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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistory January 1980 HISTORY OF WINTER SPRINGS Often referred to, by the news media, as the " sleeping giant " , because of its land size, Winter Springs can trace its history back to the sixteen hundreds. The tract of land known as Winter Springs was historically designated the Levy Grant when it was deeded in 1611 to Moses B. Levy by the King of Spain for supplying horsefeed for the King's cavalry in the war fought over the Florida peninsula. From that time, till 1956, the land lay dormant, a placid area of scrub pines, palmetto trees and swamps, until Raymond Moss and William Edgemon surveyed the tract for it's financial potential . Moss and Edgemon purchased the land under the name of the North Orlando Company in the year 1957. The North Orlando Company was a subsidiary of the Silver Creek Precision Company, Silver Creek, New York. The first residents, some 300 in all , moved into homes in 1959. The area was incorporated that same year by the Florida Legislature, as the Village of North Orlando. The chief reason for the incorporation originally was to benefit the developers as their instrument for establishing their own ordinances and regulations. The North Orlando also developed water and sewer utilities at that time. Truly a "company town", even the political scene was controlled by the North Orlando Company for some years. From 1959 thru 1961 the Company selected a Mayor. The Village's first Mayor was Roy Liddicott. It wasn't until 1962 that the villagers had an opportunity to select members of council who would represent their needs. In 1962 Robert Stephenson and Woody Anderson were elected by the people, to seats on council . However, the majority vote, the three other council seats were still appointed by the Company. The following year and for several years thereafter, a full council was elected by the people, but the Mayor was still being selected by secret ballot from the five councilmen. In 1966, by a Referendum Charter change, it was decided to have a Mayor who was elected by the people. The Village's first " people's Mayor " was George Fuller. The year 1970 marked the beginnings of the Village's most dramatic changes. North Orlando contained, at that time, 300 or so homes located on either side of SR 434, an area of 1-5 acre lots known as the Ranchlands, one store known appropriately as North Orlando Super Market, the one building on SR 434 owned by Florida Land Company which housed the Water Company's Office, offices for Florida Land Company employees and an office used by the Village as a City Hall . Folks who remember "back when" still talk of the cramped smoke-filled room that served the Village as a City Hall , Building Department, Fire and Police Station, Public Works, and Court. Many a night, if there was an important matter under discussion, all windows and doors in the room were opened so that citizens who could not fit into the small room could stand outside and see and hear the proceedings! From 1971 through the next few years, progress really took an upswing. Building boomed with Meadowlark, the Terrace, Hacienda Mobile Home Park, and other areas of construction taking shape. During that same period, the area now known as Tuscawilla, formerly the Winter Springs Development, was annexed into the City, thereby almost doubling the City's land area, making it the largest land area in Seminole County. The new stores became part of the City, the Shop and Go, and Jack's Mini Market at Five Points asked to be annexed into the City. Construction began on the Sheoah Golf Course, the Condominiums, the Highlands and other areas of the City. The political scene wasnot being neglected during this time. Fed up with a charter that was designed to aid the developers rather than the citizens, both new and old residents banded together in an inspiring community effort, to make some changes. A new City charter was drawn up and in a City-wide election held in March of 1972, the new charter was adopted, new city official were elected, and most importantly, the Village of North Orlando became the City of Winter Springs. At the helm of the City during that transition period was Mayor Granville Brown. Successfully winning a bid for re-election at the Special March Election, Brown became the last Mayor of the Village of North Orlando, and the first Mayor of the City of Winter Springs ( 1971-1973) . ACCORDING TO THE NEW CHARTER, THAT FIRST ELECTION designated that five Council Seats would be open, the Seats to be called Seat 1-2-3-4 and 5. The candidates seeking election to the odd numbered seats would be elected for a two year term, and the candidates for the even numbered seats and the Mayor's seat would be for a one year term. The Charter also specified that future elections shall be held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in the Month of December of each year. (This has since been changed to the month of November) Successful candidates shall take office on the first Monday after the first day of January following their election. (This has since been changed to the month of December) Building, which generally constitutes progress, peaked during the year 1973 with permits issued for 300 homes and 17 mobile home sites. The City received its first