by Beth Kassab | Oct 3, 2024 | City Commission, News, Taxes, Uncategorized
Winter Park Playhouse, Rollins come out as winners in TDT recommendations
They are among 11 arts and culture projects that the Tourist Development Tax board is asking the County Commission to fund
Oct. 3, 2024
By Beth Kassab
The Winter Park Playhouse and the Rollins Art Museum are on track to receive their full request for dollars from a portion of Tourist Development Tax money set aside for arts and cultural projects over the next five years.
The playhouse project, through a partnership with the city of Winter Park to purchase and renovate its current building after nearly losing its lease, will receive $8 million between now and 2028 if the recommendations from the Tourist Development Tax Advisory Council are approved by the Orange County Commission later this month.
The Rollins Art Museum, which made a bid to take over the old Winter Park Library but was pushed aside for the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, will receive $10 million between 2026 and 2028, according to the recommendations.
The college announced this week that museum leader Ena Heller is leaving to take a position as the next director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art, but President Grant Cornwell told the Voice in a statement that the vision for a new museum will continue with a broad base of support.
“It has been an honor to work alongside Ena, whose visionary leadership has transformed the Rollins Museum of Art into an integral part of the College’s mission,” Cornwell said. “I am deeply grateful for her contributions and creativity and for ensuring the museum’s successful standing as we build upon the foundation she is leaving. The museum has strong support and a vital group of members, donors, partners, and patrons supporting it, and we are excited about this next stage as we come to closure on our future museum.”
The County Commission will take up the funding requests for final approval on Oct. 29.
Earlier this year, local arts groups were invited to apply for grants from $75 million of tourist tax money set aside over the next five years for local arts and cultural projects. The tax on hotel rooms brought in a record $359 million last year in Orange County, a significant recovery from the pandemic years, which saw collections drop to about half that amount.
Winter Park Playhouse
The bulk of the hotel tax goes toward paying off the construction costs and operating the Orange County Convention Center, other large venues and Visit Orlando, the publicly-supported organization that markets Orlando as a destination.
The convention center’s operating expenses exceed its revenue so far this year by $12.6 million, according to the comptroller’s report at the Sept. 27 meeting. The subsidy paid by the county out of tourist tax dollars to keep the convention center operating in the black is tracking higher this year than the previous two years, the report showed.
In all, 14 groups originally applied for the arts money with requests totalling $126 million.
Three groups were deemed ineligible for the funds, leaving 11 groups with requests totalling $94.2 million — nearly $20 million more than the allotted $75 million budget for the projects.
A committee led by former Orange County Comptroller Martha Haynie met to rank the projects and recommend how much each would receive.
The Tourist Tax Council, which includes Orange Mayor Jerry Demings, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner, four hotel owners or industry representatives who must remit the tax and two others, accepted those recommendations at its meeting last week.
Haynie urged the board to reconsider the criteria for future local arts projects to put less emphasis on driving overnight hotel stays — a move that she said could help demonstrate how the tax is used to benefit local residents vs. the tourism industry.
“I think when the Board of County Commissioners can demonstrate the interest and the support of local cultural organizations it supports the position county has always taken,” to reserve the bulk of the tax for industry projects amid pressure to expand how the tax is used, Haynie said. She noted that expanding uses of the tax “in the long run probably would not serve the county as well as it has been served today.”
Intensified calls to use some of the hotel tax revenue on local projects such as roads or train lines are playing out in three county commission races on next month’s ballot. That is especially the case in District 5, which represents Winter Park, where former Mayor Steve Leary is receiving financial contributions from the tourism industry against Kelly Semrad, a UCF professor who studies tourism economies, and is calling for the tax to more substantially benefit people who live in Orange County.
Demings focused his comments on the “financial readiness” of some of the organizations who requested money.
“We have had some challenges like the Pulse Museum and others when they don’t execute the fundraising to cover the gap to do the project and then the project gets extended and the price escalates and then they come back and request additional money,” Demings said, though he said he was pleased to see geographic diversity in the list which touched on Winter Park, Winter Garden and Apopka. “The list looks pretty good, but I still remain somewhat concerned about the ability of these organizations to cover the gap … so we’ll see where this ends up.”
