Two commission candidates offer views on growth, old library, Rollins apartments and more
Monday’s forum at the Winter Park Library was the first of the election season
Jan. 22, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Commission Seat 2 candidates Jason Johnson and Craig Russell faced off at a forum Monday night at the Winter Park Library, revealing some clear, if subtle, differences in their philosophies on questions such as what to do with the old library building, a proposal for Rollins College faculty apartments and the future of development in Winter Park. (Watch a recording of the event here.)
Stockton Reeves, the third candidate in the race, did not attend the forum. Carol Foglesong, the moderator from the Orange County League of Women Voters, announced Reeves was “caught out of town on his job and was not able get back … so it’s not that he didn’t show it’s that the job got in the way for tonight.”
That raised some confusion, however, because Reeves met in person on Monday with Winter Park residents involved in the Fix 426 effort at an Orlando office. He did not immediately respond to a question from the Voice about whether he was out of town during the forum, though he previously told the Voice he had a work conflict during the event that he was trying to reschedule.
Russell and Johnson, both first-time candidates for public office, showcased their knowledge and experience in the local community.
Both credited their children and families as their biggest accomplishments and appeared to agree on issues like examining how the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, a special downtown tax increment district that the current City Commission is trying to expand, could play a role in providing more affordable housing.
They also agreed that recent increases in pay for police officers have made the department more competitive in hiring.
Neither expressed a firm opinion when asked whether Winter Park should let voters decide whether to adopt single-member districts or carving the city into sections that each elect a representative to the City Commission. Russell, who is Black, nodded to the merits of diversity several times during the forum. Winter Park has not elected a Black commissioner in more than 130 years.
“There isn’t enough data for me to answer,” said Russell, a teacher and coach at Winter Park High who also serves on the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and as a trustee for the Winter Park Library. “If there’s true representation that kind of solves that problem.”
Johnson, an attorney and current chairman of the city’s Board of Adjustments, said he’s “always in favor of allowing voters to decide” and noted single-member districts have positives and negatives and he would want more information.
While both candidates largely described their future vision of Winter Park as keeping the look and feel of the city much the way it is today, some differences emerged.
On the Rollins College proposal for 48 new apartments aimed at providing attainable housing for faculty closer to campus, Russell signaled a willingness to find a way to make it happen.
“How do we make it work?” Russell asked of the project on New England Avenue that has drawn complaints from neighbors about its density, architecture and potential shortage of parking. “I don’t think the immediate answer is no … Rollins historically has been a good neighbor to us and it’s an opportunity for something we haven’t done here in Winter Park and I’m very open to hear more about it.”
Johnson said he didn’t want to express a firm viewpoint, but seemed more skeptical.
“I do think there is a need for housing for faculty and staff in the city, so I understand why Rollins wants to do it,” he said. “But I also understand some of the residential concerns.”
On the matter of the old library building, which continues to pose a conundrum for city officials since the City Commission recently rejected a second round of proposals that came in to redevelop the parcel, Johnson said he opposed selling the land. A sale has been brought up multiple times to raise revenue for other projects.
He said a sale is on the “bottom of my list of priorities,” because “it’s a gateway and it’s too valuable of an asset to sell off for a few dollars today. I wouldn’t’ support that right now.”
Later in the forum, Johnson brought up one idea that’s been discussed, which is to turn the land into a small park space.
Russell said he would “have to lean on a bunch of contacts that I have to learn more about that situation” and expressed concern about the building falling into disrepair.
When it comes to a general growth philosophy, Johnson appeared to express a bit more skepticism there, too.
“I think there’s a certain segment that would have you believe we need greater balance between residential and commercial tax bases,” he said. “I don’t know that I share that belief. I want to protect our neighborhoods from commercial encroachment, but I do think there are ways we can improve both the neighborhoods and the commercial vitality. We need to make sure our infrastructure is better improved and maintained.”
Russell said he wanted to talk to experts about the possibility of growth.
“We have to be able to open to listen to the possibility of growth,” he said. “We have to be open to listen to the experts who can tell us how can we solve this problem. I don’t know all the answers. I know where we can find the answers … I know there are generations that want to come back here and I’m open to listen to all ideas.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
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By: Beth Kassab
No biography available at this time
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I wish the candidates had been asked about zoning and variance changes for Rollins Project. Should they be allowed?
