Mayor Sheila DeCiccio appeared before an audience of early risers during the city’s CoffeeTalk series of informal community discussions. The January 9 event began at 8:30 a.m. and touched on several topics and concerns that DeCiccio said she has received from residents.
She began by addressing an Orange County Public Schools email urging parents to contact local officials over funding the School Resource Officer (SRO) program.
Winter Park Police Department provides a total of five officers at the city’s public schools: one each at Brookshire Elementary and Lakemont Elementary, one at the Ninth Grade Center, and two at Winter Park High main campus. Under the current OCPS agreement, which expires at the end of the school year, the city receives approximately $72,000 per year, per officer. Winter Park is one of four cities, including Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden, and Windermere, that are requesting an increase to cover the rising costs of equipment, overtime, and health insurance for the SROs.
Negotiations are set for January 14 and DeCiccio called the email, “a way to get the upper hand and scare parents.” She also noted the city currently pays for all SRO benefits despite OCPS receiving an additional $2 million for the SRO program in 2024. “We never saw a penny of that,” she added.
DeCiccio said the city was not looking to stop supporting the program and rebuffed the proposed alternative of a state-approved guardian program that provides armed guards instead of law enforcement officers. “I want to put everybody’s mind at ease, our children are our number one priority but I’m telling you the residents are my priority too.”
Coyotes and golf carts
DeCiccio also addressed increased reports of coyote sightings. “They seem to be in every single neighborhood right now,” she said, and warned residents that coyotes prey on small pets. She said county and state animal control do not deal with the problem, but that neighborhoods have split the cost of hiring independent trappers to relocate the animals. She also advised residents to check the city website for information on urban coyotes.
She then turned the mic over to WPPD Sergeant Luke Hofer, who addressed the impact of electric scooters and bicycles. He said that, despite ordinances prohibiting those personal modes of transportation in business districts, they are allowed on sidewalks in other parts of the city and must yield to pedestrians. They can also be in the roadway but must be as far to the right as possible.
Sergeant Hofer also pointed out that riders cannot to move into a crosswalk if an oncoming driver does not have the ability to stop. “We’ve had several incidents where a bicyclist goes right through the crosswalk,” he explained. “Bicyclists, per Florida law, have to follow the same duties and responsibilities as pedestrians at a crosswalk. If you’re not in the crosswalk, the vehicle does not yet have a duty to yield to you.”
Regarding golf carts, Hofer said they are not allowed on the city’s public roadways. “We are not a golf community, we do not have signs that allow golf carts to be on our roadways, so they are not allowed unless they are crossing the road at the golf course.”
He then explained the differences between golf carts and low-speed vehicles, which offer the safety features of a car – rear-view mirrors, seatbelts, brake lights and headlights, etc. Low-speed vehicles can be driven on public roadways with speed limits of 35 MPH or lower, but must be registered with the state. “If you see what appears to be a golf cart travelling down the road with a license plate, they have registered that with the state of Florida and that is now converted to a low-speed vehicle.”
Additional items
Mayor DeCiccio mentioned plans for the Park Avenue Refresh project, beginning this summer to address needed upgrades along the street and sidewalks in the shopping and dining district. She offered a summary of improvements that includes:
- New streetlight wiring
- Sidewalk and stormwater drainage improvements
- Tree well repairs
She also noted the project would be completed in phases to minimize the inconvenience to guests and business owners. “We’ll do it in sections, so we won’t close down the whole avenue at the same time.”
The Mayor’s State of the City address is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 31, at Winter Park Events Center, 1050 W. Morse Blvd. The event is free with a courtesy RSVP email to MayorsMessage@cityofwinterpark.org that must be received by 5 p.m. on January 17. Programming begins at 9 a.m. and will include the Mayor’s Address, recognition of the city’s Employees of the Year and the 2025 Mayor’s Founders’ Award winner, and city commissioners will share their views on several topics.