II (A) Presentation: Orlando Science Center - Joseph Foster Akerman, Senterfitt & Eidson AGENDA 2-21-95
Item II A
"CENTER OF GOOD LIVING - PRIDE OF WEST ORANGE"
Ocoee S. SCOTT VANDERGRIF;
n,' s % • �'1 COMMISSIONERS
14 CITY OF OCOEE -1-1114./qJ9r RUSTY
JOHNSON
D 150 N. LAKESHORE DRIVE SCOTT A.GLASS
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' ?V OCOEE,FLORIDA 34761-2258
JIM GLEASON
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'yC1 \.\ (407)656-2322 CITY MANAGER
Of G00O ELLIS SHAPIRO
February 8, 1995
Mr. Joseph E. Foster
Akerman, Senterfitt 8t Eidson, P.A.
P.O. Box 231
Orlando, FL 32802-0231
RE: BOARD AGENDA ITEM/ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER
Dear Mr. Foster:
I am in receipt of your letter dated February 3, 1995 requesting to be placed on an
upcoming City Commission Agenda.
By copy of this letter to our City Clerk, Jean Grafton, I am advising her to place your
organization on the February 21, 1995 City Commission Agenda under Presentations. If
you have any questions, please contact Jean Grafton at 407-656-2322, extension 147.
Sincerely,
E4, apiro
Manager
ES3:fdg:38
cc: Jean Grafton, City Clerk
• • f
AKERMAN, SENTERFITT 8 EIDSON, P A.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
FIRSTATE TOWER
255 SOUTH ORANGE AVENUE
POST OFFICE BOX 231
ORLANDO,FLORIDA 32802-0231
(407) 843-7860
TELECOPY (407)843-6610
February 3, 1995
Mr. Ellis Shapiro
City Manager
City of Ocoee
150 North Lakeshore Drive
Ocoee, Florida 34761
Re: Board Agenda Item/Orlando Science Center
Dear Mr. Shapiro:
I am a member of the Executive Board of the Board of
Trustees of the Orlando Science Center.
As you may have heard, the Orlando Science Center has
recently launched construction of an entirely new 193,000 square
foot facility, which will be one of the largest in the
southeastern United States.
Several local governmental entities have contributed
substantial sums to the fund necessary to construct this
magnificent new Science Center. For example, Orange County has
contributed $9,000,000.00, the City of Orlando $3,000,000.00,
Seminole County $1,000, 000.00, Seminole County School Board
$1,000,000.00, and Osceola County $500,000. 00.
These contributions by local governmental entities are
particularly appropriate since the Orlando Science Center, which
is a non-profit organization, currently serves approximately
365,000 Central Florida residents, ranging in age from
preschoolers to senior citizens. Included among those
individuals are the approximately 63,000 school children from
Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia, Brevard, Lake, Marion and
Polk Counties who attend field trips at the Orlando Science
Center.
It should come as no surprise to you that students from all
of the public schools located in Ocoee participate in field trips
to the Science Center each year. Every child who goes through
ORLANDO •
MIAMI TALLAHASSEE • TAMPA
February 3, 1995
Page 2
the public school system in Ocoee has the opportunity to make at
least one, and usually two, field trips to the Science Center
during their public school experience. In addition, a
substantial number of private schools in Orange County also avail
themselves of the opportunity to make field trips to the Orlando
Science Center.
Aside from these field trips, the Orlando Science Center has
over 7,000 family memberships, representing over 30,000 Central
Florida residents, many of them living in Ocoee.
As impressive as these numbers are, they can only become
more impressive when the Science Center expands from its current
33,000 square foot facility to the new 193,000 square foot
facility scheduled to be opened in the Spring of 1997 .
However, in order to insure that the opening occurs on time,
and that the new facility will be all that Central Florida
deserves, we would hope that local city governments, such as the
City of Ocoee's, will seriously consider making donations to the
construction fund. A donation by the City of Ocoee is
particularly appropriate since the citizens of the City of Ocoee,
and Ocoee's school children in particular, will directly benefit
for decades to come from the new facility.
My family moved to Ocoee when I was a small child. I know
that Ocoee has always been a much more progressive community than
our neighbors have sometimes recognized it to be. I would hope
that the city where I grew up, and where I went to school, would
be in the forefront of this important endeavor, and would set an
example to be followed by other city governments in the Central
Florida area.
To that end, I would deeply appreciate your providing the
Orlando Science Center with an opportunity to appear at an
upcoming meeting of the Ocoee City Commission to make a
presentation about the new Orlando Science Center and to make a
request for funding for this important project.
In addition, I would like to extend an invitation to you,
Mayor Vandergrift, and the other City Commissioners, to visit the
Orlando Science Center in the near future as my guests so that
you can have an even better appreciation of the extremely
important function that the Science Center already serves, and
will serve in the future when it expands to approximately five
times its current size.
February 3, 1995
Page 3
I recognize that you must receive many requests for funding
from a variety of individuals and entities. However, I suspect
that very few of those individuals and entities can truthfully
represent that they provide as much direct benefit to the
citizens and school children of the City of Ocoee, and to the
citizens and school children of the Central Florida area, as does
the Orlando Science Center. Thus, I hope and anticipate that you
will give this matter the careful and serious consideration that
it deserves.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
*CQJoseph E. Foster
JEF/dgb
cc: Jan Donlan
Orlando Science Center