Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
One week ago, the Winter Park City Commission voted 3-2 to move forward with the sale of a gateway property contiguous to one of the city’s benchmark parks: MLK Park, future site of the new Library/Events Center complex. The 1.5 acre parcel, known as the Bowling Alley property, could have become a functional green space entranceway to our city. But a gateway argument did not capture this Commission’s imagination.
Illustration Courtesy of Michael Planning
Citizens are now left with serious questions about how all our expensive studies, workshops and summary reports can come together to form a cohesive plan for parks, ball fields, green space, partnerships, trails and connectivity, supported with the necessary implementation budget.
Our Parks Masterplan (2008 Wade-Trim) is now 10 years out of date. This is the document which should be guiding our next steps, not only with current decisions surrounding MLK Park, but all our future parks discussions. First things first. Let’s hope the City Commission adopts a budget for this badly needed roadmap (estimate: $120,000) and expedites implementation. We are coming late to this party.
Other questions which merit attention: Will Winter Park have a “Great Park” one day? Where is that plan? What is the vision? What green space parcels has the City acquired in the past 2 years? 4 years? 6 years? Are we keeping pace with need and more importantly, with our required 10 acres of park space/per 1,000 resident formula, now that our population has reached 30,000?
The 2008 Parks Masterplan states that “seventy-nine (79) acres of additional parkland are required by 2028 (note: that’s in 10 years) to meet existing and projected demand for parks and recreational facilities” (Recommendation 3.1).
Where will this new park land come from? At what price?
According to Wade-Trim, “The estimated cost to meet projected demand for parkland by 2028 is $41.3 million. This would require approximately $13.1 million of land acquisition every 5 years, or approximately $2.6 million annually.” (Section 7.2, Estimated Costs Associated with Projected Demand)
The report also highlights an 8 multi-purpose playing field deficit for our children by 2028. (Recommended Action 3.4)
And let’s not forget this recommendation. “City of Winter Park Parks and Recreation Masterplan should be updated at least every 5 years to reflect any shift in development trends and desires of the community.” (Recommended Action Step 3.5)
It would appear that we are making decisions in a vacuum. The budget for the MLK Park future usage exercise with GAI consultants is in the range of $50,000 in CRA monies. Yet there is apparently no cross-reference with our own Winter Park Parks Masterplan needs and capacity issues, because it is 10 years out of date.
Interesting as well, our Winter Park Vision plan was submitted on June 9, 2016, and has been sitting on a shelf for the past year. Why pay $200,000 for a plan we are not going to fund or implement? Are these exercises meant to be moot?
Said the Cheshire Cat to Alice, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”
From ‘Alice in Wonderland’
By Charles Lutwidge Dodgson writing under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.
Charley Williams provides the marketing for a local civil engineering firm working on such infrastructure projects as Sunrail, Wekiva Parkway, I-4 and the new South Terminal at Orlando International Airport. He has been a Winter Park resident for twelve years.
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
Dear Mayor and Commissioners:
Please allow this vision of the Blake Yard at the east end of Comstock Avenue by the railroad tracks to be heard and understood, with all the practical and symbolic benefits that can be realized by our City.
Blake Yard
This property, an awkward piece of land by all accounts, has served as a “lay down” yard for power poles and the like. The City Commission will determine its destiny, as it should, duly elected and graciously contributing to the preservation and improvement of Winter Park. Skolfield Homes, L.L.C., proposes to purchase the property and develop it.
The Math
Our concept discards some long-standing norms and assumptions that have informed developers and builders. Development in Winter Park is, essentially, math – which maxes out at 50 percent impervious, 38 percent FAR, with prescribed height limits and setbacks, etc.
We propose to build a highly visible model, supported by a forward-thinking City that embraces the inevitable future of housing. I ask you to support a sustainable future and a housing style that lifts the hearts of young and old.
The Vision
I see four houses with three detached carports, as illustrated in this basic sketch. Each house has a footprint of about 600 square feet, plus open porches. With full basements half below grade and porches a few feet above grade, the two stories combined average 1,200 square feet plus 600 square feet of basement. The houses will be 24 percent floor-area-ratio (FAR) and 30 percent impervious.
A Completed Example
Here is 775 W. Lyman Avenue. This is my baby. I dreamed it, and thanks to our team, we built it. This little house boasts high quality construction, traditional design with plenty of charm, serious efficiency (net zero, solar panels), and a human scale. The house generates more power than it uses, retains rainwater for raised vegetable gardens and warms the souls of the folks who live there.
