FDEP grant issue could stall Winter Park Canopy project

The site of the Winter Park Canopy, Winter Park’s future library and event center project, once again has been called into question — only this time not by disgruntled residents but the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Winter Park City Manager Randy Knight provided an update to the City Commission at its Monday, Jan. 28, meeting in the wake of FDEP warning the city of violating the terms of a $100,000 FRDAP grant acquired in 1994 to improve Martin Luther King, Jr. Park — the green space that soon will contain the city’s new $30 million Winter Park Canopy project. 

It’s a turn of events that could cause issues for the project moving forward. That grant — which helped pay for dredging the lake at the center of the park, adding playing fields and establishing walking trails — was under the condition the park would remain outdoor recreational space, according to a letter sent by FDEP to the city Wednesday, Jan. 16.

That letter from Community Assistance Consultant Angela Bright of the FDEP states building a project that expands beyond the footprint of the existing Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center — a building that was grandfathered in with the 1994 grant and set be demolished to make way for the Winter Park Canopy — would encroach into the park land that falls under the grant.

“If the proposed library and event center will cover more of the park than the existing building that is to be removed, that would constitute a conversion of the property to other than outdoor recreation and would require the city to replace the removed property with property of similar size and value, and replace any facilities (such as the walking trails around the current civic center that were part of the FRDAP grant) that will be removed by the new construction,” Bright wrote in the letter.

Bright said the entire park falls under the restrictive covenants of the grant, and that includes any lots “acquired by the city through donation, purchase or eminent domain for the purpose of creating the park.”

Winter Park residents had raised the concern about the city not complying with the grant regulations more than a year ago, prompting the city and FDEP to communicate.

Knight said he was under the understanding as of December 2017 that the grant only applied to the specific areas of the park that received improvements and not the entire park. The FDEP had given the city the green light to proceed with the project at the site of the Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center — located in the northwest corner of the park, he said.

“We have an email from the state over a year ago saying that they agreed that we could develop the northwest corner — that that’s not where the money was used,” Knight said. “(FDEP) have continued to be lobbied with a differing position, and this last email basically came out with a slightly different interpretation. They want us to put the restriction on the entire block. If we do that, then you can’t build the building. That’s where the rub is.”

To resolve the issue, Knight said the city may have to either pay back the $100,000 grant or establish an outdoor recreational space of equivalent size elsewhere in the city. For now, Knight said he plans to discuss the matter with FDEP to try to resolve the issue, because there were two different interpretations of the grant parameters.

“I want the money that they spent on our project to always be protected, which is what they want,” Knight said. “We just got to get in a room, look at it together and just make sure we all understand the definition.”

Residents such as Beth Hall spoke out in frustration about the city’s actions.

“Back when the city was deciding where the new library should be built, there was a task force appointed,” Hall said. “They considered multiple sites — MLK was but one, but I don’t see where the existence of a FRDAP grant was pointed out and considered by the task force, thus a major restriction on the viability of this site was ignored. Was the commission aware of the FRDAP grant and its restrictions? If not, why not?”

Other residents such as Charley Williams spoke out against the city because it cut down five oak trees and 35 palm trees last weekend surrounding the now-retired Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center.

“This is not a canopy … this is canopy destruction,” Williams said. “Please no more.”

For a second consecutive City Commission meeting, City Commissioner Carolyn Cooper asked the city hold off on the demolition process of the Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center until a more finalized project budget is prepared.

That motion to temporarily stop the demolition process was ruled out of order by Mayor Steve Leary.

“We are still on budget — we have not accepted a revised budget,” Leary said. “Secondly, we do have a referendum the people voted for with this new library, so we owe it to our constituents to get his built. Delaying this project further … we’ve already delayed it two-and-a-half years and cost the taxpayers of the city of Winter Park many, many dollars defending lawsuits that have been thrown out in court or ruled against. I see no reason to delay this any longer.”

Despite the letter from FDEP, Leary said it’s a small group of residents — one that has consistently opposed Martin Luther King, Jr. Park being the site for the library/event center project — that has lobbied FDEP to interpret the grant restrictions differently.

“There is a small group that continues to protest the project and has gone to the state to ask the state to overturn previous state grants, once again costing the citizens of Winter Park money,” Leary said. “This is a small group who are shooting people in the foot.”