Later this morning, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors will meet for the third time, and we expect that significant action will be taken to establish authority over the District and Walt Disney World. In this article, we’re going to outline what we expect to take place given previous comments from the Board and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. We’ll also cover the agenda for the meeting.
After the meeting gets underway, the agenda calls for a public comment period near the start of the meeting. This is the least predictable section of the meeting given that it gives the public time to talk about whatever they’d like, essentially. Each comment is limited to 3 minutes.
In the past, the Reedy Creek Fire Department Firefighters have used this time to express support for DeSantis’ Board of Directors. The time has also been used by the public to express support for the Board. We haven’t really seen too much opposition yet, but it remains to be seen who will show up.
Administrative Items & Minutes Approval
There will be some administrative items such as a financial report and posted job descriptions. This will largely be by the book and we don’t expect it to be particularly gripping.
Reports
This section of the meeting has the highest possibility for fireworks as various groups provide reports to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors. We expect to hear from general management and the Public Resources Advisory Group.
Once those reports conclude, we expect to hear from the acting general counsel, litigation counsel, and a presentation regarding State oversight. We think these reports will be of great interest given the recent comments from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis regarding the purported infirmities of previous contracts that tie the hands of the current Board of Supervisors.
The short of it is that Walt Disney World and the Reedy Creek Improvement District entered into a Development Agreement contract before DeSantis’ hand-picked Board of Supervisors could take office. Disney says that the agreements were appropriate and were discussed and approved in open, public forums as required by Florida law. DeSantis thinks he has a legal and legislative argument against the previously established contracts. The presentation by counsel should shed some light on the actual arguments against Disney.
Criminal Investigation & Expanded Powers
Following presentations by legal counsel, there is some time for the Board to discuss new business. In this section, the agenda calls for the Board to direct staff to cooperate with the Inspector General’s investigation into possible criminal charges against the former Board of Supervisors or Walt Disney World should there be evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
The Board will also remove from office and terminate all Planning and Zoning Board Members as they seek to expand their powers and break with the recent administrative structure by not only acting as the Board of Supervisors but also as the local planning agency. Following their self-appointment as the local planning agency, the Board is scheduled to discuss selecting an urban planning firm to hire to do the work.
The Board will also discuss “potential action regarding direction to District staff and legal counsel” as they set priorities for future agendas. This could be the time that the Board takes official legal action on the presentations from earlier in the meeting.
The Board will also establish COVID-19 policies despite there currently being no restrictions in place.
Superior Authority
The Public Hearing portion of the meeting will cover two resolutions. The first is a procedural resolution, but the second is the “Superior Authority” resolution that we first reported on more than a week ago. Essentially, this resolution seeks to add an amendment that will affirm and expand the Board’s power. Resolution 639 “proposes to amend the RCID Land Development Regulations to address the District’s superior authority and control, and authority to issue development orders within the District”. You can read more from our original report:
DeSantis’ Handpicked Reedy Creek Board Continues Blatant Power Grab, Introduces “Superior Authority” Amendment
According to documents reviewed by BlogMickey.com, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District will introduce “superior authority”
The public portion of ht meeting will conclude with the public hearings, and then there will be a closed meeting on union negotiations.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!