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SECOND SEWAGE LEAK FLOWS INTO LAKE DOWN - 04/19/07

ISLEWORTH'S TAX REVENUE SPURS FACEOFF - 12/19/07

WINDERMERE MOVES FORWARD WITH KEEPING HOMES IN COMPLIANCE - 11/12/08

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT SAGA COMES TO AN END - 10/07/09

TIGER WOOD'S SCANDAL DISRUPTS TOWN'S PEACE - 12/12/09

MAYOR BRUHN TO LEAP FOR TROOPS WITH GOLDEN KNIGHTS ON 2/27/2010

DID KEENE'S POINT DREDGE ILLEGAL CANAL TO BUTLER CHAIN? - 04/06/10

ORLANDO SENTINEL EDITORIAL - PROTECT BUTLER CHAIN'S LAKES - 04/12/10

COUNTY DELAYS KEENES POINTE VOTE UNTIL STATE WEIGHS IN - 12/08/10

NEW CHIEF TACKLES LAX RECORD STORAGE AND DISARRAY- 03/13/11

COUNCIL SELECTS WILDWOOD CITY MGR AS TOP CANDIDATE - 08/10/11

TINY CANAL EMBROILS ORANGE LEADERS IN HUGE BATTLE - 09/26/11

ORANGE COUNTY APPROVES KEENES POINTE CANAL - 11/01/11

RESIDENTS BAN TOGETHER TO PAVE PINE STREET - 01/17/12



In break with tradition, residents band together to try to pave street in Windermere Paving is expected to reduce runoff into lake By Jon Busdeker, Orlando Sentinel 10:27 p.m. EST, January 16, 2012 When it pours in Windermere, the residents of Pine Street know what's next: The dirt road in front of their homes becomes a potholed, muddy mess. There's flooding around the mostly million-dollar homes, and then the water, filled with rocks and pollutants, drains into Wauseon Bay and the Butler Chain of Lakes. For a century, dirt roads have been as much a part of Windermere's charm as lakefront views and massive shade trees. But on Pine Street, tradition is giving way to practicality and a concern for the environment. A majority of the homeowners on Pine Street, which sits on a peninsula, have banded together to pay more than $260,000 out of their own pockets to pave the road. Mayor Gary Bruhn said that during his 25 years in Windermere, he couldn't recall a group of citizens willing to pay for their own road improvements. Eight-year Pine Street resident Tom Johnson Jr., who has led the effort to fix the road, said the town can no longer afford dirt streets if it means harming the lakes. "We all bought on this street for the quaintness of the dirt street," Johnson, 44, wrote in an email. "But more importantly because of the pristine water of the Butler Chain of Lakes." Still, a few of the 23 homeowners on Pine are not convinced. They want to keep the winding, half-mile stretch of road the way it has been for more than 100 years. Pave a street, they say, and a little piece of Windermere, population 2,500, is gone forever. "We've got along so well with dirt roads," said Karen Fay, who has lived on the street with her husband, Jerry, for more than 20 years. The paving, she said, will "change the character of the community." Fay, 62, spoke out at a Town Council meeting in December against the plan. Michael Attanasio, who lives at the corner of Pine and Second Avenue, moved to Windermere almost two decades ago. The lakes, the downtown and the dirt roads make Windermere a special place, he said. "You don't find little towns like this," said Attanasio, who called the paving a "bummer." For now, though, the pro-paving forces seem to have carried the day. An overwhelming majority of the residents on Pine Street have agreed to pay for the project, which includes paving and leveling the road and adding curbs and a retention pond. Johnson said the road's design will help prevent nutrients and sediments from being deposited into the lakes. Water will be channeled into retention ponds, which act as filters. Town Manager Robert Smith said other Windermere residents won't bear any of the cost. And the limited liability company formed by Pine Street residents will pay for any cost overruns. The town will take over the road's maintenance after construction. The Town Council voted unanimously last month to move forward with the paving. If a contract is approved in February, paving could start as early as spring. Terry Wiler has lived on Pine Street next to Fay for more than five years. He wants the road paved and expects that it will help protect the Butler chain. "How can anybody not be in favor of it?" Wiler, 53, asked. "This is like a no-brainer." A self-described "lake person," Wiler said the runoff is destroying the water around his home and others on Pine Street. Weeds and cattails are a problem, and the water isn't as clean as it used to be, he said. The dust created by the dirt road and the conditions after a storm are two more reasons to pave it. "Living on a dirt road is not much fun," he said. Fay acknowledged that the paving may solve the runoff problem, but she said it also will allow motorists to more easily exceed the 15-mph speed limit on Pine Street. "You think she's going 15?" Fay asked last week as a woman in a Toyota Prius passed. There is a list of more than 20 areas in Windermere, including Pine Street, where runoff is a problem. In the long term, the town plans to address each area, though it lacks the money to pay for fixes. Bruhn said there are no plans to pave any of Windermere's other dirt roads. But what if other residents want to pave a road because they're simply tired of living on a dirt street? "I don't think council would approve it," Bruhn said. And residents like Fay hope that Windermere's venture into paving will end with Pine Street."I'm not big on change," she said.