church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, located on Moss Road and construction was going on everywhere. In 1973 a heated controversy went on over toll call charges to residents serviced by Southern Bell Telephone Company to the Orlando area. Most of the new home owners were under the impression, at the time of purchase, that they could call Orlando. When they found out that this was not possible, they appealed to their Council for help since this fact would create a financial hardship. The Council responded by passing a resolution to appeal to the Public Service Commission to force Southern Bell to allow toll free calls to the Orlando areas. Southern Bell came before the Council to request a 90 day extension to allow them time to research the feasibility of this proposal . They explained that ten or so years ago, the City had been given a choice between toll free service to either Sanford or Orlando. Since, at that time, most residents were stationed at the Sanford Naval Air Station or did business in that City, the residents chose Sanford. Council explained to Southern Bell that this situation no longer was true, the the majority of new residents had moved from or did business in the Orlando area and needed toll free service to that vicinity. After ninety days, Southern Bell came before the Council and agreed to the proposal . In February of 1976, toll free service to Orlando became a fact. By 1974 building decreased rapidly. Winter Springs, as well as the rest of the nation, found itself in the grips of an energy crisis, soaring inflation, and other related problems. Despite this fact, that year saw construction begin on the City's first school , Winter Springs Elementary, the City's first Fire Station/ Interim City Hall , and a second church, the Redeemer Moravian, located in the Tuscawilla area. Building permits for new homes, however, hit a low peak with only 57 permits for homes being issued and permits for 13 mobile home sites, in the year 1975. The year 1974 also marked the introduction of the City's first as valorem (property ) tax, set at 3.5 mills. In 1975 the County reassessed house valuations and that figure was cut back to 2,43 mills, but the City still received the same amount of revenue. Building permits for residential areas hit a low in the year 1975 with only 57 home and 13 mobile home permits issued. Major projects e.g. water treatment plants, clubhouses etc. , managed to keep revenue at a reasonable level . A second fire station was donated by Gulf Stream Land Development Corporation, located on Northern Way in the Tuscawilla area. In October 1978, the Police Department moved into the Fire Station on Moss Road and the City Hall offices were moved into the Community Center on North Edgemon Avenue. No history would be complete without mentioning the City's Police and Fire Departments. Their history is as colorful and controversial as the City's. The Fire Department was started in 1960, but only lasted a few months. In 1962, under the direction of Fire Chief Bill Hahn the City finally had its first real department. At that time, the City assumed all management costs. This situation continued until 1963 when, due to politics, the Fire Department broke away from the City and became a Volunteer Department entirely on it's own without any financial assistance from the City. It wasn't until 1974 when an ordinance was passed creating a City managed Fire Department that this situation was resolved. At that time, Charles Holzman was appointed the first Fire Chief of the City of Winter Springs and by the same ordinance became Fire Chief of the Volunteers. In two short years the Fire Department has grown dramatically. The history of the Police Department shows a total of thirteen police chiefs most of which were part time and unpaid. According to City Records, the first patrolmen were appointed by the North Orlando Company from their employees who worked a full time job and then patrolled the City. Throughout the first ten or so years of the Department, various citizens joined the Department as unpaid reserves. Arthur DeVoe seems to be the first paid police chief for a grand sum of $200 a month. Records indicate that he didn't work full time. That was in the year 1965. The City didn't have a full time fully paid police chief until 1971 when Walter Bachelor became Police Chief at a salary of $6,000. Bachelor was Police Chief from 1971 - 1972 making him the City of Winter Springs first Chief. He had two patrolmen at that time and one vehicle. John Govoruhk has been Police Chief since 1974. In the early seventies a trailer was purchased and placed on SR 434 near Hacienda Village. When the Fire Station opened, the trailer was moved to that site. A communications center and the Chief's office was located in that building. ( In 1979 the trailer was sold due to its need for repairs and the entire department was housed in the Fire Station) . In April 1979, Richard Rozansky was appointed the first City Manager. This was a major change in the operations of the City. t .E.YcF/2Pr' / /ed/1't /98a 41/44 v,'&io v ,'#o ,¢PP.P/2is,lt .t7eP4,KT" � 1 /977 Ca iae 445J ' Ps.d,v ,���0�1�0 ECOIlo7tIC G-IotrrH While population more than doubled during the period 1977-1982, the number of businesses increased probably tenfold. Five years ago, when the City seemed little more than the