Orlando, the 'City Beautiful,' weighs paying to clean up toxic ...

This still seems like the school is getting a heck of a deal. Correct me if I am wrong but LHP is a private school. Why are public funds going to be used to benefit a private school? I'm sure their alumni is rich enough to pay a higher price. When teachers are getting layed off from public programs the city is going to help out the rich kids! Go figure! AM I the only one who sees it this way?

Cathy Kearns...OMG what a nut case. She is not interested in any thing but her million dollar home on the shores of Lake Highland. She and this HOA group is a self serving group of spoiled rotten citizens who DEMAND everything be done for their community, and to heck with the rest of the world!!!! Screw them..........

"Cathy Kerns, vice president of the Park Lake/Highland Neighborhood Association, said residents are pleased the property would go to the school rather than a developer that might be allowed to build at higher densities."

This lady must be crazy!! Last time I checked this area is in the DOWNTOWN Orlando area meaning HIGH DENSITY and HIGH-RISES gallore. If Cathy Kerns doesnt like that then she needs to move back to the country and leave us city-folks alone..

Sounds like a neutral appraiser needs to be called in.

Gee, property values would plummet ... does that mean their property taxes would drop too??? Cool!!!! Declare ME a toxic waste site!!!

How about a little more follow-up on the "...and they might not clean it up for 30 years." comment by the mayor.

Here's a suggestion Buddy:
1) Get the site listed.
2) Let the National Risk-Based Priority Panel evaluate the site and assign it a schedule/ranking
3) Once you know where the EPA stands, then decide if it's worth using Orlando taxpayers money to remediate it.

The EPA has had 25 years to streamline the SuperFund program, please give them a chance to do their jobs before injecting your own "expertise".

I agree. If the Feds will pay, why would the City, allegedly facing its own funding shortfalls, put up its own money?

If Lake Highland Prep wants it so bad, why don't they pay for the cleanup?!

CORRUPTION IT means nothing to the democratS in Orlando and OBAMA

Raise the taxes agAin MR DEMOCRAT

13 million wow add that to the 17 million they are about to give to daisy lynums frends on monday to build in parramore and you wonder why they raised your property taxes.this is criminal i sit here this morning in disbelife at the incompatince of our local and national polititians.

Buddy Dyer is a lying crook.
Do a search on Bob Flamily and see what Buddy and his cronies did to him.

The only reason for other's not to be more interested in it is because the city has not agreed to pay for its clean up. How about the city cleaning it up and then taking bids on the property. Isn't that what most prudent business minded people would do. Or how about this? Let the FEDS do the clean up and then take bids for the property.

Let's not take from the regular folks and give to the rich!

Just wondering how far that $13 Million would go towards cleaning up the Bombing Range mess down towards Lee Vista. Oh yeah, that problem hasn't gone away for the folks scammed into buying there. Those homeowners obviously don't donate enough into the right campaign funds.

Quick question. If LHP is buying the property for 2 mil and the city is dumping 13 mil for the clean-up, is lhp getting 11 mil for the property?

I want that deal.

Freebird wrote:

Quick question. If LHP is buying the property for 2 mil and the city is dumping 13 mil for the clean-up, is lhp getting 11 mil for the property?
I want that deal.

No, LHP will flip it for $20M.

Net result:
LHP gets $18M profit
Orlando taxpayers get $13M shaft

If Lake Highland wants to buy the property, the city and it's taxpayers shouldn't pay a dime to clean it up. Here's a thought....the city pay to clean up the site and make it into a park for everyone to enjoy.

This smelly deal looks as if the city is going to pay the school about 200k per acre to take the property.$323,000 that the city would pay, minus the $122,000 that the school pays the city, leaves a tidy $200,000 per acre profit for the school.
Maybe I'm just to stupid to figure out why this stinks.

Who owned the land at the time? If it was an average person they'd make the new landowner pay for the cleanup.
As for the "image" of "city beautiful" the city sure doesn't look beautiful to me with all of its scandals and other problems.

Well, I've seen fish fly. Men land on the moon. Smart bombs, and now this. God lord, take me now. Please!!!!

Cynthia wrote:

If Lake Highland wants to buy the property, the city and it's taxpayers shouldn't pay a dime to clean it up. Here's a thought....the city pay to clean up the site and make it into a park for everyone to enjoy.
This smelly deal looks as if the city is going to pay the school about 200k per acre to take the property.$323,000 that the city would pay, minus the $122,000 that the school pays the city, leaves a tidy $200,000 per acre profit for the school.
Maybe I'm just to stupid to figure out why this stinks.