Haynie’s committee recommended all but three organizations receive the amount of funding they requested. The recommendations to be considered by the County Commission later this month are:
- City of Apopka: $13.1 million to construct and improve softball fields, the amphitheater and other facilities. Estimated total cost of the project is $13.3 million.
- 4R Foundation: $12 million for a community events center plus and outdoor stage and lawn at 4Roots Campus, which also includes a farm and classroom space in Orlando’s Packing District neighborhood. Estimated total cost of the project is $65 million.
- Orlando Science Center: $13.9 million enlarge and remodel the outdoor terrace and event venue. Estimated total cost of the project is $14.1 million.
- Rollins College: $10 million to construct a new art museum for new art museum. Estimated total project cost is $30.6 million.
- Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation: $2.1 million to improve the auditorium, including a patron’s room. Estimated total project cost is $3.1 million.
- Winter Garden Art Association: $4 million for a new museum next to the current space. Estimated total cost of the project is $7 million.
- Orlando Family Stage: $5.8 million to remodel and operate the auditorium. Estimated total project cost is $7.6 million.
- City of Winter Park : $8 million to acquire, enlarge and remodel the Winter Park Playhouse. Estimated cost of the total project is $10 million.
- Friends of the Mennello: $2 million (request was $13 million) to enlarge and improve the folk art museum. Estimated total cost is $30 million.
- Orlando Museum of Art: $2 million (request was $7.2 million) to repair the roof and HVAC system. Total cost of the project is estimated at $7.5 million.
- PAST/Wells’ Built Museum: $2 million (request was $5 million) to acquire the property and construct and improve the museum and auditorium. Estimated total cost is $10 million.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 13, 2024 | City Commission, News, Taxes, Uncategorized
Winter Park approves new $214.6 million budget for 2025
The budget includes more dollars for infrastructure projects, public safety positions and local nonprofit organizations
September 13, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park’s city budget will grow to $214.6 million for 2025, a 3% increase from the current year driven by an increase in property tax revenue, higher fees paid by residents for stormwater projects and garbage collection along with sales tax revenue passed along by the state.
The City Commission voted 4-0 to approve the budget this week (Commissioner Marty Sullivan was absent from the meeting). Final approval of the spending plan is scheduled for Sept. 25.
The extra $6 million in the new budget will largely go to pay for new positions in the police and fire departments as well as public works projects for roads and other infrastructure.
Commissioners kept the city’s tax rate the same at 4.3302 mils, but higher home values drove property tax collections up by more than 8%.
Residents will also feel the impact from rising fees built into their water, sewer and garbage collection bills as well as the stormwater fee, which is collected as part of the annual property tax bill.
The higher fees account for an additional $3 million in the budget. The average customer will pay about $13 more per month or an extra $156 per year as a result of the rising rates, according to city budget documents.
Garbage collections skyrocketed as part of a new contract with Waste Management, the private contractor for the city.
The stormwater fees are rising as part of a three-year plan to raise rates to about 9 cents per square foot of what the city calls impervious surface (generally the amount of concrete covering a lot). The goal is to raise $2.7 million each year for flood prevention and to improve lake quality.
Commissioners will hold a work session later this month to discuss findings from a series of basin studies that are expected to identify stormwater improvements needed to manage flooding. The studies were ordered last year and are expected to be finalized in October, a city spokeswoman said.
Commissioners also approved an increase in the dollars they give to local nonprofit organizations.
For the first time in 10-years, the city will not provide $100,000 to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts after it’s funding agreement ended. Those dollars along with an increase in total support from $2.3 million this year to $2.4 million mean two new groups will receive funding along with increases for the nonprofits already funded by the city.
Organizations receiving support include:
- Mead Botanical Gardens: $98,000, a $4,500 increase.
- Winter Park Historical Association: $93,000, a $5,000 increase.
- Winter Park Day Nursery: $41,000, a $2,500 increase.
- United Arts: $19,000, a $600 increase.
- Blue Bamboo: $12,000, a $1,000 increase.
