Press
Article from Apopka Chief – Friday April 8, 2005 – John Perry, Apopka Chief Staff
CITY COUNCIL GIVES QUIET OK TO PLAN FOR TWO SCHOOLS
After a controversy over the clearing of land for two schools before permits were issued by the city, the City Council on Wednesday, April 6, unanimously and without any comment approved the final development plan for the two schools off Ponkan Road, adjacent to the city’s Northwest Recreation Complex.
Orange County Public Schools officials had originally sought approval for the final development plan at the City Council’s January 19 meeting, but commissioners tabled the matter after they expressed concern over access to Jason Dwelley Parkway from the schools, removal of trees and landscaping and fencing.
While city staff and school staff were negotiating those issues, workers began clearing the land off Ponkan Road on March 14. City officials called school staff that day and asked that the preliminary site work be stopped.
Some work did continue and the city eventually issued an arbor permit so the school system could continue to take down trees necessary for the building of the middle school and elementary school.
The schools are scheduled to open in August, 2006.
In a letter to city officials dated March 15, the day after site work began, Dennis Foltz, senior director for planning and governmental relations with OCPS, said that time was of the essence for the building of the schools.
“Site preparation now is essential so that we can meet the dealine of opening the schools in the summer of 2006. Meeting this timeline is something that I believe we can all agree is of utmost importance,” he wrote.
At the time, Richard Anderson, Apopka city administrator, said that the city would have worked with school officials on allowing the early site work, if the school officials had contacted the city.
Since the land clearing began, city and school staff members worked on the concerns expressed by city commissioners and solved them*, which led to the 5-0 vote.
In other action, the council:
- Took the first step in annexing 112 acres of nine different parcels of land, most of them in the Binion Road/Johns Road area.
- Approved the final development plan for the Lynx Super Stop, which is slated to be built on the east side of Central Avenue, north of Seventh Street, and south of CSX Railroad.
- Heard about the city’s Relay for Life team, which raised $11,000 for the American Cancer Society’s fundraiser, the most of any team during the April 1-2 event at Apopka High School.
- Agreed to donate $8,000 per year for the next five years to the Florida Hospital Apopka expansion project, subject to budget approvals each fiscal year.
SPECIAL NOTE FROM COMMISSIONER TILL
*The issue raised by Commissioner Till was in regards to the amount of trees being removed to build the schools. The OCPS has agreed to adopt a tree replacement education program at the new middle school to replant 15 trees per year over the next 10 years! While progress in our community is essential, so is an awareness of our natural resources. It is VERY IMPORTANT that as a community, we make every effort to protect these resources for many generations to come.
Article from Apopka Chief
Date: Friday, January 21, 2005
Author: John Peery, Apopka Chief Staff
CITY DELAYS OK OF PLANS FOR SCHOOLS, LYNX BUS STOP
City Council on Wednesday, January 19, postponed the approval of final development plans for two proposed projects in Apopka, including the plan for a middle school and elementary school of Ponkan Road .
Also delayed for two weeks was the approval of the final development plan for a Lynx Superstop near Seventh Street and Central Avenue in Apopka.
Questions brought up by Mayor John H. Land and city commissioners on both plans resulted in the delays. Both projects are expected to come back to the City Council for approval at its February 2 meeting.
Land and all four commissioners raised questions about the Ponkan Road schools, including replacement of trees, fencing, access to the schools, and safety along Ponkan Road .
Commissioner Bill Arrowsmith and Marilyn Ustler McQueen raised questions about the access to the schools, saying there should be a way to get to the campuses off Jason Dwelley Parkway , instead of just off Ponkan Road .
The two schools are slated to be built next to each other on the north side of Ponkan Road and on the west side of Jason Dwelley Parkway , formerly know as Recreation Way . The schools will be built just to the south of the city's Northwest Recreation Complex.
Orange County Public Schools officials at the meeting said there would be turn lanes into the schools in both directions off Ponkan, but Arrowsmith and McQueen both insisted that there should be access off Jason Dwelley Parkway . "You can keep them (parents transporting students) completely off Ponkan," Arrowsmith said.
Currently, Jason Dwelley Parkway stops on the north side of the Northwest Recreation Complex, but the city is in the process of extending the road north to Kelly Park Road and connecting it with Rock Springs Ridge, a large development of single family homes where many students are expected to come from for the new schools. The new schools are slated to open in August 2006.
