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CCMtg07-23-08SPMinLONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION The Longwood Community Building 200 West Warren Avenue Longwood, Florida HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMUNITY WORKSHOP MINUTES July 23, 2008 7:00 P.M. Present: Mayor Brian D. Sackett Deputy Mayor H.G. "Butch" Bundy, Jr. Commissioner John C. Maingot Commissioner Dan Anderson John J. Drago, City Administrator Sarah M. Mirus, City Clerk Ryan Spinella, Executive Assistant Lt. Russ Cohen, Police Department _. Laurie Mooney, Fire Chief Paul Sizemore, Director of Community Services Absent: Commissioner Mike Holt (Excused) 1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Sackett called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. 2. BUSINESS. A. Discuss the current state of the Historic District and the future of the Historic District. Mayor Sackett welcomed those in attendance. He said this was a working Workshop and activities would have conclusions to them. He stated the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the current state of the Historic District and to lead to conclusions about what they envision for a future for the Historic District. He gave a brief power point presentation and reviewed the Historic District Visioning. He then introduced Mr. Steven Glazier, President of South Seminole Hospital. Mr. Steven Glazier said most of the physicians in this community are starting to integrate their practices to the Hospital. Many of the physicians will become employees and some will be independent contractors. He stated many of the specialists will locate close to the Hospital. This will drive the expansion of an outpatient tower that will house physician offices, surgery centers, and endoscopy centers. He said they will also be expanding to add more beds to the Hospital. He stated they have already begun integrating a lot of these physicians in their services with some of the tertiary services with their parent company, Orlando . CC 07-23-08/203 Health. A new Women's Imaging Center will soon be opening in the Medical Office Building next to the Hospital. He advised this would be the only Women's Imaging Center in Seminole County and it will be one of the first to have digital mammography. He said they were very committed to working with the City to make the Hospital expansions fit in with the character and theme of the redevelopment plans for the Historic District. Mayor Sackett gave a brief background and introduced Dr. Charles Bohl, Research Associate Professor, School of Architecture at the University of Miami. He said Dr. Bohl would lead the group and discussion activities. Dr. Charles Bohl said this was a great turnout and cross section for representation of the community. He stated he would help run and organize the session for those present to be able to give their input and ideas. He said, before getting started, he would like to get a historical perspective from someone who knows about the history of Longwood. He asked Jim Robinson to share some thoughts. Mr. Jim Robinson said he would like to commend Longwood and the Founders that put the Historic District together. He stated a lot of things that happened in the 1970's were due to this group of people. Such as, restoring the Bradley- McIntyre House and moving the Inside-Outside House. He said it was amazing that the Historic District has thirty (30} buildings dating from 1873 to 1926. He stated there was another structure just outside of the City of Longwood that people have been coming to for a great number of years, and that is "The Senator." He reviewed the early history of Longwood and its Founders. He inquired if anyone had read Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston and said on page 13 of this book references Longwood. He said Ms. Hurston was living here when she wrote her second book, the first of her books to be published. He stated there were many characters that are rich in history having connections to this area. Dr. Bohl started the activities and asked each individual to fill out the card provided to them when entering. He asked them to give the first impression in their mind and these would be collected upon completion. He said he has done a lot of work in communities in planning and facilitating workshops. He is a Planner and does some consulting. He stated part of his orientation to get them ready for group discussions was to give some background to think about the making of places and remaking of places. He said many of the places where they have worked contain historic neighborhoods with similar challenges. He stated this exercise was more to get them to think about the character and how to articulate what they would like to see in terms of buildings, architecture, streets, and public spaces. He reviewed and gave some information about areas in Macon, Georgia and said all of this was driven by citizens. He reviewed a map and said in Longwood's Historic District they have supporting structures and contributing structures, then lots of empty spaces. He said part of their challenge was to envision what would fit or work to fill in, He showed some examples from the Historic District Code Book. He stated, in this District, there were a lot of potential mixed-uses and activities that can take place. He gave several examples of a mixed-use that would fit in certain neighborhoods. He said many of the CC 07-23-08/204 buildings of the earlier settlers were mixed-use buildings and they were of a character we now admire. He stated the groups would be asked to think about the types of uses these might be and the idea that this could change from time to time. They need to think about how they might mix uses, working and living within the same building, then also how they could mix them within a block. He said they have worked in a number of communities where healthcare was important. Longwood has a health institution that is growing and committed to being in the community. He discussed weaving the institutional and residential together and using the streets and gathering places. He told them to think about what they would want this area to be and what reasons they would like to have for coming to the area. He said this was the citizens Workshop and opportunity to have great input on the future of Longwood. The City Commission recessed at 7:45 p.m. and reconvened at 7:49 p.m. Mayor Sackett reviewed the ground rules for the group discussions. He said there were six guided questions each group would be working with. He asked for two people within each group to take on a task, one to be a recorder and one to be a reporter. He said they would bring up the first three questions and provide fifteen minutes to go over these. Following that they would then go to the next three questions. Dr. Bohl said the key to this exercise was that they were in groups. He told them to first have the conversation and then agree upon two or three ideas for each question. He stated he would be a time keeper and remind them when they should move on to the next question. The group discussion began at this point of the meeting. Dr. Bohl reviewed some examples provided on the cards that were turned in at the beginning of the Workshop. He asked the reporters from each group to come forward and report on their groups ideas. At this point of the meeting, the reporters from each group expressed the ideas of their particular group. Dr. Bohl gave an overview of some of the group recommendations and said most were the characteristics of the small town character. Mayor Sackett said this information would be combined and a summary report placed on the City's website for review. He stated this was a start in the right direction. He advised the first City Commission meeting in October would have further discussion regarding this matter. He said this area has a heritage and a -.. future to it. He thanked everyone for attending. CC 07-23-08/205 3. ADJOURN. Mayor Sackett adjourned the meeting at 9:08 p.m. ATTE Sarah M. Mirus, CMC City Clerk Brian D. Sackett,~~o CC 07-23-08/206