Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-95 SS -........ MINUTES OF THE JOINT SPECIAL SESSION OF THE CITY COMMISSIONS OF THE CITIES OF APOPKA, OCOEE AND WINTER GARDEN HELD TO REVIEW THE WESTERN BELTWAY ROUTE ON OCTOBER 10, 1995 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Mayor Vandergrift welcomed the Commissions, guests and citizens to the Special Session called to review the Western Beltway Route at 7:30 p.m. in the Ocoee commission chambers. Mayor Land offered the prayer and Mayor pro tem Morabito led the pledge of allegiance. Mayor Vandergrift thanked staff and volunteers for their help in preparing for this meeting and asked each mayor to open his own city's session. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL OF EACH CITY COMMISSION CITY OF APOPKA - Mayor Land CITY OF OCOEE - Mayor Vandergrift CITY OF WINTER GARDEN - Mayor Quesinberry-not present, Mayor pro tem Morabito presided. PRESENT: City of Apopka: Mayor Land, Commissioners Arrowsmith, Dean, Holmes, and Johnson and Assistant City Administrator Douglas. City of Ocoee: Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioners Glass, Gleason and Johnson, City Manager Shapiro, City Attorney Rosenthal, Planning Director Wagner, City Clerk Grafton. City of Winter Garden: Mayor pro tem Morabito, Commissioners Anderson and Youngblood, City Manager Holden, City Attorney Ardaman, and City Clerk Pryor. '-" Mayor Vandergrift introduced Commissioners Bob Freeman and Tom Staley, Orange County; Fay Oukas, Bob Sindler's office; and Carl Patterson, Planner from the City of Windermere, and turned the meeting over to A.Wayne Rich, Chairman, and Dr. Harold W. Worrall, Executive Director, Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority. Chairman Rich gave a brief history of events leading to this meeting. Approximately one year ago the Expressway Authority formed a Western Beltway Task Force that was charged with the responsibility of bringing together the interested parties for the Western Beltway corridor to form a partnership on how to make this project work. Since its inception, there has been participation from each of the municipalities involved in this corridor, as well as Orange County and the private sector, specifically in the form of the Beltway 2000 group and the Horizons West group. Each of these entities has had a role in the Western Beltway Task Force in policy-making. A number of traffic consultants, engineers, etc. has supported the Western Beltway Task Force. F or the last year this group has met on a regular basis to bring together the various parts on making this project a reality. The Authority is currently paying for the updates and the project development and engineering studies. These studies reflect the alignment as it ultimately will be and the environmental concerns and the traffic considerations that have to be addressed. -.... Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of '--' The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10, 1995 He explained the difference between route and alignment. The route is the "magic marker" approach through a particular area. It is usually a broad definition of what is proposed. The alignment is the hard-line engineering drawing which definitively shows where the facilities are going to go. This meeting was to discuss route. Through the outstanding efforts of State of Florida Representative Webster and Senator Jennings, the Department of Transportation has facilitated this effort with a $15 million loan from the revolving trust fund and a $6.3 million grant for right-of-way acquisition for the Western Beltway. These funds are allocated, and the Authority is in a position to be able to dedicate those funds for acquisition. These funds are to be spent prudently and timely. There is hope that if there is a successful allocation of these funds, there will be more funds forthcoming. A statutory requirement for the spending of the allocated funds is that a resolution be adopted by each city. The cities will be asked to approve the route - not a hard-line alignment - and approval must be unanimous. The route will be taken to the Expressway Authority for final action so right-of-way acquisition activities can commence. Mr. Rich then introduced Dr. Worrall. Dr. Worrall stated the work is basically in four areas (1) engineering - the preliminary design .... and environmental process for both Parts A and C; (2) estimating the cost for right-of-way and trying to determine what parcels might be required to be taken in Parts A and C; (3) the financial aspects, what bond strategy might be taken ultimately to fund the construction of the project; and (4) traffic and revenue. Traffic and revenue is the key issue when talking about cost feasibility in ultimately building the road. Dr. Worrall introduced Mark S. Callahan, P.E. , Associate Vice President, Greiner, Inc., who is working on the Part A alignment, the part from U.S.441 south to the Florida Turnpike. Mr. Callahan indicated that the original studies for the Western Beltway were done in the late 1980s, and the current work has been to update those studies and look at specific areas where cost-saving measures and reductions in impacts can be taken. He discussed Part A, indicating a map. Interchanges are planned at the Florida Turnpike, State Road 50, State Road 438 (Franklin Street/Silver Star), and County Road 437. Since a specific issue is cost-saving, three possible alignments are being studied as part of the update studies to see which would be most cost feasible. Two of the possible alignments go through the Orange County water treatment plant system. He referred to dark lines on the exhibit that indicated the proposed Apopka Bypass. There is an ongoing but separate