The Basic Concept is ‘Basic’
We Americans house too much Stuff in too many rooms. In this scenario, the stuff (if one absolutely must have it) goes in the basement, leaving the resident free to actually use the rooms they need, without having to dust stuff in rooms they don’t need. Do you get a visual of that darkened ghost town of a living room that serves as a sound barrier between the street and the rest of the house?
We built the Lyman Ave. house on a 32’ x 70’ lot with no variances. Lo and behold, the market responded. The highly successful executive of a large corporation undertook the maiden voyage. She could have afforded a far larger house, but realized she would live more comfortably in a house that had a more human scale.
Inclusion = Sense of Place
We would build this small community in the midst of the larger community of Winter Park. Ultimately, walls, fences and gated communities don’t work, even for the segment of society that can afford them. The solution is inclusion, and that must be a part of the vision.
Winter Park – Overrun by ’Generic’
Winter Park is at risk of losing its character, according to National Geographic Magazine. For every exceptional new home going up, there are dozens of sadly generic boxes that follow a playbook of size over quality. We are being overrun by generic. That was not the mentality of our founders.
Millenials – Size Matters Less
When it comes to housing, today’s young folks tend to prefer quality to size. In fact, the smaller home trend would tell us they’re not thinking size at all. Their picture of the future is sustainable, walkable, built on a human scale with efficient energy sources and rainwater retention for growing things.
What’s in it for Winter Park?
Let’s start with image. Thousands of visitors and Sunrail riders will witness sustainable, human-scale homes bearing Winter Park’s imprimatur come to life. These homes will contribute to the sense of place that already exists in this neighborhood, but which is swiftly eroding and in jeopardy. A development on this scale would elevate our standing as a forward-thinking, progressive community.
Honor Neighborhood Character
West Side residents know new homes will be built, and old, termite-damaged homes will come down to make room. There is, however, a long-standing set of zoning codes and processes in place to protect the character and the heritage of this part of our town. This area was established with small lots a century ago. We propose to honor and preserve the characteristics of the West Side that those of us who live here hold dear.
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
On March 15th, a record number of Winter Park voters went to the polls. As a candidate for re-election, I had spent months outlining a vision for our City. I participated in candidate forums, sent mailers, visited residents’ homes and had countless one-on-one encounters.
That Is How Democracy Works
When it became apparent on the evening of the 15th that a majority of residents did not share this vision, I phoned the new Commissioner-elect and congratulated him. Was that difficult to do? Yes. Was I disappointed in the outcome? Yes . . .but that is how democracy works.
New Library: Elected Fair & Square
The proposed new library and events center at the civic center location in Martin Luther King, Jr. Park went through the same process I did. Those in favor and those opposed had equal opportunity to present their views. After reviewing all the points for and against, a majority of residents voted to approve moving forward to secure the bonds necessary to make the vision of a library and events center of the future a reality in our community.
Petition Could Stop the Library
As with any vote, some people were disappointed with the outcome. Unfortunately this disappointment has manifested itself into a petition drive that could prevent the new library and events center from being built.
The City has declared the petition drive invalid, but in order to assure potential bondholders that the bonds and the location of the new library and events center are valid, the City of Winter Park has been forced to initiate a “bond validation” process. As with any legal action, the expenditure of time and money will result in additional cost to the tax payers.
Commissioners Did Not Mislead Voters
What is far more upsetting to me than the petition drive is the claim by the organizers that somehow the residents of Winter Park were misled by the Library Task Force and, ultimately, by the City Commission. As a Commissioner, I was involved in this process from the beginning, and I find this line of thought insulting and totally without merit.
15 Sites Examined
During my six years on the Commission I can think of no other issue that was more thoroughly vetted than the library. A Library Task Force appointed by the Commission and comprised of residents from a broad political cross-section of the City worked for 17 months to ascertain the validity of a new building and to identify the best possible location. During this time, dozens of public meetings were held seeking input on more than 15 different sites.
MLK Park Won Out
Once the civic center site in MLK, Jr. Park showed promise, a two-day Community Charrette was held at the park to again obtain input from residents. This charrette was attended by scores of residents in person and hundreds more who participated online. After weighing all the options, the Library Task Force was unanimous in their recommendation of a new library and events center to be located at the civic center site in MLK, Jr. Park.