Orange County leaders voted 6-1 Tuesday to keep open a disputed canal that gives residents living on a cove in Keene's Pointe access to the Butler Chain of Lakes. The permit carries several conditions, but its approval dealt a clear defeat to opponents who said the canal would harm the state-protected lakes, especially if similar cut-throughs were ever approved. "It's not good for the chain," said Lori Bradford, a homeowner on the chain who led opposition to the canal. "This sets a terrible precedent." However, more than a dozen Keene's Pointe residents spoke in favor of keeping open the pass between what's known as Private Lake or Tibet Cove and Lake Tibet. Miranda Fitzgerald, an attorney for the residents, said they were trying to avoid future fines from illegal clearing of vegetation and disputed the notion that allowing the 17-foot-wide pass to stay open would harm the Butler Chain A previous developer paid up to $20,000 to repair the wetland after one violation, and the homeowners groups paid a $2,199 fine after a second one. "Absolutely not," Fitzgerald said of any chance the channel would harm the chain. "There are so many safeguards in the conditions" on the permit, said Fitzgerald of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A. One of the most controversial restrictions attached to the permit approval was a last-minute measure that prohibits motorized boats from using a ramp on the private lake as long as the canal is open. That was a provision that Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Commissioner Scott Boyd wanted. "This puts some very strict limits on it," Jacobs said, adding that she also didn't view the canal as a potential threat to the Butler Chain's health. Among the other restrictions: Markers will be erected to limit the size of the channel, along with signs prohibiting motorboat passage when water levels are low. Water-quality monitors also will be installed. And the Keene's Pointe Community Association must offset the wetland effects by purchasing a $15,000 credit from a mitigation bank. Tuesday's vote may end a years-long fight that attracted the sympathetic attention of former Attorney General Bill McCollum, who sided with canal opponents, as well as scrutiny from several state environmental agencies. Orange officials were to vote on this same issue a year ago, but at the last minute, they opted to let state officials sort out the thorny dispute first. Over that time, McCollum left office and state environmental agencies withdrew from the fight. Opponents began to voice concerns that high-priced consultants, lawyers and lobbyists were beating out environmental concerns in the pitched battle. It's disappointing that "with a couple of bucks and a few attorneys, that someone could perform this disservice to the Butler Chain," said Garritt Toohey, an opponent of the canal and longtime hotel executive. "It's going to become a full-fledged canal," Toohey said. "It's inappropriate, and it's the wrong thing to do." Neighbors in the community said they were being unfairly cast as environmental villains, when in fact they lived in a development that had some of the most aggressive lake-runoff protections on the chain. Many Keene's Pointe residents also felt they were put through too many bureaucratic hurdles to get the permit just because opponents would "spin some fabrication" with the news media or a state agency, resident Rob Lacy said. "Ignore the hysterical rhetoric," Lacy asked county leaders before the vote. Despite the vote, it's not clear if the fight is over. Bradford said she's exploring "other options," but she declined to discuss them.ddamron@tribune.com or 407-420-5311

Tiny canal embroils Orange leaders in huge battle By David Damron, Orlando Sentinel 5:32 p.m. EDT, September 25, 2011 WINDERMERE — Not far from the million-dollar homes on Lake Tibet, an inlet lined by pickerelweed and torpedo grass comes into view. A small cypress tree stands guard over the shallow pass as it disappears around a bend. Most days only anglers would find this secluded spot, which is actually an illegal canal through a wetland to a small, private lake in an exclusive portion of a neighborhood called Keene's Pointe. But this nondescript trench also happens to be ground zero for one of Orange County's most bitter lakefront battles. Windermere-area environmentalists say the canal has compromised one of the natural filters that cleanse the state-protected Butler Chain of Lakes. Keene's Pointe residents say leaving the canal open will not harm the chain. They want the government permission to clear it legally, something done without permits for years now. It pits residents against residents," said Orange County Commissioner Scott Boyd, who represents the area. "Whenever you have a decision like this, it's going to be extremely tough." State and county officials have struggled for years to resolve the dispute. And Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials have backed away from the dispute, possibly leaving the controversy for Orange County leaders."We appreciate your efforts to find the appropriate resolution to this issue," DEP district Director Vivien Garfein wrote to county officials this month . Orange leaders may wade into the issue again next month. County officials have started crafting one possible settlement that would allow Keene's Pointe residents to keep the canal open with certain restrictions and have them pay thousands of dollars to offset damages to the wetland.Orange leaders tried to settle the fight twice last year. But after two hearings, commissioners opted to wait for state officials to sort it out first. Since then, however, the state has largely pulled up its oars. One of the staunchest Tallahassee allies for opponents of the canal, former Attorney General Bill McCollum, has left office.The South Florida Water Management District has dropped any claim it had to the wetland. And a number of top DEP officials involved in the debate have left, including Bob Ballard, who abruptly resigned last week."It's just been very odd," Boyd said. "They're [state officials] sending mixed messages." Despite the confusion, Butler Chain activist Lori Bradford said there's no question who gets to make the final call on the canal."This is a state issue," Bradford said. "These are state waters that belong to all of us." Keene's Pointe Community Association attorney Miranda Fitzgerald disagrees, writing in an email recently that no state environmental agencies "are taking any further action on this matter." She said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has given approval to clear vegetation there, so "the state has given us permission" to act."At this point, it's really a county issue," said Fitzgerald, whom county Mayor Teresa Jacobs recently appointed to lead a task force on streamlining county regulations to promote economic growth. Bradford and other opponents argue that if allowed to stand, the canal could pave the way for more like it throughout the chain. Orange Environmental Protection Division manager Lori Cunniff agrees, saying, "It could be precedent-setting."John Miklos, a consultant hired by Keene's Pointe, says those claims are "bogus." Where critics contend there are about a dozen sites on the Butler chain where similar cut-throughs could connect to lakes, Miklos counters that there is likely only one. Miklos, who sits on the neighboring St. Johns River Water Management District board, said Keene's Pointe developers, where 1,064 homes have been built so far, have adopted some of the cleanest runoff and septic system controls in the area. "I'll put this development up against anybody out here," said Miklos, president of Bio-Tech Consulting and an alternate member on another task force Jacobs created to streamline environmental rules. There are just 19 Keene's Pointe lots on the smaller private lake, sometimes referred to as Tibet Cove, and only five have homes, said Russ Blackwell, Keene's Pointe Community Association president. Blackwell said making those lots more valuable — each empty one is valued at $210,000 to $450,000 by the county appraiser — is not the goal. Instead, he said, the community wants to avoid future fines for keeping the canal open.The previous developer paid up to $20,000 to repair the wetland after one violation, and the homeowners groups paid a $2,199 fine after a second violation.But Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn said he has always been "confounded" at the resources devoted to the battle."It would behoove those folks living on the private lake" to have the canal, Bruhn said. "That does give them direct lake access." ddamron@tribune.com or 407-420-5311

