Category: Community

Central Winds Park is already one of Winter Springs’ most active community spaces. It hosts events, sports fields, nature trails, a walking loop, picnic areas, and direct access to the Lake Jesup shoreline. A proposed project now in the early planning stages could add something new to that list: a public boardwalk extending along the lake’s edge.

What Is Being Proposed

The City of Winter Springs is pursuing a Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant to fund a boardwalk along the Lake Jesup shoreline within Central Winds Park. The project is in the funding application stage, with a construction timeline contingent on grant approval.

The proposed structure would be approximately 12 feet wide, elevated above the shoreline, and designed to connect with existing park facilities and trail systems. It would include railings and dedicated viewpoints along the route.

The total estimated project cost is $562,500. The city is requesting $450,000 through the RTP program, with a local match of $112,500.

Why the Grant Funding Matters

Projects like this one illustrate how the city can expand public amenities without placing the full cost burden on residents. Recreational Trails Program grants are awarded through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and are specifically intended to support public trail and outdoor recreation infrastructure.

If the grant is approved, the city’s direct contribution would represent roughly 20 percent of the total project cost. The remaining 80 percent would come from state funding.

What It Would Mean for Residents

Lake Jesup runs along the northern boundary of Central Winds Park, but direct public access to the shoreline is currently limited. A boardwalk of this design would give residents a dedicated, accessible path to experience the lake up close, with built-in viewpoints for wildlife observation and passive recreation.

The elevated structure is also designed with the natural environment in mind. Raising the boardwalk above grade allows water to flow naturally beneath it, protecting the wetland shoreline rather than disrupting it.

Combined with the park’s existing nature trails and walking loop, the boardwalk would expand the overall trail experience at Central Winds and create a more connected outdoor recreation network along one of Seminole County’s most significant natural water bodies.

What Comes Next

The project is currently moving through the RTP application process. Design and permitting work would follow if funding is approved, with construction scheduled after those milestones are complete.

Commissioner Bruce will continue to share updates on this project as it advances through the process.

Winter Springs has a farmers market, and it’s growing into something residents and visitors alike are making a point to attend.

Held on the first and third Sunday of every month at Trotwood Park, the Winter Springs Farmers Market is organized by Specialty Pop Up Events, a Central Florida-based company that produces craft shows, artisan events, and family-friendly community markets throughout the region. What started as a modest first event has now grown, market by market, into a genuine community gathering.

What You’ll Find There

The market brings together a wide variety of vendors, including fresh produce, plants, local honey, jams, fresh-baked breads, bakery items, hummus, and handmade crafts. Shopping vendors round out the mix, making it a place where you can pick up something for the kitchen, the garden, and the home all in one stop.

A Setting That Makes a Difference

One of the things that sets this market apart is where it now lives within Trotwood Park. The earliest events were held closer to the park’s athletic fields, and the setup presented some real challenges. The location was difficult to navigate, and the environment wasn’t ideal for vendors or shoppers.

The organizer and the city responded quickly. The market relocated into the heart of Trotwood Park, using the park’s existing concrete walkway as a natural path through the event. Vendor tents line each side of the path, creating a shaded corridor under the mature tree canopy that Trotwood is known for.

For anyone who spends time outdoors in Seminole County during the summer months, that shade is meaningful. It makes the market welcoming and comfortable even as temperatures climb, and it gives the event a feel that is relaxed and community-centered rather than rushed.

A Long Time Coming for Winter Springs

For years, residents asked about the possibility of a farmers market in Winter Springs and were told it wasn’t something the city could make happen. Commissioner Victoria Bruce was among those who continued to advocate for it, recognizing that a regular community market was something residents wanted and that the city’s parks could support.

The market is now several events in, and each one has improved on the last. The city has become increasingly supportive of the effort, and that partnership between local government and a proven event organizer is part of what makes this one feel sustainable.

Commissioner Bruce has attended multiple markets and remains one of its most visible supporters. In her own words: “The market has been nothing short of amazing. Each time I go, it seems they are improving. This is very exciting for our community, and I will do all I can to support it continuing.”