As I watched the selection process narrow down to the park, I remembered back to a design studio in college where our professor encouraged us to think of parks not only as places of recreation but also re-creation; that parks, art, and education enjoyed a unique relationship. The ability of this new facility to relate to and enhance the experience of both library and park users is exceptional.
The fact that this can be accomplished within essentially the same impervious footprint of the existing Civic Center speaks volumes about our community’s respect for our open spaces.
But the process did not stop with the Task Force. Their recommendation was just that, a recommendation. It still had to withstand the scrutiny of the Commission and additional public input. Repeatedly during this phase, citizens approached the Commission wanting verification of where a new library would be located, and repeatedly they were assured that MLK, Jr. Park would be the home for the new building should the bond referendum pass.
The process took another step forward when a majority of the Commission voted to accept the recommendations of the Task Force and place the issue on the ballot for the residents of Winter Park to make the ultimate decision. As I look back at the process, I struggle to find opportunities that were missed. Each site had pros and cons, but as each round of eliminations took place the civic center site remained.
Gateway to Park Avenue
The civic center site abuts Morse Boulevard along the traditional gateway to Park Avenue. The thought of extending the character of the avenue as opposed to hoarding it should be applauded, not condemned. The issue was subject to the same scrutiny that any candidate endures — months of exposure in the political arena. It was a question at every Forum, and information was provided on websites, in mailers, via phone calls and at meet-and-greets.
Advocates on each side of this issue took advantage of every means possible to get their message out. If anyone feels they were not adequately informed, I believe it is not from any form of misinformation but rather from not having taken advantage of the wealth of information that was available during the campaign.
Become Involved
I end this with a call out to all the residents of Winter Park to join in embracing the new library and events center. No congratulatory phone calls are required. All that is needed is a willingness to become involved. I was privileged to attend a recent presentation by the Aspen Institute, a world-renowned organization that has chosen our community to explore and develop programing for the library of the future.
This Is Your Library, Your City
The possibilities are endless. This programing process will continue through additional community conversations, commission meetings and design reviews. All will be open to the public. Please take the time to get involved in your community, for it is that personal involvement that makes Winter Park the special place we all call home.
Editor’s Note: Tom McMacken served two terms as Winter Park City Commissioner, from 2009 to 2015.
Public Records Access Model of the Future – Your Local Library
Guest Columnist – Barbara Petersen
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
As Winter Park discusses the library services of the future, many opportunities come to mind.
Informed Citizens Are Key to Civic Wellbeing
The Florida First Amendment Foundation (FAF) believes the library has an important opportunity to partner with local government to enhance access to public information and to more efficiently manage public records requests.
Library Supports Citizens’ Need for Public Information
We believe there is a natural synergy between the Winter Park library and the Winter Park municipal government. Libraries are known to be apolitical and non-bureaucratic. Highly skilled in information management, the library is uniquely suited to assume more responsibility to support the public information needs of the community under Florida’s open government laws, known in the vernacular as our Sunshine Laws.
Library is Ideal Repository of Public Documents
The 21st-century library can be a digital community center which helps foster an informed and engaged community. The library of the future can add tremendous value by increasing access, adding credibility and generating valuable public information that contributes to the civic understanding and institutional memory of a community like Winter Park.
Working with organizations like the First Amendment Foundation, the Winter Park library could serve as custodian of public documents and answer public records requests. The library could catalog and hold public records in a cloud-based repository accessible by the entire community.
Investigative reporters, community-based organizations, and business entities would be encouraged to deposit information into the repository that they’ve obtained through the public records requests.
Cloud-Based Repository Most Efficient
A citizen’s request for public records through a central library repository removes layers of bureaucracy, reduces the escalating costs of accessing public records and leads to a more informed and engaged citizenry.
The Florida First Amendment Foundation would willingly join this partnership. Through Winter Park’s leadership, this could become a national model. What a wonderful value-added component to a library’s 21st- century services.
Editor’s Note: Barbara Petersen is President of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, which works to preserve and protect open government laws (www.floridafaf.org). She is past Chair of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and served as Chair of the Commission on Open Government. Petersen is based in Tallahassee.
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
Guest Columnist – Joe Terranova Much has been said recently about the construction of a new library in Winter Park. Unfortunately, some of the comments by the Mayor and others have been misleading. Here is another view.