I think you have figured it out perfectly. Yet another example of graft and good old boy dealings among Buddy and his cronies. Heard from someone involved at LHP three years ago that they were going to get a sweetheart deal on that property and had been talking to the city.

You guys don't understand the concept at all. The school has been trying to buy the land for years, but the city refused to sell it because some brilliant company poured their toxins into the ground. The land isn't worth that much because its so horribly contaminated, and it does need to be cleaned up. LHP has tried to get the city to clean up the area for many years, not only because it would allow the school to eventually buy the land but also simply because the property needs to be cleaned. If it contaminated our water supply, how would you feel then?

And the reason it might not be cleaned for 30 years if the Feds came is because they're horribly inefficient and have many other worse problems elsewhere to deal with. But if the city decides to clean it now, they can probably do so and get the area cleared faster and cheaper.

And LHP owning the land is totally expected. I doubt anyone else would want it anyways. LHP owns land around almost the whole lake, and they've been advocating the cleaning of the lake for years. They can't even use the lake for school activities because its considered too dangerous. LHP deserves the land they're even going to be paying for some of the clean up. They've already come up with plans on how to clean it up too. Who would be a better owner? Besides, the possibility of the land turning into a park is nonexistent and an absurd idea. Building a park would not only cost taxpayers even more money to fund its creation and maintenance, it is also impractical as the area is relatively small for a park, and the lake isn't exactly the largest lake around either. The city will use its money most efficiently and clean up the area, and then sell it so they don't use up as much money.

If you've ever seen the polluted area, you'd know that it probably isn't even worth $2,000,000.

And if you all are really so concerned about education funding, why was that certain amendment passed that gave you $200 back from the state for your houses in exchange for millions in education cuts?

I Live In The Area wrote:

You guys don't understand the concept at all. The school has been trying to buy the land for years, but the city refused to sell it because some brilliant company poured their toxins into the ground. The land isn't worth that much because its so horribly contaminated, and it does need to be cleaned up. LHP has tried to get the city to clean up the area for many years, not only because it would allow the school to eventually buy the land but also simply because the property needs to be cleaned. If it contaminated our water supply, how would you feel then?
And the reason it might not be cleaned for 30 years if the Feds came is because they're horribly inefficient and have many other worse problems elsewhere to deal with. But if the city decides to clean it now, they can probably do so and get the area cleared faster and cheaper.
And LHP owning the land is totally expected. I doubt anyone else would want it anyways. LHP owns land around almost the whole lake, and they've been advocating the cleaning of the lake for years. They can't even use the lake for school activities because its considered too dangerous. LHP deserves the land they're even going to be paying for some of the clean up. They've already come up with plans on how to clean it up too. Who would be a better owner? Besides, the possibility of the land turning into a park is nonexistent and an absurd idea. Building a park would not only cost taxpayers even more money to fund its creation and maintenance, it is also impractical as the area is relatively small for a park, and the lake isn't exactly the largest lake around either. The city will use its money most efficiently and clean up the area, and then sell it so they don't use up as much money.
If you've ever seen the polluted area, you'd know that it probably isn't even worth $2,000,000.
And if you all are really so concerned about education funding, why was that certain amendment passed that gave you $200 back from the state for your houses in exchange for millions in education cuts?

If it probably isn't worth 2 million, why would the school pay what they're paying and the city pay 13 million to clean it up. Give me a break!
We might not all send our kids to Lake Highland, as you obviously do, but we're smart enough to know a sweetheart deal when we see it.
It is plenty large enough for a park, and I'm not sure why you, in your arrogance, can arbitrarily decide that it's an absured idea.
Gee whiz..I wonder what your school plans to do with it. Perhaps, they just intend to buy it and do nothing...since it's such a dangerous area.
The school wants the land and are getting it for a great deal, at the expense of the taxpayers.
The least you can do, as a beneficiary of the corrupt deal, is to admit that you're getting a hell of deal and we're paying for that deal.
Don't insult the intelligence of the average "Joe" who is going to foot the bill, by coming up with some theory about how the land can be used for nothing other than what the school has planned.
Some of us might surprise you and raise enough hell to stop the entire deal. I wouldn't plan on any ribbon cutting yet because I don't think we, the people, are finished. We stopped the infamous 10' wide pathway around our lake and through the highland neighborhood and we can stop this. You might try to be bit less condescending.