Windermere chooses new town manager Council members agreed to offer the job to Robert J. Smith, city manager in Wildwood. He would replace Cecilia Bernier, who was fired in the wake of a police scandal. By Susan Jacobson and Joseph Freeman, Orlando Sentinel 10:54 p.m. EDT, August 9, 2011 The Windermere Town Council voted Tuesday night to offer the job of town manager to Robert J. Smith, city manager in the Sumter County city of Wildwood. Council members last week interviewed four finalists at length, prompting Mayor Gary Bruhn to remark that "We saw them more than we saw our spouses." The council named Peter G. Lombardi, village manager of Pinecrest in Miami-Dade County, as its second choice.Council member Jim O'Brien plans to try to negotiate a contract with Smith, a former Orange County assistant public defender who lives inWinter Garden. There is no firm salary for the position, but the council gave $90,000 as a ballpark figure. A committee of residents had narrowed the field of applicants to four. The other two were: • Oel G. Wingo, former city manager of Holly Hill, in Volusia County. •Gregory L. Dunham, former town manager of Manalapan, in Palm Beach County. Howard D. Tipton, a former Daytona Beach city manager and chief administrative officer in Orlando, has been filling in as town manager since shortly after longtime manager Cecilia Bernier was fired in May. ome residents, Bruhn and Town Council member Mike Pirozzolo had repeatedly called for Bernier to resign in the wake of a police scandal that culminated with the arrest in January of then-Chief Daniel Saylor.His trial on charges of bribery, official misconduct, tampering with evidence and accepting unlawful compensation is scheduled for next year. The tipping point came when Bernier's husband, upset because Bruhn had just criticized his wife's management for a half hour at a March council meeting, hurled personal accusations at Bruhn, then pushed him into a table. Bruhn fell to the floor, motionless, and was rushed from the meeting to a hospital, where he was treated and released. Three days later, Bernier submitted a resignation letter but would not leave unless she received a severance package. When council members would not agree to her terms, she threatened to sue the town, the mayor and Pirozzolo. The council agreed May 19 to pay her $37,000 in exchange for a promise not to sue, then fired the 28-year employee. She earned $72,406 annually. The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office decided not to prosecute Bernier's husband, Roland, for his encounter with Bruhn. sjacobson@tribune.com or jofreeman@tribune.com

Windermere's new police chief tackles lax storage of records By Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel 4:21 p.m. EST, March 12, 2011 WINDERMERE — The Police Department records room in this tiny west Orange town is a jumble of plastic bins, cardboard boxes and ancient file cabinets.In the chief's office, a pressboard cabinet that doesn't close all the way — even when it's locked — stores officers' personnel files. A little more than a year ago, three files vanished. "What bothers me is the cardboard-box environment we're in," new police Chief Mike McCoy said last week about the public-records quagmire exposed in Windermere after the arrest of the previous chief. Such problems are extreme, but they are not unique in Florida — or elsewhere across the country, say open-government advocates, who are drawing attention to the importance of public records today with the start of Sunshine Week. The national initiative, spearheaded by the American Society of News Editors, is aimed at promoting open government and freedom of information. The public-records disorganization in Windermere and other municipalities hampers residents' ability to participate in public decisions and compromises the public's right to keep governments accountable, oven-government proponents say. "You have a duty to run your office in a way that's efficient and effective," said Jim Rhea, director of the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation. "This is a constitutional right of access that the public has. It needs to be treated with that level of respect." •Last month, a Mount Dora City Council member was charged with two noncriminal public-records-law violations regarding e-mails a resident said he wouldn't fork over. •In 2009, a Bonita Springs City Council member paid a $250 fine for deleting city e-mails accessed on her home computer. Also in 2009, an Escambia County commissioner paid $500 for failing to turn over requested e-mails. •One of the more-egregious episodes in recent memory occurred a decade ago, when break-ins at Eatonville Town Hall exposed the disappearance of public records ranging from a certified copy of the town charter to audit documents. "If you didn't know better, you'd think papers had legs and just walked," Town Council member Eddie Cole recalled. In Windermere, it's not clear whether some of the laxity was intentional or whether no system existed for maintaining records. If there was a system, nobody can figure it out — and neither former police Chief Daniel Saylor nor his second in command, who quit shortly after the scandal broke, is around to ask. McCoy's challenge is to organize the chaos that was left by Saylor, who is charged with two felonies relating to his official duties. "According to the [new] police chief and the interim police chief [Orange sheriff's Capt. Ralph Groover], everything is a wreck, in disarray and it's hard to locate things," said Randy Means, director of investigation and administration at the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting Saylor. The State Attorney's Office hasn't gotten any complaints and isn't planning to prosecute on the public-records issues, however, Means said. "It's so hard to prove if you're looking at it from a criminal-justice standpoint," said Pat Gleason, special counsel for open government in the Florida Attorney General's Office. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is still investigating Saylor, and any alleged public-records violations are likely to rank far below the felony charges against the former chief. They include squelching a child sexual-battery investigation against Saylor's friend Scott Bush and asking officers to lie to FDLE agents and destroy records. Florida's public-records law provides for criminal penalties in cases where an official intentionally withholds or destroys documents. But prosecutions rarely occur. "It's almost impossible to prove that somebody willfully failed to provide public records," Altamonte Springs First Amendment lawyer Lawrence Walters said. "You have to get into their heads." Windermere's problem isn't confined to the Police Department. Town Manager Cecilia Bernier was forced to confess at a Town Council meeting that three of the four performance reviews she did on Saylor during his eight years as chief were lost. "It can be frustrating," Walters said. "The public-records laws are there to encourage governments to keep records and provide them properly, and the reality is often something much different." Andrew McCarthy, who was defeated in last week's Town Council election, has two pending public-records lawsuits against the town and cited the missing reviews among reasons he says the town's public records are in "complete disarray." McCarthy claims boxes of documents are stacked in the administration building, some e-mails aren't archived and documents are lost or inadvertently destroyed. Bernier would not be interviewed or answer e-mailed questions for this article. Town Attorney Tom Wilkes said McCarthy's claims are baseless and the town expects to prevail. The town has provided McCarthy the records he sought, Wilkes said. Although a sergeant had been maintaining most of Windermere's police records, no one knows for sure who is the department's official custodian of records. Florida law requires governments to designate a person responsible for maintaining public records, said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation. A newly promoted lieutenant is managing many of the files for now. One of McCoy's goals is to digitize records so they are more secure. He also wants to install cameras, motion detectors and keyless locks to better keep track of who goes in and out. The FDLE investigation found that Bush may have had a key to the building, which was part of a schoolhouse complex in the early 1900s. This is the time for Windermere to set up a structure that makes filling public-records requests easy, Rhea said. "They might save some money and time," he said. sjacobson@tribune.com or 407-540-5981

