Resurrecting Mead Garden

Mead Garden is on the verge of a makeover after the Winter Park City Commission voted yes on a plan to resurrect it on Nov. 22.

The Commission had been approached by the Friends of Mead Garden asking for funding and to collaborate on a strategic plan to renovate the 47.5-acre botanical garden and city park, which had been gradually deteriorating, Friends of Mead Garden President Jeffrey Blydenburgh said.

Blydenburgh said he’s optimistic about the project moving forward.

“It’s an amazing process, this is,” he said. “From where we’ve gone over the last seven years since we’ve started this process, almost all of the motion has been forward.”

The Friends got what they wanted on Nov. 22, with the city pledging at least $200,000 per year to fund the Denning Drive park starting in 2012, the leasing of an Environmental Learning Center — the city’s former maintenance facility — to the group, and to put in place a fee structure that would benefit the garden. The extra funding would be in addition to the $100,000 per year the city already pays for the park.

Also at the meeting, the Commission accepted a $150,000 donation from Winter Park-based firm Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman for capital improvements to the garden.

With strong Commission support behind the park renovation, Mayor Ken Bradley said he hoped the city could get to work as soon as possible.

“I’d love to be able through our own current budget … if there’s some way to allocate money in this budget cycle,” he said of the possibility of immediately infusing funds into the project.

But Commissioner Carolyn Cooper cautioned the Commission that it shouldn’t overreach with its promises.

“If we’re going to make a commitment, I’d like it to be one we can honor,” she said.

Commissioner Tom McMacken said that he didn’t want anything done unless the city hires a consultant to act as director to the projects.

“I’m really uncomfortable going down to this level of detail without doing that,” McMacken said. “I voted down funding for Mead Garden before if they don’t have a director. We’re dealing with a job description where we don’t have that expertise in the city. We’re going to have to have someone who knows what to do with it when they get it.”

Bradley disagreed, saying he thought the city should research a resurrection plan first, then hire a director to implement it.

“I’m concerned about hiring somebody to create a vision versus starting with some guidelines and whoever comes helps us fulfill that,” Bradley said. “I don’t know if that’s chicken/egg, cart/horse.”

McMacken persisted, saying that a city-owned botanical garden was a rarity in the country, and that it needed special care.

“If you go to a hospital, you want to make sure you get a proctologist and not a neurologist,” McMacken said. “You want to make sure you get the right specialist in there. I want to make sure we have the right specialist in there managing what is a major asset in the city.”

The Commission agreed to pass an amendment to seek out a director for the project.

In order to help fund the renovation and operations, the Commission agreed to allow a fee structure that would charge for some uses in the park. Entry and most activities in the park would still be free, though.

“There would be fees for educational programs, fees for weddings, fees for all kinds of things, but it should be a free public facility,” Blydenburgh said.

With the project taking a step forward, Bradley said he was excited about what’s to come for the once-ailing garden.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “This is the starting line, really.”