City approves contractors for Tucker Ranch project

The $32 million project will bring a multitude of health and wellness offerings to residents in Winter Garden and beyond.

By Annabelle Sikes
| 9:00 a.m. June 21, 2024

West Orange Times & Observer
News

The Winter Garden City Commission moved one step closer to its completion of the highly anticipated Tucker Ranch project at its meeting Thursday, June 13.

At the meeting, the city approved the list of contractors and authorized the city manager to award a contract for each bid package in the amount of $19,906,266.24, with a 10% contingency.

On May 8, the city received 31 responses to bid packages one through five, eight, 10, 11, 13 through 22 and a separate proposal for construction materials testing.

City staff comprised a list of contractors who have been selected as the lowest responsive, responsible proposer for each bid package.

The contractor list includes Cathcart Construction Company LLC, earthwork and site utilities; VMG Construction Inc, concrete paving and site concrete, building concrete, and masonry; and Met-Con Inc., structural steel and miscellaneous metals.

Staff also recommended Tierra Inc. be awarded the construction material testing services for the project.

Phases 2A and 2B of construction for the Tucker Ranch Park and Nature Preserve are planned to kick off at the beginning of September.

The legacy park will include 20 acres transformed into a regional park with trails, fitness areas, multi-purpose buildings, canoeing, camping, and a state-of-the-art working and teaching farm that will function as a regional food hub.

Key partnerships — between the city and physical and mental-health organizations — are working together to bring this health and wellness facility to Winter Garden. The goal is to capture the whole mind-body-soul concept and to create a culture of health and wellness.

Construction completion for Phase 2 is estimated for July 21, 2026.

FORM 6 LITIGATION

City Attorney A. Kurt Ardaman also gave the commission an update regarding the Form 6 lawsuit.

United States District Court Judge Melissa Damian has issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Florida Commission on Ethics from enforcing the new Form 6 requirements for elected officials.

Damian ruled “it is not apparent from the record that a change from the Form 1 requirement to the Form 6 requirement was necessary, nor that S.B. 774 is substantially related to the state’s identified interests.”

The new Form 6, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year, is facing two lawsuits. More than 170 elected municipal officials from throughout Florida challenged the law as a violation of the First Amendment.

Damian ruled the elected municipal officials “have demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that they will succeed on the merits of their claim” and prevented the members of the commission from enforcing the new requirement statewide during the pendency of the lawsuit.

Locally, the town of Windermere is part of the lawsuit.

As of press time Tuesday, June 17, City Manager Jon C. Williams said no members of the commission have joined the lawsuit.

IN OTHER NEWS

The Winter Garden City Commission approved the second reading of an ordinance vacating a portion of the plat dedicated 10-foot wide drainage and utility easement over lot 23 and 24 of the Winter Garden Commerce Center Phase 2.

The commission approved hiring Cathcart Construction to remove and repair sidewalk, trim, and remove tree roots along Winter Garden Vineland Road in the amount of $72,650.

Commissioners approved awarding a purchase order to USSI LLC for sanitary sewer system inflow and infiltration inspection and repairs in the amount of $100,000.

Following a discussion with City Attorney A. Kurt Ardaman, the commission approved the crafting of a memorandum to present to the County Commission voicing the city’s disdain for the Orange County Charter Review Committee’s recommendation for provisions requiring the approval of a majority plus one from members of the County Commission to modify the Rural Boundary. The provision also states if a city wishes to expand its territory by annexing land that is contiguous to the city in compliance with the state annexation laws, then the land use in the county prior to acquisition would control the development of that land and not the city to which it has been annexed.

The city approved the site plan for 114 E. Cypress St. An applicant is requesting to permit the development of the .52-acre property with a new two-story, 7,960-square-foot commercial office building. The development will include additional improvements, such as landscaping, parking and a dry retention pond.

Winter Garden approved the addition of three floors to the existing AdventHealth hospital tower located at 2000 Fowler Grove Blvd.

Economic Development Director Marc Hutchinson gave a brief presentation on the city’s new Nonprofit Grant Program in partnership with the Central Florida Foundation, which currently is in a soft launch. The program is estimated to fully launch in the fall.

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.