Ocoee moves forward with LED lights for S.R. 50

OCOEE — The Ocoee City Commission accepted city staff’s proposal of LED light installation on State Road 50 during its Jan. 6 meeting, voting 4-0 in favor of the proposal.

Duke Energy designed and permitted the lights and will install the lights from Good Homes Road to the West Oaks Mall, a sector FDOT has almost finished widening. Duke also will perform routine maintenance, replacements and repairs as needed.

Under a joint participation agreement, FDOT will pay up to $120,000 to cover costs of the entire project for Ocoee.

“When you get in Ocoee, you’re going to know you’re in Ocoee,” Community Redevelopment Agency Administrator Russ Wagner said. “We’re going to be the first city in the state to have LED lights. We don’t want to be the last city to have obsolete lights. We want to be the first city to have LED lights.”

DOG DAYS ARE OVER

One-half of the Ocoee Police Department’s K9s is retiring, made official by the vote of the city commission.

Ajsa, who was a narcotics-only K9, is declining in her health. Her veterinarian recommended that she retire to avoid a more rapid decline in her health.

Jordan Rehn, a son of a neighboring police department’s K9 trainer and affiliate of Greenbriar Pet Cemetery, is prepared to provide a home for Ajsa in her years of retirement.

The commission approved the police department’s proposal to use state forfeiture funds to purchase and train a full-service K9 to replace Ajsa. Full-service police dogs can conduct searches for missing people, evidence and criminals, as well as detect narcotics and apprehend criminals.

Costs to medically examine, train and purchase a new K9 are estimated at $12,000.

SEWER BIDS

The commission approved three bids related to sewers and water treatment, the richest of which pertained to the Ocoee West Sanitary Transmission Project. This consists of 21,400 feet of 12- to 20-inch-diameter sewer force main and a regional master lift station. An evaluation committee selected BFA Environmental for the project, which has estimated costs of $7,228,108 for the western transmission main project, as well as engineering fees around $450,000.

The second item regarded conversion of Lift Station 9 to an inline manhole and rehabilitation of Lift Station 10. Work will include the replacement of 1,000 feet of gravity mains, because of failures and grade changes in the mains. The commission accepted a bid by L7 Construction Inc. at $725,879.80 and a staff recommendation to supplement the project with $400,000 from Wastewater Repair and Replacement.

Lastly, the commission approved Precon Corporation’s bid of $186,863 to rehabilitate four concrete ground storage tanks at the city’s two water treatment plants. For these tanks, Precon will drain, clean, repair concrete and steel, remove portions of interior piping, reapply interior coatings, refill and disinfect.

Mayor S. Scott Vandergrift was absent from the meeting because of a cruise vacation.

IN OTHER NEWS

• A public hearing on the final site plan for Kids Community College off Silver Star Road was continued to the next meeting, Jan. 20.

• The commission passed an extension through April 30 for considerations of the city’s transportation impact fee. New or higher fees could arise.

• City Manager Robert Frank said that Ocoee Police was considering a program for license-plate cameras, with possibilities of a more detailed presentation to come.

• With endorsement from Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen, the commission appointed Commissioner John Grogan as its representative for a Lake Apopka ecotourism board, which could draw a lot of state funds for improvements along Ocoee’s Lake Apopka shoreline, Grogan said.

• The commission also reappointed Commissioner Joel Keller to MetroPlan Orlando’s Municipal Advisory Committee.

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].