Winter Springs lighting district approves $42,000 North Fountain repair; staff seeks higher assessment cap

The Winter Springs Lighting & Beautification District board voted to authorize a $42,000 repair to the district’s North Fountain and heard staff outline a rate study that could raise the district’s legal assessment cap, a cap board members said has not changed since 2007.

The move comes as staff told the board that, under current contracts and service levels, the district’s fund balance will fall to roughly $14,000 by the end of the next fiscal year unless the assessment cap or annual rate is increased. The board also reviewed a list of capital and maintenance needs — from median landscape rehabilitation to monument repairs and irrigation monitoring — that staff say will require larger, multiyear funding.

Kevin McCann, mayor of the City of Winter Springs, opened public comment by urging the board to treat the work seriously and to “look at the numbers and let your own mind guide you.” A resident, Ted Doss of 701 Sybilwood Circle, told the board that outages tied to Duke Energy left portions of the lighting district unlit during recent holiday seasons and said some district features — including the district sign and some decorative lights — are not functioning as intended.

Holly Queen, the city’s finance director, reviewed year-to-date fiscal figures and told the board the…