officers who allegedly abused the system. More than one-third of our customers have voluntarily adopted audit assistance.”
The company said agencies who use its cameras will be required to adopt the audit system by the end of the year and it will roll out a “proactive lockout” feature that automatically suspends a user’s access to the data if it detects abnormal searches.
In addition, the data recorded by the cameras will only be saved for seven days instead of 30 days unless an officer shows there’s a reason to retain the information for longer.
“Our analysis shows that over 90% of searches without a full plate are done within a week,” the statement said. “Evidence Mode, which will roll out in the coming weeks, addresses the exceptional cases that take longer: detectives can preserve specific [automated license plate reader] data as evidence for an active investigation in cold storage, consistent with existing laws and policies.”
A chart from Flock Safety’s website addresses some concerns about the camera system.
In Winter Park, Volkerson said, three cameras have been in place on Lee Road, Fairbanks Avenue and Aloma Avenue for about five years. The lease for all three costs about $7,500 a year.
The cameras can be used in two ways: Police can search for a specific vehicle or tag number as part of an investigation or officers can program the system to alert them if when a vehicle associated with a crime is captured by one of the cameras.
Under the changes Volkerson is putting in place, outside agencies such as Orlando Police or the Orange County Sheriff’s Office will need to contact Winter Park PD in order to search data collected by Winter Park’s cameras. And the reverse is also true: Winter Park would need to contact other agencies if a case led them to require information from another city or county.
“It is a reciprocal network, so if we stop their access then we lose access going the other way as well,” he explained.
Last month his officers conducted between 50 and 60 searches.
As an example, Volkerson said the cameras proved helpful earlier this year when there were some residential burglaries along Phelps Avenue. He said his officers pursued a suspect but lost him. About 20 minutes later, they received an alert for the vehicle from a camera near South Orlando Avenue and pursued it again but did not capture the suspect. Eventually a different agency’s camera alerted that the vehicle was near Apopka and the suspect was arrested.
“It’s a huge benefit for the safety of the city,” Volkerson said of the camera network.
Privacy concerns among law-abiding citizens are a key concern that has emerged as the cameras have become more widespread across Florida and elsewhere.
Earlier this summer, an automotive journalist was testing out a Range Rover for TheDrive.com, an automotive news outlet, when multiple police vehicles surrounded the SUV in a Kohl’s parking lot in Plymouth, Minn. The man’s wife was in the passenger seat.
“‘Are you armed?!’ the police officer screamed. ‘Get out of the car!'” Joel Feder wrote about his experience on TheDrive.com.
“After dropping off our Amazon returns, we’d just gotten back in the Range Rover and reversed maybe two feet out of the spot when four cop cars came flying out of nowhere and boxed us in,” he wrote. “The officers jumped out and started shouting. It’s a situation that can quickly and frequently turn bad, so as unprepared as I was, I followed their orders, got out with my hands up, and tried to figure out what the hell was happening.”
It turned out the license plate of the borrowed vehicle matched the plate of a stolen vehicle that had been entered into the Flock system incorrectly and that the police had been using the cameras to track the vehicle Feder was driving for days.
Police Chief Tim Volkerson
Closer to home in Tampa Bay, the St. Petersburg police chief recently addressed concerns about the cameras after a man drew national attention for wearing a t-shirt that reads “The Flock Blocker” as he protested the cameras by holding what appeared to be homemade shield on a long pole to block a camera lens.
And earlier this month a Haines City police officer was arrested and charged with official misconduct and other computer-related crimes after he used the Flock system for more than 700 searches over about two years to try to track the whereabouts of his estranged wife’s vehicle, according to a police investigation cited by news reports.
Volkerson said he understands the concerns and wants to ensure residents have trust in the system and understand police are using the data to try to solve crimes or find missing people, not track law-abiding people.
“I understand some of the complaints I have read,” he said. “I can see their point of view and I think it’s important to address that so we’re tightening things down so it does not become an issue. It’s the right thing to do.”