Ms. Thornton, we were asked about the Rollins faculty/staff housing project, generically. The article states that I “didn’t want to express a firm viewpoint,” but it doesn’t explain why. For the benefit of residents who were not in attendance last night and who have not yet been able to watch a replay of the livestream, I was reluctant to say too much because: (a) I expect that this specific proposal may not be fully decided by the City Commission prior to the winning candidate in this race taking the oath of office; and (b) I am committed to providing a “fair shake” to everyone and not coming to City Commission meetings with predetermined votes. Let me say that I understand the College’s desire to provide housing options for faculty and staff within the City, but I also certainly understand the resident’s concerns about the scale and requested variances (an issue with which I am intimately familiar, as chair of the City’s Board of Adjustments). I would want to hear the respective positions at a Commission meeting, and certainly hear the legal justification for the “grandfathering” argument I have heard for the variance requests. I invite you to watch the entire debate to learn more about my take on how we can preserve Winter Park’s charm.
Sounds like a lot of talk but no one wiling to commit to solid answers. Deflection. Versus answers/solutions.
Why wasn’t the issue of the Rollins apartment not paying tax revenue to the City of Winter Park brought up?! Pretty significant issue. Will that be “glossed over” as well going forth?
As a former elected official, I can affirm that the wisest course of action in cases like this is to avoid committing to voting for one outcome or another. Future potential challenges to city council decisions might be based on what a candidate says now. It may be an unpopular and inconvenient fact, but it’s the law that requires city-council decisions to be made on the *evidence* presented inside the boundaries of the city council chambers. Candidates who commit now put the city’s future at risk.
Hi Joe, I hear you. And I certainly respect Jason’s viewpoint here as well. But voters are being asked to elect representatives who make policy decisions, not judges. It’s not acceptable to refrain from offering voters real viewpoints under the theoretical that there could be a legal challenge … that’s not fair to voters who deserve to understand a candidate’s philosophy on major issues, including specific development questions. It’s certainly understandable that a candidate wouldn’t want to make a commitment to vote one way or another … that’s very reasonable. But that’s very different from offering voters some insight about how you might think about an issue and the questions you would ask etc. Again, this is not a judicial race where everything is off limits. Quite the opposite … Winter Park commissioners are elected as representatives of the entire city and voters (and journalists lol) are right to ask questions and expect some kind of response.
A video of the Seat 2 debate, in its entirety (45 minutes), is available on YouTube, but the Voice will not share the video with its readers because the Voice prefers that its readers be uninformed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3_4gcV6WJM
Oh my goodness the link to the video is literally in the first paragraph of the story.
The old bury the debate link in microscopic print in a mind numbing article due to its length and monotony trick, eh?
How about a headline article next time: WP MAYOR 2024 DEBATE VIDEO and spare us the “journalism” sideshow.
Actually, people in Winter Park are really engaged and I hear from many who appreciate the links and the stories. Not everyone wants or has the time to attend the debate or watch a nearly hour-long video. We are just here to provide people with the options for information and they can choose how they want to consume it.
Time to step up, identify yourself, and apologize to the Voice for your totally incorrect statements.
Nobody reads Voice articles. Readers skim them. Especially the long ones like today’s. Nobody knows this better than The Voice.
That’s why nobody noticed the link – because the Voice thought that what the Voice had to say about the debate was more important than the actual debate itself.
Interesting that you anonymously feel free to speak for “everybody”. The link was the first thing I noticed and I also read entire articles, so I guess to you I’m just one less voice than everybody.
The WP Voice is a valuable source of local news. We are extremely lucky to have someone like Beth that is willing and able to contribute to our local information ecosystem. Please find someone else to pick on.
Agree 100% with Lee Van Valkenburgh!
I do too Pamela! MANY of us read and enjoy the WP Voice and have for years.
There’s reality and then there’s whatever space you’re occupying. As Beth said, the link is in the first paragraph. Hardly buried
I attended the event. My wife and I just moved here in 2023 so I know little of local politics
Coming in I was open to both canidates. By the end I had made my decision. I will be supporting Jason Johnson because he was very specific in his answers. He knew the city and the issues before it. The was little hesitation in his answers and I could sense he truly cared about the city. They both did a good job, but Jason seemed the best equipt to represent the people of Winter Park.
If you watch the YouTube of the event you can see if you agree.
Welcome to Winter Park, it’s an amazing city to raise your family and has tremendous support from its elected officials. Our family has lived in Winter Park for over 30 years after moving here from Tallahassee in 1989. Another beautiful city in Florida. I too made up my mind after watching the video. Mr. Johnson spoke well but it seems like the status quo way to vote however. In my humble opinion we do not need status quo or another atty on the commission, we need community representation. I like the breath of fresh air that Coach Russell provides. He coached all three of my sons at WPHS, he’s well spoken, intelligent, highly educated and cares about providing a future for our children. Our community needs more affordable housing and I say that having worked within property management and the tax credit industry. Our tax credit properties were A/B properties that gave people an opportunity to live in beautiful homes and participate in the community they lived. My own children are having a hard time affording housing in the community they grew up in and love, and they are very successful in their professions. We also need to represent the community better on our commission, and our community is very diverse. The current commission does not adequately reflect the community it serves. So Coach Russell you have my and my husbands vote. Best Wishes. I think you would do great things for the people of Winter Park.