Mayor Land questioned requests from school officials to waive the city's requirement for replacement of trees cut down in the building of the schools. The city requires that builders either replace the trees diameter-inch for diameter-inch, or pay into the city's tree mitigation bank. Many developers replace some trees and the pay the rest into the mitigation bank. The mitigation payment for the schools would be a little more than $200,000 and school officials asked that the payment be waived.
Dennis Foltz, of the Orange County Public Schools, said that the elevations of the site necessitated cutting the trees down and that school officials planned for $375,000 in landscaping for the two schools.
"I think the schools should have some responsibility in this," land said about the tree mitigation issue.
Land said that he received letters from area school children concerned about development and the environment. He said that schools should support environmental issues.
"We don't want to be unfair to you, but we think schools ought to be supporting that," Land said.
He then suggested that some of the landscaping funds could be, instead, put into the tree mitigation bank.
Commissioner Kathy Till said some of the funds instead could be spent on environmental programs at the school.
In the end, city and school staff members agreed to work with each other based on what city commissioners wanted and to bring the changes back before the council at its February 2 meeting.
In the Lynx Superstop issue, Till questioned what the bus stop would look like, and that developed into discussion about maintenance and other issues involving the stop, including the possibility of adding parking for cars.
A Lynx spokeswoman said the Apopka Superstop would be maintained three times a week.
City Council postponed approval of the final development plan so that city staff and Lynx staff could address some of the concerns of the commissioners.
In other action the council:
Heard city resident Brian Sanders tell the council that it "holds some responsibility" for the division in the community over the placement of a second high school in the Apopka area. "You have a responsibility to bring this city back together," Sanders told commissioners. Land responded to Sanders, as did all the commissioners. The mayor said that the debate on the issue was not necessarily bad. "I appreciate the debate we have on anything of that nature," he said. "If your feelings were hurt during the discussion, that's part of the debate. I'm not saying that some of our feelings weren't hurt." Land also agreed with Sanders that healing was necessary. "Maybe we can find a way to keep some of the rancor down." Arrowsmith said some of the bad feelings came at the Orange County School Board meeting when Land was introduced to speak. "A line was drawn in the sand with me with the despicable act of booing our mayor. It was so poor. To do that in front of another board, that was the most un-Apopka thing I've ever seen I my life."
Approved the first reading of a change of zoning from County A-1 to City R-1AA for property owned by Timothy and Diane Blalock west of Rock Springs Road and south of Ponkan Road .
Gave the OK for the replat of Clear Lake Estates, west of Binion Road and north of Boy Scout Road .
Approved the final development plan for the Gentry Insurance building, across Main Street from City Hall.
Heard Mayor Land give his annual State of the City address, as he did earlier in the day at the Apopka Are Chamber of Commerce's monthly membership luncheon at Errol Estate Country Club.
Article from the Apopka Chief
Date: January 21, 2005
Author: Maya Lazarovitz, Apopka Chief Staff
MAYOR: STATE OF THE CITY IS "SOUND"
"The state of the city is sound. Our level of service is equaled by only a few, and surpassed by none. We are on the threshold of greatness," said Mayor John Land in his state of the city address to the Apopka Area Chamber of Commerce at its monthly lunch meeting Wednesday, January 19.
Apopka's population is expected to reach 35,000 this summer. In 2004, the city had 384 authorized employees, which included 80 firefighters, and 80 police officers.
The total annual budget was more than $50 million, and the gross taxable value was $1.5 billion. During 2004, the city issued nearly $103 million in building permits, making it the largest year for growth on record, nearly 25 percent more that 2003's $82 million in permits, the previous record.
"These are all projects to meet the needs of growth," Land said. "Being the second largest city in Orange County is no something we tried to do, but we want our services to be the best."
Upcoming projects for this year include improvements to Kit Land Nelson Park and Alonzo Williams Park, the design and construction of Jason Dwelley Parkway and improvements to Bradshaw Road . Major projects in 2004 were the extension of Vick Road from Lester Road to Ponkan Road , phase four of downtown Apopka renovation and improvements to Second Street , from Park Avenue to U.S. Highway 441.
The Vick Road project consisted of two lanes, including two bike lands and sidewalks, and infrastructure enhancements such as drainage and utilities. It cost $1,378,000.
The downtown renovation included Central Avenue roadway and landscaping upgrades, the installation of sidewalks, water main replacement along Central Avenue and streetlights throughout downtown.
