College Park Neighborhood Association News

Amway Arena Implosion this Sunday!

Adrian La Sala — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:58:52 GMT

By Michelle Brennan

As Mayor Dyer mentioned at City Council on Monday, the implosion of the Amway Arena is scheduled for Sunday, March 25 at approximately 7:30 a.m.

In partnership with the Creative Village Development team, the City has developed some information about what residents may hear, see and experience on the morning of the scheduled implosion. Please click here to read the overview that should answer any questions you or your neighbors might have about the planned activities for the morning of Sunday, March 25 and the weeks and months that follow. I encourage you to share this information with your neighbors.

I wanted to share some additional details as what to expect and some suggestions for preparing your home, click here for these details. I’m also asking you to share this information with your neighbors.

Channel 13 has agreed to broadcast the implosion live. We are encouraging residents to watch the implosion on TV. We have also established a dedicated phone line 407.246.3730 for anyone with questions about the project or implosion.

January Newsletter Correction to "LYMMO Update" Article

Andrew — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:19:58 GMT

To the readers of the College Park News Letter there is misleading information in the January Newsletter article titled "LYMMO Update" that needs to be corrected.

The North Corridor, which includes the leg to College Park is not currently funded for implementation.

Sunday In The Park call for sponsors

Andrew — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:21:24 GMT

Sunday in the Park is currently looking for a title sponsor.

As one of College Park's signature family events, Sunday in the Park offers potential sponsors the opportunity to connect with thousands of College Park and Downtown area residents. Sponsorship of this event offers excellent visibility and the opportunity to develop strong community relationships with residents and local businesses in the College Park area.

Attendance at SIP has consistently been between 3,500 and 4,500 throughout it's history and this year is expected to continue this trend. The event features entertainment by local performing artists, as well as exotic animal handlers. There will be amusement attractions for children of all ages as well as vendor booths where local business owners can connect with residents and other businesses. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of Sunday in the Park please contact Cleave Frink at Sundayinthepark@collegeparkorlando.org for more information.

LYMMO Study - North/South Corridors

Andrew — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:30:52 GMT

We Still Need Your Help!

Thank you to those who attended the meetings for the LYMMO North/South Corridors on January 26 and 30, 2012. We appreciate you taking the time to provide comments and complete the questionnaire.

For those who were not able to attend the meetings, there is still time to complete the online questionnaire at www.lymmostudy.com.

Your input is very important to us to complete the LYMMO Study.

Thank you for your participation!

For More Information

Go to www.lymmostudy.com or contact Ginger Corless at

407.616.5500 or gcorless@hhidesign.com

College Park just named "Best Neighborhood" on the Daily City!!

Andrew — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:26:07 GMT

Click here to view the article.

Lymmo Study - Public Meetings info

Andrew — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:44:20 GMT

LYNX and the City of Orlando are partnering to evaluate the expansion of the LYMMO circulator system. This LYMMO Study will provide a fresh look at transit modes, alignment alternatives, ridership demand, costs and impacts, and potential funding strategies associated with an expanded LYMMO service. The study is being conducted following Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Alternative Analysis procedures to keep open the prospect of future federal funding for an expanded LYMMO system.

Click here to download the meeting flyer which contain the public meeting location dates and times and click here for a PDF version of the Powerpoint presentation that was presented at the Jan 9th CPNA meeting. For further information, please visit LymmoStudy.com

Edgewater Drive Resurfacing Starts Jan. 17th

Andrew — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:55:06 GMT

Edgewater Drive, from North of Eagle Way to West Colonial Drive, will be resurfaced beginning January 17, 2012; the work is expected to be completed around January 31, 2012. Please plan accordingly.

Click here to download a PDF that outlines the process and more detailed information.

A Year in Review

Adrian La Sala — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 03:44:22 GMT

As I look back over the past year, it’s hard to believe my term as CPNA’s president is all but over! We’ve had a tremendous year, reaching a major milestone on a couple of our College Park traditions, continuing others, and supporting a new venture in our community garden.

While it was my first year as president, it was the twenty-fourth year for the College Park Neighborhood Association, and a great one at that. However, it is far from a one man show—our success is because of the hard work of many many individuals who love College Park and contribute to it in so many different ways.

