APOPKA, Fla. – For Jodi Ogden, driving Kelly Park Road sometimes starts before she ever gets behind the wheel.
Ogden lives in Sorrento and says she travels the road about three times a week. When traffic is at its worst, she said she has learned to plan around it.
“I’ve gotten to the point where I try to time it so that I come during late morning or early afternoon to avoid the heavy traffic,” Ogden told News 6.
She described dealing with the traffic as “a nerve-wracking experience.”
The City of Apopka has been working toward widening West Kelly Park Road as development continues around the State Road 429 interchange.
But now the road project has reached a different kind of crossroads: how to pay for it.
Apopka city commissioners have the Kelly Park Road Pioneering Agreement on the agenda for a City Commission discussion workshop Wednesday, Aug. 19. The city’s posted meeting materials include a presentation on the agreement, an outline from the city attorney and documents tied to the roadway funding agreement.
City: Current committed funding is not enough
The issue became public in a May 6 Notice of Funding Deficiency sent by the City of Apopka to the project’s co-developers.
In it, the city wrote that the current developer caps and existing committed funding were “insufficient to complete the Kelly Park Road widening improvements contemplated by the Agreement.”
The notice was sent to Kelly Park VB Development LLC, Golden Gem Investments LLC and Galvin-Harris Land Services LLC, which the document collectively identifies as the project’s co-developers.
The numbers in the notice show why the funding issue is more complicated than one simple shortfall.
According to the May document:
- The co-developers’ estimated remaining project cost was $23,326,100.89, excluding a 10% contingency.
- $15 million in developer-cap funding had been deposited into escrow.
- $5,368,685.80 had already been spent on the widening project as of April 13, including engineering and design costs.
- The co-developer budget listed $9,821,312.90 in collected impact fees, although the city said those fees had not yet been confirmed as allowable funding for the project.
- Based on those figures, the notice listed an estimated funding deficiency of $13,694,786.69.
So is the shortage $13.7 million or $1.05 million?
The city provided additional clarification to News 6 Wednesday afternoon.
City officials said that at the time the May notice was issued, the shortfall in the developers’ capped funding obligation was $1,051,090.93.
That figure is different from the $13.69 million estimated funding deficiency displayed earlier in the notice.
The distinction is important.
The $13.69 million figure represents the broader estimated deficiency shown in the city’s funding calculation based on money deposited, money already spent and the estimated amount still required to complete West Kelly Park Road.
The $1.05 million figure, according to the city, represents the shortfall specifically against the developers’ funding cap of up to $20 million.
The May notice itself identifies that $1,051,090.93 amount as a “shortfall in the Developer’s Cap Funding up to $20,000,000.”
In other words, the documents identify a much larger overall project-funding need, while the developers’ contractual contribution has a ceiling.
And what happens once that ceiling is reached is now a central question for city leaders.
Who pays if the project costs more than $20 million?
News 6 asked the city whether taxpayers could ultimately become responsible for part of the funding problem.
The city said the existing agreement gives Apopka two options if there is a shortfall beyond the $20 million developer cap:
Find another source of funding — or cancel the agreement.
The city did not say in its response Wednesday that developers are required to absorb every dollar above the $20 million cap.
Instead, officials said the agreement caps the pioneers’ contribution at $20 million.
That means one of the most important questions moving forward is what, if any, alternative source the city could use if project costs ultimately exceed the money available under the agreement.
Why did the cost increase?
The city said its review of the developers’ project budget found that there was not an appropriate amount of money remaining for project contingency — money typically reserved for unexpected costs, changes or problems that arise during construction.
The May notice also points to higher market prices for roadway construction materials, labor and equipment as one factor behind the updated estimates.
But that is only part of the potential additional cost.
The city provided News 6 with a list of other issues that could affect the final price:
Nine slope easements remain outstanding
The project still requires nine construction slope easements, according to the city.
Those easements allow crews to work beyond the permanent roadway right-of-way where necessary to properly grade the sides of the road.
If the city cannot secure them, the May notice says retaining walls could instead be required in those areas.
The estimated cost: $2 million to $3 million.
One right-of-way acquisition remains
The city told News 6 there is also one remaining property where right-of-way still needs to be acquired.
The May notice separately identifies the proposed right-of-way acquisition involving Kelly Park Self Storage, saying that cost could rise to $235,000 or more.
Impact-fee money could change
The city also identified a potential $1,275,904 reduction in traffic impact fees collected from Oaks at Kelly Park, a development east of Plymouth Sorrento Road.
The May notice says those impact fees were among the potential funding sources being considered for the widening, but the document also cautioned that collected impact fees had not yet been confirmed as allowable funding to cover project costs.
Construction administration may add roughly $500,000
According to the city, construction administration costs do not appear to have been included in the project budget.
Officials estimate those services could cost approximately $500,000.
The city also identified several other possible expenses, including:
- additional design and engineering;
- permitting;
- drainage work;
- utility relocation;
- signalization;
- possible Round Lake Road improvements required under the agreement;
- changes in roadway scope or construction sequencing; and
- inflation since the previous cost estimate.
The notice says the construction estimate was approximately $16.43 million and that the project would need a standard 10% construction contingency of about $1.64 million for possible change orders and unknown costs.
Residents say development has already changed the road
For the people using Kelly Park Road now, the funding calculations are competing with a much simpler concern: traffic.
Ogden said she has watched homes, apartments and businesses go up around the corridor.
“They’ve already put the houses, the neighborhoods, the apartments. They have the commercial buildings in place,” Ogden said. “They need to widen the roads for us.”
Bradley Naylor told News 6 he has lived in Apopka since 1964 and now travels the Kelly Park Road area several times a week.
His reaction to the funding problem was straightforward.
“They need to find the money,” Naylor said. “I’m surprised it hadn’t been widened already since they put 429 in.”
What happens next?
The May notice gave the co-developers 30 days after receiving it to respond in writing.
Under the agreement, they could either agree to the increased estimate and funding obligation or object to the accuracy or completeness of the information the city used to support the increased estimate.
Now, the Kelly Park Road Pioneering Agreement is back before city commissioners for discussion.
The issue before them goes beyond one number.
They have to determine how much money is actually available, how much more could be needed as property acquisition and construction details are resolved, and what the city is willing — or legally able — to do once the developers reach their contractual funding cap.
For drivers such as Ogden and Naylor, the question is much easier to define: When does the plan finally turn into pavement?