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Resident asks Oviedo CRA to fund canopy trail and tower; board agrees to add project to draft plan for review
Summary
Tom O'Hanlon asked the CRA governing board to fund half of a proposed canopy trail and observation tower, estimating a total project cost of $1M–$1.5M today and citing attendance gains at another park; the board agreed to add the project to the draft CRA plan’s project list for further review but made no funding commitment.
Tom O'Hanlon, who gave his address as 827 Division Street, Oviedo, told the board he has proposed a canopy trail and observation tower he said would mimic one at Myakka River State Park. "It tripled the attendance of Myakka River State Park in South Florida when they built it," O'Hanlon said, offering the Myakka example as the rationale for the project’s tourism potential.
O'Hanlon said the original project cost about $250,000 25 years ago and estimated that accounting for inflation the current cost would be "close to a million dollars today" and possibly as much as $1.5 million, depending on whether it is contractor-built or completed with community volunteers. "I'm looking to you for half the cost of the project," he told the board.
Board members and staff discussed where the canopy trail would fit in the draft CRA plan; Mr. Kelly said the plan includes a mobility category and a provision to "evaluate and fund additional mobility improvements" that could encompass such a project. The chair and members indicated consensus to add the canopy/tower to the draft project list for consideration, but several members emphasized that any project is subject to available funding.
One board member questioned the attendance and traffic projection, asking, "How in the world can our roads support 3 times the traffic they have today?" and noting congestion on routes from historic downtown to SR 417. No studies or traffic analyses were provided at the meeting.
What this means: The board agreed to add the canopy/tower to the draft plan for further review and potential future consideration. The agreement was procedural (adding it to the project list) and did not authorize funding or a construction timeline. Staff was asked to return with plan comparison materials and more detail at the December meeting.
Quotes from the meeting are attributed only to speakers who appear in the transcript; cost and attendance figures cited by the public commenter are estimates presented by that commenter and were not corroborated by staff in the meeting.
