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Commission seeks input before merging Parks and Bicycle committees into 'Parks, Rec & Multimodal'
Summary
Commissioner Victoria Bruce moved to combine the Parks & Recreation and Bicycle & Pedestrian advisory committees into a seven-member 'Parks, Recreation and Multimodal' committee; commissioners asked staff to contact current members and return with proposed ordinance language and member responses before a final vote.
The City Commission of Winter Springs discussed restructuring two advisory boards at its Feb. 10 meeting and agreed to seek input from current members and city staff before finalizing a merger.
Commissioner Victoria Bruce proposed combining the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee and the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee into a single Parks, Recreation and Multimodal committee with a maximum of seven members to improve quorum reliability and align committee work. "I would like to make a motion that we combine the parks and recreation and bicycle and pedestrian committees and reduce this joined committee from, 5 or 9 to to 7," Bruce said on the dais.
The commission’s discussion ranged from the practical (current membership and quorum problems) to legal formality (whether each advisory body was established by ordinance or resolution). City staff told commissioners the parks and bicycle boards are created by ordinance and would therefore require a two-reading ordinance amendment to change their composition or merge them; the Veterans Advisory Board, by contrast, was established by resolution. Christian (city clerk) confirmed that the Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee had two active members and Parks & Recreation had three active members at the time of the meeting.
Several commissioners and residents urged care before implementation. Commissioner Kevin McCann, the mayor, cautioned against commissioners attending or intervening at advisory meetings in a manner that would influence independent recommendations; City Attorney Anthony Garbanese clarified that commissioners may serve as liaisons but must take care not to improperly influence quasi‑judicial or deliberative processes.
A related development: the mayor read into the record a resignation letter from Desma (Desmond) Underwood, a Parks & Recreation board member, which criticized the board’s effectiveness and cited frustration with duplicated, costly presentations to the commission. The member later spoke at public input and asked the commission to consider the board’s perspective. Commissioners agreed staff should contact current members of both committees to ask whether they would serve on the proposed combined panel and report back before any ordinance is prepared.
Motion text and next steps: Commissioner Bruce formally moved to merge the committees and reduce the combined body to seven members; Deputy Mayor Resnick indicated support and suggested commissioners should also reach out to current committee members. The commission did not enact the change on Feb. 10; instead it directed staff to contact current members, ask whether they would serve on a merged board, and prepare draft ordinance language and implementation options to return at a future meeting.
Ending: Commissioners set a path to rewrite committee charges, consult current volunteers and staff, and, if the commission chooses, bring an ordinance for two readings to amend the city code. No final ordinance was adopted at the Feb. 10 meeting.
