As you may be aware, at the April 22 BCC meeting, the Board voted 4-3 to reject a settlement agreement between Orange County and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) in reference to the West Orange Relief High School.

The case will now move to circuit court where a three-judge panel will determine the outcome of the lawsuit OCPS has filed against Orange County regarding the Board's denial to allow school construction at the Beck site.

I continue to hope that the end result will be a new school for the children of District 1 by 2017.

As always, we will keep you abreast of the latest developments as they become available on the West Orange Relief High School dedicated web page.

You may also read my full memo to District 1 residents about the vote.

The following meetings are currently scheduled through the end of May:

• Cypress Point Planned Development #2 (Dr. Phillips)- Meeting will be held Tuesday, May 27, 2014, at 6 p.m. at Dr. Phillips Elementary School Cafeteria, 6909 Dr. Phillips Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32819.

• Mabel Bridge Phase 6 Planned Development #3 (Horizon West) - Meeting will be held Wednesday, May 28, 2014, at 6 p.m. Location to be determined.

• Fishback & Stillwater Planned Developments (Horizon West) - Meeting will be held Thursday, May 29, 2014, at 6 p.m. Location to be determined.

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Since the beginning of March, there has been a continual increase in residential burglaries of primarily vacant residences in west Orange County, in which large household appliances are being stolen. In multiple cases, the suspects were seen loading the appliances into a small U-Haul box truck, a plain white box truck or a white work van. The suspect descriptions have varied. The primary times for these occurrences are overnight and during early morning hours. Entry is typically made by kicking or prying open doors. 

In addition, the Sheriff's Office has indicated a trend in residential burglaries where perpetrators are knocking on doors to see if anyone is home, and if no one answers, they attempt to break in. If someone does answer the door, they often offer an excuse to the resident and leave.

The Sheriff's Office encourages residents to acknowledge you are home when someone comes to your door, but do not open your door to a stranger.

Shoulder milling and

resurfacing is scheduled for

Winter Garden Vineland Road (CR 535) from Vista Drive to Chase Road beginning on May 5 and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2014.

  

Message boards have been put in place to notify residents and visitors in the area about the upcoming project. Upon completion of the milling and resurfacing operations, the grassy shoulders and ditches will be evaluated to determine if there is a need to further rework these areas to allow for proper drainage.

 

The normal work hours will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for the intersection of Winter Garden Vineland Road and Overstreet Road. Sunset Park Elementary School is located on Overstreet Road on the north side, and work in this area will be held back 2,000 feet from the intersection prior to 8:30 a.m. Milling and resurfacing will be performed from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and operations will resume after 3:30 p.m. This is the only location where there will be time constraints.

 

Approved traffic control measures will be in place at all times to ensure safety of the traveling public and minimize traffic delays.

 

Parks 

  

Construction is well under way for a new park in the Summerport area, which will be called Village Green.

 

The park will include a community garden, playground, dog park, walking paths with outdoor fitness stations, a performance platform and junior soccer field.

 

Park completion is expected this month with a grand opening planned for June 2014!

This community, consisting of more than 3,000 homes, was named for William Jaird Levitt, whose family built four Levittowns, each a planned community, between 1947 and 1951.
 

The original Levittown, located outside of New York City, contained the first mass-produced homes, which were designed to be affordable for returning World War II veterans. All four Levittowns are widely regarded as the archetypes for 20^th century suburban development.

In the 1970s, the area surrounding what is now Williamburg was flanked by orange groves, wildlife and undeveloped land. Now the area is neighbor to SeaWorld, Aquatica and the Orange County Convention Center. The Williamsburg Homeowners Association was instituted and, in all, seven villages including pools, tennis courts and clubhouses have been built.

While the original residents were age 55 and older, Williamsburg opened to all age groups in 1991. The HOA maintains a website filled with news, updates, tips and activities for its residents at www.williamsburgfla.com.