hyphen in the Longwood-Oviedo Road, only a few convenience grocers and a local utility company were doing business on SR 434, and one manufacturer was secluded north of SR 419. Some persons operated businesses from their hones. In total, however, commercial activity in Winter Springs was barely noticeable. Even that there were 5,500 residents was inapparent • since most neighborhoods were set back off the arterial roads. Two things happernded that altered the 1977 status quo - a population boom and a highway-widening project. Winter Spings was a desirable place to live, close to the vibrant Orlando core yet removed just enough from the hustle to be a good place to go home, to get away from it all. The population grew and grew and reached the point where its number attracted the interest of the commercial sector as a • viable marketplace. Then in 1979, in response to the growth of the whole of south Seminole County and the congestion on existing arterial roads in the region, the State DOT widened the main . arterial through Winter Springs, SR 434, from two to five lanes. The road widening extended from Interstate Highway 4 a distance of 6 miles to the convergence of SRs 434 and 419, a point coincidental with the extent of residential development in the western half of the City. Too, during this period, I-4 itself was widened. These road improvements made Winter Springs an accessible home for those employed 10 to 20 to 30 miles away in the Orlando economic core. The resultant increased traffic flows carried potential customers over the 6 mile stretch of SR 434 from I-4 to Winter Springs and the response to this mobile market was a corrnercial construction boom along the road. Increase in commerce is seen most vividly in the municipality immediately west of this City, but even here on the far fringe growth has been significant. Still the main attraction to businesses in Winter Springs is the market for basic goods and services, '� i . /L i����/��\ �- 1 �' ` ��'/_� _ . m. In its early days , the City of Winter Springs wast,"company town " known as the Village of North Orlando . The year was 1957 , and the mayor , city government and security for the area was provided by the company , Silvercreek Precision of New York . The limits of the town were a small area contained along State Roads 434 and 419 . The Tuskawilla Road area was not yet a part of the city , and the population was about 300 . . By 1966 , the company no longer provided the city officials , and the people elected their first Mayor . The area ' s first Police Chief , a Mr . Devo , worked on a part-time basis for a salary of $200 .00 a week . Full time law enforcement was still provided by the County Sheriffs Department , and the lo- cal constable . When I arrived on the scene as Chief of Police in 1974 , I was the 13th Police Chief on record in a span of nine years . Through overall growth , and the annexation of the Winter � Springs Planned Unit Development (today known as Tuscawilla) the population had increased to 2100 . Five police officers answered calls and patrolled the streets in their personally owned vehicles . Radio communication was handled by the City of Longwood and the Sheriff ' s office . Today , the Winter Springs Police Department has grown into a self s"fficient , professional , full -service law enforcement agency of sixty individuals . The organizational structure of the Department is divie=d in- to Bureaus , Divisions , and Sections . The majo.^ separation of authority below the chief of Police are the Enforcement/Oper- ations Bureau and the Support Services Bureau . Each bureau branches into several Divisions , and each Division branches into various Sections . The Enforcement/Operations Bureau consists of the Investiga tions Division , Special Investigations Section , Patrol Divi- sion , and Special Operations section . | he Investigations Division ' s function is to pursue criminal investigations into the various incidents reported to the Department , which by their very nature or level of involve- ment are beyond the scope of the Patrolman . Typically , the Investigations Division handles incidents ranging from Burg- lary & Theft , Robbery & Murder , to the location of missing persons and runaways . The Special Investigations Section , as the name implies , is a group of investigators who handle more specialized incidents . These can be from the in-house type , such as the background check on police officer applicants , to the external type that include drugs , vice crimes , specialized surveillance tactics , and the coordinating with the Investigations Division on major violent crimes . _ i � �/, /' A branch of the Investigations Division is the Tech Services Section , which consist of our departmental erime lab . Tech Services provides the latest in modern crime fighting tech- niques , including the collection and processing of evidence at crime scenes , latent fingerprint collection and identifi- cation , specialized photography , and coordination with the highly specialized abilities of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement 's (FDLE) Regional Crime Lab . The Patrol Division is divided into four shifts , providing the citizens with round-the-clock , seven-day a-week patrol of their neighborhoods and business areas . The Patrol Officer , is most often the first member