Winter Park City Talk

Aug. 12 City Commission meeting highlights

There was a City Commission meeting held Aug. 12 in City Hall Commission Chambers. Below are a few highlights of decisions made at the meeting:

Mayor’s Report

• A check presentation of $25,000 was made by the Winter Park Health Foundation for helping fund the purchase of the city’s new shuttle bus. This shuttle bus will help transport children and seniors that have difficulty finding transportation to and from the Winter Park Community Center. Thank you to the Winter Park Health Foundation for helping keep our residents active and having the ability to participate in the city’s programming efforts.

• The board appointments for the Code Enforcement Board and Construction Board of Adjustments & Appeals were approved.

Consent Agenda

• The minutes of 7/22/13 were approved.

• The purchases and contracts were approved (for a complete listing, visit cityofwinterpark.org/Government > City Commission > Agenda).

• The Mayor was authorized to execute the power supply and interconnection agreements with the Orlando Utilities Commission, and to execute agreements with Florida Power & Light Company.

• The appointment of Dori Stone as director of Planning & Community Development was confirmed. (Planning and Economic Development/CRA departments have been consolidated into one department).

Action Items Requiring Discussion

• A comparison report of the Winter Park Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places was presented.

• The CNL request to use city-owned land (Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center parking lot) for a public/private parking structure was pulled off the agenda as a result of the City Commission Workshop where a win-win scenario was unable to be agreed upon for the project to move forward.

Public Hearings

• The second reading of the ordinance repealing obsolete provisions and amending Chapter 98, Traffic and Vehicles, Article VI, Traffic Light Safety Act, of the city code to implement Chapter 2013-160, Laws of Florida; providing for local hearing officer consistent with general law was approved.

• The second reading of the ordinance amending Section 2-107(e), Administrative Fines; Costs of Repair; Liens, of Chapter 2, Administration, repealing the clause declaring that code enforcement liens take priority over other liens was approved.

• The resolutions regarding the red light camera program were approved.

• The first readings of the police and fire pension ordinances to comply with recent changes to the Internal Revenue Code relating to tax-qualified pension plans were approved.

A full copy of the Aug. 12 City Commission minutes will be available at cityofwinterpark.org the week of Aug. 26, pending approval by the City Commission.

Register now for the Education Update

Friday is the deadline to RSVP for the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and city of Winter Park’s Education Update. This event scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 22, at 7:45 a.m. is presented by Rollins College Hamilton Holt School, and will be held at the Winter Park Community Center located at 721 W. New England Ave.

It will explore “From Learning to Working: How Winter Park Creates a Strong Workforce” via panel discussion moderated by WKMG Local 6 news anchor Lauren Rowe. Panelists for the breakfast event include Dr. Barbara Jenkins, superintendent, Orange County Public Schools; Dr. David S. Richard, dean, Rollins College Hamilton Holt School; Michael O’Donnell, president/CEO, Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc.; and Dr. Sandra Lyn Jewell, senior director, Winter Park Tech. Throughout the morning, panelists will highlight accomplishments, celebrate collaborations, and examine how educators and business leaders are partnering to meet future workforce needs.

Attendees are also encouraged to bring supplies to the event for A Gift For Teaching’s 15th Birthday Back-to-School Drive.

Event registration will begin at 7:45 a.m., followed by breakfast and program at 8 a.m. Admission is $25 in advance for Chamber members and $30 for non-members. Corporate tables are also available. Please make your reservations by Friday, Aug. 16, by calling 407-644-8281 or visiting winterpark.org

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

The Winter Park Police Department (WPPD) is supporting the National Highway Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown this coming Labor Day weekend in an effort to prevent the devastating deaths and injuries caused by alcohol- and drug- impaired driving. Over the Labor Day weekend in 2010, 147 people in the U.S. were killed as a result of drunk driving, representing 36 percent of all highway fatalities.

To prevent additional fatalities, beginning Friday, Aug. 16, through Monday, Sept. 2, the WPPD, along with other law enforcement agencies, will be conducting checkpoints and roving saturation patrols within Orange County looking for alcohol and drug impaired drivers. If you drive impaired, you will be arrested.

The WPPD recommends these simple tips for a safe Labor Day weekend:

• Plan a safe way home before the fun begins.

• Before drinking, designate a sober driver.

• If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.

• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact the police.

• And remember, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” If you know someone who is about to drive or ride a motorcycle while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.

For more information, please visit nhtsa.gov/drivesober

Walking to school

As we welcome back our students to school, please remember to be cautious of back to school bike riders and walkers. Please teach your children basic street and traffic safety techniques, especially while travelling to and from school. We are all visual learners, so remember to be walking examples of what a safe pedestrian should do and be while crossing the road. Children watch us and mimic our actions, so as adults, please be safe role models for our little ones.

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