Potential new penny sales tax projects take shape ahead of expected referendum

The Oviedo City Council approved an agreement between Seminole County, the school board and cities at a meeting Monday night to help push the referendum for the fourth-generation of the penny sales tax closer to being on the November ballot. That could help a lot of proposed penny sales tax projects move forward.

If approved, the One Cent Local Government Infrastructure Surtax, as it’s officially known, again would tax 1% of every dollar spent on taxable transactions in the county, and put those funds toward infrastructure projects. The Seminole County Commission is expected to consider adding it to the November ballot in July, and will vote on it at the June 11 meeting.

Potential projects that the fourth-generation one-cent sales tax could be used for. (Image courtesy of City of Oviedo)

If approved by voters — as the first three generations have been, starting in 1991 — it could mean more than $51 million dollars for Oviedo over the next decade for the projects. The agreement would provide 25% of the sales tax revenues to the school board, 50% to the county and 25% for the municipalities to split. Being the third-largest city in Seminole County, Oviedo would receive 3.95% of the total funds, a 0.88% increase from the third generation.

Sanford, the largest city in the county, would receive 6.32% and Altamonte Springs, the second-largest, would receive 4.65%. Winter Springs recently revised its list of penny sales tax projects to be more oriented on basic infrastructure.

The breakdown of the fund percentages based on population to Seminole County municipalities. (Image courtesy of Seminole County)

Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek discussed the possibility of having funding increased if the city’s population grows enough to surpass Altamonte Springs over the next decade, but was hesitant to make an official request.

“I guess we could potentially lose [funding] because I know some of the smaller cities, there’s a lot happening right next to the Sun Rail station, so, it may put us at more of a disadvantage, so I don’t know if I want to open that Pandora’s box or can of worms,” she said. “I am just curious what provisions there may be, if any.

“I don’t want to be unfair to other cities if they somehow outpace us, but also, if there’s a chance we could get a little additional funding, why not?” she said.

In the previous generation, the funding was locked after it was passed, she said.

The projected $51.3 million for the fourth generation represents a large increase from the $22 million Oviedo received in the third generation, which began in 2014. 

With the money from the third-generation funds, the city took on numerous city-wide projects, including: 

• Widening of State Road 426 and County Road 419
• City-wide road resurfacing
• Geneva Drive realignment
• Sidewalk connectivity projects
• Mitchell Hammock Road Corridor projects
• Solary Stormwater Park
• Adaptive traffic signalization
• Round Lake Park facility improvements
• Oviedo Sports Complex facility improvements

“We did have quite a few successes with the [third-generation] program,” city manager Bryan Cobb said. 

If approved, the city has listed potential projects it would prioritize for the new funds, including:

• 10-year city-wide resurfacing
• Alexandria Boulevard Corridor improvements
• Artesia Street Roadway/drainage improvements
• City-wide sidewalks/curbing improvements
• Complete Reed Avenue improvements
• Doctors Court extension to Oviedo Boulevard
• East Chapman Road Corridor improvements
• East Mitchell Hammock Road pedestrian crossing
• Loyd Lane extension
• Mission Road drainage improvements
• North Lake Jesup Regional Pond
• Oviedo Boulevard Extension
• Public safety building renovation/replacement
• Public safety training center
• South Lockwood Boulevard roundabout
• Sweetwater Creek stormwater improvement

“I do like that we have pared down the list to very, very nuts and bolts, hard to object to infrastructure stuff,” Sladek said. “I think it’s a solid list.”

How funds would be distributed to the city of Oviedo. (Image courtesy of Seminole County)

Additionally, the county would take on a number of major interlocal projects, including the widening of CR-419 from Reed Ave to Lockwood Blvd, an extension of SR 417 to Red Cleveland Blvd. to allow for direct access from the Sanford International Airport to the interstate system, state road improvements, adding a number of bridges, flood prevention and drainage, roadway preservation, traffic congestion and safety improvements, walkable community and pedestrian safety projects, water quality protection, and trails and park infrastructure. 

The school board projects include athletic facility improvements, bus replacements, HVAC improvements, school building replacements and renovations, school security improvements, and school-based technology enhancements. 

“There’s not much on here you could argue about that we don’t need,” councilmember Natalie Teuchert said. “Even better, I think it addresses a lot of the issues our residents are asking us to fix. It’s a good compilation of projects.”