by Beth Kassab | Aug 19, 2023 | City Commission, News
What to know about the city budget this week
Contingency fund doubles to $1 million after new state contribution estimates
By Beth Kassab
An estimated $500,000 addition to the city’s contingency fund, which comes from the city’s share of state dollars along with local gas and communications taxes, could help the Winter Park City Commission balance next year’s more than $200 million budget — though an additional $18.1 million worth of projects must still find funding over the next five years.
Wednesday will mark the last City Commission meeting before the two final budget hearings September 13th and 27th.
Debate is likely to center on how to fulfill a number of priorities laid out by the commission. Those include:
- Mayor Phil Anderson has requested a new line item in the Community Redevelopment Agency’s budget devoted to stormwater and flood prevention projects. The exact dollar amount is still unknown because the city is just now hiring consultants to evaluate which infrastructure improvements are needed and when. Three consultants will be paid a combined $600,000 to study water runoff and flow. The mayor is pushing for some dollars to be included in the CRA budget now so that the most important projects can be tackled as soon as they are identified, rather than wait until the studies are complete.
- Vice Mayor Sheila DeCiccio is championing expanding offerings at the Winter Park Library with nearly $400,000 in additional funding that would allow the library to be open on Sundays and provide more programming. At least a portion of those dollars is also likely to come from the CRA, which includes the library.
- DeCiccio is also pushing for $150,000 for the city to hire a construction manager to help City Hall grow its in-house expertise, as a number of construction projects are underway. She is also asking for $75,000 to add a second Community Service Officer position to the Winter Park Police Department.
- Commissioner Marty Sullivan is advocating for $6 million to purchase land owned by the Bank of the Ozarks to expand Seven Oaks Park. It’s not clear where the dollars would come from, though some are advocating the city raise the money by selling the old Winter Park Library.
City staff have laid out multiple scenarios for how the local government can fund $100 million in transportation projects over the next 20 years, an estimated $20 million worth of stormwater improvements and two new fire stations.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 19, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Bank of the Ozarks could sell land, move to Ravaudage
The 2-acre site on Orange Avenue would expand Seven Oaks Park as private land trust offers $500,000 to help with purchase
By Beth Kassab
For Winter Park Commissioner Marty Sullivan and others who advocate expanding the city’s greenspaces, the nearly 2-acre vacant lot owned by the Bank of the Ozarks at the corner of Orange Avenue and Denning Drive could make or break a long-range vision for connecting the city’s park spaces.
If the city buys the land, a triangle-shaped parcel bordered by Seven Oaks Park on the west and Winter Park Tennis Center and Azalea Lane Playground on the east, a much larger plan to connect to Mead Gardens and reshape that stretch of Orange Avenue takes shape, Sullivan said.
“We have one shot at securing two acres of greenspace, which has tremendous value to the citizens and, studies show, tends to increase the value of surrounding properties,” Sullivan said. “The alternative is a three-story commercial building that would also hinder future transportation improvements on Orange Avenue … Having this greenspace … — this will be in the best interest of the citizens of Winter Park and that’s who I’m rooting for.”
But a deal hasn’t been easy. And is still uncertain.
The Bank of the Ozarks, which purchased the land from another bank in 2018 for $4.3 million and planned to build up to a three-story 80,000-square-foot branch office there, rebuffed an earlier offer of $6 million from the city.
Recently, though, the Arkansas-based bank, which operates 240 offices in eight states, signaled it may be willing to sell.
An alternate site for the bank at Ravaudage, the mixed-use development by Dan Bellows at the corner of Lee Road and U.S. 17-92, appears to be the game changer.
A donation of about $500,000 by the trustees of the nonprofit Winter Park Land Trust could also make a difference as city commissioners work to determine how they can pay for a number of projects that, so far, aren’t included in the budget. The contribution signifies how important the Land Trust believes the property is for the city’s future, said Steve Goldman, a local philanthropist and chairman of the Winter Park Land Trust board of trustees, who also supports the Winter Park Voice.
The Ravaudage land is in play, according to a city of Winter Park spokeswoman, who noted the “city, Ozarks and Ravaudage would all have to come to an agreement to make this work.”
