Apopka to bid on Camp Wewa
Despite $3M deficit over 5 years, city seeks revised price
Apopka City Council unanimously approved Mayor Bryan Nelson’s request today to bid for Camp Wewa, though the camp likely would operate at a $3-million loss over the first five years.
The projected deficit, which includes estimated costs to improve the pool, rebuild basketball courts and make other needed improvements, is in addition to the $4.2 million the city will offer the YMCA of Central Florida, current owners of the 70-acre campground beloved by its thousands of summer-camp alumni.
“Yes, there will be a little bit of an impact on the budget,” Apopka City Administrator Edward Bass said.
The city hopes to pay for the property by tapping its reserves, selling surplus land and using $1 million from a recent utility-tax settlement with Duke Energy. Nelson said the city also hopes to win a grant from the state Department of Environment Protection worth up to $1 million.
Apopka originally discussed the possibility of matching a developer’s offer of $6 million for the property.
The lowest of two city-commissioned appraisals put the value at $5 million, the city’s offer ceiling. But a last-minute adjustment dropped the value to $4.2 million.
Nelson said the city can’t pay more than the appraised value.
He said he doubted the Y had much “wiggle room” on price.
“They’re just trying to keep their doors open,” Nelson said. “The banks are breathing down their neck…”
YMCA officials did not have an immediate comment.
Commissioner Kyle Becker
questioned whether the city could afford the camp, noting it would be the most expensive item he has approved as a member of City Council. But he said he could support the investment in the recreation property if the price doesn’t create budget risks for public safety and other critical needs for the city.
Speaking for the recently formed Friends of Camp
Wewa, Rich Schellhase pledged to council the continuing support of camp alumni.
“We’re not going to go away once the city buys the property,” said Schellhase, who was camp director from 2006 to 2016. “We want to be here for you to watch it grow and to raise money and make it better.”
Afterwards he sent the Orlando Sentinel an email saying, “Fingers crossed the Y now accepts that offer.”
If the Y accepts the city’s offer, it’s likely the property will operate differently under city ownership, Apopka Recreation Director Brian Forman said.
“I personally want to have access for the taxpayers to be able to use the facility as much as possible, [while] understanding there will be times when we want to close it off so that only children and staff are there for the safety of the children and for the comfort of their parents,” he said.
Forman also said the camp’s value to Apopka, where growth is blossoming on the west side of town, can’t be measured only by its upfront costs.
“We’re going to provide another park that has unique [recreation] opportunities,” he said, citing the lakes, nature trails, rock-climbing wall and other features that could lure corporate retreats. “That’s kind of the overall picture: a park, a retreat center, a camp.”
FORT LAUDERDALE — Residents of a secluded beachfront neighborhood want a gate locked at night to keep out what they see as noisy beer-drinking kids — but they got a big fat no from the city, with a promise to beef up police patrols.
More than a dozen homeowner associations appealed to Fort Lauderdale to put an end to the late-night bonfire parties by locking a gate that leads to the beach from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. After meeting resistance, they suggested a 45-day trial period.
To bolster their case, fed-up residents sent photos and videos to City Hall of young beachgoers having sex, urinating on jetty rocks and posing nude for selfies — mostly in broad daylight.
On Wednesday, 17-year-old Stephanie Keene lounged by the shoreline with three friends, not far from the private beach reserved for condo residents. The Weston teen has been coming here since middle school but says the secluded beach has turned into more of a teen scene of late.
“People do party here,” said Keene, a senior at Cypress Bay High who has seen other kids getting lit but not getting nude.
“This beach is more private than others,” she said. “But I’ve never seen anyone naked or having sex on this beach.”
The normally quiet neighborhood at the southernmost end of Fort Lauderdale beach turned into a party haven soon after the pandemic hit last year, residents say.
The high school crowds usually show up on weekends after posting invites on Snapchat, said Roman Contreras, 19, of Fort Lauderdale.
“It’s a really chill and exclusive place to be,” said Contreras, a senior at Western High who came to the jetty Wednesday to relax with three buddies. “People come in mass groups. They feel like it’s their beach.”
But when they get too close to the private beach in front of Point of Americas, they usually get a reminder that it’s not, he said.
“We’ve run into problems if we get too close to the private beach with people telling us we can’t be here because we don’t live here,” he said. “If we’re here by the rocks they leave us alone. Unless we have too many people, like 200. Then they call the cops. A lot of people run before the cops get here.”
Sometimes, when a party gets shut down, the kids will take the party to the jetties even if it’s late at night, Contreras said.
A locked gate probably wouldn’t keep them away, he said.
“If it’s a big group, everyone is going to jump the gate,” he said. “You can’t arrest 200 kids.”
Some condo residents don’t like their new view.
Caroline McNair, a resident of the Everglades House condo next to Point of Americas, really would like to see the crowds find another place to go.
Her once quiet neighborhood has turned into an anything-goes spot on weekends, she said.
McNair has gotten used to seeing men urinate in the bushes outside her condo.
“They stand at the hedge and pee in the bushes,” she said. “I see them out there while I’m washing dishes.”
Stephan Semsch, a resident at Point of Americas, says one kid threw a bottle at him after he asked him to stop throwing bottles in the ocean.
“I’ve seen buoys ripped out of the ocean,” he told commissioners. “Signs torn down. Aggressive behavior. Broken bottles, condoms, clothes.”
When residents call police, it can sometimes take hours for them to show up, he said.
That section of the beach has no lifeguard, said Hy Montero, president of the Point of Americas 2 condo association leading the charge for a locked gate.
Maybe it’s time for that to change, he said, especially if police were to respond more quickly if summoned by a lifeguard.
Commissioner Ben Sorensen said he plans to look into whether a lifeguard station can be set up near the jetty.
Sorensen, who represents the neighborhood, insisted the gate remain open at all hours despite all the complaints.
“My focus is on doing the right thing,” he said. “If doing the right thing exposes us to litigation, we’ve got a great city attorney and staff. I will stand strongly for public access to public lands and our beaches.”
Now the condo critics are researching all options, Montero said.
“All cards are on the table,” he said. “We’ll be meeting with our attorney this week. Stay tuned.”
Mayor Dean Trantalis said he was game to try the 45-day trial experiment to see if it did any good.
“We have nothing to lose by seeing if this works,” he said. Sorensen had a quick retort. “Mayor, we have everything to lose,” he said. “This is a public beach. Someone who lives in Coconut Creek has as much right to the beach as someone who lives in Fort Lauderdale. I don’t think it’s appropriate to restrict access to our public beach.”
Instead, the city will beef up police patrols and add another trash can to help curb littering.
“It’s important that our beaches are open and accessible to all,” Sorensen said. “If we have nudity, we have to address that. We’ll have a bigger police presence there — and not just on weekends.”
Fort Lauderdale police urge residents to call the department’s non-emergency number (954-763-4537) if they see nudity, public sex or littering.