Winter Park street musicians stay for now

Will street performers get the ax in Winter Park? That question was raised at Monday’s City Commission meeting after some Park Avenue merchants complained about a problem that’s “out of control”.

The Commission struck down the idea of immediately voting to propose an ordinance to regulate performers who use the sidewalks as their stage, sometimes playing for spare change.

“I don’t want our citizens to feel panhandled or pressured to contribute,” Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said. She proposed that the city could have specific areas for musicians, or to poll merchants for what they would deem acceptable.

“I’d rather say where you can do it rather than where you can’t do it,” she said.

But for some the question wasn’t of location, but of the quality of music itself. Pannullo’s restaurant co-owner Mike Schwartz, who is a musician himself, said he had gotten tired of the low-quality musicians in front of his restaurant.

“You can’t come up to people and ask them for their credentials from Juilliard,” Schwartz said. “You can’t identify good musicians from bad musicians. The drunken trumpet player in front of the atrium at Bank of America that I had to ask to leave is not good for the avenue. It’s out of control.”

But real estate owner Woody Woodall, who owns property on Park Avenue and also lives above the Christian Science Reading Room, said he hasn’t noticed any nuisance at all along the avenue, where he estimated he dines 10 times per week.

“I make my living collecting rent from almost a dozen tenants,” Woodall said. “They’re all in favor of the musicians because it adds character to the avenue. I’ve never seen a problem on the avenue.”

He did admit that some musicians along the avenue are better than others, and that he had used his discretion to allow one group to play and sell CDs in front of his property.

Mayor Ken Bradley said that he’d prefer to hear input from the local merchants association and the city boards that regulate commerce.

“Right now I’d have to vote no [on an ordinance regulating performers],” Bradley said. “I can certainly relate to what Mr. Schwartz is saying. I would hate to have 50 different bands playing when I have people trying to enter my establishment.”

The Commission voted 5-0 to have city boards examine the issue and speak with merchants before bringing it back to a Commission vote.