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A LETTER FROM YOUR MAYOR – June, 2010 My Fellow Neighbors…. As always, I hope this Newsletter finds all of you well…. WINDERMERE WILL EXPERIENCE A NUMBER OF CHANGES THIS SUMMER ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS PART 1: By now the electronic signs, the mailer and the newspaper articles should tell you that on July 5th, our third roundabout will be constructed at Park Avenue and Maguire Road. There will be two construction shifts and we expect construction to last 12 days or less. We have taken all steps to insure that public safety vehicles will not be delayed. I appreciate your understanding as this brief construction period will cause detours. This is the final piece of our long term roadwork improvement plan that began over 5 years ago. GRANT MONEY IS FUNDING MOST OF THIS IMPROVEMENT. Approximate cost of this project: $320,000 ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS PART 2: Sixth Avenue from the Post Office to Main Street is the most degraded paved road we have in town. When we finish the construction of the roundabout we will turn our attention to repaving this stretch of road. We expect to start this project in August. By Fall, our town will look distinctly different, and we should have improved safety and better traffic flow. AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT MONEY IS FUNDING MOSTOF THIS IMPROVEMENT. Approximate cost of this project: $425,000 A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF OUR TOWN’S FINANCES AND ALL OF THOSE POLITICAL COMMERCIALS…. It’s that time of year, ELECTION TIME, when everyone states local government is filled with waste and abuse. Lately I have been asked about our finances and I thought I would share the following: Your local WINDERMERE taxes went down last year. At 3.228 mils, you will find our town the lowest in Orange County. Your town controls that rate. When you look at your tax bill, you will find State School tax at 5.425 mils, Local School Tax at 2.2480 mils, General County Tax at 4.4347 mils, Library Tax at .3748 mils, South Florida Water Management Tax at .6240 mils, and Windermere Canal Tax at .2528 mils. Windermere has no control over those rates. As a Windermere resident we paid 16.5873 mils in 2009. Of that, 3.228 was for YOUR town. That pays for street maintenance, fire, police, parks, administration and storm water management. Less than 20% of the taxes we paid provided what I consider the most important needs to a resident. We also have the lowest crime rate in Orange County. WINDERMERE WINS A HISTORICAL GRANT TO PRESERVE OUR 1890 SCHOOL HOUSE First of all, did you know that we have a school house from the 1890’s? Second… do you know where it is? We intend to change that. We received a historical grant for $42,000 to restore the building and our plans are to move it to town square. A big thank you to Amy Buchanan. Her lobbying and persistence helped us win this grant. WINDERMERE’S OWN BILL CRISWELL WILL BE HONORED AT THE BASEBALL ALL STAR GAME during the pre-game ceremony on July 13 beginning at 8:00 PM ET. Mr. Criswell is one of only 30 people across the nation to receive this honor. Bill established Home at Last to give U.S. soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan a fresh start in life by giving them mortgage-free homes. We are very proud of Bill and his team’s efforts. Don’t forget that you can read all of the latest news by visiting my web site: http://www.windermeremayor.com Gary Bruhn Your Mayor