A counteroffer from the bank also asked the city to waive all transportation impact fees at the new site, a value of about $267,000, and to waive about $60,000 in title fees and doc stamps on top of the $6 million sales price, according to an outline provided by the city.
The negotiations come as the City Commission is attempting to balance next year’s budget. The Ozarks acquisition, plus an estimated $2 million worth of improvements to the property, represents $8 million on a list of 20 projects totaling $18 million that the city doesn’t have budgeted over the next five years.
“How do we pay for it? That’s what it comes down to,” said Vice Mayor Sheila DeCiccio.
Commissioner Todd Weaver said he supports the purchase and using the city’s rainy day fund or reserves for a portion of the cost because of the benefits the land would provide not only in terms of new greenspace, but also underground stormwater retention and the flexibility it would bring for road and rail line improvements along Orange Avenue.
“It’s just the right thing to do because we end up paying it on back end [for stormwater runoff] by remediating nutrient loads in our lakes, because that is where it will all end up,” he said.
Mayor Phil Anderson, who expects the matter to come before the commission in September, said he did not want to comment on whether he supported the purchase until then.
An updated budget document noted timing “is an issue,” because the potential closing date on the bank property is just four months away in December. The document noted the sale of the property could be funded by borrowing from the city’s reserve fund, issuing a bond or financing the acquisition through the sale of other city property.
At a recent meeting, City Manger Randy Knight noted that the old library as well as a portion of the tree farm could be sold to raise dollars for other projects.
Commissioner Kris Cruzada said he is open to the idea of selling the old library if it makes financial sense and leads to the acquisition of another valuable public asset.
“It’s a tradeoff,” he said. “The useful life of the [old library] building may have fulfilled its purpose and we’re trying to build a much more robust park at the Orange Avenue Overlay area.”
But Weaver said he did not support putting the old library up for sale because the city has a request out to developers right now to submit concepts for the property.
“I’m very reluctant to put the old library on the table just for trust reasons,” he said. “We put out an RFP, and several nonprofits are working hard on that. That’s just not my first choice.”
Image courtesy of the Orange County Property Appraisers Office.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 12, 2023 | City Commission, Library, News
Library asks for more dollars as demand for services increases
Sunday hours and more staff and programming are immediate goals
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park Library Executive Director Melissa Schneider asked the Winter Park City Commission for more money this week in an effort to add Sunday hours and additional staff as demand for content, classes and other programs surges.
“Nationally, libraries have really struggled to get people back in the doors” in a post-pandemic world, she said, “but when we compare ourselves to our peers it’s tremendous.”
Since the new building opened in December 2021, she said, the growth in circulation of youth and family content is especially impressive. The number of active library cards has nearly doubled in the last five years and interest in programs has grown.
In 2018, the library had 42 employees, which dropped to 36 by 2022. But in that same period, average monthly visits increased from 10,548 to 13,400, representing a 15% increase through this year. Wi-Fi and computer use has more than doubled to an anticipated 120,000 sessions this year.
So far, the city’s proposed budget includes a 5% increase or about $92,000 in additional dollars. The city’s contributions are devoted entirely to personnel costs for the nonprofit library, which relies on grants and philanthropy to supplement city government support.
Schneider said the library would need a 24% increase from the city, or about $350,000, to meet the added demand for staff, services and Sunday hours. But she also proposed an alternative scenario — a 14% increase, or $200,000, which she said would still leave some gaps, but would allow some new staff, programming and hours on Sunday when more families are able to use the library.
She committed to contributing more funding from the library endowment and fundraising if the city would increase its contribution. She noted the library will turn 138 years old this year.
Anderson said the city has a small contingency for increased funding, but suggested it also may be possible to provide additional dollars from the Community Redevelopment Agency, which city leaders are hoping to expand and extend before its scheduled sunset in 2027.
Commissioners did not commit to a funding amount, but Mayor Phil Anderson said he was “blown away” by the library’s accomplishments and its ability to buck national trends. The budget won’t be finalized until next month.
