New faces in local government have now taken their seats.
Two new St. Cloud City Council and Osceola County School Board members each have taken their seats.
On Tuesday, Heather Kahoun (district 4) and Erika Booth (district 5) were sworn in to their seats, replacing Clarence Thacker and Robert Bass, who did not seek re-election.
Following that ceremony, Castillo was named the board chair for the second year in a row, and Booth was named vice chair.
Kahoun and Booth will sit in on their first meeting with fellow board members Terry Castillo, Julius Melendez and Jon Arguello on Tuesday, Dec. 13. The School Board will move its meetings to the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, in order to avoid conflict with the Kissimmee City Commission’s meetings on the first and third Tuesdays.
St. Cloud City Council: Last week, Ken Gilbert and Shawn Fletcher were sworn in last Thursday at St. Cloud City Hall — then, hours later, sat in on their first meeting. They took the seats of Dave Askew and Keith Trace, who did not seek reelection this year.
“I had a lot more hair when I started eight years ago,” Askew said, noting the two new councilmen will find success if they stay responsive to city residence.
Trace noted the challenges the Council helped the city weather, like water and growth issues and the recent hurricanes.
“Over that time I think I found Dave’s hair,” Trace said as his own mic-drop moment.
During their first meeting, they heard an impassioned plea from a downtown business owner asking to bring a quicker end to the streetscape program that has closed Pennsylvania Avenue and lanes of 10th Street for much longer than was anticipated.
According to the city, Pennsylvania was supposed to be open in time for the Dec. 3 city Christmas parade, but now is slated to open from 9th to 10th Street on Dec. 9, and through 13th Street partially by Dec. 16. And 10th Street will not be fully open until — brace yourselves if you own a downtown business along the thoroughfare — Feb. 8.
Trevor Estill owns of The Garage Bar and Thee Dog House, on the portions of Pennsylvania Avenue near or on the blocks under construction. He told the Council his receipts are down 70 percent year over year, from a 2021 that was a COVID recovery time, and that numerous employees can’t afford to work for him because of diminished tips.
”It has become absolutely dire,” Estill said. “I’ve been one of the most ardent supporters of this project. But we are dying a slow, painful death because of all the construction delays.”
Cathcart Construction has had delays because of discovering underground pipes and storage tanks not found on original plans — and then working around two hurricanes in six weeks also hindered work.
“It’s devastating to lose good people, the continued delays have tied our hands to a degree,” Estill said, noting that despite help from the city, the project’s slow movement is “crippling” the downtown economy.
City staff, along with City Attorney Dan Mantzaris, said that providing incentives to Cathcart — whose promises the city said left it “apprehensive” — to finish is the best way to move forward. City Manager Veronica Miller said there are funds in the project to offer those contingency incentives.
“There has to be something we can do to put some pressure on this. There are days where people don’t see anybody working,” Council member Lynette Matheny said. “We’ve got to get this done, the roads open and the businesses some help.”
Businesses are open, and residents are encouraged to brave the challenges to support them when and where possible.