study that is being closely coordinated with the Apopka Bypass planning. The study has determined that it makes a great deal of sense to have access with the Apopka Bypass. Consequently, a study will be made of the specific interchanges there. In the ~ 2 '-' Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10, 1995 original study, an interchange was planned at County Road 437 A. That interchange will be eliminated in favor of access with the Apopka Bypass. Dr. Worrall clarified the meeting this evening was just an informational meeting but that on November 2 there was to be an official public hearing on the alignment issues. Subsequent to that November 2 public hearing, a final alignment would be selected in that corridor in approximately April 1996. Nathan Silva discussed Part C. In 1988 the Authority and the Department of Transportation selected and adopted a route for the Western Beltway Part C, which was shown on a map. The route continues south from the Florida Turnpike in Ocoee through the Reedy Creek area, across U.S.192 into Osceola County, terminating at 1-4. As part of that adopted alignment in 1988, there were interchanges only at the Florida Turnpike, U.S.192, and 1-4. Part of this reevaluation study is to look at the changes that have occurred in the corridor since 1988, as well as changes that are planned to occur in the future, and to look at alternate routes and new interchange locations to enhance access to the area and to improve the mobility of the entire West Orange County area. '-" One interchange is being considered between 1-4 and U.S.192. One interchange included in the Osceola County Comprehensive Plan is at Sandco Road. Going north of U.S.192 through the Reedy Creek area, a proposed interchange would serve future development of the area, part of Disney's Reedy Creek for a theme park, as well as other planned developments such as Horizons West. North of this area is property owned by the Orange County Public Utilities that is planned for a golf course complex. In response to that planned development, several alternatives have been identified that would lessen the impacts to that plan, which explained the several different alternative routes on the map. Alternatives for a new interchange are being considered for this area to serve Horizons West and to improve mobility in that area. Route 545 is the only continuous north/south paved road in that area. Going north still is another Orange County Public Utilities site. Since 1988 the hydrology of the area has changed, and more wetlands are seen in the area. In an attempt to reduce the impact, several alternatives have been identified, with an interchange proposed at Tilden Road, which would provide local access to West Orange County. The workshop November 2 will be at the West Orange Ninth Grade Center just south of the Turnpike. Notifications were to be mailed the next day and were to be in the newspaper. There was a mailing list available for receipt of future information. '-" 3 Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of ~ The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10, 1995 City Manager Shapiro mentioned alignment and route and that both presenters appeared to use the terms interchangeably. One of the concerns the City would have is the route, not the alignment since there is a difference. Dr. Worrall clarified that the meeting was not about a specific alignment. There are several alignments within what the Authority would call a route. The cities are being asked to approve the route in the resolutions. The alignment would come later. A citizen asked why the Authority was considering going through the waste water facility. He said that information was available when the original study was done, and he wondered why it was being considered when the county turned it down before. Mr. Callahan stated alignments going through the treatment plant were evaluated in the late 1980s. At the time, it was not constructed, and there was still design work ongoing. Those alignments are being revisited based on the fact that Orange County Public Utilities has moved further with their plans and can better quantify exactly what the cost would be if the Western Beltway were to traverse through their site. The Authority is not sure whether it would be less expensive or what the specific impacts to their site will be. They are working with Orange County hoping to get some additional information as the study moved forward in the next couple ~ of months. Dr. Worrall stated this is a good example of why the entire project development and engineering process has to be gone back through when a project has been sitting for seven years. Things change in the alignment, so all the impacts have to be visited to make sure the previous calculations are still valid. Thomas R. Biggs, P .E., Vice President, Transportation Consulting Group, was introduced next. Transportation Consulting Group is involved in making the projections of traffic and revenue, which is the primary issue - can this road be paid for. Mr. Biggs advised that his company was in the process of developing traffic and revenue forecasts for the Western Beltway, Parts A and C. These forecasts have three purposes: (1) to help to direct these studies with regard to configuration with the road; (2) to help determine the shapes of the different interchanges; and (3) to examine the potential traffic forecasts and the revenues associated with them in order to determine whether this project can pay for itself. He talked about the base case traffic and revenue forecast. Base case means this is not the final forecast for Parts A and C. Additional interchanges and various strategies with the Authority in ~ 4 ~ Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10, 