The renovation, which cost $745,000, was funded by a grant from the state Community Development Department.
Improvements to Second Street included the removal of existing curbs and bricks and the reconstruction of new curbing, road, base, sidewalks and a drainage system. The improvements cost $368,000.
Other ventures were the installation of new traffic lights at the intersection of Vick Road and Old Dixie Highway , and Ponkan Road and Vick Road , and the construction of a northwest reuse pump station.
Nearly 38 percent of all water pumped by the city is reclaimed.
"We've been active in water conservation for years, and we will continue to provide more facilities for that," Land said.
The three hurricanes that tore through Central Florida had a big impact on the city, Land said, "but our citizens worked together to clean up the roads. We all pull together in Apopka at times like that."
Hurricanes Charley , Frances and Jeanne cost the city a total of $770, 663, $740,000 of which FEMA is expected to reimburse.
"We haven't' received any funds yet, but hopefully we will receive help, because they were a big expense to the city," Land said about the storms.
Accomplishments in 2005 included the Apopka Fire Department receiving an ISO rating of 1, the best rating a department can receive. AFD is one of 45 departments in the country with a 1 rating.
Out of 208 fire departments in Florida , only five are rated a 1. AFD is the only department rated 1 in Central Florida . Insurance agencies use the ISO rating to determine fire protection insurance rates, so a 1 rating could save city businesses and homeowners' money.
Land said he is proud of the fire department's ISO rating. "We did it the old fashioned way.we worked hard for it."
Although he named a joint planning agreement with Orange County as another accomplishment, he was concerned about a study to consolidate services between Orange County and Orlando , calling it the "camel's nose under the tent. We need to take notice of it." The consolidation of services could dilute AFD and its ISO rating, he said.
"Some say bigger is better, but that's not the case for us," Land said. "Some people call it an economy of scale. I say "yes", it's an economy of small scale." We are on top of our services.
"It's not about how big we are or how fast we've grown, but the growth shows that Apopka is a good place that everyone wants to be in, and we need to incorporate them into our good community spirit."
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE A HARD COPY OF THE MAYOR'S ADDRESS, PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL AT: kathyspud@aol.com OR LINK THROUGH THE WEBSITE. PLEASE GIVE YOUR NAME AND COMPLETE ADDRESS, AND INDICATE YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF THIS ADDRESS.
Article from Apopka Chief - 10/29/04
Planning agreement OK'd over Sindler's objections
By: John Peery, Apopka Chief Staff
Following in the footsteps of the Apopka City's Council's action six
days prior, the Orange County Commission on Tuesday, October 26, approved
a Joint Planning Area agreement that will allow the county and city
to jointly plan growth issues in the designated area, which covers much
of Northwest Orange County.
But, like it was when the Apopka City Council approved the agreement
on October 20, the Orange County public hearing wasn't without dissent
as several opponents of the agreement-commonly known as a JPA-spoke
to the document. Most requested a delay in the approval process so they
could further study the agreement.
The biggest opposition came from Orange County Commissioner Bob Sindler.
His was the lone no vote in the 6-1 passage by the commission. He represents
Northwest Orange County, including all the area of the JPA, and he is
very much is opposition of the agreement.
"This is very, very restrictive to small property owner's rights,"
Sindler said in trying to convince fellow commissioners to see it his
way.
After the meeting, he further explained his opposition. "The residents
in the area (affected by the JPA), for the most part, didn't want it.
I think it is far worse than what we could have come up with,"
he said.
The Joint Planning Area agreement maps out growth patterns, including
land use and zoning issues, as well as delivery of governmental services,
especially utilities.
Those who spoke against the agreement live in the unincorporated area
of Northwest Orange County, although there were some who live in the
area who spoke in favor of the JPA.
Charles Martin, an attorney with McLeod Law Offices of Apopka, represented
several landowners at the meeting and said his clients knew little about
what was in the agreement because they had not been involved in the
discussion of it. "They feel like they have been denied the opportunity
to participate in the discussion of the JPA," Martin said to the
county commissioners.
He said the landowners also had other concerns and he was the first
to call for the commission to delay the vote.
Bob Webster, an area resident and a just of the peace in the 1960s in
Orange County, spoke against the agreement. "I'm somewhat aghast
at this instrument," Webster said. He also predicted dire consequences
for the JPA. "I don't think this will ever stand up to a court
challenge."