Keene's Point decision delayed again By David Damron, Orlando Sentinel 10:38 a.m. EST, December 8, 2010 Orange County commissioners voted again Tuesday to postpone a request by homeowners in the Keene's Point community to clear out a cut between a private lake and Lake Tibet in the protected Butler Chain of Lakes. The same request was delayed last month after commissioners sought more time to sort out the issue. On Tuesday, Orange environmental officials said that subsequent state action since then has further complicated the county permit request, and Orange leaders should stay on the sidelines for now. The governor and Florida Cabinet are now seeking a permit to block off the cut, possibly with fencing. The South Florida Water Management District would rule on that request, a decision that's subject to a potentially lengthy appeal. That state request, along with other action, "has complicated this matter to the point where it may be best to pause and let events evolve with other regulatory agencies," Orange's chief environmental manager wrote commissioners. Commissioners had the option to bring the county permit request back up next month, or wait for the state to resolve its concerns. "It's impossible to say today" how long that state permit could take, Deputy County Attorney Joel Prinsell said. "It could take two months. It could take two years." Many residents near the private lake, referred to locally as Tibet Cove, want the wetland cut-through declared legal for access to the larger chain of lakes. They argue that the water quality in the small cove would not degrade the larger chain, plus the canal has been used informally for years. They were upset that commissioners essentially handed the issue off to the state. "If they're going to rely on [South Florida] and the DEP [Florida Departmental Environmental Protection], the county doesn't need" its own environmental protection division, said John Miklos, a consultant backing the residents' permit. But critics, including state officials, oppose the removal of the wetland vegetation, saying it could threaten the water quality in the larger chain of lakes. They backed the county commissioners' 6-1 vote to wait for Florida regulators to weigh in first. "This is a state issue," said Lori Bradford, of the Butler Chain of Concerned Citizens Association. David Damron can be reached at ddamron@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5311.

Protect Orange County’s Butler lakes Orange officials need to protect the county's Butler lakes. File this latest request to trample the environment under audacious and outrageous. Audacious because the Keene's Pointe Community Association acts like government rules against harming a conservation area don't apply to them. Outrageous because leadership at the Windermere-area group believes money ultimately should compel Orange County to let its boat owners cut through the conservation area to get from a pond to the Butler Chain of Lakes. "[W]e pay more than $15 million in property taxes," the association president declared. That, you see, should allow them to despoil wetlands considered off-limits by the state Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District. And to foul lakes that Florida considers Outstanding Florida Waters that are "worthy of special protection." Not a chance. That's what Orange County commissioners need to conclude when the association comes knocking. It's expected to ask the commissioners to help it get around an Orange County magistrate's recent ruling that declared the association responsible for an illegal channel that now cuts through the conservation area separating the pond from Lake Tibet, part of the Butler chain. Either repair the damage by replanting vegetation approved by the county, the judge told the group, or somehow get the county to issue a permit granting access. The latter would take some doing. In 2007, the association applied to the water management district for a permit to dredge a channel linking the two water bodies. The district rightly denied it, yet soon afterward someone did some dredging or cut through a cypress forest separating the pond from the lake. Authorities haven't been able to prove who did it – but they need to keep trying. Those responsible for threatening the Butler chain — still among the state's cleaner lakes — need to be punished. But these many months later, officials still don't want the channel, and for good reason. The district, according to the county, says the channel runs through a conservation easement, designed to protect the wetland for future generations. There's no way, a county environmental official noted, that the county would allow a permit for something that's safeguarded by a conservation easement. Good. Then there's DEP, which recently informed the county that a portion of the land the channel disturbs is "sovereign submerged land," or acreage the state owns. And then there's the county itself. Employees with the environmental protection division note that the channel disturbs the wetlands, and that "you can only put so much" pollution into the chain of lakes before violating federal limits protecting them. The Keene association numbers more than 1,000 home sites. More boats invading the chain from the association's pond could stir up sediments and raise pollution levels that exceed government limits. Where's the benefit to the chain in that? If county commissioners don't see it, they can deny the association a permit. With less than a year to go in his term, Mayor Rich Crotty's looking to polish his legacy. Voting to protect a conservation area over the selfish interests of a subdivision is one way to do it. It's also a way for commissioners Linda Stewart, Mildred Fernandez and Bill Segal, running to succeed Mr. Crotty, to show voters that they might have what it takes to succeed him.

