Winter Park City Talk

Hurricane season reminders

Although Tropical Storm Erika fortunately dissipated and its course shifted away from Central Florida, the city took this disturbance seriously and made early preparations in the event she arrived. As we experienced in 2004, hurricanes can unexpectedly change course regardless of forecasts and predictions, so the city has to always be prepared. All departments and divisions were ready and on standby to respond. Our Emergency Operations Center remained at the Level 3 monitoring status and continued there until was the storm no longer a threat. Since we are in hurricane season until November, here is a reminder of the resources that will help keep you updated on the city’s storm preparations and response:

Official city online resources

 Website: cityofwinterpark.org > What’s New

 Facebook: cityofwinterpark.org/facebook

 Twitter: cityofwinterpark.org/twitter

Other important resources

 Non-emergency information line: 407-599-3494 (goes live upon Emergency Operations Center activation)

 Message Center email: [email protected] (goes live upon Emergency Operations Center activation)

 Electric utility power outages: 1-877-811-8700

 Water and wastewater utilities outages: 407-599-3219

OUTREACH

Sign up for the city’s emergency notification system to receive updates on extreme weather conditions, boil water alerts, power restoration status, and hurricane/tornado warnings. To sign up for OUTREACH, visit cityofwinterpark.org and click on the OUTREACH icon located at the bottom right corner of the homepage.

Commissioner Cooper receives FLC award

The Florida League of Cities has recognized Commissioner Carolyn Cooper with a 2015 Home Rule Hero Award. This prestigious award was presented to Cooper for her tireless efforts to advance the League’s legislative agenda and help protect the home rule powers of Florida’s cities during the 2015 legislative session. Home Rule Hero Award recipients are local government officials, both elected and nonelected, who consistently responded to the League’s request to reach out to members of the legislature and help give a local perspective to an issue.

According to Scott Dudley, Florida League of Cities legislative director, “Commissioner Cooper embodies the definition of a Home Rule Hero. She is extremely dedicated and works hard for the citizens of Winter Park. She brings that same level of commitment and energy to helping the Florida League of Cities lobbying team, and is always ready and willing to contact legislators to help advocate in support of home rule. Commissioner Cooper has been, and always will be, a valuable asset to her city and the state of Florida.”

Cooper was elected to serve on the Winter Park City Commission in 2010 and is currently serving her second term. Prior to being elected, she was a member of Winter Park’s Planning & Zoning Board and the Comprehensive Plan Task Force. As a director on the Board of the Tri-County Florida League of Cities, Cooper is an active advocate for municipal issues in Tallahassee.

Previously, Cooper served on Martin Marietta’s Space Shuttle Ground Support negotiating team and later as director of contracts for Martin Marietta Data Systems in Washington, D.C. In her earlier career, she worked for the United States Air Force as a civilian foreign military sales manager responsible for Israel.

Cooper holds a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California and has extensive professional training from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Defense Institute of Security Assistance Management, both located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and Florida’s Institute for Elected Municipal Officials.

“Strong home rule powers ensure government stays close to the people it serves,” said Commissioner Cooper. “That’s why I have been, and will continue to be, an advocate for the League - to help eliminate unfunded mandates and preemptions, and protect cities’ right to home rule powers.”

Workshop to discuss new library

The third of three workshops, will be presented by ACi Architects, on behalf of the city of Winter Park and the Winter Park Public Library. This final workshop will be held on Thursday, Sept. 17, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Rachel D. Murrah Civic Center, located at 1050 W. Morse Blvd., and is focused on community findings and direction. Participants will review the results of the place-making and building appearance workshops, and view a 2-D conceptual site plan as well as 3-D conceptual building-site visualization that incorporates the community’s input. Attendees will be encouraged to give feedback to help adjust the concepts so they most accurately reflect the wants and needs of the Winter Park community. For more information about the workshop, please visit wppl.org/FutureWPPL.

Citizen budget comments

The proposed Fiscal Year 2015-2016 budget can be found at cityofwinterpark.org > Quick Info > Budget Documents. If you would like to share input on the budget, citizen comments are scheduled during upcoming City Commission meetings Monday, Sept. 14, and Monday, Sept. 28. Your input is valuable and welcomed.

City Hall closed

City Hall will be closed on Monday, Sept. 7, in observance of Labor Day. There will be no Waste Pro services on Labor Day as well. Household, yard and recycling services will resume on the next regularly scheduled pick up day.

For more information regarding the city of Winter Park, please visit the city’s official website at cityofwinterpark.org. Like, follow and watch us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, and YouTube.