George Wiggins, representing the Tangerine Improvement Society said
it was a "fairly good JPA," but also asked the commission
to "at the very least delay this (vote)."
However, Tanner Scofield, who lives in the unincorporated area of Northwest
Orange County affected by the agreement, spoke in favor of it. "I
hope you pass the JPA right now. We need the JPA. We'll have two entities
to protect our interests. This is an excellent way to build a foundation."
Two members of the environmental community echoed Scofield's comments.
Charles Lee, representing the Audubon Society of Florida, said that
the JPA provides the "framework" for future land use. He did
question certain parts of the agreement, saying that open space requirements
should be higher. But, he liked the JPA. "The agreement is a very
good agreement."
Keith Schue, representing the Central Florida Sierra Club, said the
JPA "holds Apopka to those same density and intensity requirements
(as Orange County has)."
If there were no JPA, he said, "Orange County basically has given
up having any say on what happens in Northwest Orange County."
"This is a decent start; a lot remains to be done," Schue
said.
The three-hour public hearing that started nearly two hours later than
the 3:30 pm start time began with an overview by county attorney Tom
Drage.
County Chairman Rich Crotty called the agreement a "historic document."
The JPA covers an area roughly from McCormick Road on the south to the
Lake County line on the north. To the east, the boundary of the JPA
is just east of Rock Springs Road and then bounces to the Seminole County
line south of Votaw Road, but leaves out such areas as Bent Oak, Sweetwater,
and Rolling Oaks. On the west side, the JPA's border is along Round
Lake Road, but it does not take in Zellwood Station.
Tied directly to the JPA is an agreement approved by both the city and
county for Apopka to take over the delivery of water and sewer services
to almost all of Northwest Orange County, including areas outside the
JPA proposed boundaries.
As part of that agreement, the city will purchase the county's waste
and sewer facilities in Northwest Orange and then be responsible for
delivering those services to customers. The city expects to pay about
$8 million for the facilities and land.
The only areas where the city will not be responsible for delivering
water and sewer services to individual customers is in Zellwood Station
and in two areas in extreme Northwest Orange, including the Foothills
of Mount Dora development that is in Orange County, but will have those
services delivered by the city of Mount Dora.
In the case of Zellwood Station, Apopka will sell water wholesale to
the development, which will then deliver and bill the customers.
Drage said that county residents who currently receive sewer and water
service from the county will see a drop of about $4 in their monthly
bills when the city of Apopka takes over. Water-only customers will
see no change in their bills, he said.
During the JPA negotiations between city staff and county staff, much
of what governed the talks are the requirements under the recently passed
Wekiva Parkway Protection Act. That state law governs growth-related
issues in all of Apopka and Northwest Orange County, especially in the
undeveloped areas north of Kelly Park Road.
Charley's effects talk of City Council's meeting
The Apopka Chief - August 20, 2004
By John Perry - Apopka Chief Staff
The effect of damage caused by Hurricane Charley was on top of the
list Wednesday, August 18, at the City Council's regular meeting at
City Hall.
Sophia O'Keefe of Progress Energy said that the Friday, August 13, storm
caused "significant damage to our infrastructure," leaving
502,000 Progress Energy customers in the dark across the state. She
said a total of about two million people across the state wee without
power just after the storm passed through.
About 700 miles of the company's transmission lines were damaged, she
said.
Progress Energy's Bob Duncan told city commissioners that all city of
Apopka customers were expected to have their power restored by late
Wednesday, August 18. He said that customers who had damage at their
house or business would not have had their power restored until Thursday,
August 19.
O'Keefe said that some areas well south of Apopka, in Highland and Hardee
counties, sustained very heavy damage. "It's a rebuilding effort
(there), not reconstruction," she said.
At the height of the repair and rebuilding, there were repair crews
from 17 states helping in Florida. About 6,000 people, from Progress
Energy and the out-of-area companies, were working on the repair and
rebuilding, she said.
Mayor John H. Land said that "everybody really appreciates"
the work being done by the power company. "Most folks are taking
it (the power outage) with a little laugh, but not everybody was that
way," he said.