So, this is my chance to look back over the past year and thank you all for your part in making this year great! Let’s review…

Monthly Meetings

One of the things we strive to do is connect our neighborhood with government and business and anything or anyone who might impact us. To that end we hold our monthly meetings, and we had some incredible meetings and presentations this year.

Our Commissioner visited regularly to keep us up to date with the City. We also had visits and presentations from government representatives including State Representative Scott Randolph, Mayor Buddy Dyer, Police Chief Paul Rooney, School Board Representative Nancy Robinsson and all of the local public school principals. We also had great presentations from other guests, including Jody Barry from Florida Hospital, Ginger Corless of the LYMMO project, and others from OUC, CPP, OJA and many, many more.

We learned a lot and were able to provide feedback about many projects impacting our neighborhood, including the LYMMO expansion, Florida Hospital’s Health Village, and Princeton Elementary School’s construction. From all of us on the board to all of our presenters, thank you for giving your time to share your knowledge with us, answering our questions, and soliciting our opinions.

This coming year, we already have plans for LYMMO to return (in January) and update us on a College Park route to and from the Sunrail. We hope to have a presentation about the Creative Village to our south (date pending). We also intend to continue our tradition inviting candidates in local elections to come and speak with us. So there is a lot to look forward to.

Events

One of the other things we do is try to bring the community together, and hold events that benefit the children of College Park. While many residents come to our meetings, we may best be known for our events; namely CPNA’s:

This year we celebrated twenty years of the College Park Historic Homes Tour and Sunday in the Park events! Mayor Dyer even issued a proclamation about our twenty year milestone, and Commissioner Stuart donated 20 trees to the neighborhood for this important anniversary. Many thanks to Bruce Thomas, who has run Sunday in the Park for the last several years and Jodi Rubin who has run the Historic Homes tour for even more. These events are part of the fabric of College Park and your dedication and hard work over the years is what has made them so loved.

We also held our annual Easter Egg Hunt, thanks to Mike Norato. As usual the hunt was fast and furious and the kids loved finding the eggs and visiting with the Easter bunny.

Finally, we held our newest event for the second time, Movies in the Park, thanks to Allie Loveland’s leadership. I think everyone who braved the chill air will agree that it was great to hang out with friends and family and watch the original Willy Wonka in Dartmouth Park. We hope to do this more often next year and hope to see you there!

Committees

Less visible to many is the hard work of our committees. Our committees do everything from taking care of the College Park Gateway Signs we built, to monitoring traffic, to managing our membership, to arranging treats for our meetings, and more. Thank you to all of our committee chairs and members who keep an eye out for these special interests. We are the beneficiaries of your hard work and appreciate your time and dedication.

In Closing

So as you can see, it was a year filled with great things. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your neighborhood association president—I am thrilled to have the chance to give back to a community that has given me so much.

And thank you to everyone who helped us in this our twenty-fourth year. Here’s to a great twenty-fifth!

Though I won’t be president next year, I’m sure I’ll see you at the meetings, the events, and all around this great neighborhood of College Park.

Street Closure - Edgewater Drive from Smith Street to Winter Park Street

Andrew — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:38:36 GMT

The above location will be closed on Thursday, December 1st from 2:00PM to 10:30PM for College Park's Holiday on the Drive event.

If you need additional information regarding this event, please contact Freda Vick, of the Orlando Police Department’s Special Operations Division, phone 407 246-2442. If you have any questions regarding street closure(s), contact Patty Little of the Transportation Engineering Division, at 407 246-3246.

Tree Trimming in College Park

Andrew — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:47:44 GMT

The City of Orlando has a long tradition of caring for and cultivating its urban forest. To that effort, the City is currently performing tree trimming and pruning in the College Park area.

Trees located in the right-of-way are being trimmed to heights which conform to the International Society of Arboriculture standards. Additionally, any hanging or damaged limbs are removed. The work is being completed by a combination of City staff and the City’s tree contractor under the direction of certified arborists. Regular pruning improves the health and appearance of trees, prolonging their useful life through the removal of undesirable branches, whether they are dead, weakened, diseased or insect-infested. Furthermore it aids in keeping emergency vehicles, refuse vehicles, buses, delivery trucks, etc. from hitting the trees and damaging them or the vehicles.

