From Staff Reports
Border Lake is a closed-drainage basin with impacts from SR 436, Seminole County, Orange County, and the City of Apopka. Recently, it has been a particularly hot topic in Apopka.
On Tuesday, Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore sent the following statement to The Apopka Voice about a potential solution to the Border Lake flooding issue that she wanted to present at the Apopka City Council's February 5th meeting but was denied the opportunity, according to Moore:
"Orange County Public Works Staff and I were denied the opportunity to present a short-term pumping solution after severe flooding after Hurricane Milton in 2024 for Border Lake at the Apopka City Council Meeting on Wednesday, February 5th."
On Wednesday, Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson responded to Moore's claim in an email to The Apopka Voice.
"No it was never on the agenda and no Commissioner Moore never requested that it be put on the agenda," Nelson said in an email response. "We were planning to put the Border Lake flooding issue on the February 19th agenda after we meet one more time with DEP and SJWMD about our potential solution and challenges to make that a reality. Please have Commissioner Moore share the email requesting we put Border Lake on the agenda. THERE IS NONE!!!! I think it’s a shame that she doesn’t include me in her email threads and worse than that she excludes me from the discussion. I will forward that chain of emails on to you."
In a second email to The Apopka Voice, Nelson sent a single comment and an email thread.
"This is what Commissioner Moore calls cooperation," he wrote and then included the thread, which begins on November 14th, 2024, and concludes on January 21st, 2025. There are 11 emails in the thread, including five from Silvestri Investments Property Manager Dawn McCranie, two from Nelson, two from Moore, one from Jeff Charles of Orange County Public Works, and one from Kate Subler, an asset manager for Chick-fil-A.
The first email is from McCranie on November 14th, 2024:
"...As you are aware, there was serious flooding due to Hurricane Milton throughout the City of Apopka and some areas of Orange/Seminole County. After the storm passed, I walked the property which was holding tremendous amounts of flooding in our parking lot, when I walked the property, the water was at a minimum of 2 ft deep
We are in dire need of assistance from the city/county on how to rectify this situation."
The next day, Charles responded:
"Good afternoon Ms. McRainie, In response to your e-mail, we have been working closely with the City of Apopka.
Border Lake, and also the Plaza fall within the City of Apopka jurisdiction, and the City has been very involved to try to rectify the flooding.
Border Lake rose to elevations higher than the past and caused a lot of the flooding problems in the entire area. Hurricane Milton caused the stages of Border Lake to overtop and flow into Lake Ruden which was also high and flooded the Plaza parking lot.
Controlling Border Lake at a lower elevation prior to rainy season could help alleviate the area flooding, however there are many constraints as the lake has no outfall.
Orange County continues to work closely with The City of Apopka as they seek solutions to help the flooding in the Border Lake and Lake Ruden area.
On December 28th, McCranie followed up with the City of Apopka and Orange County:
"I know you are working with all necessary entities in hopes of getting a resolution. Has there been any progress made…I have many tenants, especially anchor tenants asking for a status on what the next step(s) will be."
Moore responded later that day, stating that she had to "work around" Nelson.
"Hi Dawn,
I’m in the process of briefing all city commissioners. Unfortunately, we have to go around the city mayor. I will need you all to attend the first Wednesday of February at 1:30 at City Hall. Let’s talk soon.
On January 15th, Nelson responded to Moore's claim.
"Commissioner Moore’s last email said “Unfortunately we have to go around the city mayor” so I assumed that she would take care of the flooding issue and necessary funding. From her email, I gather that she does not need any assistance from the city. Kate let me know if that is correct. I have been personally involved with finding a long term solution to alleviate the flooding on Semoran and Piedmont Wekiwa and the associated neighborhoods but if Commissioner Moore doesn’t need my help that’s OK with the City of Apopka. We are happy to support any solution that the County comes up with."
On January 20th, McCranie expressed her frustration at the miscommunication:
"I wanted to reply back to the email below…I don't know if there is confusion on who is to be taking charge of this issue (county/city), either way, this matter needs to be addressed and addressed immediately! I spoke with Commission Moore this afternoon, it seems the this is a city issue, and the city is declining us to speak at the February 5th, meeting (so all parties who were going to attend, please remove this from your calendar)…mayor, please correct me if I am wrong. I’ve read many articles, the Apopka Facebook page, the Word-of-Mouth website, etc. It seems this has been an issue for quite some time and nothing has been corrected. Yes, the solution may be expensive, but please keep in mind, you are messing with peoples’ livelihoods, houses, families, amongst other things. One of my concerns is gators…almost every large area of water houses gators…what if they start making their way to neighborhoods…do we just wave to them as they swim on by…what is to be done if someone were to get bit, or a family pet was killed. I know I’ve expressed my concerns many times through this and other threads, but my concerns are growing stronger every day as we come closer to June and Hurricane Season starts all over again…it may only be the middle of January, but less than 6 months will get here sooner than you know it. There is no way Piedmont Plaza can handle another flood like Milton or any flooding for that matter…currently, the storm drains are holding water (may be 2-3 inches from the top.) The owner of the plaza paid a lot of money to do asphalt repairs and stripe the parking lot just prior to Helene and Milton, I even had someone try to pump out some of the pond into the FDOT lines but those are full as well (we maybe got down 1’)…the city would not allow us to pump into their lines. After the hurricane was over, I did my site visit and as you are aware, the severity of the flooding in the parking lot was unimaginable…I am 5’1”, when I was walking the parking lot, the water was literally almost to my knees in most areas. All the sitting water that was parked their for weeks, possibly a month, potholes began to show face, some were still under water, which then created a nuisance to patrons or people having to use our parking lot just to get on to SR 436 since Piedmont/Wekiva was closed…with that said, people were popping tires, they were losing bumpers, cars stalling and we as the owners of the plaza are getting ridiculed for the “lack of maintenance” in the parking lot, once again the Landlord had to pay over $32K in asphalt repairs due to the flooding. I had/still have no updates on when the pond and/or storm lines will clear out. Hobby Lobby (who is also cc’d in this email) had to plug their sump pump line to prevent additional flooding, Beall’s had a tremendous amount of stagnant water…people were reaching out to Code Enforcement because of the concerns, as a courtesy to me, the officers would reach out directly to me should someone make a complaint to the city. Myself, my tenants, and neighboring areas have been more than patient, any assistance or guidance would be greatly appreciated."
On January 21st, Nelson responded to McCranie:
"Dawn please come to the City Council meeting on February 5th and give us your prospective. Our meeting starts at 1:30 but public comment won’t begin until about 3:00. Our Utility Director starts today and as soon as he gets his sea legs under him, I would be happy for you and your team to meet with our Engineering staff about the long term solution for Border Lake, Lake Page, and Lake Pleasant flooding. Let me know if there is anything I can do in the interim."
This developing story will be updated in future editions of The Apopka Voice.
