Windermere council opens Town Hall rehab to more public input

After much discussion at the Windermere Town Council meeting Tuesday, Dec. 12, town leaders voted unanimously to collect more public input before moving forward with any changes to Town Hall. 

Town Council Member Tony Davit said he looks back at how the council reached its decision to vote down the pavilion project and believes it was because there was not adequate or timely feedback from the public, much like this project.

“What I’m afraid we’re doing now though is going down that same pathway without getting sufficient feedback from the public on this specific design,” he said. “I like it. I think it fits the bill for the town. The problem is that the Historic Preservation Board, without having a forum at their last meeting, wasn’t able to review it. We had a town public workshop, where only staff and members of Town Council showed up. … I just don’t think we have significant feedback.”

EXPLORING OPTIONS

Since the July Town Council meeting at which the council voted to table the pavilion project for 90 days, staff has been working with the West Orange Healthcare District and Windermere Rotary Inc. to see if the funding for the proposed pavilion could be utilized in a project such as refurbishments to Town Hall. 

Resident Theresa Schretzmann-Myers re-emphasized she is not in favor of the pavilion.

“We’ve already spoken on this issue several times,” she said. “We had a huge town meeting about not invading the peace and security and privacy of the downtown residents who have to listen to that music. The pavilion will just increase the odds of having more and more noise for the downtown residents. … We need to keep the nature and the charm of our town by preserving these historic buildings as much as we possibly can.”

The town began discussing the rehabilitation of Town Hall at the first public information workshop at the end of July.

The council agreed to engage Tom Price, a historical architect who has renovated historical facilities in downtown Orlando. Public Works Director Tonya Elliott-Moore said Price was tasked with looking at Town Hall and developing a draft plan based on three categories: Safety, accessibility and functionality; historical aesthetic improvements; and additional enhancements. 

Aside from concerns about preserving the building’s historic rating — which staff has been continuing to address with the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation — the project met minimal backlash at the second public information workshop on Aug. 16 and the Town Council workshop on Aug. 22.

Staff also has been working with historical experts from Wade Trim to ensure the protection of the historical designation of Town Hall. 

Town Planner Brad Cornelius said this in an ongoing process. 

With some designs and details, Wade Trim expects the town will be able to provide renovations to Town Hall that will maintain its historic connection and provide improvements to protect the historical structure. 

The third public workshop was supposed to take place on Thursday, Dec. 7, but Town Manager Robert Smith said no residents showed, so the meeting was canceled. 

Resident Nora Brophy said she did not log in to the third workshop, because the same information often is presented at each meeting.

“I assumed that workshop three would be the same as one and two, but I was really surprised to find out that it was completely different,” she said. “It looks to me like the pavilion project was just sort of (added) on to the Town Hall. We’ve turned the pavilion into a performance gazebo and the addition of that 16-foot wide porch along the side and the pass-through windows has turned the kitchen into a concession stand. Residents were pretty clear that we did not want that. … Yet, here we are again. We’re looking at the same thing.”

Smith said the gazebo emerged from ongoing discussions with Rotary Inc. and Healthy West Orange.

“The agreement that we have, that we’re currently not adhering to because we’re not moving forward with the project, but the end of the agreement is May of next year,” he said. “It’s only fair to let them know whether we’re going to keep proceeding with this project as far as utilizing the funds, so they can either find another project or they can use the funds somewhere else. The reason why we haven’t repaid the funds is because, again, if we reutilize those funds for the rehab of Town Hall, then we wouldn’t have to repay those funds.”

COUNCIL CONSENSUS

Council Member Andy Williams said he loves the plans but believes there is a lack of public notice on them.

“I spoke to no less than 25 to 30 residents today,” he said. “Overwhelmingly, it’s support that I ran into. Yes, I also ran into negatives, and I’ve talked to those negatives, and I appreciate it. But I think we serve a large town. It’s not three blocks. It’s not everything from Jennifer Lane inward. That’s insulting. … Looking forward, I want to do what’s best for this town. I do think we need more public input on this, but I think we’re going to be surprised that a lot of it is going to be good.”

“The feedback that I heard from people verbally over the phone since last week when this workshop happened is that most people were not aware that this was this kind of a change,” Council Member Brandi Haines said. “This is kind of a significant change to what the proposed plans were. We do need a lot more public input.”

For Council Member Tom Stroup, it’s always been impact versus footprint on the community.

“Everybody agrees that this Town Hall needs to be renovated,” he said. “There’s no question about that. … I do think we need more work and input on this. … I’m all in favor of the renovation. I’m not in favor of taking a grant that forces us to do something that the residents of Windermere don’t want.”

Davit made a motion to host two public workshops, one in person and one on Zoom, followed by a Town Council workshop and a planned presentation to the HPB on the rehabilitations to Town Hall. 

The motion passed unanimously.