The Wellington Village Council set its Truth in Millage (TRIM) rate for solid waste collection and recycling on Tuesday, June 14. The rate, which is based on the village’s new contract with vendor FCC Environmental Services, is higher than last year.
Deputy Village Manager Tanya Quickel said that the proposed new rates for fiscal year 2023 would be $220 per unit for curbside service and $170 per unit for containerized service, an increase of $49 per unit for both residential and containerized service from fiscal year 2022.
“That is based on our new contract amount with FCC, for the same level of service that we have had in the past,” Quickel said. “We are using approximately $1.3 million in fund balance to offset the calculations for this.”
The council unanimously approved the proposal but will not set the final rate until August. Once the TRIM rate has been set, it can be lowered but cannot be raised.
In other business:
• Planning & Zoning Director Tim Stillings discussed several requested changes to the Lotis Wellington development, a 64-acre mixed-use project located on the west side of State Road 7.
The developer requested modifications to several conditions of approval. Among them were removing the financial institution/bank condition, since that will no longer be included; allow any combination of retail, medical, professional and restaurant use as long as it doesn’t exceed more than the approved traffic trip limitations for the project; add square footage minimums and maximums for medical, restaurant, retail and professional uses; and amend the residential and non-residential uses mix for the certificate of occupancy issuance.
Additionally, there was a request for a certificate of completion, as opposed to a certificate of occupancy, Stillings said, for the shell buildings that include tenant buildouts. Additional modifications include the change from a public dog park to a private dog park within the project, and the removal of the requirement for a pedestrian connection from Wellington’s Edge, since that community does not want the connection.
Brian Terry of Insite Studio, representing Lotis Wellington, explained that the professional and medical office space changes would allow for flexibility as the buildings are leased, to increase the size of the daycare facility and to eliminate the bank in favor of additional restaurant space.
The completion of the commercial buildings also triggers the start of the residential building, which the developer asked to change, mostly because the medical office buildings will be delayed.
“The reason why we’re here for this function is the fact that the medical office leasing has fallen behind,” Terry said. “The activity and leasing activity for the commercial, it’s a function of working with our neighbor [Wellington Regional Medical Center], partially trying to coordinate an effort to provide opportunities for them, as well as potentially some of their preferred doctor groups to occupy some of that space, so it was not put into the public market space for lease opportunities.”
The retail space, he said, is moving ahead swiftly.
After much discussion and some clarifications to the language, the council unanimously approved the modifications.
• Finally, the council reviewed its board and committee appointments for 2022 to 2024, keeping many of the same members but adding a few new faces.
The Architectural Review Board members are Stacy Somers, Maria Respanti, Ryan Mishkin, Thomas Wenham and Luis Rodriguez, with Miguel Alonso and Irwin Kessman serving as at-large members.
The Construction Board members are Howell “Tripp” Long, Scott Lee, Terrence Bailey, Thomas Hind and Lee Kantor, with Vijay Mishra and Mark Hagan serving as at-large members.
The Education Committee members are Beth Gillespie, Jennifer Rodriguez, Marcia Hayden, John Webber and Shelly Albright, with Donna Baxter and Marcella Montesinos serving as at-large members.
The Equestrian Preserve Committee members are Haakon Gangnes, Ben Myers, Jane Cleveland, Carlos Arellano and Dr. Rachel Eidelman, with Dr. Kristy Lund and Glen Fleischer serving as at-large members.
The Parks & Recreation Advisory Board members are Johnny Meier, Stephen Levin, Marc Coleman, Dr. Samuel Falzone and Stephanie Cagnet Myron, with Anthony Forgione and Peter Bartuska serving as at-large members.
The Planning, Zoning & Adjustment Board members are Dr. Satesh Raju, Maureen Martinez, Tracy Ciucci, John Bowers and Jeffrey Robbert, with Ron Herman and Adam Rabin serving as at-large members.
The Public Safety Committee members are Jacqueline Hutman, Salvatore Van Casteren, Mohammad Junaid Akther, Michael Arena and Michael Weil, with Brad Johnson and John Archambo serving as at-large members.
The Senior Advisory Committee members are Bob Kruger, Al Ziker, John Norton, Penelope Rahman and Mary Kastner, with Jose Soto serving as an at-large member with one at-large seat open.
The Tree Board members are John Tamsberg, Uma Bhatti, Maureen Parkes, Dr. Charles Sandell and Debbie Evans, with Lisa Stattmiller-Ferrano and Kathy Siena serving as at-large members.
The members of the village’s new Affordable Housing Advisory Committee will be appointed at a later date.