In other action, the council:
· Approved the first of two required readings for the annexation
of 20 parcels. The properties are located across the Apopka area, but
most are on the north side of the city. A little more than 200 of the
684 acres are currently vacant, while 312 acres currently houses residences
and nursery or agricultural businesses. About 50 of the acres involve
the site for the new high school that will be just north of Ponkan Road,
west of Rock Springs Road about a half-mile. That school will be built
as a relief school for Apopka High School. The new campus is expected
to open in 2007 as Apopka High. It will operate as AHS for two years
while the current AHS campus is demolished and rebuilt. Both schools
are scheduled to open in 2009.
· Awarded the city's banking services to AmSouth Bank.
· Agreed to extend by 30 days the time allowed for permits on
land that ZAC, LLC, has agreed to purchase. The parcel is owned by the
city. It is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of U.S.
441 and Bradshaw Road. As part of the agreement, the buyer has doubled
its non-refundable deposit to $58,000. The closing date remains on October
13.
· Gave the OK to extend the final development plan for Apopka
Market Place, an out-parcel in front of Wal-Mart Supercenter.
· The project was begun in November 2002, but the multi-business
strop shopping center stands uncompleted as no work as been done since
May 2003. Code enforcement fines on the project amount to more than
$44,000 and have been accruing at $300 per day since February 24. A
new buyer is expected to begin work on the project soon.
City will raise taxes for 1st time in decade
Increase is expected to be less than.5 mil.
Reprinted from the Apopka Chief, Volume 81 Number 28
Article written by John Perry, Apopka Chief Staff
For the first time in 10 years, the Millage rate in Apopka will go
up.
Budget director Ron Landon told the City Council Wednesday, July 7,
that the tax rate must be raised in order to balance the city budget.
The proposed general fund budget of $24,403,500 that he presented to
the council includes a Millage rate increase of .5 mills, but he said
he does not expect the increase to be that much.
"We do believe the (proposed budget) request you receive on July
21, 2004, will be less than .5 mills" Landon wrote in his presentation
letter to the council "it is likely at this point that there will
be a need for a Millage increase due to the pressing needs of our community."
Following the meeting, Landon said that he hopes to shave one-tenth
or two-tenths off the .5 mills increase.
He told the council the increase could be reduced by a lower increase
than expected for employee health care premiums, financing or postponing
capital purchases, phasing in of new employees, and better-than-expected
return on city investments.
Landon said that the city was told earlier this year that it could expect
a 20 percent increase in health care premiums for its employees, but
that the increase is now expected to be a little less than 10 percent.
The budget director said that the city pays about $3.8 million for various
insurance premiums. That number represents about 7.5 percent of the
city's total proposed budget of $50,741,800. The total budget includes
the general fund, other revenue funds, and the enterprise funds, which
include sewer, water and garbage collection.
Landon said that the Millage rate increase could be reduced by the hiring
of additional employees who may be phased in over the next fiscal year,
rather than being hired to start on October 1, which is the beginning
of the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
He said the city needs a net gain of nine new positions at a cost of
$489,100. The amount is more than 60 percent of the proposed increase
in the Millage rate, Landon said.
The proposed millage rate hike would equal $10 in additional property
tax for each $100,000 in taxable property value. For a $125,000 home
with a $25,000 homestead exemption, it would equal $50 more per year.
The current millage rate is 3.7619 mills, which equals $3.76 in tax
for each $1,000 in taxable property value.
According to information supplied by the Orange County property appraiser's
office, Apopka gained $90,399,655 in new taxable value over the past
year.
Overall, Apopka now has $1,434,430,273 in taxable property value, according
to information from the appraiser's office.
The City Council will tentatively set the proposed millage rate at its
July 21 meeting and then adopt the proposed millage rate and the tentative
budget on September 8.
The final budget approval will take place on September 15.
The Apopka Chief, February 27, 2004
Throughout the last half-century, Apopka's city government, including the City Council, has been marked by consistency. Much of that, of course, is due to Mayor John Land and his running of the city.
Consistency can be good, but sometimes so can change.
In the City Council race for Seat 3, featuring incumbent Mark Holmes and challenger Kathy Till, that statement is very applicable.
Holmes has been a consistent member of the council, serving for the past 16 years. But, Till, an Apopka resident for 12 years, has immersed herself in the community, and wants to serve even more as city commissioner.
And, we think she deserves the chance.
Holmes certainly has been a fine commissioner. And, we would state that this has been his finest term. He has had a better grasp of the issues at hand over the past four years than in any other term.
But, Till has proved to us that she is already ahead of the curve as it relates to knowledge about City Hall, city government, and how they both function.