At the same meeting the city approved a $230,000 study by Geosyntec Consultants to analyze stormwater management and flood prevention on the west side of the city. The study area includes the library and Lake Mendsen, the pond at MLK Park next to the library, plus areas surrounding Lake Killarney, Lake Bell, Lake Wilderness and Lake Gem. Lake Mendsen has experienced heavily increased flooding since the new library was constructed.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 12, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
How will Winter Park pay for future? Here are three options
Sale of the old Winter Park Library could be back on the table as commissioners mull large infrastructure needs
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park commissioners heard an overview from City Manager Randy Knight about how they might pay for big-ticket items such as transportation improvements, flood control and new fire stations in the coming years, though the immediate consensus seemed to be that there is not enough time to prepare a bond referendum for the March 2024 ballot.
That means the earliest voters might be asked to approve taking on more debt for city projects would be 2025 unless the commission opts for a special election or off-cycle mail ballot.
Mayor Phil Anderson noted that the city is contemplating about $100 million worth of transportation projects, including SunRail, sidewalks and road improvements, on top of about $20 million in flood and stormwater control, that are left without funding after Orange County voters rejected the penny sales tax last year. Another estimated $10 million will be needed for new fire stations resulting from increased demand from the mixed-use Ravaudage development and potential new annexations near Interstate 4.
“These are big things that need big plans,” Anderson said at the Wednesday meeting. “That’s really why we have asked Mr. Knight to come forward with different options. I don’t know if any are ripe for a bond issue in March.”
In addition to a bond referendum, commissioners could also opt to raise property taxes, a move they weren’t willing to make during a recent debate about next year’s budget.
More likely is the extension and expansion of the Community Redevelopment Agency, a special district that siphons off a portion of tax revenue increases to reinvest back into the district. But that change must be approved by the Orange County Commission before the CRA sunsets in 2027. City staff said it’s difficult to estimate how much a new CRA would generate in additional revenue until the boundaries are settled.
Finally, Knight noted that the commission could decide to sell the old library property on New England Avenue or the city’s tree farm to generate more cash. In a discussion earlier this year, commissioners voiced opposition to selling the old library and instead issued an RFP asking developers to come forward with new ideas for the property by Nov. 30.
But there are some early indications that opinions about selling the old library could be changing. Commissioner Marty Sullivan asked Knight if the RFP, which asked for proposals by Nov. 30, would prevent such a sale, and Knight said commissioners could cancel the RFP if they were so inclined.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 12, 2023 | City Commission, News
Lisa Suepat appointed Winter Park deputy police chief
Suepat steps into role after longtime Winter Park Police leader Pam Marcum retires
Winter Park Police Chief Tim Volkerson appointed Lisa Suepat as new deputy chief of the department in the wake of several retirements.
Suepat, who first joined the department in 2006, will take on the job previously performed by Pam Marcum, who recently retired.
According to a social media post by the department, Suepat has worked in criminal investigations, patrol and most recently has overseen the community policing division. She is a native of New York and found a career in law enforcement like her father, who was a firearms and defense tactics instructor at the NYC Department of Corrections.
Mayor Phil Anderson recently lauded the police department, noting at least 14 promotions in the last 18 months.
“I just want to commend that department,” he said. “With a concentrated effort we have begun to fill a lot of our vacancies and we’ve made major strides in retention.”
Photo courtesy of the city of Winter Park.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 1, 2023 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Winter Park wants to grow its downtown redevelopment district
A public meeting will be held Monday for residents to hear more about the new CRA plan, which will ultimately need county approval
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park wants to extend the borders and lengthen the lifespan of its Community Redevelopment Agency, a move that could provide a major revenue boost for public projects within the special district’s boundaries.
The city will host a public workshop on the plan on Monday at 5:30 p.m., at the Winter Park Community Center, 721 W. New England Ave.
Three major commercial corridors — Lee Road, Fairbanks Avenue and a larger section of Orange Avenue — are the targets of the expansion as outlined by a public-facing city web page devoted to seeking public input about the plan. Orange County Commissioners must sign off on the expansion of the CRA’s borders as well as its extension beyond 2027, when it is scheduled to dissolve.
CRAs require county approval because they siphon increases in property tax revenue from land inside the special district from general county funds so that it can be reinvested into projects within the CRA.
CRA revenue totaled $7.1 million last year, according to city documents, and would surely grow along with the size of the district.
Recently, commissioners have discussed the potential expansion of the CRA as a way to fund everything from transportation projects to purchasing more park land.
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