Present
Vice-Mayor Carolyn Cooper
Commissioner Marty Sullivan Commissioner Sheila DeCiccio (joined at 12:07 p.m.)
Commissioner Todd Weaver
City Manager Randy Knight
City Clerk Rene Cranis
Absent
Mayor Steve Leary
1) Call to Order
Vice Mayor Cooper called to meeting to order at 12:03 p.m.Vice Mayor Cooper stated that Commissioner DeCiccio requested this work session but has not joined the meeting and suggested that the meeting be postponed. Commissioner Weaver suggested waiting a few more minutes. Commissioner DeCiccio joined the meeting at 12:07 p.m.
2) Discussion Item(s) Strategic Discussion of Capital Project Initiatives Commissioner DeCiccio stated she spoke withMr. Knight who advised that up to $3 million could be funded for parks without a referendum. She feels this is a good time to revisit doing some the projects due to the low cost of financing and that the city should listen to residents’ concerns.
Vice Mayor Cooper said that she feels the city should comply with the adopted budget which included a five-year capital plan rather than moving forward with projects outside the normal CIP process. Discussion followed on moving forward following standard practices and the administrative policy which requires a strategic plan biannually. Mr. Knight advised that revisions to the administrative policy will be on next agenda for approval.
Mr. Knight stated this meeting is to discuss the list of capital projects that was generally agreed to by the Commission for a potential bond referendum and other funding options. He reviewed key decision points on the question of voted debt, parks exemption from referendum for parks improvements, timing for interest rate sensitivity and risk of a disapproval of referendum by voters. He outlined the financing options which are dependent on the amount and type of projects and said it maybe more appropriate to manage small dollar items with a bank loan. He summarized existing debt service and repayment timeline.
Mr. Knight reviewed the list of projects and provided the following information:
· City facility IT site securitization and access control enhancements, $625,000 - physical security not already completed on some facilities. 000
· Temple Drive stormwater, $1.2 million - large project that is difficult to budget since cost is more than annual stormwater fees collected. Smaller projects that benefit more neighborhoods have been completed instead.
· Winter Park SportsComplex, $2.47 million– concession space renovation, ADA accessibility improvements, turfing of two fields that currently used for parking at Ward Park. It does not include MLK fields which could be funded from the CRA.
· Mead Garden, $500,000 – projects include lighting, parking, pathway, lodge improvements, caretaker house conversion. At the request of Vice Mayor Cooper, Mr.Knight will provide a list of previous years’ funding and improvements.
· Fire Training facility, $500,000 – department will no longer have access to OCPS training facility in 2023. This would allow total control of training and keeps vehicles in service longer due to lack of travel to other training facilities.
Fire Chief Dan Hagedorn responded to questions regarding the type of training, leasing the facility to other agencies and impact to response time when vehicles are out of the city during training. Mr. Knight stated potential sites include the gun range, tree farm or Station 62 property.
Mr. Knight summarized the cost of projects, charter rules for referendum and exemptions for parks projects. He responded to questions regarding budgeting for capital projects and the five-year Capital Improvement Plan. Discussion followed bypassing projects in the current five-year CIP and determining prioritization.
Vice Mayor Cooper spoke in support of a referendum and bond issue that includes a new City Hall and renovation of the existingLibrary, but feels a strategic planning session, and resident survey are needed before considering borrowing.
Mr. Knight commented on lack of details on Library and City Hall which impact including those projects in the bond issue. He explained the process of borrowing from reserves.
Discussion followed on financing these projects through a bond issue, small bank loan, and use of and impact on reserves. In response to questions by Commissioner Sullivan, he said he will provide information on a bank loan and line of credit.
Additional discussion was held on funding options, Commissioner Sullivan supported a bank loan. Commissioner Weaver said he would like to postpone this until more project details are provided. Vice Mayor Cooper requested that staff provide additional details when this comes back to the Commission.
After discussion, consensus was to not move forward with site security, TempleTrail improvements and the training facility. There was no consensus on moving forward with the sports complex and Mead Garden, but consensus was to place on an upcoming agenda with staff providing additional details on these projects.
Mr. Knight reviewed the proposed strategic planning schedule that includes a citizen survey with a strategic planning session in April or May. Discussion followed on the citizen survey, questions and timing.
3) Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:48 p.m.
View the original PDF at the City of Winter Park. (https://winterpark.granicus.com/MinutesViewer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=84&doc_id=c07cbcc2-5ea6-4f00-8b79-a862b58a0817)
Posted to WinterParkSunshine.org on January 27, 2020.