Talk to Hotel Developer – Farmers Market Event Tonight
Talk to Hotel Developer – Farmers Market Event Tonight
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.Talk to Hotel Developer – Farmers Market Event Tonight
This evening at 6:00 to 7:00 pm at the Farmer’s Market, developer Adam Wonus will be available to answer questions about the proposed Henderson Hotel.
Opinion by Adam Wonus, Developer of the Henderson Hotel at Lake Killarney
The Henderson Hotel at Lake Killarney takes its name from the Henderson family who owned and operated the Lake Shore Motel on the site next to the proposed Henderson Hotel at Lake Killarney. The proposed hotel site consists of approximately 2.6 acres of lakefront property. As with any new project, there are questions and concerns. Below are answers to some of the questions I have received.
- Will the Hotel Provide Lake Access to Its Guests? We will not. We will post signs warning guests to stay out of the lake. The four docks currently on the site will be replaced by a single dock, available for photos and there for people who want to enjoy the view. There will be no watercraft access to the lake from the hotel property.
- How will the Hotel Look from 17-92 and Lake Killarney? The Hotel façade on 17-92 is one story. The east and west sides of the hotel step back, increasing in height, to keep the greatest building height in the middle of the property. The hotel is set back at least 90 feet from the lake shoreline and is only two stories in height at the point closest to the shoreline and nearby homes.
- What is the size and height of the Hotel and how does that compare to the Alfond? Our architects, Baker Barrios, also designed the Alfond Inn, and we seek to emulate the quality of the Alfond. We have limited the number of rooms to 118, similar to the room count of the Alfond when it was first constructed with 112 rooms. The height is similar to the Alfond (64’-2”) — The Henderson Hotel is 65’-3”. There is an architectural feature designed to give the hotel an historical feel that extends past 65’ as seen in the rendering.
- Why are you Vacating a Portion of Fairview Ave? The Killarney neighborhood has a problem with cut-through traffic. We have provided a traffic study from Kimley-Horn, whose engineers have offered several recommendations to help alleviate the increased traffic flow through the community. One suggestion was to create a roundabout at Fairview Ave. blocking access to non-residents drivers. We have offered to pay for this portion of the improvement should the neighbors want to utilize this option. Ultimately, the Killarney neighbors will decide the traffic solution based on what works best for their neighborhood.
- What will the impact be to the Lake? The proposed hotel will help clean up Lake Killarney in several important ways. First, we will provide an exfiltration system to treat the storm water. We have committed to the City to install a filter on the existing outfall structure. Presently, untreated storm water is gathered from 17-92 and directed into Lake Killarney. The filter will remove trash and debris that currently flow into the lake from the road. Our engineer and landscape architect will create bio-swales to treat storm water near the lake. We also plan to remove the invasive species along the lakeshore and replant the littoral zone with native species.
A hotel should be more than just a place to lay your head. It should be an important part of the culture of a city and should contribute to the history of the city in a particular period of time. The Henderson Hotel seeks the opportunity to do just that.
The Henderson Hotel at Lake Killarney
The Henderson Hotel at Lake Killarney
What’s Going On There?
There is a great deal of information flying around about the 118-room Victorian style hotel proposed for a site on 17-92 that fronts on Lake Kilarney. Several meetings are scheduled for this week and next that should shed some light on what is actually happening. If this is a project that affects you – or just interests you – plan to attend one or more of the following meetings.
Tuesday, Oct. 29 — Planning & Zoning Work Session, Noon, Commission Chambers
The P&Z Board will discuss the zoning changes and conditional use requests for the proposed hotel. This is for informational purposes only. The board members will take no votes and hear no public comment – but the meeting should be informative.
Wednesday, Oct. 30 – Developer’s Information Session, 6 – 7 pm, Farmer’s Market
The developer, Adam Wonus, will host a Q&A and show the latest concept drawings at the Farmer’s Market. If you have questions about the project, here’s your chance to ask. Word on the street is the neighbors, not all of whom favor the project, plan to be in attendance.
Tuesday, Nov. 5 – Planning & Zoning Board Meeting, 6 pm, Commission Chambers
This will be the formal P&Z hearing, where the board will vote on whether or not to move the Henderson Hotel project ahead to the Commission in late November. Votes will be taken and public comment will be heard.
If It’s Broken, Fix It
If It's Broken, Fix It
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.Guest Columnist Robert S. Lemon, Jr.
Unless you avoid all social media you’ve probably seen a confusing e-mail blast titled Should Winter Park Have a Mayor? Perhaps you were as mystified by the click-bait as I was. Is Winter Park contemplating getting rid of the position of Mayor? Who would run the Commission meetings or light the Christmas tree?
Fear not. Winter Park will have a Mayor. But our Mayor’s responsibilities need to be better defined. Only once every ten years do we, as citizens, get a chance to do that. That’s when we review the City Charter, the document that defines our system of government.
Winter Park, along with 128 other Florida cities with a population over 10,000, has a “council-manager” form of government. According to the National League of Cities, in this form of government, the city council (in our case the Commission) makes policy, sets the budget and appoints a city manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of the city.
Mayor’s Role
The City Charter also defines the role of Mayor. Most City Charters use language to specifically limit the Mayor’s additional powers to some version of the following.
Presides at meetings of the Commission
Recognized as head of government for ceremonial purposes
Recognized by the Governor for martial law
Signs deeds and other official government documents
Executes contracts
The Winter Park City Charter’s language also suggests that the Mayor be granted the privilege of appointing the members of all city advisory boards. Only 10 Florida cities — fewer than 8 percent — have bestowed this power on their Mayors.
Advisory Board Appointments
Why have other Florida cities decided not to use their Charters to grant the Mayor the exclusive right to make board appointments? Perhaps because they recognize that opening the opportunity for board appointments to all Commissioners leads to better greater diversity of talent and ideas and, therefore, to better governance.
Think about it. Opening the process to all Commissioners will lead to:
More inclusive boards. Currently there is not one person of color on any of the citizen advisory boards. Serving on boards is often viewed as a path to elected office, where service on one or more advisory boards provides much needed experience to a new Commissioner.
More diverse opinions. The Commissioners rely on the advisory boards to help form policy. All Commissioners should have a seat at the table in the appointment process. Currently they can only vote up or down an entire slate of appointees, all chosen by the Mayor.
Tapping into more talent. As former Commissioner Phil Anderson wrote, “Winter Park is blessed with a vast pool of talent willing to serve on boards.” Yet unless qualified citizens who apply for appointments to boards belong to the right political camp, their applications may never even be acknowledged. While, at the same time, there is a fairly select group of people who, year after year, cycle from one board to another, to another.
If you agree that it is time for Winter Park to join the other Florida cities and strike the Mayor’s exclusive power for board appointments from our City Charter, please write to mayorandcommissioners@cityofwinterpark.org. Today.
It’s that simple. Just remove a single line from our Charter: “The mayor . . . shall annually appoint members of the city boards . . . .” And guess what – Winter Park will still have a Mayor.
At tomorrow’s Commission Meeting, the Commissioners will take up the discussion of City Charter revisions. They will decide which issues will appear on the March 17 ballot – and which ones won’t. The meeting begins at 3:30 pm at City Hall. It’s important to be there and make our voices heard.
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