Merrywood sells for $15 million
A big sale with a lot split hanging over it, plus new limits on the city's Flock cameras.
Merrywood sold for $15 million, while its lot-split request is likely to be tabled.
The Merrywood property sold for $15 million to a new buyer. A request to split its lot was headed to next week's City Commission meeting. A city official now says the request will likely be tabled instead of heard. A delay would leave the lot-split question open. The sale is complete. The proposed split is not. The next public checkpoint will come if the request returns to a commission agenda.
Annemarie Cooper takes over the Chamber
Annemarie Cooper is the new president and CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. She has spent nearly five years at the Chamber. Her latest role was director of government affairs. She led the Art Is Good Business effort in Tallahassee and the Winter Park Outlook forum. She also ran events that link elected leaders with local businesses and residents. Before joining the Chamber, Cooper worked on Capitol Hill outreach for the Tennessee Valley Authority. She also led the National Independent Pharmacy Coalition. The Chamber is 103 years old and has more than 800 member businesses. Cooper said she wants to build lasting partnerships for businesses and residents. The Chamber also runs the city's official Welcome Center and offers programs for local business owners.
The parking garage waits for November
Winter Park has paused the downtown parking garage plan until after the November election. That pushes a long-running decision past the ballot, so the commission that finally takes it up may not be the one that shelved it. For anyone who parks downtown, nothing changes between now and then. The spaces available today are the spaces available through the fall. The pause also turns the garage from a plan into an election question. Where candidates land on it is now a fair thing to ask, and the answers carry more weight than they did a week ago.
New rules coming for kids on e-bikes
Commissioners want a safety class for kids riding e-bikes, plus other rules. What those rules will actually say is not settled. Neither is the harder part, which is how the city would enforce them. Winter Park is still working through both questions. That gap between wanting rules and writing them is the window where households with young riders can weigh in. A required class would be a real obligation, not a suggestion. Nothing has been adopted, and the shape of the ordinance is still being argued in front of the commission rather than behind it.
Three cameras, and a new set of rules
Winter Park has three Flock cameras, and Police Chief Tim Volkerson has added new rules for how they get used. He said the cameras provide valuable information when the department is tracking down criminal suspects. He also said he understands the growing concerns about how the cameras are used, and the worry that they could be abused. That is a candid thing for a chief to say out loud about his own tools. The limits came from him, not from a commission vote. Three cameras is a small number. The policy written around them decides how far the data travels.
The America250 decorating winners are in
Winter Park awarded four $250 prizes in two America250 decorating contests. Siegel's Clothing won Most Patriotic in the downtown storefront contest. Tuni won Most Original. Merchants used red, white and blue themes from May through July. The city also held a doorstep contest for residents. April Douglas' home won Most Sustainable. Rhett Delaney's home won Most Patriotic. The four awards totaled $1,000.