Winter Park approves features, name for library, event center site

Winter Park leaders want the new library and event center to be perfect, but the city might need some help from the community to pay for it.

City Commissioners on Monday voted unanimously to move forward with four additions to the two new facilities set for the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Park: a porte cochere; a raked auditorium inside the library; an outdoor amphitheater near the lake; and costs associated with design and infrastructure for a potential rooftop venue for the events center.

On top of the project’s roughly $30 million base cost, those four items add about $5 million to the overall price tag, including the fully-constructed rooftop venue.

Instead of taking on the whole upfront cost of a $3 million rooftop venue though, City Commissioners instead opted to pay $382,000 for infrastructure with the hope another party will step forward and help pay for the construction of the rooftop venue in the near future.

City Commissioner Sarah Sprinkel said she fully supported going after all four items.

“I do think it makes sense for us to make this decision and move forward,” Sprinkel said. “I think we need to find the additional $5 million. That’s my recommendation.”

But the city does have some help in chipping away at the costs. Mayor Steve Leary said a private party has verbally committed to pay about $600,000 for the outdoor amphitheater. Library Executive Director Shawn Shaffer said the library should be able to raise about $500,000 to pay for the indoor raked auditorium as well. The Winter Park Library’s Board of Trustees still needs to formally approve that decision. 

The remaining costs — adding up to about $4 million — will be raised between the city and the library.

Winter Park Director of Communications Clarissa Howard said the costs may fluctuate slightly, especially if dollars are fundraised and/or donated toward a particular area of the project.

Name Game

The Winter Park City Commission cast another vote on Monday to name the campus for the future library and event center in Martin Luther King Jr. Park as the “Canopy.”

In February, commissioners authorized a library task force to bring in a branding expert to participate in a naming exercise and offer recommendations. 

The board brought forward “Canopy,” because names suggests a sheltered place and the architecture of the buildings resembling tent structures.

Leary said branding the campus with single name such as “Canopy” makes sense.

“We need something to go out to the public with and say ‘This is the venue,’” Leary said. “We can figure out the names of the individual buildings in the future. I’m not worried about that. But the people who are going out and raising money and speaking to folks need something to say. ‘This is what this is. This is what it’s about.’”

But Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said she felt the opposite and believed naming the campus could cause confusion.

“Sometimes, when you name something an overarching name like that, you actually dilute your ability to raise funds, because people are more likely to give funds to the raked auditorium at the library than they are something that’s so generic that they don’t really know what they’re supporting,” Cooper said.

The naming passed by a vote of 3-2, with commissioners Cooper and Peter Weldon dissenting.

Farewell, Chief

Winter Park City Commissioners and City Manager Randy Knight also took a moment to recognize retiring Winter Park Fire Chief Jim White, who was attending his last City Commission meeting.

The outgoing chief has served the city of Winter Park for 25 years and has been in the field for 35 years.

White made several improvements to the department during his time there, including developing the city’s first Office of Emergency Management implemented during hurricanes; transitioning patient transport care from an outsourced service to an in-house service; and assisting with the final design for the city’s public-safety building in 2001.

“I just want to take a moment to say how much I’ve appreciated his leadership with the fire department for all these many years,” Knight said. “Where he’s taken that department in his time being there is just phenomenal.”

Leary echoed Knight’s thoughts.

“You’ve done an amazing job,” he said. “We are a far better organization than you inherited, and no disrespect to those that came before you. You’ve not only served the city of Winter Park, the public, the guests of our city, and the businesses of our city so well and so admirably, you’ve prepared a tremendous group behind you.”

White said he was thankful for the kind words and the opportunity to serve the city and informed the City Commission that he has accepted a position at Valencia College to run its fire academy.

“From my family to our firefighters, thank you for all the support you constantly give us,” White said. “It’s a tremendous responsibility that we don’t take lightly.”