of the Department that a citi- zen meets when a call for service is answered . The City is geographically divided into patrol zones , with the Officers being dispersed through the city by their zone assignment . The Special Operations Section is divided into the Traffic Enforcement Section , and a Selective Enforcement unit . The Selective Enforcement unit operates from a marked patrol veh- icle over the late evening/early morning hours . IN addition to providing support to the Patrol Shift as needed , the Sel - ective Enforcement officer's primary function is to locate , identify , and apprehend the drunk driver . Through the latest advances in video taping , chemical breath and blood testing , and special training the Department is doing its part to com- bat the danger presented by those who drive under the influ- ence of alcohol and drugs . The Traffic Enforcement Officers are the motorcycle units . In addition to the standard training required by the State , these officers are specially trained in traffic accident and traffic homicide investigations . The Traffic Enforcement Of- ficer 's job is not an easy one Most of the contact they have with the driving public is in a negative sense . Unlike the Patrol Officer , who from time to time may feel a sense of reward when he/she is "needed" by the public , the majority of a Traffic Officer's job is spent in dealing with people who don 't even "want" him around , due to some offense the citizen has committed . Yet , these are the same officers who patrol the school zones and keep our children safe on their way to and from school ; and who slow down the speeders on the street where you live . Largely through the efforts of the Patrol and Traffic Officers , the Winter Springs Police Department has received Pedestrian Safety Citations from the American Automobile Association in eight of the past ten years . Just as important as the ,Enforcement/Operations Bureau but ^ much less visible to the public , is the Support Services Bur- eau . This Bureau , which is divided into the Administrative Services and Management Support Divisions , can best be de- scribed as the property masters , wardrobe people , and stage hands that make it possible for the "actors" to perform ther roles . •- 4 ' ' / ~ ' i ~ ^, > . The branches of the Administrative Services Division are the Communications Section , Records Section , and Property Control Section . In addition to these functions , the Administrative Services Division Commander is responsible for the mainten- ance , service , and repair of the departmeots's vehicles , equipment , and headquarters building . The Communications Section is the vital link between the Of- ficers and the public they serve . Ten operators , working in shifts , provide this service 24 hours-a-day . In addition to . being the departments "switchboard" , the Communications Cen- ter is linked to the 9-1-1 emergency phone system , and has a computer link with the National and Florida Crime Information Centers (NCIC/FCIC) . Inter-agency radio communication with surrounding departments allows for a team approach to area law enforcement . In addition to keeping track of all the Department ' s paper- work , the Records Section is an invaluable tool to the law enforcement officer by providing the information and criminal intelligence needed to successfully identify , apprehend , and convict those who have violated the law . Through the advent of computer technology , the Records Section has moved from the awkward , time-consuming method of hand-searching through drawers of file folders , to the modern method of on-line data storage and retrieval . The Property Control Sections duties are varied and many . In addition to functioning as Purchasing Agent , the Property Officer must maintain inventories , distribute supplies and ) forms , issue equipment and uniforms , and carry out the duties of the Evidence Custodian . The job of the Evidence Custodian requires that the strict mandates of the court system , re- garding the proper packaging , storage and documentation of , evidence in criminal cases be maintained . Periodically , un- claimed property and evidence no longer needed for trial has to be disposed of in order to make room for future property recoveries . At these times , the Property Officer must also become the Department "auctioneer" . The Management Support Division consists of the Professional Standards Section , Community Relations Section , Management Information Section , and Code Enforcement Section . The Pro- fessiooal Standards Section is responsible for the continued training and education of the officers . The FDLE Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission has established ed- ucational requirements that all applicants must meet before being employed as police officers . This training , conducted at the Community College level , consists of a variety of in struction and practical exercise in Constitutional and Crim- inal Law , First Aid , Police Procedures , Investigative Tech- nique , Firearms Training , Traffic Enforcement , and Officer Safety/Self-Defense training . Additionally , every four years an officer must complete 40 hours of state approved training I // ~ ° ;i••• - . , in career development courses . Professicnal Standards mai: tains records to see that these requirements are being