- April 17, 2024
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For two hours, Ocoee’s commission chambers became educational ground for dozens of District Four residents as they learned of ongoing and future projects in the community.
Commissioner George Oliver hosted the town hall meeting on Monday, Sept. 24, during which residents were briefed on his first 100 days in office and ideas for the city’s youth and upcoming projects. Additionally, heads of city departments informed citizens of services offered and projects being tackled under their jurisdiction.
Oliver started by giving citizens an overview of his first 100 days in office and added that he wanted to maintain transparency in what goes on with the commission and keep residents informed and educated.
“Some of the things I’ve voted for have a lot to do with the future of development,” he said. “I’m also one of those commissioners that looks at responsible development. There’s a way to develop but there’s also a way to do it responsibly. …First and foremost, I’m here to be your voice. It’s about what you guys think, need and want in your communities.”
Oliver also discussed project proposals and youth initiatives he’s had a hand in bringing to the city’s attention. One such proposal was widening Clarke Road, especially heading toward Clarcona-Ocoee Road, to account for large influxes of traffic during rush hour and future residential developments in the area. Another of his top priorities is investing in the city’s youth.
“We invest money into our different programs throughout the city … but to me personally, I think we need to invest in our youth, and that’s one of my goals,” he said. “Some of the things Im planning on doing, starting January 1, is a youth council, where we’ll have kids from local high schools … to get the kids involved into our system and get them to understand how government works. They’re our future…and it’s important for them to know how this works.”
The Ocoee Police Department currently has 88 sworn officers, said Chief Charlie Brown, but it soon might have three additional officers, should the Ocoee commission vote to approve funding for them. The vote occurred after press time.
And with recent state legislation requiring a school resource officer in every school, the city has had to shuffle resources around to be sure each school in its jurisdiction is covered.
“Some of the things that came up over the summer were the SROs and being able to service all of the schools,” Brown said. “We have more schools for our size than any other city in Orange County — seven traditional and three charter schools. Keeping up with that we had to get creative with the school board as far as covering the schools, but we do have them covered and are contracted by some of the charter schools to hire officers.”
Perhaps one of the biggest accomplishments this past year for Ocoee Fire Rescue, said Deputy Fire Chief Tim Hoover, was obtaining both an ISO 1 ranking and accreditation. Out of more than 48,000 fire departments across the country, Ocoee ranks in the top 1% for having both.
In 2019, the department also will begin offering EMS transport. Currently it can send an engine and rescue for distress calls but relies on a third-party rescue to stabilize and transport patients. However, the department received the OK from the commission to begin offering its own transport.
“We want continuity of care, so when we get to your house and assess you, that same transport will take you to the hospital,” Hoover said. “I think it will be a big improvement on response times. We’re working on Medicaid/Medicare licenses and everything you need to do to transport. Ocoee Fire Rescue will transfer citizens to the hospital starting in January.”
City Planner Mike Rumer gave residents a rundown of new development, including many new residential subdivisions that are cropping up now or will be soon. In District Four, he said, there isn’t a lot of vacant land for new development, but the city had land with previous approvals that are now breaking ground.
“Citywide we have a lot of development and good things going on,” Rumer said. “We’re putting an emphasis on design and creating an element that will create employment and retail in a more mobile aspect … With that we’ve adopted a downtown redevelopment master plan, of which you're seeing some of the fruits of the work going on, as well as a zoning overlay along parts of the 429. We look to provide the appropriate amount of retail, residential and office (space) where people can work and live in that area and use the West Orange Trail.
Rumer added that when he came on board with the city 12 years ago the population was 20,000. Today, that number is closer to 45,000, and does not include the pockets outside the city proper that are in its jurisdiction.
“You can see that by all the schools and with the traffic, and we’re trying to plan positively for the future, taking into account development plans that are successful such as the downtown overlay, utilizing the retail and working with the owners of the mall,” he said.
Assistant City Manager Craig Shadrix told residents that his staff has been working closely with the owners of West Oaks Mall — Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC — for a while now, and said that the mall is doing better than expected.
“People think it’s the city’s fault what’s happened to the mall, but we can only try to work with (Moonbeam) to make it better,” Shadrix said. “Moonbeam’s been a much better owner to work with. Unfortunately, malls and retail are changing … Internet shopping and similar type initiatives have really taken a toll on retail as we know it. There are still successful malls in the U.S. but others have declined. Moonbeam has done a every good job of trying to bring employment into the mall. (West Oaks Mall) is kind of converting from a retail center to more of an employment center and we’re still active working with them to try to make it the best that we can be.”
Shadrix added that his staff continues to focus heavily on the city’s economic vitality and is constantly talking with business owners about considering planting roots in Ocoee.