As a proud recipient of the Tree City USA Designation for the 34th year, Orlando has been nationally recognized for its commitment to trees. In addition to the regular trimming, Street Trees are available to residents through the Parks Division. If you are interested in learning more about this program, contact the Parks Division at 407-246-4932.

Community Garden Meeting

Andrew — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:34:41 GMT

NOW is the time to sign your membership application to garden in the College Park Community Garden! You can sign them online at www.collegeparkcommunitygarden.com/application/ or come to the meeting tonight and fill one out.

We have held interest meetings to get this idea started, many of you have attended those meeting of contacted me directly. Now as we approach the physical building of the garden we need residents to complete an application to say that they are going to actively participate in gardening a plot of the community garden.

College Park Community Garden Meeting

APPLICATIONS DUE

Location: Orlando Junior Academy

30 E. Evans St

Orlando, FL 32804

Time: 6pm-7pm

Par Street Drainage Improvements

Adrian La Sala — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:22:38 GMT

Cindy Light, the Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator of the Office of Communications & Neighborhood Relations for the City of Orlando, sent us an update to keep us informed with good news on an agenda item that was approved at the last City Council meeting on Oct. 17 for the College Park area.

A contract was awarded to C.E.James, Inc. for construction of Par Street Drainage improvements. Below is the link to the details of the agenda item.

Par Street Improvements

These improvements will divert stormwater away from the low areas of Par Street between Harrison Ave. and Formosa Ave., thus reducing the potential for flooding. In addition, these improvements will also result in safer driving conditions on streets in the neighborhood during severe storms, and diversion of stormwater runoff from the street surface into a closed conveyance system will help to extend the life of asphalt street surfaces in this area.

The contact person for this project is Michael Meltzer at michael.melzer@cityoforlando.net if there are any questions.

Join our Board!

Adrian La Sala — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:05:08 GMT

This year, CPNA has accomplished a great deal, including a wonderfully successful Sunday in the Park, a great Easter Egg hunt, and what promises to be a fantastic Movies in the Park.

In addition, we have helped our neighbors face crime issues, held the College Park Schools Update, helped the College Park Community Garden get started, and generally tried our best to make our neighborhood something our entire community can enjoy.

It's all done by our board and member volunteers.

Care to join us? It's a great time to get involved!

Our Elections

November is our general meeting, in which we hold our board elections. Our Nominating Committee will present their recommendations for next year’s board members, and during the November meeting, all members have a chance to vote on them.

Submitting Your Name

We are seeking to fill

Two board of director positions.
One officer position: Treasurer.

If you are interested in being considered a candidate, or an alternate should a position open up later in the year, please email your name, phone number and email address to to nominations@collegeparkorlando.org.

Applications are preferred by October 22. Deadline is 7pm Nov 5.

Fall in College Park

Adrian La Sala — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 02:52:36 GMT

Fall is one of our nicest seasons, and to celebrate the slightly cooler air, it seems like there are always a variety of events all around town. College Park is no different--several things are already lined up for our neighborhood.

Movies in the Park

We are thrilled to host our second Movies in the Park at Dartmouth Park on November 5th. This year's Movie is the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

So gather the family and some lawn chairs and join us for the show!

CPNA Monthly Meeting

We try to keep you connected to all the great things going on in and around College Park. We have a great November Meeting lined up:

Mayor Buddy Dyer - the Mayor will visit, update us on the city and answer a few questions.
Health Village - Florida Hospital will also be updating us on the progress Health Village development.
Elections - We will also be holding our annual board elections. If you are interested in joining our board, it is a great time to get involved--you can read more about how to apply in the next article.

And More...

From the Fall Festival, to the Homecoming Parade, to JazzFest, to Movies in the Park, to Holiday on the Drive, there is so much going on in 32804. Don’t forget that you can keep up with the latest events by visiting our Calendar. We send reminder emails to all of our members seven days before events happen. Note that if you prefer not to receive these emails, you can manage them by logging in, viewing your profile, and disabling them

Also, you can subscribe to our calendar through an RSS feed, or by email. For more information visit: http://collegeparkorlando.org/subscribe_events

We hope to see you around College Park enjoying the Fall, just like we will...

