Winter Springs Commission declines airport road funding – for now

Winter Springs city commissioners declined Monday to provide $2.6 million in funding for a new airport connector road Monday, but left open the option of negotiating with Seminole County on the project.

The $200 million project, known as the Seminole Connector, is a planned offshoot from State Road 417 to the Orlando Sanford International Airport. It’s been designated State Road 452 by the state, and construction is years away from starting. 

Seminole County has committed $50 million for the project, with $25 million coming from penny sales tax funding. The remaining $25 million is expected to come from other sources, including the four Seminole County cities that touch the 417: Sanford, Lake Mary, Oviedo and Winter Springs. It’s proposed that those cities cumulatively contribute about $20 million in gas taxes to the project.

So far, Oviedo and Winter Springs have declined to contribute gas tax money to the project. Sanford has committed more than $11.7 million for the project over the next decade, and Lake Mary has committed $1.5 million. 

The new corridor is considered crucial for a planned indoor sports complex in Sanford. The Seminole County Commission did an economic impact study of the new planned facility that found it could generate a substantial return on the investment. Projected direct spending on things like food and beverages sold inside the sports facility, lodging for visitors and transportation is $1.3 billion over 30 years. Seminole County Commission Chair Andria Herr wrote a letter to the commission, saying the road project would help support tourism and economic growth. 

“The airport and Boombah Sports Complex already generate significant visitation, and the proposed new indoor sports complex is expected to further expand year-round demand,” Herr wrote in the letter, which you can read here. “The indoor sports complex alone is projected to generate approximately 322,000 annual visitors, 38,000 hotel room nights, and an estimated $2.1 billion in long-term economic impact.” 

The road-funding request came at the same meeting where city commissioners decided to ultimately double stormwater rates over the next five years. A number of residents spoke against the idea of the city contributing money for the connector road. 

Winter Springs resident Art Gallo pointed out a typo in the letter, though: While it correctly addressed Winter Springs Mayor Kevin McCann, it listed three former commissioners who lost re-election in 2024, and also misspelled one commissioner’s name. 

“That tells me attention to detail is lacking, which kinda pisses me off,  excuse my English,” Gallo said. “Now, I think more talk is better than less talk. Let’s see if we can find a win-win and maybe they can convince our Commission and mayor that there’s a good deal to be had.”

The topic Monday night quickly veered into other areas of development in Winter Springs.

“I’m seeing the economic development for the region, and I see it might have new jobs for our residents, but new jobs for our residents doesn’t pay the city’s bills,” said Winter Springs Commissioner Sarah Baker. “So I’m looking for ways of actually getting more economic development in Winter Springs, not in Lake Mary, not in Sanford.” 

Seminole County Commissioner Bob Dallari asked commissioners for the ability to keep talking with city staff on new projects.

“And let us sit down with you to figure out how we can do that with you,” Dallari replied. 

Dallari said he has had conversations with “multiple” hotel flags, or brands, about locating in the county. One possibility is the Jetta Point property at State Road 417 and State Road 434 in Winter Springs. 

The county is waiting on state approval to lift restrictions on the property so it may be sold. More than 700 people have signed a petition to keep Jetta Point as a wooded area. 

“Once that happens, we now have to sit down with you all because we’re gonna need to have development rights, figure out what we want to put there.”

Winter Springs Mayor Kevin McCann cautioned against putting hope in the idea of turning that property into a hotel, though. He said it’s far more likely that the property would be developed as apartments.

“Let me be really clear about Jetta Point: It must be sold to the highest bidder,” McCann said. “And the way (the) Live Local (act) is, we’re not gonna have a whole lot of say over that.” 

Commissioners also talked about trying to use county money to get matching   federal or state funding for other projects, effectively increasing the amount of funding. That could include road projects, but city commissioners were also looking at other projects, like lighting projects at parks. 

Commissioner Cade Resnick said the county and city should look at “shared projects” they can do together. 

“It’s not sharing projects, it’s leveraging funds,” Dallari replied. “And that’s when our staff sits down with your staff to figure out how to leverage funds. Either we do it regionally or we do it locally There’s different ways to leverage funds.”

Winter Springs was being asked to contribute $2.6 million toward the road connector, but no funding agreement was signed Monday. Oviedo also declined to contribute the requested $3.8 million for the project. 

Want to contact your elected leaders and weigh in on this topic? Find the county contacts here, and the city contacts here. Have a news tip or opinion to share with OCN? Do that here.

Abe Aboraya is a Report of America corps member