Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board to wage fight against Disney

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The special district formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District appears to be headed to battle with Disney.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board (CFTOB) held a special meeting Wednesday focusing on a series of agreements with Disney, which were approved by the former Reedy Creek board members.

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Those agreements gave the company wide-ranging powers over the territory where the theme parks operate, and prohibit the new board members from changing the terms.

The agreements were passed by board members who were appointed by Disney during public meetings that included public hearings. But the new members said Wednesday they only recently found out about them.

“I can’t think of a more naked attempt to circumvent the will of the voters and the will of the Florida Legislature,” new member Brian Aungst Jr. said. “That is offensive to me.”

A special counsel hired by the new CFTOB said the agreements transferred almost all of the special district’s power to Disney itself for the next 30 years. They include approval to build another theme park along with smaller parks, and would bar the CFTOB from making changes to properties without getting the company’s approval.

The new board chairman, Martin Garcia, said they may have to challenge the previous agreements in “protracted litigation,” and suggested the case could go to the U.S. Supreme Court. The board voted to hire two outside law firms to look into the legal challenges.

“I cannot imagine Orange County, Osceola County, the city of Orlando or any other Central Florida government allowing or agreeing to allow any private developer or property owner to have this sort of control over a government and the officials that run it,” Daniel Langley of the Special General Counsel said.

Members also approved looking at job descriptions for hiring a new district administrator. The current administrator, John Classe, was in the same position when the Disney-appointed members were in charge and was involved in the formation of the agreements.

A statement from Walt Disney World reads:

“All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law.”

But the board members say they think the documents are void because they don’t meet other requirements.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office agrees.

An official with the governor’s office sent WESH 2 a statement saying: “At an initial glance, the contracts that were shoved through at the last minute are likely void as a matter of law.”

“This development agreement was passed the same day the Florida House passed the bill creating this board and it was done to prevent us from doing our job and that is offensive to me,” Aungst Jr. said.

At the meeting, there was also talk about hiring a new administrator.

That would mean the person in charge when the agreements were passed would be replaced.

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