She has done her homework, both in terms of talking to people and researching documents.
If she is elected, she certainly would have plenty to learn, but we know she would pour herself into the job, learning very quickly anything and everything about the job.
We see many similarities in this race between the incumbent and challenger to one race several years ago between Iris Tapley and Bert Carrier. That Orange County School Board race featured a solid incumbent in Tapley and an outstanding challenger in Carrier. In that race, we endorsed neither, saying that we felt either would do a fine job representing this area. Time has proved us correct in that feeling, as we know Tapley did a great job before Carrier defeated her, and has been an outstanding school board member since winning the seat.
In the City Council race, Holmes has done a fine job, but we think that Till deserves a chance to prove what she can do for the community.
If Holmes wins, Apopka will continue to be served in that council seat in a fine manner. However, Till should be given a chance to serve her city.
The Apopka Chief endorses Kathy Till for City Council Seat 3.
The Apopka Chief, October 10, 2003
By John Peery
Apopka Chief Staff
Citing a four-issue platform, Apopka resident Kathy Till formally announced
her candidacy for a City Council seat Wednesday, October 8, in a 30-minute
ceremony in front of City Hall. Surrounded by about 20 family, friends
and supporters. Till, who has lived in Apopka for 12 years, said, “It’s
time for me to give back to this city.”
She will run for Seat 3, which is currently held by Mark Holmes. “I
feel I would make a very good leader,” she said. Apopka has “overcome” many
challenges Till said, but there are “still so many” facing
the city.
In her speech that was sometimes interrupted by passing trucks along U.S.
Highway 441, till offered these four issues for her platform: Population
growth, traffic, environmental, and downtown redevelopment. “
The challenges we face are not easy ones,” she said. Till said she
was in favor of continued growth for the city. “Apopka
is one of the most vibrant, exciting and economical communities in Central
Florida,” she said. The candidate said population projections estimate
that more than 60,000 people will live in Apopka in 10 years, up from the
current 31,000. “Growth
is vital to our local economy,: she said.
Till said that, as a member of
the Apopka Area Chamber of Commerce’s
board of directors, she would make sure the chamber and city work together
to attract new businesses. “We need to recruit small businesses as
well as large ones,” she said. “Business growth is a crucial
element for Apopka.” Included in that should be more retail establishments,
she said. “It
is definitely time for Apopka to have a variety of shops and restaurants.” But
with that growth, she said, comes traffic. Till said up to 50,000 vehicles
per day travel along U.S. 441 each day. “
I believe we must look for and support alternative roadways in this area,
including the Apopka Bypass,” she said. The Bypass and other roads
would help alleviate congestion in downtown Apopka, which, Till said, would
allow for continued redevelopment of downtown.
As people felt safe to walk around the downtown corridor, it would allow
the “ongoing redevelopment of downtown Apopka,” she said. She
acknowledged the city’s efforts on redevelopment, but said more must
be done.
Environmental issues must be addressed, she said. “We must protect
our natural resources and greenways.”
But, whatever the issues, Till said she will lend and ear to citizens. “If
elected, I will take the time to listen to you. My job (as a city commissioner)
is to represent your concerns. I will not make promises I cannot keep,” she
said.
Till announced her candidacy five months ahead of the next city election,
which is slated for March 9, 2004. A runoff vote, if necessary, would be
held April 13, 2004.
The first-time candidate said there “really isn’t any particular
reason” she is running for Seat 3, currently held by Holmes. “I
have a lot of respect for Mr. Holmes,” she said.
Holmes, who has not formally declared his candidacy but said he plans on
running for re-election, said he would be “calling on my support” that
he has had in the past. “
I think the people of Apopka would like for me to serve again. My intention
is definitely for me to seek reelection to my seat.” He said
he was surprised by a five-month lead-time that Till gave to her formal
announcement. “I don’t know why she is declaring so
early.” Holmes, 51 has been in office for 16 years.
Also up for a vote in 2004 is the seat held by Bill Arrowsmith, who has
not said if he will run for re-election.
The March vote will be the first time in the city’s 121-year history
that the election will not be held in December. The election was changed
to coincide with elections held by other municipalities across Orange County.
The March 9 city election will be held on Super Tuesday, which will include
the presidential preference primary. Qualifying for the council seats will
be during January 2004.
Till, 41, is married to Larry Till. They have a daughter, Sonya, and a
son, Jonathan.