Move the stop?

Winter Park is finalizing proposed amendments to its commuter rail agreement with Orange County, but some commissioners say the city should have more options, including the ability to move its station.

The agreement allows the city to terminate the SunRail agreement, which provides for a station in Central Park, if a 100 percent dedicated funding source is not found after the seven-year FDOT funding period ends. It also caps the city's expenses at $350,000 a year, an amount City Attorney Larry Brown said the county is going to want to be higher.

The Commission is scheduled to vote on the changes on Aug. 23.

Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said the agreement does not cover how the city can deal with adverse impacts to the community, short of termination. She wants the city to have the option of moving the station if the roads surrounding the Central Park station become unmanageable.

She said that each SunRail train will be met by six Lynx buses for feeder routes. At build out, there will be 24 buses per hour feeding the station. Right now, the city roads are at a C level traffic wise. An F level is a "force flow pattern."

"What if we go from a C to an F level? … It might keep people from going to shop and to dine," she said.

Moving the station elsewhere would cost about $3 million.

"It means $3 million, but if we are truly adversely impacting our downtown areas, $3 million might be worth it," Cooper said.

But Mayor Ken Bradley disagreed, saying that the citizens voted to have the stop in Central Park.

"I'm fascinated that we say we're concerned about money but we'll say, on our own dime, we would move it again," he said. "I think that's illogical."

Commissioner Beth Dillaha said it's smart to have the ability to move it.

"In my mind it's logical to have good options," Dillaha said. "We're gambling with the impact this is going to have on the city, downtown Winter Park, and no one has a crystal ball to see what that impact is going to be."

Commissioner Tom McMacken said the city should include the ability to build a second station if it has to relieve congestion at the Central Park stop.

Brown said he will meet with Orange County officials to see what their thoughts would be on adding a clause into the agreement that addresses adverse impacts. In addition to moving the station, he said the city could move the bus stops or include a mediation or sit-down negotiation session requirement in the agreement.

"I'm sure they will be fine with us coming back with ideas as long as where the city might wish to relocate the stop clears all of their hurdles," Brown said.