Apopka Mayor Nick Nesta
By Apopka Mayor Nick Nesta
Since being sworn into office in April, I’ve heard from a lot of residents. Some are excited about where Apopka is going, and others are frustrated because they want to see things happen faster. I understand both.
Related: Nesta - Taking care of Apopka means taking care of our employees too.
When people vote for change, they expect to see change.
I’ve even heard people say, “Why don’t you just walk in and fire everyone?”
It sounds easy, but then what? Who keeps the City running the next morning? Who handles the projects already underway? Who keeps our water system operating, maintains our parks, pays the bills, answers residents and keeps everything moving?
What I’ve learned is that we have a lot of good employees working for the City of Apopka. Some have dedicated many years to this community. In most cases, they didn’t need to be replaced. They needed better communication, clearer direction and the support to do their jobs.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be changes. There will be. It also doesn’t mean people won’t be held accountable. They will be, and that accountability starts with me.
We are finishing the first level of our reorganization, and the hiring freeze has ended. We have spent these first several months looking at how City Hall operates, who is responsible for what, where we have gaps and where departments need to communicate better.
But I also understand that most residents aren't worried about an organizational chart. Residents are concerned about what you see when you walk out your front door.
Sidewalks are one example.
We have sidewalks that are cracked, uneven or damaged, and areas where sidewalks are missing altogether. If you're pushing a stroller, taking an evening walk, using a wheelchair or simply trying to get around your neighborhood safely, those things matter.
We need to identify the areas that need attention, determine what belongs to the City, prioritize the worst areas and develop a plan instead of waiting for the next complaint.
The same goes for our roads.
Apopka has grown, and we're feeling that growth. We have roads that need resurfacing, potholes that need attention and areas where our infrastructure has not kept pace with the amount of traffic we're seeing.
Residents see new homes and businesses being built and ask whether our roads and infrastructure can handle that growth. That's a fair question.
Traffic is another issue I hear about almost daily. Anyone who drives through Apopka during the morning or afternoon knows what I'm talking about.
Not every road belongs to the City. Some belong to Orange County and others to the State. But telling a resident sitting in traffic that it isn't our road doesn't solve anything. We need to work with our partners, identify problem intersections and make sure Apopka is at the table when transportation decisions affecting our residents are being made.
Then there is water.
When you pay your utility bill and turn on your faucet, you expect reliable service, good water quality and dependable pressure. That's a reasonable expectation.
We've heard the concerns about water pressure, especially in the northern part of Apopka, as well as concerns from residents about water quality.
I don't want our answer to simply be, “We're working on it.”
Residents deserve to know what the problem is, what we're finding, what can be fixed now, what requires a larger infrastructure investment and what the timeline looks like.
Some water and wastewater projects take time. They require engineering, permitting, funding and construction. But we can do a better job communicating while that work is happening.
We are also going to take a closer look at the financial side of several areas of our City government.
That will include reviewing and auditing areas involving impact fees, water rate studies and the financial operations surrounding our water and utility systems.
As Apopka grows, I want to know whether our impact fees are keeping up with the demands growth is placing on our infrastructure. Are we collecting what we should? Are the fees based on today's costs and needs? Are those dollars being used where they are supposed to be used?
The same questions need to be asked about our water system.
If we're asking residents to pay more for water and wastewater services, we should be able to explain why. We need to understand the numbers behind our rate studies, revenues, expenses, debt, infrastructure needs and future projects.
An audit doesn't mean we're assuming someone did something wrong. It means we're verifying the information.
If everything checks out, we can show that to the public. If something needs to be corrected, then we correct it. If changes need to be made, we make those decisions based on facts not emotion.
Growth ties all of this together.
I want businesses to invest in Apopka, existing businesses to grow and families to choose our community. But growth has to come with planning.
Every new neighborhood and business affects roads, traffic, water, wastewater, police, fire, parks and other City services.
That's why departments cannot continue working in silos. Public Works needs to communicate with Community Development. Community Development needs to communicate with Utilities. Finance needs to understand what infrastructure will cost. Police and Fire need to know where our population is growing.
There are positive things happening too.
Our soccer field project is getting close to completion, and we expect those fields to be ready for play this spring. We also made needed repairs to our baseball fields in time for fall Little League.
I'm not going to tell you everything is perfect in Apopka, because it isn't.
We've got sidewalks to fix, roads to improve, traffic problems to work through, water concerns that need answers and infrastructure that needs long-term planning.
Some things we can fix quickly. Others will take years.
What I can promise is that we're going to keep asking questions, looking at the numbers and communicating with residents about what we're finding.
When you elected me Mayor, you put your trust in me. I haven't forgotten that.
Keep asking questions. Keep showing up. Keep holding me and your City government accountable.
Six months isn't enough time to fix every problem Apopka has, but it is enough time to start changing how we deal with those problems.
There is a lot of work ahead, but there is also a lot to be excited about.
I believe in Apopka, and we're going to keep working.
