Renovations coming to Zanders Park

The renovations will include new fencing and upgraded playground equipment that will reorient the play area around the basketball courts.

By Annabelle Sikes
| 9:00 a.m. August 3, 2024

Zanders Park is located at 362 11th St. in Winter Garden.

West Orange Times & Observer
News

Renovations are coming to Zanders Park in east Winter Garden.

The Winter Garden City Commission and the Winter Garden Community Redevelopment Agency approved the first step in the renovation process at the Thursday, July 25, City Commission meeting.

The CRA approved the funding for the playground and site work renovations in the amount of $209,000, which includes a 10% contingency, while the City Commission approved awarding the park amenities and equipment project to Kompan Inc. through a piggy-back contract with Lake County.

The contract consists of the removal of any existing equipment, establishing permits, and furnishing and installing new equipment and amenities at various city parks.

The renovations are an approved CRA budgeted item for Fiscal Year 2024, with a focus on revitalizing the Historic East Winter Garden Neighborhood.

The renovations will be the first visible milestone for the overall neighborhood revitalization effort.

The 18,001-square-foot Zanders Park, located at 362 11th St. in Winter Garden, opened in 2008, although the park existed as early as 1968.

The renovations will include new fencing and upgraded playground equipment that will reorient the play area around the basketball courts.

“This new orientation of the playground equipment places a stronger emphasis on child safety and family friendliness in that children playing on the playground will no longer be separated from their parents or guardians who may be utilizing the basketball courts,” Laura Coar, director of parks and recreation, said in a memo to City Manager Jon C. Williams.

The existing playground equipment and park will remain open during construction, which is anticipated to start in September.

The renovations are expected to take about three to four weeks.

Other remaining upgraded features will be installed concurrently and in later phases. These items will include a multi-use open gathering space, signage, perimeter fencing, furnishings, benches and landscaping.

IN OTHER NEWS

The Winter Garden City Commission accepted the donation of “The Lake Project: A Documentary Exploring the Land and People of Lake Apopka” from Crealde School of Art. The exhibit now will be permanently installed at City Hall. Peter Schreyer, executive director and CEO of Crealdé, gave a short presentation on the exhibit, which consists of 45 archival photographs and oral histories and nine paintings of Florida’s top landscape painters. The exhibit explores the relationship between Lake Apopka and the diverse people who call the shores of Florida’s third largest lake their home and place of work.

The city approved the second reading of an ordinance amending the Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget for mid-year adjustments. The interim budget is used as part of the budget process to account for changes that have occurred since the original budget was passed.

The commission authorized the city manager to renew and approve a five-year lease agreement with the United States Postal Service for the downtown Winter Garden Post Office, 207 W. Plant St., in the amount of $80,100.

Commissioners approved the purchase of computers and software for the Winter Garden Police Department in the amount of $18,500, with $11,711 from the federal Fiscal Year 2023 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant county-wide state solicitation program and the law enforcement trust fund.

The commission authorized the mayor and police chief to execute a renewal of Combined Operational Assistance and Voluntary Cooperation Mutual Aid agreement with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and other municipalities.

Winter Garden approved the installation of wiring and light poles along Marsh Road by Duke Energy in the amount of $140,837.08.

The city approved a water line relocation reimbursement agreement for property located at 186 S. Main St. for construction costs in the amount of $111,463, which includes a 10% contingency and engineering design costs in the amount of $9,100.

The commission approved the following members to continue serving on the Code Enforcement Board: Marvin E. Vasquez, Bruce H. Woloshin and Jack R. Litteral. Commissioners also approved the following members to continue serving on the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board: Nick Asma, Tim Keating and Donald Wingate.

The City Commission approved Commissioner Iliana Ramos Jones as the Florida League of Cities annual conference voting delegate.

author

Annabelle Sikes

News Editor Annabelle Sikes was born in Boca Raton and moved to Orlando in 2018 to attend the University of Central Florida. She graduated from UCF in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in sociology. Her past journalism experiences include serving as a web producer at the Orlando Sentinel, a reporter at The Community Paper, managing editor for NSM Today, digital manager at Centric Magazine and as an intern for the Orlando Weekly.