met , as well as coordinating In-service Training sessions to pro- vide each officer with a minimum of 2 hours of training per month in a variety of job-related topics . Another function of Professional Standards is the production , publication , and maintenance of the Departments manual of General Orders , a book of policy and procedure has been called the "bible" by which the Department operates . Professional Standards also maintains a library of law enforcement related text books , publications , video tapes , films and slide presentations it uses for training and Community Relations events . The Range & Armory Section of Professional Standards ensures that all officers remain proficient in firearms and the use of deadly force . . The Community Relations Section carries on a variety of pro- Jects and programs designed to strengthen the relationship between the public and the police . Crime Prevention demon- strations , youth and school liaison activities , and programs such as Neighborhood Watch and the Law Enforcement Explorer Post # 708 are coordinated through the Community Relations Officers and civilian volunteers . The Management Information Section provides data analysis to through the Computer Services Section to assist with Planning And Research . Information provided through this means is ex- tremely important in order to keep the Department moving in a positive direction . The Code Enforcement Section is responsible for seeing that the City ' s Ordinances , governing everything from the parking and storage of vehicles to various types of nuisances , are complied with by the residents of Winter Springs . Violations that are not satisfactorily resolved by the Code Inspector are prepared for presentation to the Code Enforcement Board for further legal action . In addition to other duties in the various sections , the Management Support Division Commander acts as the Prosecutor to the Code Enforcement Board . Looking back on those humble beginnings , one can see that the evolution of the Winter Springs Police Department has been truly remarkable . As we continue to move into the future , we can expect the face of our community to undergo some dramatic changes . Continued growth and expansion , and the coming of the expressway interchange will require the Winter Springs Police Department to continue its growth by further branching out into new and innovative areas to provide the services the community demands . _ - -4 / y ED > /�-�� f.1) In its early days , the City of Winter Springs wask"company town" known as the Village of North Orlando . The year was 1957 . The limits of the town were a small area contained a- long State Roads 434 and 419 . The Tuskawilla Road area was not yet a part of the city , and the population was about 300 . By 1966 the area 's first Police Chief , a Mr . Devo , worked on a part-time basis for a salary of $200 .00 a week . When I arrived on the scene as Chief of Police in 1974 , I was the 13th Police Chief on record in a span of nine years . . Through overall growth , and the annexation of the Winter Springs Planned Unit Development (today known as Tuscawilla) the population had increased to 2100 . Five police officers answered calls and patrolled the streets in their personally owned vehicles . Radio communication was handled by the City of Longwood and the Sheriff 's office . Today , the Winter Springs Police Department has grown into a self-sufficient , professional , full -service law enforcement agency of sixty individuals . The organizational structure of the Department is divided in- to Bureaus , which branch into several Divisions , each Divi- sion branching into various Sections . The Enforcement/Operations Bureau consists of the Investiga- tions Division Special Investigations Section , Patrol Divi- , , . sion , and Special Operations section . The Investigations Division 's function is to pursue criminal investigations into the various incidents reported to the De- partment . The Special Investigations Section , as the name implies , is a group of investigators who handle more special - ized incidents . These can be from the in-house type , such as the background check on police officer applicants , to the ex- ternal type that include drugs , vice crimes , specialized sur- . veillance tactics , and the coordinating with the Investiga- tions Division on major violent crimes . A branch of the Investigations Division is the Tech Services Section , which provides the latest in modern crime fighting techniques , including coordination with the extensive abili- ties of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Regional Crime Lab . The Patrol Division provides the citizens with round-the- clock patrol of their neighborhoods and business areas . The Patrol Officer is most often the first member of the Depart- ment that a citizen meets when a call for service is answer- ed . The City is divided into patrol zones , with the Officers being dispersed through the city by their zone assignment . The Special Operations Section is divided into the Traffic Enforcement Section , and a Selective Enforcement unit . The Selective En�orcement unit operates from a marked patrol veh- ! � ') » f � � - ~ icle over the late evening/early morning hours , providing support to the Patrol Shift as needed . The Selective Enforce- ment officer's primary