The "Tiny Town" Letdown !
The pedestrian "Mecca" lost in micromanagement !
special insert
Unknown to the public the city, at taxpayers expense, have sent the city manager, commissioners, and staff to various meetings in hopes of trying to solve the "Tiny Town" $25 million dollar [ project's problems ]. They found out their parking idea isn't working. The REAL question is "what parking" ? That's the reason the City Manager pushed for "low-income housing". He needs pedestrian traffic to supplement the lack of parking.
The housing projects would provide the much needed "pedestrian traffic". However, their friends, the Tuscawilla Homeowners' president didn't want "low-income housing" near HIS house ---- so he voiced his opinion to the Commission, they helped elected, that was forcing the issue. The THOA wants it located elsewhere!
They have a problem of convincing the [ few merchants ], entrenched along the SR434 corridor, that they should have a view through the front of the business so people WALKING down SR434 will be able to see into the store/shop/office, or whatever. They forgot, however that they designed the fiasco with the parking in the BACK. So much for hundreds of thousands of dollars spent paying high priced consultant friends of the City Manager, and the "micro-management" by the Commissioners. The Commission is actually the reviewing board for the development. That alone is the BIG problem.
The truth and story is in the Sentinel article link on this page !
( Link to Orlando Sentinel Articles link below. )
"Build It --- They will come !"
Not only is the Commission agenda of their meeting on February 23rd revealing, but the actions of the agenda are going to cost the taxpayers of the City more money. The "micro-managing" and lack of knowledge of the City Manager are causing a continuing spiral upward on the cost of the "Tiny Town" boondoggle.
With probably well over $20 million dollars of taxpayers' money already invested, the City's woes continue in their eight year Town Center fiasco. The costs of consultants alone have far exceeded the cost of a knowledgeable City Manager. The current City Manager has to bear the "sole" responsibility for the continuance of this debacle with his complete reliance on outside consultants to guide this City down this destructive path. He alone has placed this City, with assistance of his "wired-in-commission", down the path of extravagant spending.
The Commissioners, having bought this package of incompetence themselves, have proceeded to "micro-manage" this Town Center project into a hopeless, inefficient, but continuing financial burden upon the people of Winter Springs. Just take a look at the zoning and development agendas.
The approval of allowing 53 condos to be built on a nine-acre tract, alone describes the glaring need to construct "high-density developments" to sustain a private venture such as the strip mall at SR434 and Tuscawilla Road. Fifty-three condos would be a minimum of two to three people per condo, for a total of approximately 159 people on nine acres of land ---- plus parking for each of two to three cars.
What about the ecology, school, and environmental impact? Your Commissioners are completely ignoring that facet of such a development, but yet they continue with their horrendous plans. All they want, and NEED, is TRAFFIC for "Tiny Town"!
The email received the evening of Sunday February 22nd, 2004.
( This probably was the result of the Orlando Sentinel article of the same day. )
I love it. I just finished reading Regular Agenda Item 504 on the February 23rd Commission meeting. NOW, it is SR434’s fault that the town center is not “pedestrian friendly”. Did the City think that SR434 would just go away when it started to build the town center right up against the highway? NOW, the city wants to hire ANOTHER consultant to ANALYZE and FIX the “pedestrian problem.” The $50,000 cost to taxpayers will come from the 1cent penny sales tax money. I thought that tax money was for fixing roads and building new ones to improve traffic flow in the city, not to alter SR434 so pedestrian traffic in the town center can be improved.
And, let’s not stop there. I also read Consent Agenda Item 200 for the same meeting. The City Manager wants to hire a consultant named Street Sense to review the regulation of tenant spaces regarding “store front orientation and transparency.” Well, what is transparent to this citizen is another $20,000 of taxpayer money is going to be spent by the “open wallet” commission instead of requiring the City Manager and his staff to figure it out. How can town center business owners even stay in business if every inch of their businesses is regulated? Maybe pedestrians in the town center “sense” that those businesses won’t be staying on the town center “street” very long. Who needs Street Sense? We need leadership and knowledgeable people in City Hall and on the City Commission.
Taxpayers are getting tired of throwing good money away, and business owners just want to stay in business. Does the City Manager, who gets paid way too much money, need to hire a consultant to figure out which way town center business owners and their customers must wipe? Where is the City Commission in all this? I would say it is time for a change in leadership, but there currently are no leaders in City Hall, especially on the Commission. Qualified citizens in Winter Springs must apply for this year’s city election so that the city manager and the enormous wasteful spending are stopped.
A concerned citizen