Key Winter Springs meeting to decide: Should city help pay for 417 expansion, raise stormwater rates?

Next week could be a key week for Winter Springs, as commissioners consider a multimillion dollar request from Seminole County to fund a new road connecting State Road 417 to the Sanford International Airport.

Oviedo declined to offer the money at a meeting April 25, and the county is also asking Sanford and Lake Mary to contribute to the road project. Winter Springs is expected to get a briefing and potentially take a vote May 11. According to a staff briefing on the interlocal agreements, Oviedo, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry and Longwood have decided to keep their part of the new gas sales tax.

Construction continues along the widening project of S.R. 417 between Oviedo and Winter Springs, but a new project that would add a connector road heading to the airport is still short on funding. – Photo by Isaac Benjamin Babcock

“They better come with some really good arguments,” Winter Springs Mayor Kevin McCann said. “We can use it for infrastructure and paving and bridges. Do we as a government give up that money? We have other challenges we could use that money for.”

The Winter Springs City Commission meets Monday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1126 East State Road 434.

The Seminole County Commission is trying to get all the agreements signed by the end of May. County commissioners will also weigh in on the agreements next Tuesday. The money is coming from a increase in the gas tax by 5 cents per gallon, approved in Seminole County last year.

The Seminole County Commission meets Tuesday, May 12 at 9:30 a.m. at 1101 E 1st St. in Sanford.

Stormwater fee may rise again

The Winter Springs City commission will also finally decide whether or not to increase stormwater fees for residents. At a workshop in March, commissioners heard a proposal to increase the stormwater fees from $10 per month to $15 per month, starting next fiscal year.

With that money, the city would hire a new four-person crew to do stormwater maintenance on city ponds, and would take over some of the maintenance responsibilities for hybrid ponds – privately owned stormwater ponds that get runoff from public roads.

In total, Winter Springs has identified 345 stormwater ponds in the city. The city would be responsible for the full maintenance of the 45 public ponds, including mowing and controlling the vegetation. For the 78 hybrid ponds, the city would do inspections and some maintenance of the pipes for water going into and out of the ponds. The remaining ponds would be maintained by other governments, like the Florida Department of Transportation or Seminole County, or by private homeowner’s associations.

*Ducks swim near a stormwater pipe that drains into a pond at Trotwood Park. – Photo by Isaac Benjamin Babcock*

The plans also call for further increasing the stormwater fees, from $15 to $20 per month by 2030, and then to increase them annually to account for inflation.

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Additionally, the Winter Springs Planning and Zoning Commission meets Thursday night. Items on the agenda include:

A new PNC bank at Sutton Crossings, which is the development at the southeast corner of the intersection of State Road 434 and Tuskawilla Road, part of the overall Winter Springs Town Center. Staff is recommending approval on the project, which is on about 1 acre of land.
Approving an overflow parking plan for Oviedo City Church on S.R. 434.
A proposal to demolish an existing building and replace it with a 5,000-square-foot pre-fabricated steel building at 215 Old Sanford Oviedo Rd. This would be used by Garcia Civil Contractors.

Abe Aboraya is a Report for America corps member.