New Winter Park library can be built in MLK Park, judge says

The saga regarding where Winter Park’s new library should be built reached a pivotal tipping point last week that could very well be the final chapter, as a judge ruled last Tuesday that the library can be constructed in Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

According to a release by the city, Orange County Judge Margaret Schreiber issued a final judgment on Dec. 7 that validated the city’s desire to finance a $30 million bond to fund the demolition of the city’s existing civic center and construction of a new municipal complex including a new events center, library and parking garage – all within Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

“Judge Schreiber’s ruling confirms the city’s position that the project has already gone to vote and the matter has been decided by the voters to build the project at MLK Park,” said Winter Park City Manager Randy Knight in the release.

In the March 15 election, the bond referendum to allow the city to finance the project passed narrowly with 5,416 votes in favor and 5,202 opposed.

A group of residents – a political action committee – challenged that the city didn’t properly notice the intended location of where the library would be built, which eventually put the issue in front of the judge. Schreiber’s ruling closes – for now – the nearly nine-month chapter of turmoil since the election over where the new library should and could be built.

The ruling leaves library officials with a feeling of relief, Winter Park Public Library Director of Community Relations Mary Gail Coffee said.

“We’re thrilled,” Coffee said. “This validation lets us move forward with our partners at the city to build the library and events center and parking that the voters approved back in March. We’ve always wanted to do what’s best for the community and execute the will of the voters. This clears the way for us to do it.”

“We’re very pleased with the judge’s ruling,” Winter Park Public Library Executive Director Shawn Shaffer said.

“For us it was always open and transparent. The whole process of how we got to the location was a long, thoughtful process…We’re looking forward to moving forward.”

But a new library nestled in Martin Luther King Jr. Park may not be in the clear just yet. Coffee said there’s still a 30-day window for the opposition to appeal the judge’s ruling. A separate lawsuit filed by the group of residents still lingers as well.

That legal action takes issue with the city’s stance on a petition signed by more than 2,000 Winter Park residents looking to keep the library out of the park. Petitioners were required to gather 2,011 – 10 percent of the registered voters in Winter Park – to proceed.

The political action committee brought forth 2,256 signatures and had 2,034 approved.

Michael Poole, one of the residents behind the committee, told the Observer that the group could likely have obtained thousands more, but were only seeking to meet the minimum requirement.

But the group of residents received a certificate of insufficiency from city, which claimed that the political action committee did not submit their petition paperwork within the 30 days of the March 15 election – a requirement for a “reconsideration of a referendum.”

The residents appealed that decision and made their case in August that they filed the petition as an “initiative,” which has no such time limit.

The last time residents pushed an “initiative” through was to keep a minor league baseball stadium out of the same park last June. The group of residents submitted more than 2,000 signatures to keep out the proposed ballpark.

But the City Commission upheld the certificate of insufficiency over the library petition, which led to the existing lawsuit that is now before a panel of circuit court judges.

Winter Park resident Sally Flynn, who helped establish the political action committee, said she and many other residents were disappointed with Judge Schreiber’s ruling. She said she remains hopeful though that the ongoing lawsuit will eventually lead to residents getting a chance to vote on the library location.

“We’re hoping they will agree that our petition was an initiative, not a referendum,” Flynn said. “If it’s an initiative, then it should be accepted by the Commission or go to the ballot.”

“We just thought the voters should decide whether they want it in Martin Luther King Park.”

But the longer the ongoing legal battle rages, the more the library project could cost city taxpayers, Knight said.

“When dealing with taxpayers’ funds we try not to put them at risk,” Knight said in a statement. “While we are confident with the city position, the unfortunate part of the remaining lawsuit is the costs that the delays will cause the taxpayers. In addition to the obvious cost of legal fees, the delay will also cost taxpayers in increased construction costs and, if interest rates rise like predicted, the additional debt service costs could be in the tens of thousands of dollars annually. A quarter point change in interest could cost an additional $750,000 over the life of the bonds.”

City Attorney Kurt Ardaman said he expects to hear from the panel of judges about setting a date for oral arguments within the next several weeks. No appeal of Judge Schreiber’s ruling last week has been filed at this time, he said.