- Polasek Museum: $27,000, a $1,700 increase.
- Winter Park Library: $2,028,600, a $96,600 increase
- Winter Park Institute: $25,000, newly added this year.
- Men of Integrity: $18,000, newly added this year.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which is up for an extension and expansion from the Orange County Commission, will provide the following additional aid:
- Enzian Theater: $10,000, no change.
- Heritage Center: $50,000, no change.
- Welbourne Day Nursery: $41,000, a $2,500 increase.
- Winter Park Playhouse: $47,000, a $3,000 increase.
- Depugh Nursing Home: $23,000, a $1,000 increase.
- Winter Park Library: $368,000, an $18,000 increase.
The city’s reserve fund is expected to reach $21.2 million or about 27% of recurring annual operating costs in the General Fund, according to the city budget proposal. The percentage is decreasing because new expenditures are outpacing growth in revenue, according to the document.
Highlights of expenditures include:
•Spending on capital projects will remain stable at $25.6 million, mostly for undergrounding power lines and investments in stormwater.
• Four new public safety positions including two more firefighters/EMTs, a fire logistics manager and a full-time police grant and accreditation manager.
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by Beth Kassab | Jul 13, 2024 | City Commission, News, Taxes, Uncategorized
City budget talks kick off with modest increase in spending proposed
Commissioners will be called on to set priorities in coming weeks
July 12, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Residents got a first glimpse at next year’s city budget — a $214.6 million proposal with a 3% or $6 million increase over the current year as property taxes remain a key driver of growth in the general fund.
The plan calls for the city to maintain the same property tax rate its held for 16 years, though residents will see additional fee increases for trash pick-up as a result of a contract negotiated last year and there are signals pointing to more fee increases for other services ahead.
Public safety remains the biggest expenditure in the general fund, rising from about 35% in 2024 to more than 42% in the new budget. The increase comes with four new proposed positions, including two new firefighters/emergency medical technicians, a fire logistics manager and a police grant and accreditation manager that will be upgraded from a part-time to a full-time position.
While inflation continues to put pressure on wages and building costs, the city’s general fund will see almost 7% growth to nearly $83 million as a result of increases in home values, fees for services and Winter Park’s share of the state sales tax. Other funds are flat or seeing declines.
The city’s proposed budget shows where dollars are coming from in the general fund. Source: City of Winter Park budget documents
The water utility, for example, is expected to see declining cash flow as inflation pushes up the costs to maintain the system, according to the budget presentation. The water rates customers pay are driven by the state’s regulatory agency called the Public Service Commission, but the index for regular increases are “are likely insufficient to handle future demand for investment,” the presentation said.
In addition, the city-owned electric utility will “likely need to consider a rate increase” next year due to higher costs within the power portfolio.
Also at play is the future of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which uses a portion of county tax dollars to fund projects in a special district that covers downtown. The city is looking to the county to extend the CRA (which otherwise would sunset in four years) and expand its borders, but the Orange County Commission has yet to take up the matter.
Overall, there are about $126 million worth of projects in the city’s 25-year plan that don’t currently have a funding source attached to them. That means commissioners will need to continue to set priorities and make choices about how to manage the competing interests that come from wanting to maintain relatively low property taxes and fees for residents with improving services, infrastructure and amenities.
The proposed budget set aside a contingency of about $450,000, roughly the same as last year. The city’s reserves are expected to grow to about $21.2 million or about 27% of the recurring annual operating costs in the general fund, the proposal says. It would take about $2.7 million more to reach the goal of 30%.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 29, 2023 | City Commission, News, Taxes
Winter Park passes $208 million budget
Mayor also provides update on the city’s plan to extend and expand the CRA
Sept. 29, 2023
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park City Commissioners gave final approval Wednesday to a $208 million budget, a $9.5 million increase over last year.
City Manager Randy Knight proposed a last minute change, which won consensus from the board, to drop the city’s federal lobbyist and hire a grant writer, a move that he said will bring “more bang for our buck.” The city’s $6,500 per month contract with Thorn Run Partners will end.