Did Keene’s Pointe developer dredge ‘illegal’ canal to give residents lake access? Residents, environmental officials say canal could pollute whole Butler Chain Orange County environmental officials say a Windermere-area developer carved an illegal canal through a wetland to provide residents of the upscale Keene's Pointe neighborhoods access to the state-protected Butler Chain of Lakes. The 930-acre west Orange development lost a recent legal challenge to keep the canal. But the developer is appealing for county permission to keep its access to Lake Tibet through the canal from a private 13-acre pond. The request could come before the Orange County Commission on May 11. Gary Bruhn, mayor of the nearby town of Windermere, said developers should expect a vigorous fight. "It's outrageous," Bruhn said. "Someone cut a 300-something-foot canal from a private pond directly into Lake Tibet, and now they want to keep it? This is not only illegal, it could jeopardize the entire chain of lakes." Officials with Keene's Pointe Community Association, a collection of about a dozen neighborhoods to the west of Lake Tibet, say they should be allowed to keep the canal because it was actually created by citrus baron R.D. Keene in the 1930s, before rules against such dredging even existed. "It is a man-made canal, but it was made back in the '30s or '40s," said John Miklos, president of the Orlando environmental firm Bio-Tech Consultants, hired by the community association. "It's always been there, and it's grandfathered in. It was there before [Orange County] had an environmental division." Miklos said the canal recently re-appeared because of higher water levels from heavy rainfall. But county officials say that recent work was done to remove vegetation. Boaters on Lake Tibet's western side can easily spot a 30-foot-wide gap amid a wall of cypress trees leading into the Keene's Pointe pond. Recent aerial photos show the canal appearing within the past few years. Miklos and Steve Diamond, president of the Keene's Pointe Community Association would not answer questions about whether any recent dredging or vegetation cutting had taken place in the canal. But in 2007, Keene's Pointe officials applied to the South Florida Water Management District for a permit to dredge a canal from the private pond to Lake Tibet. That permit was denied. When asked about that permit application, Diamond responded: "We have over 1,060 home sites and $830 million in assessed [property value] in Orange County. I want to say that we pay more than $15 million in property taxes." Keene's Pointe resident Robert W. Lacy, who has a house and a boat dock on the unnamed pond behind his house, told the West Orange Times recently that when he bought his house, the developer told him and others they would have motorboat access to Lake Tibet. The canal fight has been brewing for more than a year, said Windermere resident Lori Bradford, president of the advocacy group Butler Chain Concerned Citizens Association Inc. "We've been frustrated time and again trying to get someone to take care of this," Bradford said, who added that the canal appeared within the past few years. Her group contends that connecting the pond directly to the lake could harm the water quality in the whole Butler Chain. Under pressure from Bradford's group, Orange County's Environmental Protection Division took the Keene's Pointe developer to court. "No one can do this without a permit," said Neal Thomas, a county environmental officer. "Either someone did some dredging or used some mechanical apparatus to carve a channel through a forested cypress system into Lake Tibet." While the county couldn't prove who made the canal, five months ago a judge determined that Keene's Pointe was responsible for it. Orange County Special Magistrate Yvette Rodriguez Brown declared that the developer must either repair the damage by replanting vegetation approved by the county or apply for an after-the-fact permit with the county. Such permits are a way for homeowners or developers to legally clean up issues that have run afoul of county codes, such as building a boat dock longer than allowed, Thomas said. Bradford argued that if one developer is allowed to do that, it could create a legal precedent for developers to cut more canals."We have the cleanest lakes in the state right here, and this all could get ruined," she said. "We're not going to let this go unchallenged." The Butler Chain's 11 lakes covering 4,500 acres are among the state's most protected waterways, meaning that any alteration of shorelines is strictly controlled by state and county agencies.The chain includes Lake Down, Little Lake Down, Wauseon Bay, Lake Butler, Lake Louise, Lake Isleworth, Lake Chase, Lake Pocket, Lake Tibet, Lake Sheen and Fish Lake. Rich McKay can be reached at rmckay@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5470.

