Winter Park suspends its license plate readers for at least 90 days
Privacy rules in progress, pending e-bike courses and a local Jeopardy! winner.
Winter Park signed a 60-month contract in 2023 for three Flock cameras at $7,500 a year. Those cameras, all on state roads, had already been deactivated in August after FDOT revoked permits. The new citywide suspension also includes Motorola cameras.
Police Chief Tim Volkerson said the pause gives the department time to protect residents’ privacy while preserving the cameras’ investigative value. Open questions include how long images are kept and rules for cameras near schools, health facilities and churches. He hopes to finish a policy before the Legislature meets in March.
A Winter Park resident wins twice on Jeopardy!
Polsinelli won $17,601 in his Sept. 24 debut after a Daily Double setback, then added $22,400 the next day. In the second game he swept all three Daily Doubles, then missed the final clue.
The University of Chicago class-of-2029 student also told host Jennings that he read 60 books in one summer as a child. Skeptical reading-contest staff quizzed him on the books; he passed. The two-game total is $40,001.
Winter Park approves e-bike training and helmet requirements
CF Public reports that commissioners approved the rules Sept. 23. They require riders to slow down, yield to pedestrians and give an audible warning before passing on sidewalks and paths. Riders under 16 must complete a city-approved course and wear a helmet.
The ordinance took effect immediately, but Chief Tim Volkerson said police need new citations and approved courses before they can fully enforce it. He identified two online courses with printable certificates as possibilities; neither is presented as an approved option. Commissioner Craig Russell is working on the program resolution.
Merrywood’s lot split heads to a second vote October 14
The new owner, Lake Osceola Holdings LLC, bought the nearly four-acre property in August for $15 million and now wants to continue the lot-split application. The people behind the company remain unidentified.
The commission voted 3–2 on June 24 in the first of two required votes. Planning Director Allison McGillis said she had no details of the new owner’s plans but had been told some part of the 90-year-old James Gamble Rogers II estate might be preserved. Preservation is a possibility, not a commitment.
Winter Park’s new budget halves money for planting street trees
The $247 million budget begins today, Oct. 1. It cuts new right-of-way tree planting by about $210,000, eliminates two vacant tree positions worth about $74,000 and $60,000, and outsources a $65,000 tree-watering job. Winter Park Voice reports that more than 90% of planting space on public property is already filled.
The city is surveying its canopy and could restore money partway through the year if the survey shows a need. Residents and Winter Park Land Trust members urged commissioners to preserve the tree canopy.