The second and final budget hearing brought little public debate. Two residents complained that the commission is too “progressive” with “out-of-control spending.”
Gigi Papa, who frequently attends the public meetings, urged more people to run for office, noting that the two commissioners up for re-election earlier this year — Sheila DeCiccio and Marty Sullivan — did not face any opposition.
Mayor Phil Anderson, who is up for re-election in March, but is not expected to run again, addressed some of the concerns. He explained that inflation and increased labor costs are the biggest drivers of the budget increase as the city sought to add positions such as in the police department in order to maintain the same level of service to residents.
One person complained that the city’s efforts to underground powerlines are still not complete even as spending has increased on the library and other projects.
Anderson noted that the undergrounding is still underway and delays are not related to a shortage of funds, but long supply lags for transformers and other in-demand equipment.
“We’re not undercapitalized, we can do it,” Anderson said. “We just don’t have the materials to allow us to complete it.”
Anderson and Knight also provided a short update about a recent meeting with Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla, who represents Winter Park.
They said she was receptive to the city’s proposal to extend and expand its Community Redevelopment Agency or the special tax district centered on downtown that is scheduled to end in 2027.
Winter Park leaders want to continue the district beyond that and expand its boundaries (see above map for proposal), but that plan must be approved by the county. The decision will be critical to the city’s future considering the CRA is a key source of budget revenue such as providing $350,000 additional dollars next year to expand the hours and services at the library.
Anderson noted that Bonilla and county officials will want to see solid proposals to address affordable housing and transportation needs with those dollars. A consultant is preparing a report for the city and the application for the extension is expected to be considered by the county in the Spring.
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by Beth Kassab | Jul 22, 2023 | City Commission, News, Taxes
News & Notes: Hard budget choices ahead; the future of Park Avenue and city promotions
A look ahead at the next Winter Park City Commission meeting
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park City Commissioners will face some hard choices this week as they continue to comb through the city’s budget and set priorities.
Is there enough money to buy the Bank of the Ozarks property to expand Seven Oaks Park? What about an awning for the Cady Way Pickle Ball courts? Can the city afford to build a sorely-needed downtown parking garage or fix more brick streets?
Those are some of the topics expected to come up when commissioners consider what to prioritize at their meeting on Wednesday.
A list of capital projects will need a serious edit, according to city staff, who determined, “the scope and quantity of projects that have been listed are beyond the current ability of expected revenues to be able to accomplish.”
An analysis of $40.9 million worth of projects desired by city staff or elected officials shows at least $30 million of the total is not funded. Staff estimated about $6 million in additional funds will become available over the next five years through the CRA, the general fund, the parks acquisition fund and the mobility impact fee, still leaving a deficit of about $23 million.
Critical to the outcome will be whether the city’s CRA is extended beyond 2027 when it is scheduled to sunset. Extension will require approval by Orange County.
The future of retail on Park Avenue and more
Winter Park wants to keep up with the Joneses. Or rather with Winter Garden, Mt. Dora and other cities that have stepped up their shopping and dining scenes in recent years to compete for Winter Park’s longstanding bragging rights as the favorite among the brunch and stroll crowd.
A new strategies report recommends ways the city can improve not only its central Park Avenue district, but the other retail corridors: Hannibal Square; Fairbanks Avenue; Orange Avenue; U.S. 17-92, which the city also calls “The Golden Mile,” and Aloma Corners on the corner of Lakemont Avenue and S.R. 426.
“Preemptive action is needed to ensure that Park Ave remains metro Orlando’s premier ‘Main Street’ experience in the minds of Central Florida residents, given the ascendancy of newer competitors such as Winter Garden, Mt. Dora, etc.” the report states.
The report also calls on Rollins College to help improve the Fairbanks Avenue area as a gateway to the small liberal arts campus.
“Fairbanks Avenue has long ranked as Winter Park’s most underwhelming commercial corridor, yet it is the prime gateway to Park Avenue as well as the front door to Rollins College, which would seem to have the mandate, the incentive and the financial wherewithal to reinvigorate the two-block stretch it primarily owns and controls so as to better compete with prospective students, professors and researchers (as well as engender good will as a tax-exempt institution)—similar to
how many other elite colleges and universities across the country, in partnership with local government, have acted aggressively to elevate their surroundings for such purpose (even at the expense of their portfolio’s operating margins),” states the report.
