No Break for Summer Task Forces
No Break for Summer Task Forces
Winter Parkers have been busy this summer, giving generously of their time to serve on one or another of three task forces. All three groups are set to complete their tasks this fall.
The Orange Avenue Steering Committee is studying redevelopment opportunities along the Orange Avenue gateway to our city. The Charter Review Task Force is reviewing the City Charter, line-by-line, as it must every 10 years. A dedicated and creative group — the Old Library Reuse Task Force — has been tasked with figuring out what to do with the current library facility once the new library at the Canopy has opened.
What follows is a snapshot of where each of these groups is in their process. It’s said the devil is in the details, and these 25 volunteers are way into the weeds as summer winds down and hurricane season gears up. Every person in Winter Park owes these volunteers a debt of gratitude for their hard work this summer.
Orange Avenue Overlay Steering Committee
The Orange Avenue Steering Committee is charged with creating an actionable document and providing input and recommendations to the City Commission for an Orange Avenue Zoning Overlay District.
Steering Committee Members are Jill Hamilton Buss, Sheila DeCiccio, Michael Dick, Ben Ellis, Sally Flynn, Lamont Garber, Phil Kean, Lambrine Macejewski, Bill Segal, Bill Sullivan, Laura Turner.
Previous Studies, but No Action — City discussions surrounding the redevelopment of Orange Avenue began in the early 2000s. The Commission requested Planning Staff to explore the creation of new codes that would facilitate redevelopment opportunities, but over the years, none of the studies yielded any actionable documents or created any City Code. These studies included Plan the Possibilities, Vision Winter Park and portions of the updated 2017 Comprehensive Plan.
Committee Has Heard a Variety of Views — Since May 29, the Steering Committee has met every two weeks. Meetings have featured panels of speakers representing area residents, small property owners, Rollins College, larger property owners who have developed property, such as Commerce National Bank & Trust and Jewett Orthopedics, and large property owners whose property is as yet undeveloped. Developers-in-waiting include Holler Properties, Demetree Global and the City of Winter Park, which probably will sell the property at Progress Point to a private developer.
Orange Avenue Issues — Panelists and Committee members alike have agreed that the issues along the Orange Avenue Corridor are insufficient parking, inadequate drainage and storm water management, traffic and pedestrian safety – and insufficient parking.
Did We Mention Insufficient Parking? The lack of sufficient parking along the corridor, combined with dangerous road conditions and archaic zoning codes, has caused obsolescence. Existing small businesses, including many along Designers’ Row, are at or over their allowed floor area ratio (FAR) – which is to say, the size of the building exceeds what is allowable for the size of the lot under current codes.
Upgrades or renovations undertaken by an owner would require bringing the building up to current code, and that’s frequently not possible because there just isn’t room. The most frequently mentioned barrier is insufficient space to create the required parking.
The Steering Committee will meet at least two more times, on September 4th and 18th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the Commission Chamber at City Hall. Planning Director Bronce Stephenson stated in an email that his department planned to ask for more time for the Task Force to complete their recommendations. “We only get once chance at this,” wrote Stephenson, “and we don’t want to rush the process.”
The public is welcome and urged to attend the Task Force meetings.
Charter Review Task Force
Every 10 years, the City Charter – Winter Park’s primary governing document – is reviewed and updated to reflect changes in state and national legislation and to incorporate revisions relevant to the City as it is now.
Task Force Members are Steve Brandon, Marjorie Bridges, Lisa Coney, Mary Daniels, Amanda Day, James Johnston, Bud Kirk, Lawrence Lyman and Nick Pope. The Task Force is facilitated by Marilyn Crotty.
The Voters Decide — After exhaustive study and discussion, the nine-member Task Force will submit their recommendations to the City Commission. The Commission then will deliberate to accept or reject Task Force recommendations and to incorporate their own changes. Final Charter revisions will be placed on the March 17 ballot for a decision by the voters.
Charter Review Issues — Questions discussed at the Charter Review Task Force meetings have included, but are not limited to, the following:
- If Winter Park is to have non-partisan elections, exactly how does the City propose to define the term “non-partisan.” What may candidates do and not do during their campaigns, and how would rules be enforced?