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 13, 2026 | Election, News
Annemarie Cooper Named New Winter Park Chamber President
Cooper, who was promoted from inside the chamber, replaces Betsy Gardner, who left in May
Aug. 13, 2026
By Beth Kassab
Leaders at the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce announced Annemarie Cooper as the new president and chief executive of the 103-year-old organization that aims to promote the city’s businesses, arts scene and, in recent years, has taken an active role in city elections with a political action committee.
Cooper, who was the chamber’s director of government affairs, steps into the role about four months after Betsy Gardner left the position.
“My vision is to further strengthen our Chamber’s role as a driving force within the community by fostering meaningful, lasting partnerships that create opportunities for businesses and residents alike,” she said in a statement. “I want to ensure the Chamber remains the trusted voice of our business community, a respected advocate, a collaborative leader and a reliable resource that brings people together and helps shape a strong, vibrant future for our region.”
Annemarie Cooper
The chamber did not immediately respond to a question about whether Cooper would continue Winter PAC, the political action committee that most recently funded a candidate who tried to unseat Commissioner Kris Cruzada in 2025.
This year commissioners Elizabeth Ingram and Craig Russell were elected after no one filed to run against either one.
The next city election is the contest for mayor, which will be on the ballot in March of 2027. Sheila DeCiccio appears poised to run again, though the qualifying period doesn’t end until December.
Cooper’s previous experience includes lobbying for the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, and serving as the executive director of the National Independent Pharmacy Coalition.
“Annemarie is the ideal leader to guide the Chamber into its next chapter,” said chamber board Chairman Keith Whittingham, the Rollins business professor and founder of Artfix Cafe, a “direct trade” coffee supplier that aims to provide more income to coffee bean farmers. “Her proven leadership experience, unwavering commitment to serving our members, and passion for advocating on behalf of the business community make her exceptionally well-suited for this role. She understands the importance of bringing people together, listening to the needs of our members, and leading events and programs that deliver real value.”
Other members of the chamber’s 2026 executive committee include Laura Walda of the Lowndes law firm, Arnaldo Oliveras of 180 Commercial Real Estate Advisors, Joel Knopp of Forvis Mazars, Diane DiFebbo of Full Sail University, Ivan Lys-Dobradin of The Gulf Stream Law Firm and Emily Williams of Be on Park and Z Properties.
On Sept. 18, the chamber will host a panel on Amendment 3, which will appear on the November ballot and could significantly reduce property tax revenue for local governments. The panel will include City Manager Randy Knight, Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph and Jeff Kottkamp, former lieutenant governor and current president of Florida TaxWatch.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 11, 2026 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety, Taxes
Winter Park Considers More Red Light Cameras
Police Chief Tim Volkerson said the cameras help enhance safety and could bring extra revenue for the department
Aug. 11, 2026
By Gabrielle Russon
Winter Park Police are looking to double the number of red light cameras in the city, a move that the police chief said would enhance safety as well as bring in new revenue amid talk of cutting the department’s budget as the state is pushing local governments to tighten their belts.
Last year, eight cameras posted at six intersections caught 24,400 violations– from blowing through a light to rolling right-on-red turns without a complete stop – and brought in $3.8 million in revenue.
Police Chief Tim Volkerson wants to add eight more red light cameras at the same six intersections, but facing different directions from the existing cameras.
“For example, Fairbanks and Orlando (Avenue) has a red light camera for westbound traffic,” Volkerson said. “It does not have a red light camera for eastbound traffic and it does not have a red light camera for north or southbound traffic.”
That intersection proved to be the third busiest of Winter Park’s red light cameras when it comes to issuing violations with nearly 3,600 tickets last year, according to police data analyzed by the Voice.
The camera on southbound Orlando Avenue at Lee Road resulted in nearly one-third of all the red light camera tickets last year. The second highest offending intersections were eastbound Lee and Orlando Avenue with 6,260 tickets.
Chief Tim Volkerson
Winter Park’s newest red light camera is at Phelps and Aloma is an intersection with a history of significant crashes, Volkerson said. That camera resulted in issuing about 1,600 red light violations last year.