function is to locate , identify , and apprehend the drunk driver . The Traffic Enforcement Officers are motorcycle units , spe- cially trained in traffic accident and traffic homicide in- vestigations . The Traffic Officer's job is not an easy one . Most of the contact they have with the driving public is in a negative sense , dealing with people who don 't even want him around , due to some offense the citizen has committed . Yet , these are the same officers who keep our children safe on their way to and from school ; and who slow down the speeders on the street where you live . Through the efforts of the Pat- rol and Traffic Officers , the Department has received Pedes- trian Safety Citations from the American Automobile Associa- tion in eight of the past ten years . Just as important as the Enforcement/Operations Bureau , but much less visible to the public , is the Support Services Bur- eau , which is divided into the Administrative Services and Management Support Divisions . The branches of the Administra- tive Services Division are the Communications Section , Record Section , and Property Control Section . In addition to these functions , the Administrative Services Division Commander is responsible for the maintenance , service , and repair of the departments 's vehicles , equipment , and headquarters building . The Communications Section is the vital link between the Of- ficers and the public they serve . In addition to being the departments "switchboard" , the "Comm Center" is linked to the 9-1-1 emergency phone system , and has a computer link with the National and Florida Crime Information Centers . In addition to keeping track of all the Department 's paper- work , the Records Section is an invaluable tool to the law enforcement officer by providing the information and criminal intelligence needed to successfully identify , apprehend , and convict those who have violated the law . The property Control Sections functions as Purchasing Agent , and must maintain inventories , distribute supplies and forms , issue equipment and uniforms , and carry out the duties of the Evidence Custodian . The job of the Evidence Custodian requires that the strict mandates of the court system , re- garding the proper packaging , storage , and documentation of evidence in criminal cases be maintained . The Management Support Division consists of the Professional Standards Section , Community Relations Section , Management Information Section , and Code Enforcement Section . The Pro- fessional Standards Section is responsible for the continued training and education of the officers . The FDLE Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission has established ed- � . ` '� �. c - ~ ucational requirements that all applicants must meet before being employed as police officers . This training , conducted at the Community College level , consists of a variety of in- struction and practical exercise in Constitutional and Crim- inal Law , First Aid , Police Procedures , Investigative Tech- nique , Firearms Training , Traffic Enforcement , and Officer Safety/Self-Defense training . Additionally , every four years an officer must complete 40 hours of state approved training in career development courses . Professional Standards main- tains records to see that these requirements are being met , as well as coordinating In-service Training sessions to pro- . vide each officer with a minimum of 2 hours of training per month in a variety of job-related topics . Professional Stan- dards also maintains a library of law enforcement related text books , publications , video tapes , films and slide pre- sentations it uses for training and Community Relations events . The Range & Armory Section of Professional Standards ensures that all officers remain proficient in firearms and the use of deadly force . The Community Relations Section carries on a variety of pro- jects and programs designed to strengthen the relationship between the public and the police . Crime Prevention demon- l strations , youth and school liaison activities , and programs such as Neighborhood Watch and the Law Enforcement Explorer / Post are coordinated through the Community Relations Officers and civilian volunteers . The Management Information Section provides data analysis ' to assist with Planning And Research , in order to keep the Department moving in a positive direction . The Code Enforcement Section is responsible for seeing that the City' s Ordinances are complied with by the residents of Winter Springs . Violations that are not satisfactorily re- solved by the Code Inspector are prepared for presentation to the Code Enforcement Board for further legal action . In ad- dition to other duties in the various sections , the Manage- ment Support Division Commander acts as the Prosecutor to the Code Enforcement Board . Looking back on those humble beginnings , one can see that the evolution of the Winter Springs Police Department has been truly remarkable . As we continue to move into the future , we can expect the face of our community to undergo some dramatic changes . Continued growth and expansion , and the coming of the expressway interchange will require the Winter Springs Police Department to continue its growth by further branching out into new and innovative areas to provide the services the community demands .