Plans for downtown Ocoee continue falling in place

OCOEE  Public Works and Utilities projects might not always be flashy, but three such projects approved at the May 3 Ocoee City Commission meeting could go a long way in making "The Center of Good Living" the destination citizens have pined for.

And one of those projects will be literally flashy, as a matter of fact: Illuminated street signs from Control Specialists will soon adorn the intersections of Clarke Road at A.D. Mims, Silver Star and White roads; Ocoee Hills Road at Silver Star Road; West Road at State Road 429 and Ocoee-Apopka Road; and Maguire Road at Tomyn Boulevard, Wesmere Parkway and Roberson Road.

This work will be added to routine monthly signal inspections at what city officials called a significant cost savings. Control Specialists will receive $25,000 already designated in the Capital Improvements portion of the Public Works Street Division budget and $2,590 from Traffic Signal Maintenance Operations.

Signs will bear the new Ocoee logo and a blue background. Previous upgrades were on Old Winter Garden Road, with this second phase focusing on the 50 West corridor.

As a northern alternative in that corridor to heavily trafficked State Road 50, the Maine Street extension design of Brindley Pieters & Associates should become a reality soon, based on the commission's approval of it as a second item.

"This will use an integrated review process, which will save time," Assistant City Manager Craig Shadrix said. "We will be ready to bid this in December of this year. We're very excited about that. It's a key connection."

The extension will stretch from Bluford Avenue to Maguire Road, with funding of $68,529.83 from Utilities' annual water main program capital items and Marshall Farms Road resurfacing. That resurfacing is delayed until FDOT completes its State Road 50 expansion in Ocoee.

The third approved item, Bluford Avenue Phase 2 design -- also from Brindley Pieters & Associates -- involves work from Delaware Street to McKey Street.

"Phase 1, as we're all painfully aware, is under construction, and the force main and water main have been completed," Shadrix said. "The roadway completion should be in July. ... It's inconvenient, but get ready to have a lot of this happening."

Work on Phase 1 of this storm water and utility project is from Columbus Street to Delaware Street. Utilities staff also are forming a design for the West Sanitary Transmission Project, which extends the Bluford Avenue sewer force main north to Silver Star Road from Delaware Avenue. Altogether, 4.2 miles of mains will have been in this project, Shadrix said.

He said GAI Consultants streetscape design from Delaware Street to Silver Star Road would include incredible detail on sidewalks, intersections and an oak tree that grows tall but spreads little. The nearby creek should become more prominent in downtown storm water management, he said. A roundabout could be at Silver Star and Bluford, but that area will be a gateway regardless, Shadrix said.

Stormwater Capital Improvements funding of $126,121.03 already was set aside for Phase 2 design, with Public Works officials requesting Phase 2 extend north from McKey Street to Silver Star Road.

"Those projects are necessary in the big picture ... making downtown possible," Shadrix said. 

Designs and bids related to the Downtown Ocoee Master Plan will continue to come this summer and into next year, Shadrix said. Designs to extend lakeshore sidewalk from Silver Star Road to City Hall will be involved, with a grant already secured, he said.

"This will complete the Lake County to Orlando pedestrian path," Shadrix said.

CURB AND GUTTER UPGRADES

In still another Public Works project, the Stormwater Division determined seven spots in Ocoee with curbs and gutters failing to properly drain water, the vicinities of: 300 Phyllis St., 306 Robyns Glenn Road, 602 Spring Lake Circle, 813 Grovesmere Loop, 1221 Russell Drive, 1408 Vickers Lake Drive and 1829 Rushden Drive. Barricuda Building Corp. was the lowest bidder for repairs at $47,975.50 and awarded the contract for suggested repairs by unanimous commission vote.

IN OTHER NEWS

• City Attorney Scott Cookson read a first reading of an ordinance that would dissolve Arden Park Community Development District, which Standard Pacific requested to reassume duties on this land, such as management and engineering. A public hearing will occur at the May 17 commission meeting.
• Commissioners read proclamations for Teacher Appreciation Week, Building Safety Month and National Water Safety Month.
• State Sen. Geraldine Thompson (D - Gotha) provided an update on various passed bills she was involved in and budget allocations for her district. Commissioners thanked Thompson for her efforts and agreed on concerns of vetoed budget items that would have helped Ocoee fund projects such as a trail extension through Franklin Street.

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].