Winter Park City Talk

CITY COMMISSION

WORK SESSION

There will be a City Commission Work Session on Monday, Feb. 7, at 5 p.m., to discuss the Transportation Plan, and immediately following that discussion, the City Commission will hold a joint meeting with the Ethics Board.

The public is invited to attend, however, no public input will be taken.

CITY BLOOD DRIVE

The city of Winter Park in conjunction with the Florida Blood Center will hold a blood drive on Monday, Feb. 7, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., in front of City Hall located at 401 S. Park Ave.

A critical number of voluntary donations are required every day to meet the need for blood. To donate blood, you must be at least 16 years old, weigh 110 pounds, and be in good health. All donors must bring photo ID. We appreciate your lifesaving efforts.

WINTER PARK ELECTRIC OFFERS LIBRARY PATRONS A FREE WAY TO MONITOR ELECTRIC

USAGE

Do you ever wonder how much electricity your microwave, computer, heater or refrigerator uses? Wonder no longer. This past Wednesday, the city donated 10 electric usage monitors to the Winter Park Public Library for patrons to check out for home use.

Similar to a book or a DVD, patrons of the library will be able to “check-out” the electricity-usage monitors to actually see which of their home appliances are costing them the most. The monitors are easy to use. Simply plug the meter into the wall, plug the appliance into the meter, enter some electricity price information, and presto! The large LCD monitor shows how much power the appliance is using and how much it costs.

“Many of us never really think about the appliances we use and how much they cost to operate. We are providing these monitors to help show our customers areas where they can become more energy efficient and reduce energy costs,” explained Jerry Warren, Electric Utility Department Director. “This is all part of the city’s overall effort to encourage energy conservation among our customers.”

Beginning Tuesday, Feb. 15, the monitors will be available for check-out for a two-week period at the Winter Park Public Library located at 460 E. New England Ave. For more information on the availability of the electric usage monitors, please call the library at 407-623-3300. To learn more ways to become energy efficient, visit the Electric Utility Department page on the city’s Web site at www.cityofwinterpark.org > Departments > Electric Utility.

FEBRUARY IS TOBACCO-FREE PARKS MONTH

On Jan. 24, Mayor Ken Bradley declared the month of February as “Tobacco-Free Parks Month.” In celebration of this month, the city of Winter Park held a kick-off event on Feb. 1 at Phelps Park. Children from Lakemont Elementary School and other leaders from the health and business fields joined Mayor Ken Bradley as they placed the first sign declaring all city parks tobacco-free in February.

The city, in partnership with the Winter Park ACHIEVE Healthier Communities Leadership Team, Winter Park Health Foundation, American Lung Association, Orange County Tobacco Free Partnership, the “all in” project, and others, have joined together to encourage tobacco-free parks. This in turn will reduce the threat of disease caused by tobacco use and the exposure of tobacco use in the community. According to the Center for Disease Control, creating a tobacco-free zone is an evidence-based strategy that when combined with other interventions can have a profound effect on improving health behaviors by changing the environment of the community.

The city operates many parks, outdoor events and recreational facilities and this proclamation is just one way the city is promoting a healthier lifestyle by encouraging voluntary compliance for its parks to be tobacco-free for the month of February.

VOTE!

On the ballot Tuesday, March 8, voters will have the opportunity to cast their vote for the two open Winter Park City Commission seats 1 and 2:

Candidates for Seat 1:

Scott Callahan

Steven Leary

Candidates for Seat 2:

Bonnie Jackson

Sarah Sprinkel

In addition, Winter Park voters will be asked to consider a charter amendment regarding changing the election cycles. The following text will be the ballot language regarding this amendment:

AMENDING CITY CHARTER REGARDING ELECTIONS AND TERMS OF OFFICE FOR THE MAYOR AND COMMISSION

Shall the Charter be amended to provide City elections shall be held every other year, by providing four year terms for the Commissioners and Mayor; with a transition whereby elections for four-year terms shall commence in 2014 for Commissioner seats 1 and 2, in 2016 for Commissioner seats 3 and 4, and in 2018 for the Mayor; and amending term limits for the Mayor and City Commissioners to three consecutive full terms of office.

Yes

No

CURRENT:

• City Commission is able to serve a maximum of four consecutive full terms of office.

• Each term is a three-year term.

• Elections occur every year.

PROPOSED CHARTER

AMENDMENT:

• City Commission is able to serve a maximum of three consecutive full terms of office

• Each term is a four-year term

• Election every other year.

The Winter Park General Election is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8. If you are a registered voter in the city of Winter Park, please see the following locations where you can vote depending on your precinct number.

• Precinct 9102: Winter Park Christian Church at 760 N. Lakemont Ave.

• Precinct 9202: St. Andrews Methodist Church at 100 St. Andrews Blvd.

• Precinct 9302: Winter Park Presbyterian Church at 400 S. Lakemont Ave.

• Precinct 9402: First Baptist Church of Winter Park at 1021 New York Ave.

• Precinct 9502: Azalea Lane Recreation Center at 1045 Azalea Lane

More voting information can be found at:

• www.cityofwinterpark.org > Election Info

• Orange County Supervisor of Elections Web site at www.ocfelections.com

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