Winter Springs relaunches city manager search

The City of Winter Springs’s consultant chosen for its next city manager search has officially launched the job posting.

The Winter Springs City Commission on Monday heard from Robert Slavin, president of Slavin Management Consultants. The city manager position was posted on the International City/County Managers Association, or ICMA.

Slavin said the plan is to review the submissions by July 19. The job posting will also be posted on other websites.

But, he added, that could move faster or slower depending on the applicants. 

“If we get real lucky, we don’t want to lose people to other jobs,” Slavin said. “This is a competitive environment. It’s not unusual that if we wait too long to move on quality people we will lose them to other jobs.”

This is Winter Springs’ second attempt to find a permanent city manager. Back in November, Winter Springs was on the verge of hiring a new city manager. But the candidate withdrew after a contentious meeting where commissioners Cade Resnick and Victoria Bruce questioned the top candidate and the search firm.

Winter Springs in March voted to sever its contract with search firm Korn Ferry and start the process over again, after spending $70,000 with Korn Ferry.  

Commissioners mull lawsuit over Tuskawilla Crossing pond failure

Commissioners also got an update on repairs to the Tuskawilla Crossing pond failure. 

The Winter Springs City Commission already voted in October to spend $180,000 with Pegasus Engineering to determine why the pond, which opened in 2021, failed. The engineer is also investigating liability for the failure. 

The issue could also affect Sutton Crossings, a 6.4 acre development that will add an Ace Hardware to the intersection of State Road 434 and Tuskawilla Road, on the corner north of Michael Blake Boulevard. 

That’s because the developments for Tuskawilla Crossing and The Savoy didn’t properly account for stormwater runoff, said David Hamstra with Pegasus Engineering LLC. Pegasus has been contracted by the city to investigate why the pond failed, and what needs to be done to repair it. 

Commissioner Rob Elliott said he thinks there are liability issues with the repairs. 

“My main concern here is we’re going to use tax dollars which are collected from the residents of Winter Springs that I don’t think is our fault,” Elliott said. “My concern is we’re going to spend all this money to fix a problem we didn’t cause. It was either poor design, poor construction, poor maintenance, or a combination of all three. I think it was a combination of all three.”

Winter Springs City Attorney Anthony Garganese reminded commissioners that the city of Winter Springs was responsible for the maintenance of the pond. 

McCann said that during Hurricane Ian, there were hundreds of homes that had flooding. He said that wastewater is the biggest issue in Winter Springs – but stormwater is the second biggest issue.

He said Winter Springs charges $5 per month for stormwater, while neighboring cities charge $25.

“I know that’s a lot of money, and I’m not saying we should do that,” McCann said. “These issues need to get addressed. … Our stormwater system is quickly becoming equal to and it will surpass the wastewater issue as our No. 1 issue in our community.”  

Ultimately, Hamstra said he would expect the repairs to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million dollars. 

Taco Bell breathes new life into defunct Bruster’s Ice Cream building

The Winter Springs City Commission on Monday approved the design of a new Taco Bell that will take over the former Bruster’s Real Ice Cream location.

The closed ice cream shop, located at 295 East State Road 434, would primarily be a drive-thru Taco Bell. Nick Tafelsky, senior planner with the city of Winter Springs, said one bonus is the drive thru is in the back of the building, so cars won’t stack up along S.R. 434. 

“It’s previously been a restaurant,” Tafelsky said. “Restaurants are a permitted use. They’re not changing the use. … No changes to the layout of the building or the infrastructure on the site. They’re simply refurbishing the building for the new use.”

A representative of the applicant said there will be a walkup window, and some seating inside for people to wait for their orders. But there will not be dining seats inside the building. 

A rendering of the planned Taco Bell along State Road 434 in Winter Springs (rendering courtesy of the City of Winter Springs)

“I support it, great, happy to eat Taco Bell, I do it,” said Winter Springs Mayor Kevin McCann, adding that he was happy to support the project. “Your success is our success.”

The aesthetic review was approved unanimously. The Taco Bell is expected to open sometime this year.