	Mayors to leap for the troops with Golden Knights If former President George H.W. Bush can do it, they can too By Linda Trischitta, Sun Sentinel 6:54 p.m. EST, February 22, 2010 Talk about leaps of faith. Later this month, 13 mayors from four South Florida counties will make 12,000-foot jumps from a plane with the Golden Knights, the U.S. Army Parachute Team. The free event is to show support for the U.S. military. And, as Deerfield Beach Mayor Peggy Noland said, "To have an unbelievable experience. It's beautiful. You can see all the way to the ocean and the Everglades." The Golden Knights are training at the Homestead Air Reserve Base and on Saturday will take leaders from Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Orange counties for tandem jumps tethered to experienced U.S. Army sky divers. This is the first time this many mayors will make their leaps at the same event, U.S. Army spokesman Harvey Spigler said. Once they return to the ground, the officials will sign a pact to continue support for military recruiting, military service members and their families. Though she has not made as many sky dives as former President George H.W. Bush, who jumped with the Golden Knights last year to celebrate his 85th birthday, Noland said she is not a novice. She jumped for the first time eight years ago, when she was 50. "If it hadn't been the last jump of the day, I would have gotten back into the plane and gone again," Noland said. "Your stomach doesn't drop. It's exciting." Coral Gables Mayor Don Slesnick, who is president of the Florida League of Mayors, organized the event with the military. Also donning parachutes, according to the military, will be mayors Manuel Marono of Sweetwater; Andre Pierre of North Miami; John Workman of Palm Beach Shores; Peter Bober of Hollywood; Paul Vrooman of Cutler Bay; Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco of Tamarac; Myron Rosner of North Miami Beach; Gary Bruhn of Windermere; Joy Cooper of Hallandale Beach; Roger Wishner of Sunrise; Pat Kelley of Minneola in Lake County; and Mary Lou Hildreth of Keystone Heights in Clay County. There's still room for two more mayors to sign up, Spigler said. Mayors Lamar Fisher of Pompano Beach and Frank Ortis of Pembroke Pines may attend, but won't be making the leap. "I don't have a bucket list yet," Ortis said. "I'm afraid of heights. Even though you would jump with an experienced sky diver, I'm just not ready to do that yet." Mayor Debby Eisinger of Cooper City will jump on Tuesday. "They want the Army experience," Spigler said about why so many officials are lining up for the thrill. "It's a great opportunity and considered an honor to jump with the Golden Knights, who are a world-class team." Linda Trischitta can be reached at ltrischitta@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4233.

Tiger Woods scandal disrupts town's peace Windermere residents try to regain treasured solitude WINDERMERE — For four days, an exasperated Lavina Williams counted 45 news trucks and cars parked on a grassy strip near her Windermere home. Alice Marshall, visiting her son in Colorado, saw the name of her tiny town flash repeatedly on the television. And for Mark Dean, the Tiger Woods scandal became the most surreal when he turned on Access Hollywood and saw his car drive by on the screen. Windermere, a quaint town of waterfront homes, an ice-cream shop and unpaved roads, protects its solitude. But that peace was disrupted two weeks ago when the world descended upon the town of 2,500 — clamoring to see where Woods drove into a fire hydrant and a tree and then admitted to personal "transgressions" that fueled gossip across the globe. When the scandal broke, satellite trucks and noisy helicopters swarmed in, toting TV crews and nosy journalists. Their cameras were trained on the secured gates of Isleworth — a well-heeled community of sprawling mansions, golf course-like lawns and sports celebrities — but for the most part, their feet were firmly planted on the soil of Windermere, a town without protective walls and hedges that shares its ZIP code with the exclusive development. "Just like Southern cities aren't set up for snow, Windermere's not set up for that type of media traffic," said Dean, chief executive officer of the Windermere Merchants Association. Mayor Gary Bruhn got dozens of e-mails and phone calls. Media trucks took up parking spaces for the disabled and parked illegally until, several days after the incident, police asked them to stick to legal spaces. They left dirty scars in the roadside grass and then headed to the downtown, causing more headaches. Windermere became the dateline for the scandal. When a TV news host said "Back to Windermere" in a sinister tone, local real-estate agent Suzi Karr cringed. Two weeks later, John Figueras, manager of the Ready Market and Main St. Café — which is still offering a media discount — said he had stopped seeing camera lenses poking out of bushes. By Thursday, the town's streets were quiet again, save for the town social, where the only celebrity there was Santa. Woods' announcement late Friday that he would take an indefinite break from professional golf, however, was likely to reignite the media uproar. Shortly after the latest news broke, Main St. Café owner Steve Lisle said he wasn't overrun with hungry reporters — yet. "If that's the story of the day, I'd anticipate they'd be looming around tomorrow," he said. When asked about the attention on their community, many residents described the frenzy as ridiculous and silly. Others were frustrated that the media clogged their roads and parking spaces. Most just wanted privacy for the Woods family. "We feel it's between his wife and his God," Jacqueline Rapport said as she manned a snack table at the holiday social. A few businesses, however, realized some benefits. Allen's Creamery & Coffeehouse saw a 50 percent increase in sandwich sales. Main St. Café rushed menus to the media horde during the height of the news coverage. "It's money in our pockets," Figueras said of the reporters who came through his cafe, which became a sort of epicenter of tips and gossip. Dean said his real-estate business has had a few calls from potential buyers intrigued by the area's celebrity presence. But like other disruptions, residents say this one will pass with no lasting effect. Just as Windermere has long kept commercial developers out of its downtown, it won't let a noisy parade of cameras, satellite trucks and helicopters alter its character. "I think Windermere has an ability to be true to itself," said Gaby Spector, 65, who was careful to point out that she lives one house outside of town. "I just hope we don't get tour buses," Rapport joked. At the holiday social, residents in bright Christmas sweaters carried trays of cookies into Town Hall. Local students danced in pajamas and clutched teddy bears. The mayor reminded adults about the home-decoration contest and children to watch for a certain bearded special guest. He made no mention of Tiger Woods. Standing near the town Christmas tree and a toy-donation box, Angela Withers, 59, swept her hand across the room. "This is Windermere." Rachael Jackson can be reached at rjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-540-4358