1995 terms of how to make this project feasible are examined. Base case is a benchmark against which all the strategies being examined are compared. Base case has several built-in key assumptions. (1) It looks at Parts A and C as though they were both constructed and open to traffic in the year 2005. The base case set of road traffic and revenue forecasts does not include what is referred to as Part B of the Western Beltway. Part B is that portion that extends northward from Apopka into Seminole County. Part A is the piece from Apopka to south to the Turnpike; Part C is that part from the Turnpike south to 1-4 in Osceola County. (2) The base case is based on a moderately conservative set of land use forecasts. The base case does not include some current proposals under study by Transportation Consulting Group, one of which is referred to as the Horizons West proposal. (3) It includes assumptions about the construction of Interstate 4 widening being studied by the Florida Department of Transportation. Some evidence of these assumptions were seen in the revenue forecasts shown at the end of the presentation. (4) The base case does not include the Apopka Bypass, although studies were being done to integrate that in terms of revenue and traffic forecasts, as well as in engineering studies. (5) The base case assumes a constant toll plan, the same toll plan used presently on the Expressway system. There are no plans for increases in the existing system tolls. The Western Beltway has the same toll rate structure of approximately 10 '-" cents a mile along its entire alignment. The traffic forecasts were done using a model (part science) and a good deal of judgment. This model encompasses the Orange, Seminole and Osceola County areas. It has been expanded to include Lake County, which is thought to be very important to traffic and revenue forecasts to the Western Beltway, as well as portions of Vol usia and Polk Counties. The exhibit to which he referred showed the geographic boundaries of the model. Part of the process of developing the forecast is to see how well it is done against existing traffic counts. The map indicated showed the existing system, which showed the traffic counts in 1993. By their width, the magnitude of the volume was indicated. Roughly 40,000 cars a day were indicated on the exhibit. The bottom panel of the exhibit showed the traffic forecasts from the model being applied to the Western Beltway. The two exhibits showed traffic and revenue forecasts for Parts A and C combined both in the opening year of 2005 and the design year, the year 2020. Part A is forecast to be about 27,500 vehicles a day by the year 2005 to grow to about 37,600 vehicles a day in the year 2020. Part C is forecast to have opening day volumes of 13,000 vehicles a day in 2005 with 27,300 vehicles a day by 2020. Part A revenues are forecast to be approximately $6.8 million a year at opening to increase to $12.4 million a year in 2020. Part A revenues are fairly stable. Part C revenues arerforecast to be $6.8 million a year in 2005 to increase to $14.7 million a year in 2020. There is a '-' 5 Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of \..r The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10,1995 good deal of fluctuation indicated on the exhibit, which is due to assumptions about the timing of 1-4 improvements. The assumption is that in 2010 the interstate will be widened to approximately ten lanes, and that increase in capacity would syphon off some of the Western Beltway traffic and result in a brief decline in revenue. After about five years, the revenue begins to grow again, as indicated by a graphic. Total revenues range from $15.6 million in 2005 to $27.1 million in 2020. Several variations are being considered, which include the revenue and traffic impact of the Apopka Bypass, the study of the various interchanges that were indicated on another exhibit and what these might do to increase traffic and revenue for the facility. These revenues are not enough for the road to pay its way. There needs to be much discussion on how to fund this road in its entirety. Commissioner Holmes, Apopka, asked if most of the traffic at 192 would be attractions traffic if everyone was exiting there and not continuing to 1-4. '-' Mr. Biggs stated it would not be limited to Disney or attractions traffic. It could be traffic to various locations in Osceola County, such as Kissimmee. There are no interchanges located between U. S .192 and the Turnpike in the original alignment. It was his opinion that traffic would be using it as a fairly long-distance bypass to get around congested areas of 1-4. As studied, traffic could be from the attractions to Winter Garden or from Kissimmee to Winter Garden or areas of western Orlando. He saw it as a long-distance trip to avoid 1-4 or CR535 or CR435. Dr. Worrall stated he characterized this roadway similar to much of the rest of the system. Most of the system revenue comes from commuter traffic, not bypass traffic. On the east side of Orlando, most of the traffic is not traffic bypassing Orlando but is commuter traffic. This is going to be the same kind of traffic, especially in the beginning years. Twenty or so years out, there may be more bypass traffic. He made another point that he thought it significant that Transportation Consulting Group prepared a model with which Authority is fairly comfortable. The issue now is taking that model and changing these assumptions to see what the traffic and revenue does. If an interchange is added at a certain location, what happens to traffic and revenue. Now that there is a model, those kinds of questions can be asked, which will help put together a project that can be made cost feasible. Mr. Biggs stated that the trip lengths from the model average about five miles. They generally are not 25-mile bypass trips around the city of Orlando. Commissioner Bob Johnson indicated the diagrams are labeled peak season volumes. He asked how it was determined or if low volume was taken into consideration. ........ 