As they do each year before going to Tallahassee for the annual Legislative session, Osceola County’s state representatives held a public session Thursday to hear what priorities local government officials and public groups have for funded projects and other legislation.
State representatives Kristen Arrington (District 46, D-Kissimmee), Paula Stark (47, R-St. Cloud) and Fred Hawkins (35, R-St. Cloud) and state Sen. Victor Torres (25, D-Orlando) were present; Rep. Caroline Amesty (45, R-Orlando), who represents Celebration and Champions Gate, was absent due to illness.
A highlight was Torres’ willingness to bump up funds asked for to complete or begin projects, such as being willing to double the City of Kissimmee’s asks for funding for low-income housing initiatives and flooding issues to $1 million and $2 million respectively.
“It’s my last two years, let’s make it count. The state has the money, let’s use it for the quality of life for our residents,” he said. “Lets’ make sure it comes down to our constituents.”
With the severe flooding from Hurricane Ian fresh on local minds, it was a popular topic Thursday. City of St. Cloud officials, for example, asked for funding to purchase high-capacity pumps. Osceola County asked to help upgrade stormwater basins in Shingle, Boggy, Reedy Creeks.
“We may have a system that is deficient,” County Manager Don Fisher said. He also asked that water management districts to use actual system basins, rather than arbitrary points, to mark boundaries. For example, State Road 528 is the line between the St. John’s Water Management District and the South Florida Water Management District, and the movement of water from one affected the other during Hurricane Ian.
St. Cloud also requested funding for Chisholm Park improvements, and for site improvements and to replace an obsolete Fire Department training facility that’s been condemned. Blackwell also noted the city is building Station 35 to serve the new Tohoqua community.
“Without state funding we’ll have to allocate funds, which will delay construction of the fire station,” Mayor Nathan Blackwell said, to which Hawkins noted Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed state funds for every fire station last year, saying DeSantis considered them “local issues.”
Osceola County School Board District Chair Terry Castillo asked for a focus on salary compression funding for teachers and staff, in order to create flexibility for veteran teacher salaries, which of late have not been much more than for those just entering teaching.
“We’re moving up, but we’re still one of the lowest-funded districts per student,” Castillo said.
Valencia College President Dr. Kathleen Plinske said her school also feels the pinch and asked for more funds per student. The 70,000-student school across Orange and Osceola counties is the least-funded state college in the state, she said.
“We measure our success by who we include instead of who we exclude,” Plinske told the delegation of its open-enrollment stance.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office requested funding for mental health programs and clinicians, and to evaluate 911 dispatchers’ designations as first responders instead of office staff.
Tourism groups – Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing arm, asked for its budget to go from $50 to $100 million -- conservation groups, family groups advocating tougher gun laws, fine arts and film advocates, foster families groups, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida and the Special Olympics Florida all took time to advise the delegation on the work they do. Charles Lee, Audubon Florida’s Director of Advocacy, supported the county’s land use legislation that prevented a large development west of Yeehaw Junction.
Hawkins and Torres were named Chair and Vice Chair for the delegation next year.