The recommendations are scheduled as an item for discussion on Wednesday’s City Commission agenda.
See who’s moving up
Longtime Planning & Zoning Director Jeff Briggs is retiring and Allison McGillis will step into the role after serving as assistant director and preparing for the succession for 14 months. McGillis graduated from Rollins College with a degree in Environmental Studies and Civic Urbanism and a master’s degree in Civic Urbanism. She holds certifications from the Congress for New Urbanism and is a member of American Institute of Certified Planners. Briggs served the city for 45 years and will take on a role as a consultant.
Peter Moore, division director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Pam Russell, division director of Human Resources, will take on the elevated titles of director for their respective departments after a recent pay and benefit study recommended the changes.
Moore joined the city in 2006 and has served in a number of roles. He holds an economics and history degree from Furman University and an MBA from Rollins. Russell joined the city in 2021 and graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University and served in the Army.
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by Anne Mooney | Jun 20, 2021 | News, Taxes, Zoning and Development
Open Letter to Current Mayor & Commissioners
Do not blow this opportunity again. Now is the time for the Post Office!
Guest Columnist Sally Flynn / June 20, 2021
On June 9, the Orlando Sentinel published a letter from six former Winter Park mayors cautioning the current Winter Park Commission against acquiring the Winter Park Post Office property for the purpose of expanding Central Park.
I do not care what these past mayors think about how we should spend our money, and I don’t believe most Winter Park citizens do, either.
In 1886, When Charles Hosmer Morse deeded the land that is now Central Park to the City, that deed came with a restriction protecting the park from commercial use or development. For 135 years, Winter Parkers have honored that restriction and have taken pride in enhancing and expanding the park.
Protecting the Park
Over the years, City leaders have created a web of local ordinances to protect the park. In 1999, a citizens’ initiative put in place a prohibition to keep the City from building on land in or adjacent to Central Park. In 2009, the height of properties affecting the open vista of Central Park was limited to two stories. In 2011, the downtown area that includes Park Avenue, Central Park and the Post Office was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 2016 Visioning process, Winter Park residents stated unequivocally that one of their top priorities is the expansion of green space within our community.
City has long history of effort to acquire the Post Office
In 2014, then-Congressman John Mica arranged a meeting with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the City, and a series of productive negotiations commenced. The USPS agreed to allow their facilities to be separated between a downtown retail facility and a separate distribution facility. This made the project more affordable and was agreeable to both the City and USPS.
USPS was willing to move
By January 2015, negotiations had progressed. USPS Vice-president of Facilities wrote in response to City Manager Randy Knight’s suggestion of a particular site, “Randy, after completing a few layouts, we believe that the site has high potential of working for us (subject to a 30% design). I think you should proceed with your discussion with the City Council.”
City stalls negotiations
Instead of following the USPS V.P.’s recommendations to continue discussions at the Commission level, however, staff prepared an agenda item recommending the Commission delay negotiations and, instead, prepare a notice of disposition to sell Progress Point and use the proceeds to purchase the Post Office. Mayor Steve Leary moved to cease negotiations with the Post Office; his motion passed on a 3-2 vote.
CRA funding becomes available
Fast-forward to October 28, 2019, when the City Commission voted 5-0 to execute a Resolution in support of acquiring the USPS property to expand Central Park, dedicating this land to park use in perpetuity. In January 2020, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) voted to allocate funding for the Post Office acquisition in the CRA Capital Improvement Plan.
On January 27, 2020, the Commission voted to direct the City Manager to move forward to negotiate and execute a Letter of Intent to buy the Post Office Property. The City now has funds budgeted for FY 2021 and FY 2022 to bring this project to fruition.
Now is the time
Our CRA is scheduled to go out of existence in 2026. After that happens, putting together the necessary funds to acquire the Post Office property will be very difficult, if not impossible. Now is the time for our City to show it has the courage of its convictions: now is the time to act.
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