Mayor Steve Leary has stated on several occasions that the petition being circulated is illegal. I am not aware that any court has ruled on the matter. The City Attorney may ‘feel’ that way. Our counsel says our actions are strictly within the law.
City Clerk Calls Petition Unlawful
Although our City Clerk has made statements that cast doubt on the legality and timeliness of the petition, our City Charter gives her, in her official capacity, no legal standing to make those kinds of judgements.
I am a member of the Petitioners’ Committee collecting signatures to prevent the construction of a new library in Martin Luther King, Jr., Park.
Why Are We Doing This?
The citizens recently approved a referendum authorizing the City to issue bonds in an amount up to $30 Million to build a new library, events center and associated parking structure. The Mayor has stated that “everyone knew” the library would be built in MLK Park.
I disagree.
No Site In Referendum
Neither the ballot language nor the ordinance authorizing the referendum stated where the library would be built. In fact, during a Commission meeting when the ordinance was being voted on, one commissioner wanted to specifically say in the ordinance that the library would be built in MLK Park. The Commission voted No.
Publications issued in support of the new library made it clear that all the conceptual renderings of the structures were just that – conceptual renderings. Nowhere did it say the MLK site was cast in stone.
MLK Park – Who Knew?
Our petition circulators have reported that while some people knew where the library would be built, most did not. Many of those who did not said they would not have voted in favor of the referendum had they been aware of the intended site in MLK Park.
Why Not MLK Park?
MLK Park is probably the worst option available to the City for the location of the new library. This huge structure would adversely affect the environment in the park. Traffic at the corner of 17-92 and Harper Street is already bad and will get worse, even without adding a library and events center. Removing an essential element – our library – from the core of our City will, in time, denigrate Winter Park as a special place.
Where Can the New Library Go?
The approved referendum gives the City the legal authority to build the new library anywhere in the City it wants. City leadership, however, has never bothered to get a consensus of the citizens to support the MLK Park site for a combined library, events center and associated parking structure. As a result, the Mayor has unnecessarily divided the City on this issue.
It is now time to take MLK Park off the table and get real as to a proper location for the new library in the City core. The only way we can do this is through our Citizens’ Initiative, which is authorized by the City Charter.
Sign the Petition
If you have not already signed our petition and wish to do so, contact our petition coordinator, Sally Flynn, by email at flynnlinks@aol.com. Someone will be in touch with you. If you believe as we do, we urge you to sign the petition.
Our motto is simple: Library? YES! In MLK Park? NO!
Editor’s Note:
Former Winter Park Mayor Joe Terranova is a member of the Citizens Petition Committee.
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.
For the better part of two years – and, really, for many decades prior to that – Winter Park has been engaged in a discussion of how to preserve the character of our city — the character that makes us cherish the privilege of living here. We all want the same thing, but we have difficulty agreeing on how to achieve it.
What Do We Want?
Basically, we want our city to stay beautiful.
How do we do that?
The attached video articulates in a simple, vivid way, six principles of civic beauty. Regardless of which notion you espouse of beauty and how to achieve it, this entertaining, instructive piece offers a framework and a vocabulary with which to conduct the discussion.
Six Principles of Beautiful Cities
1. Variety and Order
2. Visible Life
3. Compact
4. Orientation and Mystery
5. Scale
6. Make it Local
Seventh Principle for Winter Park
7. Create Shade – shade trees, awnings, misters – anything to protect us from that famous Florida sunshine.
I hope you will take the time to enjoy this short video, originally published by The School of Life, located in London’s famed Bloomsbury district. They describe themselves this way. “The School of Life is devoted to developing emotional intelligence through the help of culture. We offer a variety of programs and services concerned with how to live wisely and well.”
Charley Williams has been a Winter Park resident for 14 years. He serves as a Trustee for the Florida First Amendment Foundation and is a past state Board Member, Florida League of Women Voters.
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Mission
The Winter Park Voice is a trusted nonprofit journalism site that covers our City Hall and beyond. We endeavor to engage, inform and connect citizens on all sides of issues affecting the quality of life in Winter Park.
One week ago, the Winter Park City Commission voted 3-2 to move forward with the sale of a gateway property contiguous to one of the city’s benchmark parks: MLK Park, future site of the new Library/Events Center complex. The 1.5 acre parcel, known as the Bowling Alley property, could have become a functional green space entranceway to our city. But a gateway argument did not capture this Commission’s imagination.
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