Windermere saga ends with Azzouz land sale Rich McKay Sentinel Staff Writer October 7, 2009 WINDERMERE - The seven-year battle over the fate of downtown in this west Orange town is officially over. Developer Kevin Azzouz — who rankled many Windermere residents with his vision of restaurants, office buildings and condos for the heart of a town that values its dirt roads and small-village feel — has quietly sold his four acres that front Main Street. The new owner, lifelong Windermere resident Jim Karr, 51, said he has no immediate plans to develop the property. And if he ever does, he promised to adhere to the town's dirt-road charm amid the Butler Chain of Lakes. "At this point, we don't plan to do anything with it," he said. "And if we ever do, we'll only do what makes sense for this town. I live here, I grew up here, and this is my home." Azzouz did not return phone calls or e-mails from the Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday seeking comment about his former planned project, Main Street Shoppes. The purchase price of the property wasn't immediately available. Karr would not say how much he paid. Published reports, such as property sales listings, show that Azzouz's company, Kosta Holdings LLC, paid at least $2.3 million for the parcels downtown in 2000 and 2002 combined. The Orange County Property Appraiser's Office lists the current combined assessed value at $2.8 million. From almost the start in the summer of 2002, when Azzouz first announced his plans for a $50 million, 70,000-square-foot development, opposition was steep. Many residents said they feared the project would be too big and bring in too much traffic. "Residents have seen his plans and have made their voices clear consistently," Mayor Gary Bruhn said. "This wasn't right for Windermere." Azzouz, who made his millions by selling a Silicone Valley software business, promised from the beginning that the project would be done right. "I want to build things, and I want to do it in a responsible manner," he said at the time. "There's no effort on my part to remake or recast the town." The residents' most frequent request was to downsize the project. And usually the developer's answer was no. As the years and many protracted council meetings dragged on, the fight became less polite. Azzouz and his representatives were met with boos at town meetings. At a 2006 meeting, Bruhn called the developer a crybaby. Azzouz blasted the council as being more difficult than the government of communist China and said in 2006: "I'm trying to improve what is universally recognized as a run-down, dumpy little town center. I have endured micromanaging, slander, vandalism and personal threats." Azzouz once said that he cooperated with the town by delaying his project for several years and reduced its proposed size from 70,000 square feet to 50,000. The hardball rhetoric continued, and in early 2007, three people on the five-member Town Council told the developer that townsfolk likely would never shop or dine at anything Azzouz built, unless he compromised. It's unclear why the developer dropped his plans, but in the past year or so he has been battling several lawsuits, foreclosures and bankruptcies, many concerning his half-built $700 million Veranda Park town center in Orlando's MetroWest community. Longtime resident and former Orange County Commissioner Vera Carter said that people who opposed Azzouz's project largely disagreed with its size. She lamented the project's failure, however, because it promised to bring restaurants to downtown. "We don't want the outside traffic, but we need a nice restaurant for the locals," she said. Rich McKay can be reached at 407-420-5470 or rmckay@orlandosentinel.com.

Cities' debate: To mow or not to mow foreclosed homes' yards? Sandra Pedicini \| Sentinel Staff Writer November 11, 2008 Across Central Florida, cities already strapped for cash face a new burden: keeping homes in foreclosure from dragging down their neighbors' property values. Tall grass at these abandoned homes is creating eyesores and attracting bugs and snakes. Though some homeowners associations are cutting the grass, cities have begun sending their own workers out with lawn mowers. That costs money, and governments want to get it back. Under an ordinance passed last week, Oviedo will place liens on homes where city workers cut the grass and owners fail to pay for it. Tonight, Windermere officials are expected to pass an ordinance allowing the city to place assessments on the tax bills of homes where it has to mow. Officials from cities across the region disagree about whether slapping a lien on a home will do much good. Some say it should be easy to recover the money from the small liens. Others doubt it will happen. Tavares City Administrator John Drury predicts that judges will throw out the liens for homes in foreclosure. Windermere is hoping to avoid that issue by using tax assessments instead of liens. Their approach would sidestep property owners who don't pay the taxes by having investors pick up the tab at tax-certificate sales. Oviedo, an upper-middle-class community, has about 15 properties whose owners are being given notice to clean up within 30 days or have the city do it -- for a fee. Windermere, known for its lakefront mansions, has about the same number. "No area is immune from the economic downturn," said Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn. "We want to preserve the values and protect our neighbors as well. We had some neighbors who said, 'I don't like living next to this. I'm concerned about the potential for rodents and that type of thing." Windermere resident Miriam Barnes likes the idea of her town keeping up the abandoned homes' appearances. Barnes said a couple of homes on her street appear to be in foreclosure but so far have been maintained well. She wants to make sure they stay that way. "I don't mind at all that the city does something," she said. "It keeps the street looking nice." Bruhn said his tiny town is contracting out the work. Oviedo officials said they end up doing the same, especially "if we're in the same economic situation when we start rolling into the growing season," said Shawn O'Rourke, Oviedo's code-enforcement manager. Here's how some other local governments are trying to protect neighbors' property values as the foreclosure crisis grows: Altamonte Springs The city has done some minor work such as treating abandoned pools to keep mosquitoes away and repairing fallen fences. But "we are prepared" to do more, City Manager Phil Penland said. If the city starts getting significant numbers of foreclosed homes, "we're prepared to go in and contract with somebody to do some maintenance. You kind of do that as a last resort." Winter Springs The city already has been mowing lawns at abandoned homes, but this year added at least $15,000 in the budget to cover increasing costs of such maintenance. Casselberry "We've just talked about things we could do [such as] cut the lawns of those foreclosed homes," City Commissioner Jon Miller said. "We're trying to see how we can be a little more proactive." Lake Mary City Manager John Litton said his city has had to work harder to contact owners of abandoned homes and encourage them to maintain their properties to avoid liens. The city has not yet had to start mowing yards, he said. Tavares The city has begun investigating a policy similar to Windermere's, which would place tax assessments on homes where maintenance work needs to be done. Orange County The county mows grass after it reaches 18 inches. It will not mow a yard more than three times a year. It has also been approved for federal grant money to buy foreclosed homes. Seminole County The county's mosquito-control department has been treating abandoned pools to keep pests away. Next week, the county is expected to accept a grant that will allow it to purchase some foreclosed homes. Because of budget constraints, county officials say they don't have the money to take care of yards in abandoned homes. "We've cut back mowing our medians," county spokeswoman Susan Vernon-Devlin said. "We're going to mow somebody else's lawn?" Sandra Pedicini can be reached at spedicini@orlandosentinel.com or 386-851-7914.