6 ~ Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10,1995 Mr. Biggs stated that the study of the Authority reflected much data on the existing system. From the data correlating factors from peak season to the hypothetical average day of the year were made, which accounts for factors such as weekday versus weekend traffic and the high tourist seasonal traffic versus low tourist seasonal traffic. The models calibrate the peak season. When this is converted to revenue, it is converted first as the average hypothetical day and then into revenue dollars. Mr. Morabito asked about the timetables for Part A and Part C. Plans were there for Part A, but the project development and engineering studies for Part C were not complete. He asked how they were going to catch up Part C with the timetables. Dr. Worrall stated they really were not timetables. He said it was a year used as a model to project traffic and revenue. Mr. Morabito asked if it could be narrowed to some timetables since land use is going to be important due to inevitable change and is very dependent on the timetable. Dr. Worrall stated it was his opinion that Part A would be first since it is furthest along in design. The traffic and revenue numbers are higher on Part A. It will probably be the least costly from the standpoint of total project construction costs since it is a shorter project with fewer interchanges. Subsequent to that, Part C would probably be constructed. ,..., Commissioner Freeman stated his concern is that Horizons West growth had not been taken into account with the model. He thought it was very important and the Western Beltway was one reason Horizons West would be successful. He assumed purchasing of right-of-way in Part C would take place even though the focus is on Part A. Dr. Worrall stated he thought that was probably right. Mr. Morabito asked if some of the $20 million was going to be used. Some of Part C will be easy to purchase now but more difficult later. Dr. Worrall stated this was a perfect segue into the next presenter, C. David Brown, II, P.A., Broad and Cassel. Mr. Brown is a managing partner of Broad and Cassel and is responsible for the right-of-way acquisition process on the Western Beltway and has been intimately involved throughout the entire process. Commissioner Youngblood asked if stage construction is being considered for Part C to do it more quickly than trying to expand the entire system at one time. He said he assumed Part A would come all together. Dr. Worrall stated it was a personal opinion but he would agree with that. He said he thought from preliminary data that all of Part C will not be able to be constructed at one time and have that sunk cost for all the infrastructure that requires interest payments and not have the traffic on it. It only makes sense to do it in those areas that are going to have the traffic volume, probably the top part of Part C and the bottom part of Part C later. The middle would probably come subsequent to that. ~ 7 ~ Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10,1995 Commissioner Freeman asked about right-of-way cost acquisition since that is the most inflationary cost of building the road. It seemed to him the timetable would move up tremendously if Part C right-of-way acquisition could be accomplished. Dr. Worrall's opinion was that once the right-of-way is secured, the road will be built. Mr. Brown stated he has been primarily involved with all the consultants in examining the property from end to end, that is, from 1-4 south in Osceola County north to U.S.441. The goal of Broad and Cassel is to look at the entire project regarding how to acquire the right-of-way, what the estimated costs would be and what can be done to acquire that right-of-way efficiently. Good news is that Orange County is continuing to grow, which will provide additional trips for the system, generating additional revenue. The bad news is that those same growth pressures put a tremendous pressure on prices regarding acquisition of real estate. This project is a new approach by the Authority in many ways in order to facilitate the construction project. One of the things happening in this project is that right-of-way will be acquired for the alignment prior to the time that the project will be built. That has been facilitated by the Legislature. It is known that if the cost of right-of-way is not capped, the cost of the project will get out of hand and it will not be possible to surmount the cost with projected or existing toll revenues. Right-of-way costs is one of the biggest variables in the project, and the Authority has recognized that. It is in '-" the process of adopting an advance right-of-way acquisition policy that will allow them to acquire right-of-way in advance of projects. It is a concept that is being done more and more in the state. The Florida Department of Transportation has recognized that throughout the state there are so many growth pressures that if right-of-way corridors are not preserved they either become practically unavailable or cost prohibitive. He indicated a map on the wall and stated his company had gone the length of the right-of-way and examined those areas they thought were the most explosive regarding growth. The areas they have identified as priorities for acquisition as soon as possible are U.S.441 south from Apopka (the commercial areas through there); the area north of Highway 50; the