Winter Park Voice is like the preacher who goes on for an hour talking about what he thinks about Jesus.
Sunday morning the church is full of people, young and old alike, with their bottoms fastened securely to the pews.
Their faces indicate rapt attention as the preacher’s voice goes up to the rafters, and then floats down like a feather, and then back up again as the pattern repeats itself throughout his sermon.
As the service concludes, his flock greets him warmly at the Church exits.
“Amen!” they say.
“Thank you, Brother, for your inspiring words.”
And each walks out the church doors completely unaware that if they heard only one hour of what Jesus actually said – as recorded in the Gospels – it would pack more spiritual value than the 52 hours of sermons that their preacher preaches during the year.
So who does WP Voice serve?
The residents?
or WP Voice?
Is it any wonder then why WP Voice chose to delineate the link to the video of Monday’s City Commission debate with only the word “here” in light blue lettering pasted within its 1,000 word essay?
I definitely wanted more from the candidates about the Rollins faculty housing project. This is just Rollins’ first proposal, not their last. The state’s new Live Local Act will allow affordable housing in places in the city where we can’t exercise control over it. Here, the commission has control over it and they are throwing that control out the window.
The “experts” came up with the Orange Avenue Overlay and wanted to tear down the much loved MLK playground castle. Their expertise doesn’t take into account what citizens of this very special community want.
Thank you very much Beth for the informative article. I watched the entire debate and found both candidates to be outstanding choices for our city. I will watch the second debate to hopefully decide who to support. But here we have a win-win situation. So much was covered in a short time and it was great to see such friendliness from everyone involved. I hope they ask the candidates how AI will be used by the city in the next debate.
Thanks for the report. Help me understand the Rollins apartment concept.
Rollins wants to construct ????apartments??? for faculty to live because housing is too costly in WP.
This sounds very Jim Crowish hinting Southern patriarchy.
How many towns throughout America have the remnants of row houses constructed for factory workers by textile and processed food tycoons?
At least the low wage earners were allowed to purchase the property and build equity.
This concept feels similar except teachers will rent only and never get ahead.
why doesn’t Rollins College pay their professors with advanced degrees a better cost of living salary so they can live independently?
A college where administrators make six figure salaries while teachers live in “affordable housing “ seems upside down to me. Boo!
The president of Rollins did note during P&Z that the apartments were intended for younger, tenure-seeking faculty, not senior faculty. The units aren’t intended for people to live in forever — he tossed out the idea of someone staying there during the six-year tenure process, as an example. Just offering this as some additional context.
I did not attend the meeting but have read the Voice article and comments made in response. Some thoughts:
Rollins
I understand why the school needs to find space outside its main campus when it wants to add new buildings. My wife and I are supportive of it. Our deceased son, Robert, graduated from Rollins, and he and his wife, Barbara, earned MBAs from Crummer before he died from brain cancer. If the school is allowed to build faculty apartments on New England after zoning and tax matters have been appropriately addressed, as a retired architect I hope that steps are taken to make sure that they are well designed. I am not impressed by the school’s recent endeavors, including the parking garage and hotel.
Library Building Property
The building is, I believe, one of the better buildings in central Winter Park. It should not be torn down to make room for a newer building or a park. Adaptive reuse of older buildings is increasingly common. Perhaps part of the property could be used for the faculty apartment project and the building, which has few windows, used for faculty offices and meeting spaces.
Orange Avenue
I wish more definitive information was readily available about the project. Again, I believe that the buildings and open spaces must be well designed and have appropriate functions. How can this be achieved? That they meet zoning and code requirements will not guarantee that good design will result.
Interesting you bring this up — there was actually some discussion about Rollins potentially taking over the old library for housing, but the college pursued the project on New England instead. Also I’m sorry to hear about your son. My husband died of brain cancer in 2022 and my heart goes out to your family.
Based on the public conversation, it appears that quite a few people do read the Voice. So thank you to Beth Kassab for bringing professional journalism to our community. The Sentinel isn’t able to do that anymore so I appreciate that we have hyper local news reporting. Other small cities aren’t as fortunate so residents aren’t able to stay abreast of the issues. I’m so weary of the snarky comments; Winter Park has lots going on that we all need to pay attention to so thank you WP Voice and Beth.
I ask myself how could Rollins get more community support for their faculty/staff apartment project? And I answer myself-reserve 6 of the units for Winter Park first responders and other city employees. Just a thought.
I’m pretty sure if I had purchased this property and asked for code variances and not provided parking, I would be vilified as a big money grabbing developer. But when Rollins does it……….
Last I checked rentals in Mills 50, College Park, and 32792 were affordable to professors, and it’s less than a ten minute commute.