A Destination Worth the Drive

What’s becoming clear is that the Winter Springs Farmers Market isn’t just drawing locals. Visitors from neighboring communities are making the trip to experience Trotwood Park and support the vendors who show up every month. That kind of outside interest is what helps a market like this become a fixture rather than a short-lived experiment. The more residents and visitors attend and support the vendors, the stronger the market becomes for everyone.

Plan Your Visit

The Winter Springs Farmers Market takes place on the first and third Sunday of every month at Trotwood Park, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The market is free to attend and open to the public.

Upcoming dates:

• Sunday, May 17
• Sunday, June 7
• Sunday, June 21

Trotwood Park is located at 1000 Trotwood Blvd, Winter Springs, FL 32708.

Interested in Becoming a Vendor?

Specialty Pop Up Events welcomes vendors across a range of categories. To inquire about vendor opportunities, reach out directly:

Website: specialtypopupevents.com

Email: specialtypopupevents@gmail.com

Phone: 561-271-4771

Facebook & Instagram: @specialtypopupevents

It is an honor to announce acceptance into Leadership Seminole’s Class 36.

Leadership Seminole is a ten month program that brings present and future community leaders together for the sharing of knowledge and professional development. Beginning each August with a two-day orientation, the program runs through May with monthly one-day sessions covering a broad range of topics including government, arts and culture, infrastructure, public safety, human services, healthcare, education, economic development, environmental preservation, and law and justice.

The program concludes with a sold-out graduation ceremony attended by approximately 400 people.

What the Program Involves

Participation is highly interactive and experiential, with opportunities for networking and team building throughout. Sessions bring together community leaders, facilitators, and subject experts, giving participants the chance to build lasting relationships and develop broad knowledge of the issues that shape daily life in Seminole County.

Each class also takes on a Legacy of Leadership project, identifying a community need and working together to make a meaningful impact. Leadership Seminole classes have collectively raised and invested over $1.6 million and contributed nearly 20,000 volunteer hours to non-profit organizations through these projects.

More information about Leadership Seminole and its programs is available at leadershipseminole.org.

Victoria Bruce

Winter Springs Commissioner, District 2

Protecting Winter Springs

Winter Springs has been through a significant period of change. After years of leadership instability, two state audits, and a city manager search that had to be restarted after transparency concerns were raised, the city now has a permanent city manager with a clear sense of where Winter Springs needs to go.

In April 2026, Kevin Sweet sat down with Invest: Greater Orlando to share his assessment of the city’s progress and priorities. His comments are worth reading for any resident who has been following along.

How We Got Here

The road to stable leadership was not a straight one. Former City Manager Shawn Boyle retired in February 2023, citing emotional and physical distress, as two state audits into the city’s finances and infrastructure were already underway. City Engineer Phil Hursh was appointed interim city manager while the search for a permanent replacement began.

That first search did not go smoothly. Concerns were raised about whether the process was being conducted with adequate transparency and proper public oversight. Commissioner Victoria Bruce objected to the way that initial search was structured and pushed for the process to be redone. The commission agreed, and a second search was conducted.

That second search produced Kevin Sweet.

Sweet came to Winter Springs from Wrentham, Massachusetts, where he had served as town manager. His appointment was unanimously approved by the commission on September 23, 2024. He officially joined the city on December 16, 2024.

“I know there’s a lot of work to be done,” Sweet said at the time of his appointment. “I’m trying to absorb as much as I can and get up to speed as much as I can… because it’s going to be a lot to do.”

One Year In

Sweet marked his one-year milestone in December 2025. In his Invest: Greater Orlando interview, he described the past year as one of identifying organizational gaps, strengthening leadership, and improving customer service. Director-level changes and internal reorganization were part of that work.

“We also have a very engaged resident base with high expectations,” Sweet said, “and our responsibility is to deliver on those expectations while remaining balanced and transparent.”

That last word matters. Transparency was at the center of why the city manager search needed to be redone in the first place. It is worth noting how directly Sweet’s approach reflects the standard that was demanded of the process that brought him here.

“Getting the right leader in place — through a process residents could trust — was essential,” said Commissioner Victoria Bruce. “Kevin has demonstrated exactly the kind of steady, professional leadership Winter Springs needed.”

The Wastewater Investment Is Now Moving

For residents who have followed this issue closely, the progress on wastewater infrastructure represents years of advocacy finally translating into action.

