Florida Governor Ron DeSantis orders an investigation into Reedy Creek Improvement District as the state appears to have been outmaneuvered by Disney

Apr 03, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

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Posted: Monday April 3, 2023 11:42am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has today instructed the Chief Inspector General of the State of Florida to investigate the Reedy Creek Improvement District following the latest developments regarding the state's takeover of the district.

In a move that seems to have out-smarted the state, Disney's final agreement between Reedy Creek Improvement District and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts appears to have severely handicapped the Ron DeSantis-appointed board of the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight board.

Reedy Creek Improvement District overview

Signed into effect on February 8, just as the Florida House passed the legislation to take control of Reedy Creek Improvement District, the new Developer Agreement gives Disney significant control of the RCID landing and prevents the new board making any changes to the agreement.

At a March 29 special meeting, where the board discussed the new Developer Agreement, one member said, "We lose control over everything other than to maintain the roads and maintain the infrastructure." Board member Brian Aungst said, "We gave governmental control to Disney."

Reedy Creek Improvement District overview

The legal council for the new board said that various agreements were made over the past several months that were "unusual" and "suspect." In a brief statement following the meeting, Disney said, "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."

In a letter today, DeSantis said, "based on initial observations of counsel, the RCID board's actions appear to suffer from serious legal infirmities, including, among other things, inadequate notice, lack of consideration, improper delegation of authority, and ethical violations, such as conflicts of interest and self-dealing.

The move today by DeSantis instructs the Chief Inspector General to investigate:

RCID's adherence to applicable Florida civil and criminal laws and ethics requirements;
The qualifications of RCID's prior Board of Supervisors and the legal validity of their actions
The involvement of Walt Disney World employees and agents in the execution of RCIDs actions
Any financial gain or benefit derived by Walt Disney World as a result of RCID's actions and RCID's justification for such actions
All RCID board, employee, or agent communications related to RCID's actions, including those with Walt Disney World employees and agents
All RCID board, employee, or agent communications related to House Bill 9-B, Reedy Creek Improvement District, Orange, and Osceola Counties, and the CFTOD.

Governor DeSantis letter to Chief Inspector General

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castlecake2.03 days ago

Yes

Stripes3 days ago

Has Disney/CFTOD continued to replace the purple direction signage with the new blue color scheme since CFTOD took over?

mkt3 days ago

You're right. The new document will be different. It will be "different" in the way that Chris Gaines was "different" from Garth Brooks or how the drummer from Nirvana is "different" from the singer of the Foo Fighters.

Unbanshee3 days ago

Both are effectively picked by the Governor, just not technically. Look no further than the communications "strategy" with the replacement of Gilzean of the Governor's office getting out ahead of every single step of the process

lazyboy97o3 days ago

The settlement acknowledged the “need” to change the comprehensive plan, which undermines this idea. So too does the lack of an agreement, as the 2032 Comprehensive Plan wasn’t that different than the again in force 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Brian3 days ago

That's understandable for sure. I just felt inclined to make the distinction due to the ongoing conversation, as the district administrator is selected by the board, while the board is selected by the governor.

mkt3 days ago

The new agreement will be functionally the same as the one Disney was sued over.

pdude813 days ago

You're right. This has been going on so long I just lumped all the antagonists together.

Brian3 days ago

Not to nitpick, but Gilzean was district administrator, not a board member.

pdude813 days ago

A bigger risk than keeping Garcia and Gilzean on the board as active disruptors? I don't agree with their decision to stall the federal lawsuit, but I understand why they saw the status quo as a risk to growth over the next few years.

lazyboy97o4 days ago

You don’t think dropping your bargaining power in the middle is the best strategy in a negotiation?

flynnibus4 days ago

Again… we know nothing except both sides have shown signs of positive attitude and certainty of successful outcomes. What does that mean? None if us know. All we can speculate is… they know a lot more than they have said publicly… and obvious things like "desantis is not perpetual…" were clearly obvious to them when they made these choices.

UNCgolf4 days ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus4 days ago

“Right now…” Yes, we all know this. But again, we don’t know what back room deal they have setup. Who knows… it could even include new legislation promises… Or Disney is just rolling with the hand they are dealt… maybe they have accepted that the time to sunset their advantages of rcid is here… none of us can tell what their true intentions are right now.