Most of the violations caught on camera throughout the city are related to right-on-red turns. According to a state-required report that Volkerson is scheduled to deliver to the City Commission on Wednesday, nearly 70% of citations or 17,300 out of 25,000 violations during the 2025-26 fiscal year were for improper right turns on red signals.
Volkerson said safety is more important than money when it comes to adding red light cameras. But the topic came up at a recent City Commission work session as Volkerson presented his department’s budget, which includes keeping a community services position vacant next year to help reduce costs.
The proposed 2027 police department budget is $23.2 million, up from $14.9 million in 2020, largely the result of adding six full-time staff positions since then and higher costs and wages for officers.
Adding new red light cameras could bring in an additional $750,000 in revenue, according to a spreadsheet city officials prepared as part of a budget exercise.
“Anyone that has lived in Winter Park would agree that the volume of cars that we have traveling through our city has increased,” Volkerson said. “The more important thing is for us to reduce crashes and even more importantly our goal is always to have zero fatalities.”
People speeding past red lights are most likely to cause T-bone or angular crashes that can have catastrophic results, Volkerson added. And Winter Park roads are active with cyclists heading out on the trails and early-morning runners training on the city streets every Saturday pre-dawn for Track Shack’s MarathonFest.
“If a byproduct is that it brings in revenue, that’s a good thing too, but that can never be and never should be the justification for doing it,” Winter Park City Commissioner Warren Lindsey told the Voice. “I would never ever support something just because it was a revenue producer when it wasn’t emphatically and primarily done for purposes of safety of motorists and pedestrians.”
A typical red light camera fine is $158 and the city of Winter Park collects $75 of that total with $2 going to police training and $73 to help fund the police budget. The rest of the money goes to the state for general revenue, health funds, and helping people with spinal cord injuries.
Volkerson is analyzing crash data to determine which intersections have the most cars passing through and the most crashes. The state requires cities to pass an ordinance in order to add new cameras and provide a reasoning for the locations.
“There has to be a nexus for us putting them there. We can’t just decide we’re going to put one at Park and Morse. We have to justify to the state why this is going there,” he told city officials at the budget work session.
Volkerson added he was not looking at school zones since those areas don’t generate enough traffic volume and are often already patrolled by officers.
Winter Park’s potential red light camera expansion comes as Floridians will be deciding whether or not to approve an overhaul of local property taxes in November.
Recently, the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police and the Florida Sheriffs Association came out strongly against the property tax ballot initiative, arguing the increase in homestead property tax exemptions could result in fewer dollars for essential services like public safety.
Volkerson declined to comment on personal stance on the ballot amendment.
“It’s up to each person to decide and vote,” Volkerson said.
Some, like Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad, fear that Amendment 3 will shrink funding for local governments.
“No matter how you shake it or how you roll the dice, property tax reform has an impact on the services that any municipality will be able to provide,” said Semrad, whose district includes Winter Park.
Semrad brought up whether red light camera tickets could help supplement the Orange County Sheriff’s budget if Amendment 3 passes as county officials held their own budget workshops last month.
“Ultimately we will have less revenue than than we do now … and we need to look for strategies to fill [revenue gaps]. So red light cameras might be an option,” she told the Voice. “I would rather tax somebody who made a mistake, did something wrong, ran a camera – than finding ways to tax others.”
Lindsey, the Winter Park commissioner who is also a criminal defense lawyer, said the presence of a red light camera has a real effect on drivers to make them more aware of their driving habits.
“The other thing is they’re less expensive to maintain than a police officer obviously,” Lindsey said. “You’re able to have them up there 24/7.”
Lindsey also liked that people who get cited have a process to contest their tickets and not get penalized on their driving records if they pay the civil fines.
According to the city’s report, nearly 74% of people who receive the notice of violations pay them.
In those cases, “It doesn’t affect you in the grand scheme of things on your record,” Lindsey said.
About 16% of civil violations result in a uniform traffic citation being issued because it wasn’t paid. Some drivers contest the citations in court, but the city did not report having any dismissed by a judge, though eight cases are currently pending, according to the city’s report.
There is one way to avoid the hassle altogether, Volkerson said.
“It’s really easy,” Volkerson said. “All you have to do is stop and not run the red light.”
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