area south of Highway 50 through Winter Garden and parts of Ocoee; and the Reedy Creek District (about where U.S.l92 goes south to 1-4). There is a lack of alternatives through the Reedy Creek District, and those areas have received a great deal of land use approvals. Much activity is being pressured in that area because of the new activity at W AL T DISNEY WORLD. Options will be examined to stretch the dollars in the acquisition of the corridors. Some of that will be done without the final maps. Property will be acquired based on estimates, and that will be cleaned up as the process is finalized. A question raised by the cities is that of liability. Does the adoption of this route pose liability to these cities, particularly with respect to inverse condemnation. The Authority, through the '-' 8 ~ Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10, 1995 chairman and executive director, has discussed the issue of providing protection to the cities through any claims that arise from the route, any inverse condemnation claims that might arise through the adoption of the route. That was to be finalized in the next 60 days. Litigation is not viewed as a likely possibility, but there are a number of creative lawyers, and the hope is that it would not prevail. Mr. Morabito asked if those agreements would be separate, and Mr. Brown answered in the affirmative. Dr. Worrall turned the meeting over to Mayor Vandergrift, who called upon Mayor Land to conduct his commission meeting. Mayor Land indicated that Apopka Resolution 95-21, was adopted on October 4, 1995. Resolution 95-22, a general resolution to the Legislature and everyone concerned, of the City Council of the City of Apopka, Florida, thanking the Orange County delegation to the State Legislature for securing state funding for Part A of the Western Beltway asking the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority to act promptly to secure right-of-way for the Western Beltway and to coordinate with the Florida Department of Transportation in selecting the ~ location of an interchange between the Western Beltway and the Apopka Bypass. He opened for a public hearing, and no one wished to be heard. Commissioner Arrowsmith, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, moved to approve a motion to adopt the resolution. No discussion. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Land then recognized the citizens and staff from Apopka. There was a question about the beltway and the railroad tracks at U.S.441. Mr. Callahan answered that a specific tie-in is being studied with U.S.441, and with the railroad very close, the thought is that for safety reasons it is imperative that the beltway go over the railroad. Several concepts have been studied, and in a current concept, the beltway would go over the railroad and be tied into U.S.441 at a higher elevation than at present. Mayor Land indicated that in 1988 there were a number of hearings in Apopka on that interchange at U.S.441. He asked if the Authority would be holding hearings so that Apopka would have the chance for input, and the answer was yes. Mr. R. P. Mohnacky from Ocoee expressed a desire for someone to make the effort to get monies from the federal government to make the road free. Mayor Land advised that when County Chairman Chapin was in Apopka, she pointed out that when she had been attending a meeting in Washington she spoke with someone from Ohio who '-" 9 ~ Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10, 1995 was quite pleased with the amount of money Ohio got. She pointed out to them that they are losing population; Florida is gaining population, and we get ours about ten years behind time. Mayor Land also pointed out that this is a problem in fast-growing areas in Orange County - the three cities represented at this meeting - and the local gas tax received through the county is based on old census figures of 1980 rather than 1995. Therefore, these cities receive an unfair amount of gasoline tax dollars that are paid. He said that is one of the things the cities are trying to overcome. Mayor Vandergrift indicated he agreed with Mr. Mohnacky and said he has worked and talked with Congressmen Mica and McCollum about doing this, and some funds have been forthcoming to supplement the funds now available, but what is needed is $200 million. Mayor Land concluded business for Apopka. Mayor Vandergrift recognized Mayor pro tem Morabito from Winter Garden for the Winter Garden City Commission to conduct business. Mayor Morabito thanked Mr. Rich, Dr. Worrall and the City of Ocoee for having the meeting. '-" He advised a meeting was scheduled for the City of Winter Garden on Thursday, October 12, and unless there was any disagreement with that, the resolution would be addressed then. Commissioner Youngblood advised there had not been a commission meeting since receipt of this information. Attorney Ardaman said he understood that if the City of Winter Garden did not adopt it this night but did adopt it Thursday night, it would not present a procedural or substitive problem to the Expressway Authority. He was advised that was correct. Mr. Rich said that there must be ultimate unanimous consent from the three cities before funds can be expended. City Manager Holden stated there were some issues at the last meeting that were discussed, but there were not answers at that time. He said from a staff standpoint those questions have been answered through discussion with the attorney. Mr. Ardaman said he understood that the agreement that was discussed by the counsel for the Expressway Authority protecting the various cities is expected to be adopted and approved within the next 60 days and with that understanding he believed it would be the