- The mayor and commissioners are currently elected ‘at large.’ In order to ensure even distribution of representation, should the City be divided into districts, with each commissioner representing one of those districts, while the mayor is still elected ‘at large’?
- Should the authority for appointments to Citizen Advisory Boards continue to rest with the Mayor, or should that provision be stricken from the Charter and Advisory Board members be appointed by the Commission as a whole?
- Should Police and Fire Departments continue to report to the Civil Service Board, or should they report directly to the City Manager?
- Should compensation for the mayor and commissioners be increased?
No Final Determination — The Task Force has not yet finalized their recommendations. With the generous time allotted for public comment, citizens are encouraged to attend meetings and express their views.
The Task Force meets at the Community Center on New England Avenue from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Public comment is taken both at the beginning and the end of the meeting. There will be one or two September meetings, depending on need. Check the City website for meeting dates. Because the proposed Charter revisions must go on the March 17 ballot, the Task Force will submit their recommendations to the Commission in October.
Old Library Site Reuse Task Force
Five people are charged with the task of recommending the future use of the current library facility once the new library at the Canopy site has opened.
Task Force Members are John Caron, Miguel DeArcos, David Lamm, Jack Miles and Marjorie Thomas.
Possible Uses — Although a recent appraisal cited the “highest and best use” of the property would be to sell it to a developer for luxury condos, the majority of the Task Force discussion has focused on ways to keep the facility as a City amenity and avoiding selling it.
Among the uses that have been discussed are branch library, public art space, senior activity center, incubator space, temporary space for City staff while City Hall is renovated and various combinations of all the above.
Rollins CFO Ed Kania stated at one meeting that Rollins has no interest in purchasing the site.
Issues with the Old Library include two years of deferred maintenance and the current state of the building, the cost of renovation, the fact that it is in a residential neighborhood and therefore not appropriate for commercial or restaurant use, inadequate parking and Fairbanks traffic.
The Task Force meets at noon in the Chapman Room at City Hall. Check the City website for September dates.
Open Letter to Winter Park Residents
Open Letter to Winter Park Residents
Open Advisory Board Service to All City Residents
Editor's Note: Articles written by citizens reflect their own opinions and not the views of the Winter Park Voice.by Phil Anderson
A Task Force to review the Winter Park City Charter is currently meeting, as they do every 10 years, to make recommendations on how we should update our City Charter to make Winter Park better.
One way we can make Winter Park better is to re-open the opportunity to serve on volunteer City Advisory Boards to all Winter Park residents. As the Charter stands, only the Mayor can appoint board members, leaving many citizens feeling their applications are ignored if they are not a friend of the Mayor or a donor to his campaign.
On August 13, I asked the Charter Review Committee to recommend a change to encourage more inclusion on City Boards. We can change one sentence in the Charter and re-open the opportunity for almost 50 percent of our residents to serve.
These Citizen Boards are incredibly important. Over 150 residents serve on the 19 Boards, which include the Planning and Zoning Board, which determines in many ways what the city will look like in years to come. These volunteer boards also include the Utilities Board, the Lakes Board and others that specialize in one area or another. These boards thrive in an environment of blended political views, diverse professional expertise and general business and community experience that promote good policy for the city.
Thanks to you, I served as a City Commissioner from 2008-2011. At the beginning of my term, all Commissioners participated in nominating Winter Park residents to various City Advisory Boards and Committees. When I started, I remember sitting on the floor sorting through stacks of resumes. I was amazed at the wide variety of qualified citizens willing to serve as volunteer board members. These people could run large public companies, yet they were willing to volunteer their time and expertise. This process of including nominations from the full Commission had been practiced for a long time, and I assumed that would be the continuing tradition.
Halfway through my term, however, the process changed. In 2009, a sentence in the City Charter was invoked, and the nomination process started to fall exclusively to one person — the Mayor. Since then, many people have expressed their feelings that they won’t be considered unless they are a friend of the Mayor. Since mayoral election margins in Winter Park are generally pretty close, say 51 to 49 percent, almost half of Winter Park may feel excluded from serving. As a result, Winter Park is losing out on a deep pool of talented people.
