May 17, 2010 James Harrison, Director of Growth Management for Orange County, recently offered the points below which confirm my writings on the subject of Dillaha’s continued efforts to obstruct Winter Park’s participation in SunRail. ****************************************************** From: Jim.Harrison@ocfl.net [mailto:Jim.Harrison@ocfl.net] Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 4:11 PM 1. Although the City/County Agreement makes Winter Park responsible for the capital costs of constructing the station, those costs will be covered through a Federal grant and little if any cost will accrue to the City (unless the City “opts out” of the station after the money is spent). 2. FDOT is paying for…
SunRail Financial Realities
May 14, 2010 Commissioner Dillaha continually blusters about financial uncertainties involved in the city’s commuter rail agreement with Orange County. Having 35 years of financial management, executive leadership and investment management experience I share Ms. Dillaha’s fiscal conservatism. However, with regard to her dismissal of commuter rail, Ms. Dillaha repeatedly and consistently overstates the risks without addressing the opportunities and exaggerates the costs without addressing the benefits. The most meaningful risks and costs of SunRail for Winter Park arise from not participating. The following analysis relies in part on SunRail operating cost estimates from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)…
Irrelevant and False Objections to SunRail
After several years of attempting to obstruct SunRail, including a January 2009 effort to use her position on our city commission to terminate Winter Park’s commuter rail agreement with Orange County, Commissioner Dillaha has put her objections in writing. Her April 29, 2010 letter to the citizens of Winter Park contained the following objections, the italicized text numbered 1 through 9 below. My response follows each objection. Dillaha: 1) A weak and vague ability for the city to “opt-out” of the agreement beyond one 60-day window within 99 years. The statement above is false. The “opt out” is…
Dillaha’s Dangerous Disaster
May 12, 2010 The Winter Park City Commission meeting of May 24 has been set aside for commission and public input, and possibly action on Commissioner Beth Dillaha’s continuing efforts to terminate Winter Park’s participation in the SunRail commuter rail system. Ms. Dillaha continues her efforts to terminate Winter Park’s commuter rail agreement with Orange County with the intent to terminate Winter Park’s commuter rail station. (A previous move by Ms. Dillaha to terminate the agreement in January 2009 was defeated by a 3 to 2 vote.) If Ms. Dillaha wanted something other than termination of our commuter rail station…
Important News About Winter Park’s SunRail Station.
April 28, 2010 Please contact our city commissioners after reading this. First the great news! The Commuter Rail Commission has confirmed that the state will now be picking up nearly half of the previously projected costs of operating Winter Park’s SunRail station (Note #1). When we voted in 2007 to authorize the city commission to pay for our commuter rail station and its operation, the annual costs were estimated at $587,000 per year (Note #2). Revised projections near the end of 2007 put these estimates at roughly $700,000 per year (Note #3). With the latest changes in funding and pending…
Attention Winter Park Commercial Property Owners
April 20, 2010 It is my understanding that Winter Park commercial property owners have until May 14, 2010 to question the impact of the city’s Comprehensive Plan on their property values and uses. Changes have also been made in the Land Development Code for both commercial and residential properties that warrant your review as a property owner. As a result of the severe restrictions and controls added to the latest Comprehensive Plan several property owners are requesting a “Tolling” agreement with the city that extends this time period for appeal and review by one year on a property by property…
For those interested in the facts….
The most important issue in the recent election (both for new city commission members and charter amendments) was the future of our Comprehensive Plan and thus, our city. I repeatedly pointed out the flaws in Comprehensive Plan. Interestingly, the first City Commission meeting following the election included proposed Comprehensive Plan changes from city planning staff (recommended by the city attorneys) to many of the prohibitions and other elements of the Comprehensive Plan I previously expressed concerns about. This list is by no means complete but it is a beginning toward restating our Comprehensive Plan in ways that may encourage compatible…
Time for Leadership in Winter Park
March 8, 2010 Commissioner Anderson’s letter in support of Carolyn Cooper demonstrates the need for real leadership at City Hall. Mr. Anderson’s letter simply accepts that the city will be forced to reduce spending, and thus service levels in order to balance future budgets without raising taxes. It is precisely this forced reduction in service levels that puts our quality of life and residential property values at risk. Mr. Anderson’s “plan” by default is to reduce spending until some undefined events magically occur that increase property values and economic activity, in the hope this will increase revenues needed to maintain…
Vote “no” on super-majority (Amendment #10)
February 4, 2010 Why do those supporting a super-majority vote in Winter Park insist on referring to those who disagree with them as “development-related special interests” (My Word: “Vote ‘yes’ for a super-majority,” Orlando Sentinel, Tuesday)? A broad spectrum of citizens with varied interests and experiences are rightfully questioning Amendment 10. On Tuesday, Winter Park voters will decide whether to require a super-majority vote (4-1) of city commissioners when changing land-use policies within our comprehensive plan. A “no” vote in opposition to Amendment 10 will assure that a minority will not control future land use in Winter Park. Winter Park’s…
Time to Stop the Nonsense
February 25, 2010 You received a flyer in the mail today promoting a yes vote on Amendment #10 on March 9th. Florida law requires a filing with the City Clerk identifying the people responsible and the sources of financing for political communications. Also, an individual can send political communications provided they identify themselves. The flyer you received was attributed to “Ten for Winter Park.” Per my phone calls today, neither the City of Winter Park nor the Orange County Elections office has any information on this organization. [Update: “Ten for Winter Park” registered with the City on March 3, 2010…