Winter Park City Commission meeting set for May 8

A piece of property along Comstock Avenue will once again be the topic of discussion at today's Winter Park City Commission meeting. The city has had the property up for sale recently and has even received multiple bids, but questions of fairness arose at the April 24 meeting over the selling process.

Attorney Rosemary Hayes, speaking on behalf of Rowland & Company, said that Dan Bellows of Winter Park Redevelopment Agency LTD had reportedly submitted an offer of “$450,000 and/or a thousand dollars more should anybody else bid.”

Rowland & Company LLC had submitted an offer of $455,000, but Bellows’ earlier offer put him at $456,000.

It’s unfair to use that kind of bid to acquire the property, said Hayes at the last meeting.

“To say ‘I’ll pay $1,000 more than anyone else,’ well that means I can win any bid that you guys have here,” Hayes said.

“That procedure violates the statute 163.380 Disposal of Property and Community Development, which charges this Commission with using a reasonable disposal procedure. I would submit to you that that is not a reasonable disposal procedure. … We all know that’s grossly unfair.”

City Commissioners voted down Bellows' offer, and city staff will ask the Commission what they wish to do with the property at today's meeting.