unanimous recommendation by the City of Winter Garden that the adoption of that resolution occur on Thursday. Mayor Morabito then closed the meeting. Mayor Vandergrift opened the meeting for Ocoee. Commissioner Glass. seconded by Commissioner Gleason. moved to approve Resolution 95-19. subiect to a reservation by the Citv of Ocoee to rescind the Resolution in the event the Orlando-Orange County Expressway '-' 10 Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of -. The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10,1995 Authoritv and the City do not agree within 60 days on an indemnitv agreement orotecting the City in the event oflitigation arising out of the aooroval of the Resolution. Motion carried 5-0. Commissioner Freeman thanked the City for hosting the meeting and called it an historic day and said it is exciting. He thanked Mr. Rich and Dr. Worrall for their efforts and said the road is becoming a reality due to their efforts. Commissioner Staley expressed his appreciation to the Expressway Authority, specifically Mr. Rich and Dr. Worrall. He said in the area he represents, mostly the Apopka area, he does not go anywhere without people asking about the progress being made on the Western Beltway. He said he would be pleased to report to them they can be more optimistic than ever. He said with Commissioner Freeman and himself on the Orange County Commission the Authority would have their support. He said the Orange County Commission has voted more than one time that the number one priority road project in Orange County is the Western Beltway. Ms. Patsy McClure from the Orange County Transportation Department, and Commissioner Staley's assistant, indicated that the MPO 20/20 long range transportation plan was to be voted on at the MPO meeting the next day. The transportation technical committee and the long range ~ subcommittee had recommended that the Western Beltway be eliminated from the cost feasible study for the 20/20 plan. That meant if they were successful the next day, no funds could be expended on the Western Beltway. She said the MPO had to be convinced to vote to send this back to the Transportation Committee, back to the subcommittee that does the long range plan and instruct them that the MPO will put the Western Beltway in the cost feasible analysis for the 20/20 plan. She said the meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday. Mr. Rich said they were made aware of the issue earlier the past week, and the Authority shared the concern of Ms. McClure about this particular issue's being overlooked by the technical committee. He stated they planned to be at the MPO meeting the next day. He said he felt it has been demonstrated that there are ways to make this project financially feasible. As a result it should be placed on the 20/20 plan. He said both projects, the Western Beltway and 1-4 improvements, are needed. He said he believed this group can help bring the Western Beltway together and said the Authority is prepared to do its part to make it a reality as soon as possible. A citizen said he did not understand why there is a conflict. Since the Western Beltway is self- funded, there should not be a conflict, so why would there be a vote against it. The reply was there are probably some who would believe there would be an opportunity to divert funds. Mayor Vandergrift advised it is not entirely self-supporting to the extent there are some state funds and federal funds that are coming into it. Without money from another source, the tolls '-w 11 Joint Special Session of the City Commissions of ~ The Cities of Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Garden to Review the Western Beltway Route October 10, 1995 would be prohibitive. The citizen asked why this group did not get together in 1988 and do what is being done now. Mayor Land said there was much optimism in 1988 but many things took place, some of which were very divisive. Commissioner Freeman said he thought Representative Daniel Webster and Senator Toni Jennings will be two of the most powerful leaders and thought there will be help for Central Florida. Commissioner Staley advised the MPO is the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is made up of two commissioners from Seminole County, the mayor of Sanford, the mayor of Altamonte Springs, two city commissioners from Orlando, the Expressway Authority, the Greater Aviation Authority, and six members from the Orange County Commission. He said it is not a unified body in support of the Western Beltway. Opinions vary on the direction in which transportation should go in Central Florida. However, there would be support from the Orange County Commission for the Western Beltway. ~ Mayor Land advised his council that the Apopka Public Works Department had been working on Lake Hammer that day. He said they could check with Jack to be brought up to date. He thanked Ocoee for hosting the meeting, Commissioners Staley and Freeman for being present, and Chairman Rich and Dr. Worrall from the Expressway Authority for their reports. He said he did not want any more fights but wanted to move this ahead as rapidly as possible. Mr. Morabito said Winter Garden is excited about this, saying it obviously has a great impact on all our cities. He said Winter Garden has a large undeveloped area that the expressway will go through. He said there are developers standing in line waiting to do something but needing direction, and that is what is being given to them. He thanked Ocoee and everyone for putting it together. Mayor Vandergrift closed with all cities. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9: 1 0 p.m. APPROVED City of Ocoee :5'~LLp~ S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor Attest: ~ 12