Isleworth's tax revenue spurs face-off Windermere's plan to annex would siphon off $3.5 million a year from Orange County. David Damron \| Sentinel Staff Writer December 19, 2007 Orange County and Windermere are at war over Isleworth, or more specifically, the taxes its residents pay on nearly $800 million worth of property in the mega-upscale neighborhood. Windermere leaders want to annex Isleworth, where Shaquille O'Neal, Tiger Woods and many other wealthy celebrities have estates. In doing so, it would more than double the town's value and boost its tax revenues by millions of dollars. But it also would drain $3.5 million from county tax coffers annually, cash mainly used to pay for fire protection and the Sheriff's Office. If that happened, county Mayor Rich Crotty said Tuesday, Orange could drop those services to Windermere and Isleworth. "It has to be stated upfront: They're going to pay their fair share," Crotty said. Isleworth's 800 or so residents now get fire-rescue services from Orange County.So when O'Neal paid $190,992 in taxes last year on his $11.3 million Isleworth home, about $25,000 of it went to county coffers to cover fire services. If O'Neal and his neighbors vote to be annexed into Windermere, the money no longer would go to county coffers. O'Neal's neighbors to the north in Windermere now receive fire services primarily from Ocoee. But when Ocoee is busy or county crews are closer, Orange has a deal with Ocoee to send rescuers to Windermere's aid. The county handled a third of Windermere's 186 fire-emergency calls last year, Orange Fire Chief Carl Plaugher said. Ocoee crews help county firefighters, too, so the deal works out for both sides, he said. No pay, no gain But the county can't provide fire service to Windermere if it annexes Isleworth and siphons away $1.8 million in property taxes the neighborhood brings to its fire-rescue squads. "That would be financial suicide for us," said County Administrator Ajit Lalchandani. Though he understands the concerns, Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn said if the town annexes Isleworth, he would hope the county would continue the fire-rescue deal it has with Ocoee. "I think it's sad that Orange County is saying that they would want to terminate" the existing fire agreement. But Bruhn said the town has not decided how to provide services to Isleworth if it annexes it. An annexation mail-in vote by residents there is expected in the spring. "We're keeping our options open," Bruhn said. Hedging against tax reform? County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs said the real fault could lie with Orange County. Because Orange doesn't know just how much it saves or loses in fire-service agreements with nearby cities, it's hard to say any city is taking advantage of the county, she said. The battle for Isleworth's riches could turn out to be part of a growing war among local governments desperate to secure big tax-revenue sources. Holding on to swanky neighborhoods could be one defense against state lawmakers bent on pulling Florida out of its real-estate slump by slashing property taxes. "Tax reform is going to cause government reform," said Crotty, agreeing with Jacobs that such agreements would need to be more closely evaluated. "We need to conduct business differently." David Damron can be reached at ddamron@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5311.

For the second time in six months, Lake Down and some of west Orange County's most exclusive addresses got an unwanted dose of raw sewage, prompting the county to warn people not to swim, water-ski, fish or even touch the water through Sunday. As much as 100,000 gallons of untreated waste may have seeped into the lake from a broken sewer pipe along Apopka-Vineland Road near Olympia High School, said Jim Broome, the chief engineer with Orange County Utilities. Broome said someone noticed the sewage leaking into a small creek and then into the lake Wednesday morning, and a repair crew was immediately dispatched. "The first step was to shut it down to stop the leak," Broome said. "The second is to dig it up and repair it." "The lake isn't closed," said Lori Cunniff, manager of the county's Environmental Protection Division. Residents and people using the lake aren't considered to be at any immediate health risk, but the warning also cautions people who use Lake Down water for irrigation not to water their lawns until Monday. "This is out of an abundance of caution," Cunniff said. By 11 a.m., about 500 "red-alert" automated telephone messages went out to Orange County and Windermere residents near Lake Down, telling people to avoid contact with the water and not to swim in the lake. Gene Spears of Windermere received the message and remembered the leak near the same place during the Thanksgiving holiday. "This is ridiculous," Spears said. "We're doing everything we can to protect the lakes, and then the county does this to us again." In November's incident, an undetermined amount of sewage spilled into the lake near the spot of the latest leak, creating a pungent stench that neighbors described as that of a backed-up commode. This time there was no offensive odor, Spears and other residents said. Suzi Karr, a real-estate agent who lives on Lake Down, said she didn't notice anything amiss Wednesday morning. But Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn said he is concerned the leak happened "in the same darn area as last time. It's two times in less than six months." Rich McKay can be reached at rmckay@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5470.