When Victoria Bruce ran for City Commissioner in 2022, the condition of Winter Springs’ wastewater systems was one of her central concerns. The city’s treatment facilities were aging, compliance issues had gone unaddressed, and the vendor operating the plants — Veolia Water Technologies — had a record of recordkeeping and regulatory problems that drew scrutiny from state agencies. Those concerns were not abstract. In January 2021, a large reclaimed water spill at the east plant led to a fish kill in a retention pond. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection later cited 24 possible violations from that incident, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in fines. The incident ultimately led to the resignation of Mayor Charles Lacey.

Commissioner Bruce was critical of Veolia’s performance throughout her early tenure, pressing publicly on compliance failures, reporting gaps, and the city’s accountability to state regulators. In September 2025, the Commission voted 4-1 to approve a new contract with Woodard & Curran to operate the city’s wastewater and reclaimed water systems, replacing Veolia, which had informed the city of its intent to withdraw effective September 30, 2025.

During the contract approval meeting, Commissioner Bruce raised direct questions about regulatory reporting responsibilities, asking who would be accountable for notifying the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the commission in the event of spills or compliance issues. She also flagged contract language capping the new vendor’s repair cost responsibility and pressed staff on whether the city’s aging facilities could generate costs that exceeded those limits. Those are the kinds of questions residents deserve to have asked on their behalf.

Woodard & Curran was selected through what city Utilities Director Clete Saunier described as one of the most robust public vetting processes he had undertaken in his career in local government. The vendor has a strong record of regulatory compliance with FDEP and has helped clients secure nearly $600 million in federal and state grants. It currently serves as the water and wastewater management partner for the City of LaBelle, a city whose mayor described its previous situation as once “identical” to Winter Springs.

In March 2026, the Commission gave final approval on a new east wastewater treatment plant at a guaranteed maximum price of $65.8 million — coming in lower than the city had budgeted. Construction is expected to begin within the next 90 days, with substantial completion projected for October 2028. An additional $5.5 million contingency fund has been set aside.

The funding picture is worth understanding. The project is financed primarily through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s State Revolving Fund, which offers low-interest loans for water infrastructure projects. Winter Springs received $5.4 million for design and a $54.1 million construction loan through that program. The city also secured $19.1 million tied to hurricane recovery funding from Helene and Milton — with 50% principal forgiveness on that portion — along with a separate $600,000 grant.

Once construction on the east plant is underway, design work on the west plant will begin, with construction funding approval for the west facility expected around early 2027, according to Carollo Engineers project manager Erica Stone.

In his Invest: Greater Orlando interview, Sweet described the combined investment in both facilities as exceeding $160 million over approximately five years — an uncommon scale of infrastructure commitment for any municipality.

“These plants will be cheaper to operate than the existing plants,” Mayor McCann said at the March approval meeting. “The rate increases that we passed were painful, we acknowledge that. But it set us up to a point where these major projects are moving forward.”

For residents who remember the fish kill in 2021, the fines that followed, and the years of deferred action before that — this is what it looks like when accountability catches up to infrastructure.

Commercial Development and Smart Growth

Sweet identified commercial diversification as one of his primary goals for the city. Winter Springs is approximately 90% residential, and expanding the commercial base is key to spreading the tax burden more evenly and creating a more complete community where people can live, work, and access services locally.

He pointed to several hundred acres on both the east and west sides of the city that could support professional office, medical, light industrial, and specialty retail uses, including a site near State Road 417 that he described as particularly attractive for regional employers. The city is working with the Orlando Economic Partnership to market those opportunities.

Residents have been consistent in what they want: smart development that fits the character of the community. Sweet’s framing reflects that. Streamlined permitting and responsiveness to investors matter, he said, but so does aligning growth with the community’s long-term vision.

Technology and City Services

Sweet also discussed the city’s adoption of an AI-assisted platform through a company called Polymorphic, starting with the city website. The goal is to allow residents to get answers to common questions outside of normal business hours, making city staff more efficient and freeing them to focus on higher-value work.

Winter Springs is also participating in AGIL, an innovation lab in Altamonte Springs that includes all seven Seminole County municipalities, with a focus on new technologies in permitting, plan review, and internal workflows. The collaborative structure allows the city to explore new tools while sharing insights and increasing buying power alongside its neighboring communities.

