Yesterday, we discovered that Disney entered into an agreement with the Reedy Creek Improvement District prior to the new Board taking over, which gave them great authority over land-use and transferring that land-use authority. In response, the Florida Attorney General’s office has now sent a letter to those former members asking for documents to be turned over.
What’s Happening:
- According to WESH 2 News, the letter from the Florida Attorney General’s Office demands records be turned over, including texts and emails, from a meeting held on February 8th.
- It asks that any records related to "documents discussing agreements approved or considered by the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 8, 2023" be provided.
- Those documents relate to Disney entering into an agreement with the Reedy Creek Improvement District prior to the new Board taking over, which gave them great authority over land-use and transferring that land-use authority.
- The agreements passed by the former Board members in February allegedly prevent the new Board from making changes to terms.
- The new Board believes that the agreement should be invalidated.
- At yesterday’s meeting of the newly renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the new Board approved the hiring of two law firms to represent the district in any potential conflict with Disney in the future.
- Board chairman Martin Garcia mentioned that they may not necessarily be pursuing legal action against Disney but that they want to be ready:
- “We don’t know if we’re going to be in an adversarial position with Disney but we need to be prepared to be in an adversarial position.
- In response, Walt Disney World released a statement stating: “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.”