If you agree that all citizens should have the right to be fairly considered for service on City Boards for which they are qualified – regardless of their political leanings — please contact your City Commissioners and consider speaking to the Charter Review Committee. Ask them to formalize an older, more inclusive practice which a) expands the pool of talent; b) allows all City Commissioners to participate in Board nominations; and c) brings Winter Park in line with almost all other Florida City governments.
This can be accomplished by removing from the City Charter asingle sentence: “He shall annually appoint members of the city boards subject to the approval of city commissioners.”
This one change opens up the process to a tremendous talent pool and is in the best interest of all Winter Park’s residents.
The next Charter Review Committee meeting is on Tuesday, August 27th, at 6:00 pm, at the Winter Park Community Center on New England Avenue. Public comment is allowed at the beginning and end of the meeting.
https://cityofwinterpark.org/government/boards/charter-review-advisory-committee/
Thank you for the privilege to serve,
Phil Anderson
What’s Happening at City Hall?
What’s Happening at City Hall?
Can You Believe It’s August Already?
Even in August, things aren’t slowing down much. We’re at 21 public meetings (down from 23 in July). Nothing is written in stone, so use this link to keep up with the latest schedule changes. https://cityofwinterpark.org/government/boards/
Social Notes from the Last Commission Meeting
Something’s Rotten at City Hall. The dais where the Commissioners sit has termites. Like the Trojan Horse, the beautiful custom woodwork facing the audience harbors an invading army. Before the army gets out and attacks the entire building, the dais will have to be dismantled and removed and the invaders eradicated. Here’s hoping the City of Winter Park is more successful than the Trojans were. Search is underway for an artisan to design a replacement.
Body cameras for Winter Park’s Finest are in the FY2020 budget. And the Commission voted not to demolish the building at Progress Point. A majority agreed they would wait and see what happens with redevelopment plans for the Orange Avenue corridor. The City did, however, mow the grass at Progress Point. Neighbors are grateful.
Schedules for Commission, Advisory Boards and 3 Task Forces
Commission meetings are held the second and fourth Monday of each month, beginning at 3:30 pm, in the Commission Chambers on the second floor of City Hall. They go until they’re finished – typically until 5:30 to 6:30 pm unless there is a controversial item on the agenda.
Nineteen citizen boards advise the Commission on topics ranging from Police Officers’ Pensions to Lakes and Waterways and Code Compliance. A full list of these boards and board members can be found at the City website (above link). The August schedule is on the chart below.
In addition to the standing advisory boards, there are currently three task forces, which are formed for a single stated purpose with definite beginning and ending dates. The three task forces are described below. You are urged to attend their meetings.
Charter Review Advisory Committee
This task force is formed every 10 years for the purpose of updating the Winter Park City Charter. The Charter is our City’s ‘Constitution,’ its primary governing document. Some major issues are under discussion, making these meetings interesting and relevant. Meetings are held once a month at the Community Center from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The first hour is devoted to public comment, so best be on time. The next meeting is Tuesday, August 27.
Orange Avenue Steering Committee
The purpose of this task force is to decide the parameters of a zoning ‘overlay,’ which will establish guidelines for the redevelopment of that stretch of Orange Avenue reaching from 17-92 to just north of the corner of Denning and Fairbanks. Meetings are held twice a month from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the Commission chambers. The next meeting is Wednesday, August 7.
Old Library Reuse Task Force
This group is charged with recommending to the Commission the proper disposition of the current library facility. The task force meets twice a month in the Commission chambers at Noon. The next meeting is Wednesday, August 14.
Coffee Talks
Not only do we have official commissions, boards and task forces, we also have informal gatherings with the Mayor and Commissioners where you can let them know what you’re thinking and find out what they’re thinking.
The Mayor’s Coffee Talk was in July. Coffee Talks with the Commissioners will be held 8:00 to 9:00 am at the Winter Park Golf and Country Club, 761 Old England Ave.
Commissioner Greg Seidel – August 8.
Commissioner Sarah Sprinkel – September 9.
Commissioner Carolyn Cooper – October 10.
Commissioner Todd Weaver – November 14.
Here’s the August Lineup.
The Chapman Room and the Commission Chambers are on the second floor of City Hall.
Note: this schedule is subject to change. Check the City website link at the top of the article for the latest information.
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