Worth Reading in Full

The complete interview with Invest: Greater Orlando, published April 10, 2026, covers additional detail on traffic challenges, funding pressures, and the city’s long-term development vision. It is a useful read for any resident who wants to understand where Winter Springs is heading and how its leadership is thinking about the years ahead.

The path to getting the right city manager in place was not easy. The work of getting it right — rather than simply getting it done — reflects what residents should be able to expect from their local government. The same is true of the wastewater work now underway. These are issues that took years to reach a breaking point. They will take years to fully resolve. What matters now is that the right decisions are being made, the right questions are being asked, and the work is moving.

Sources: Invest: Greater Orlando, April 2026; ClickOrlando, February 2023; Orlando Community News, December 2024; Orlando Community News, May 2025; City of Winter Springs press release, April 11, 2025; Orlando Community News, September 2025; Orlando Community News, March 2026.

Protecting Our Neighborhoods: The Ongoing 5G Small Cell Discussion in Winter Springs

Over the past several weeks, many residents — particularly in the Tuscawilla community — have reached out with concerns about the installation of 5G small cell towers in residential areas.

I want you to know: I hear you.

At our February 23, 2026 City Commission meeting, residents spoke passionately about small cell installations occurring in close proximity to homes and schools. You can view that meeting in full on the City’s YouTube channel, including the public comment portion and our discussion during New Business .

This issue is not about opposing technology. It is about balance, transparency, and protecting property values while complying with state and federal law.

Why Is This Happening?

In 2017, the Florida Legislature passed the Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act (Florida Statute 337.401). This law significantly limits the authority of cities to regulate the placement of small wireless facilities within public rights-of-way.

Under current law:

• Cities cannot prohibit small cell installations in public rights-of-way.
• There are strict timelines (“shot clocks”) that require permits to be processed quickly.
• Local governments are limited in the reasons they can deny an application.
• Municipalities are even restricted in how and when they can provide public notice regarding installations.

This is a state preemption issue — meaning Tallahassee has removed much of the local control cities traditionally held.

What Authority Does the City Still Have?

Despite the limitations in state law, there are areas where local governments may have influence:

• Reviewing applications for compliance with safety and ADA standards
• Evaluating objective aesthetic standards
• Suggesting alternative locations (although carriers are not required to accept them)

At the February 23rd meeting, we discussed ensuring that staff evaluate every available opportunity within the law to:

• Request alternate locations when feasible
• Explore camouflage or aesthetic adjustments
• Protect residential character wherever possible

Moving forward, I support ensuring we use every ounce of local authority still available to us.

The Bigger Issue: Local Control

One of the most important concerns raised by residents is the lack of setback requirements for towers placed near homes. Many cities across Florida are now asking the Legislature to revisit Statute 337.401 to restore reasonable local authority.

Residents have already begun engaging at the state level, including conversations with State Representative David Smith and the Florida League of Cities.

I support exploring legislative solutions that would:

• Restore meaningful local input
• Clarify communication rights between cities and residents
• Allow reasonable setback considerations
• Provide municipalities clearer guidance

Technology should advance — but not at the expense of neighborhood integrity.

What Happens Next?

Here is what I am committed to:

• Transparency – Continuing to discuss this publicly at Commission meetings.
• Due Diligence – Ensuring staff reviews each application carefully within the law.
• Legislative Engagement – Supporting conversations at the state level regarding amendments to 337.401.
• Community Communication – Keeping residents informed as this evolves.

This is not the last small cell application we will see. As 5G infrastructure expands, these conversations will continue — not just in Winter Springs, but across Florida.

My Position

Winter Springs deserves:

• Safe neighborhoods
• Protected property values
• Transparent government
• Balanced economic and technological growth

As your Commissioner, I remain committed to protecting both our economy and our environment — and that includes protecting the character of our residential communities.

If you have questions or would like to stay engaged on this issue, please reach out. Public input matters, and your voice is important.

Together, we will continue working toward smart growth, responsible governance, and a stronger Winter Springs.

—

Victoria Bruce

Winter Springs Commissioner – District 2

Protecting Winter Springs