Street Closure - Edgewater Drive from Smith Street to Winter Park Street

Andrew — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:03:27 GMT

The above subject location will be closed on Saturday, October 22 from 2:30 PM until 11:30 PM, so that the “Downtown College Park Jazz Fest” event may occur.

Please exercise extreme caution in this area during this event.

City of Orlando Redistricting Advisory Board Wraps up!

cleave frink — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:14:02 GMT

The City's Redistricting Advisory Board wrapped up it's assignment by creating a proposed map to be presented to the City Council for their consideration. The Council will be presented with the RAB's report at the Council's workshop on Monday October 3rd. Then it will go before the full council at their regular two meetings. By law, the new proposal must be presented and reviewed twice by the council before adoption.

The proposed map was the result of an adherence to the legal guidelines laid out to the RAB by the City Staff, as well as input by scores of members of the public. The proposal does not satisfy everyone, but it does address as many of the concerns voiced by the public as possible. Our district, which is District 3, did not change noticeably. We gained the Fashion Square Mall and the adjacent neighborhoods to the west of Bennett Road called Colonial Town Center. No other changes to the District 3 borders were made.

In all, the report seems to be a equitable compromise between the various districts that needed to shrink and those that needed to grow. Please see the City's website for times and dates for upcoming meetings regarding Redistricting. There is still time to voice any concerns you may have about the proposed map. All of the proposals, including the final report can be found on the City's website at www.cityoforlando.net.

District 3 Orlando Redistricting Advisory Board Meeting at Edgewater High School

cleave frink — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:58:40 GMT

The City of Orlando's Redistricting Advisory Board (RAB) has been meeting since early July. The RAB is about halfway through it's process. There have been several meetings at City Hall and three Community meetings in the districts, including districts 5, 2, and 4. The District 3 Community meeting (which includes College Park) is Thursday August 18 at 6:30 pm at the Edgewater High School Auditorium. Members of the public are encouraged to come out and participate and comment on this process. The RAB wishes to hear your views on how the City's district lines should be redrawn. There are several proposals that are currently under review and available for public input. You can find these maps at the City's RAB website:

http://tinyurl.com/3sc53xa

Please plan to attend the district 3 community meeting. Tell your friends and neighbors. After the community meetings, the RAB will continue it's process in the City's Council Chambers every Tuesday until the beginning of October. Those meetings begin at 6:00 pm and members of the public are welcome to those meetings.

College Park - Best Place to Live!

Adrian La Sala — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 21:42:17 GMT

Well, I guess the word is out...

What we take for granted as the best place to live was also named as the personal best place to live in Orlando by Mike Boslet, the editor of Orlando Magazine.

2011 National Night Out

cleave frink — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:51:39 GMT

OPD's Neighborhood Watch department sponsored it's 2011 National Night Out effort on August 2nd. In District 3, our district, there were 21 NNO parties. City wide, there were 71 neighborhood parties, 9 NNO Goes to Church parties, and 6 National Morning Out events throughout the City of Orlando.

The Orlando Police department works hard each year to grow the National Night Out celebration. The program is meant to develop community/police relationships and promote the idea of Neighborhood Watch and Crime Prevention.

At our neighborhood party, we had new neighbors and long time neighbors mingling and getting to know each other. We were also fortunate enough to have a couple of OPD officers visit our party. They ate snacks and celebrated with us and got to know as many of the neighbors as they could. This is part of Chief Rooney's effort to allow officers to form better relationships with the community. Officer Kevlon Kirkpatrick and Jessica Stead from Commissioner Stuart's office visited all of the parties in District 3 as well. Also, the City's Green Up program delivered trees to 135 Neighborhood Watch Block Captains to be raffled off at various parties around Orlando.

National Night Out is one of the best events of the year in the City Beautiful. If you are interested in beginning a Neighborhood Watch Group on your block, please contact the Neighborhood Watch Office at the Orlando Police Department. Georgeanna Butler can help get you started and can be contacted at 407-246-2628.

College Park Pool Temporarily Closed

Adrian La Sala — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:55:45 GMT

College Park Pool has been hit by lightning and will be closed for the next week two weeks.

The Pool has a Registration scheduled for this Sat., June 30th, for swim lessons and needs to advise patrons that all programs have been moved to the John Long Memorial Pool at 1218 N.
Ferncreek Ave.