At their second assembly, Reedy Creek substitute board mentioned its new enterprise, together with an agenda merchandise for potential authorized challenges geared toward Walt Disney World. This put up covers strikes they’ve made to date to lawyer up for litigation, what Disney did that precipitated this, and our commentary about the way it all would possibly play out.
Let’s begin with a fast recap of what’s occurred since we final coated the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) saga. State lawmakers handed a invoice that renamed the Reedy Creek Improvement District, whereas sustaining the particular district’s taxing advantages and most of its distinctive authorities (with some exceptions). The key change was that the Governor of Florida would appoint the district’s board.
Governor DeSantis thereafter signed the invoice into legislation, and appointed members to the newly-dubbed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD). At a press convention, DeSantis introduced his 5 appointees, all of whom are political donors or loyalists, whereas additionally proclaiming that there’s a “new sheriff in town” and promising “accountability” for Disney.
Among many different issues, DeSantis claimed that the board members would be certain that Walt Disney World might be “what Walt envisioned,” and gave examples of limits his appointees might impose and the way future Disney content material may very well be formed.
Since then, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District held its first assembly. That principally revolved round firefighting, COVID-19 insurance policies, and numerous grievances throughout a public feedback part. Somewhat like a scene in Parks & Rec, however honest and wholly unentertaining. The precise substance of the assembly was largely uneventful, in equal components as a result of precise governance is uneventful and since the brand new board members have been uncertain of the mechanics for conducting new enterprise.
Someone should’ve purchased a replica of Robert’s Rules of Order since then, because the second assembly of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District was much more eventful. The new Board of Supervisors agenda for his or her March 29, 2023 assembly contained a plan to acquire “Additional Special Legal Counsel” (Item 8.2 beginning on web page 61 of the Agenda).
That reveals that the brand new Board of Supervisors has engaged 4 completely different legislation companies for the next functions:
Cooper & Kirk will symbolize the District concerning sure constitutional and contract issues and potential authorized challenges for issues involving the District that occurred underneath the prior board of supervisors and that will contain the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. and its associates and subsidiary and associated entities.
Lawson will symbolize the District concerning sure constitutional and contract issues and potential authorized challenges for issues involving the District that occurred underneath the prior board of supervisors and that will contain the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. and its associates and subsidiary and associated entities.
Nardella & Nardella will symbolize the District on these issues particularly assigned by the District and accepted by the agency. Waugh Grant PLLC will symbolize the District and supply litigation and dispute decision counsel for the District for any issues designated by the District.
According to reporting from the Orlando Sentinel and WESH’s Bob Hazen, the brand new Board of Supervisors took problem with a 30-year growth settlement made between the Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Walt Disney Company previous to the brand new Board of Supervisors taking on.
Those agreements include restrictive covenants, license settlement, and developer’s settlement that have been mentioned at a public listening to by RCID on February 8. (The related paperwork may be discovered right here.)
Central Florida Tourism Oversight District asserts that this renders them powerless to supply any oversight over Walt Disney World’s vacationer district in Central Florida, successfully undermining their very identify! The CFTOD contends that clandestine covenants have been made, tying the arms of future board members for many years, in line with a authorized presentation by CFTOD attorneys throughout the assembly.
The agreements permitted by the prior Board of Supervisors incorporates language that enables the settlement to stay in impact in perpetuity (or “until twenty one (21) years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England”) with out regard for future motion by the brand new board.
Disney actually coated their bases with the settlement, dictating common upkeep requirements and together with a piece titled “Prohibition On Use Of Disney Name.” Among different issues, this supplies that RCID and its successors (meaning CFTOD) can’t use the “Disney” identify, nor can it use “any of the fanciful characters (such as Mickey Mouse), designs, symbols, representations, figures, drawings, ideas or other intellectual property owned, developed or created by” Disney in any method in any way. So I suppose a King Mickey Mouse meet & greet on the subsequent CFTOD assembly is admittedly out of the query!
Upon discovering these restrictions, the CFTOD’s new Board of Supervisors voted to usher in outdoors authorized counsel to look at the settlement, with one lawyer in attendance presenting on behalf of CFTOD suggesting they need to rent extra legislation companies so CFTOD can problem Disney on even footing, utilizing companies with “deeper bench.”
“We’re going to have to deal with it and correct it,” board member Brian Aungst Jr. mentioned. “It’s a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.”
Board member Ron Peri added: “This essentially makes Disney the government. This board loses, for practical purposes, the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintaining the roads and maintaining basic infrastructure.”
CFTOD board chair Martin Garcia argued that due to how wealthy and highly effective Disney is, the Board of Supervisors might must take an “adversarial position” towards the corporate. Garcia additional instructed that they may must go all the best way to United States Supreme Court in “protracted litigation” towards the Walt Disney Company.
After the assembly was over, Disney launched the next assertion: “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 phrases of commentary, I don’t actually know what to say. Throughout the Reedy Creek battle, each effort to foretell particular outcomes primarily based on authorized evaluation has confirmed futile. In our most up-to-date article that touched upon the RCID takeover, I conceded that this was not how I anticipated the saga to play out.
With that mentioned, there’s a method I’ve been proper on the cash all alongside: that this isn’t concerning the legislation, passing significant laws, or the robust and thankless work of native governance. It’s about political theater; scoring a “win” in in the present day’s period of ‘politics as team sports’ and the continued tradition wars. The purpose isn’t to control; it’s to seize headlines and dominate the information cycle.
Serious evaluation isn’t acceptable right here as a result of these aren’t critical individuals with honest motivations. That’s seemingly why Disney opted towards combating this beforehand and as a substitute put out deferential and conciliatory statements. The firm’s calculus was that it’s not as simple to “fight” a one-sided tradition struggle. The satisfaction was within the battle.
For Disney, it was a matter of selecting the least-bad possibility and hoping they picked correctly, each within the quick and long-term. As we identified beforehand, Disney could be right assuming that it was coping with rational actors. The pursuits of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and Walt Disney World could be aligned, as each would need to promote tourism and develop the native financial system. However, that’s a reasonably daring assumption within the precise present setting.
It’s troublesome to say what’s occurring right here. Did Walt Disney World and Reedy Creek Improvement District execute agreements they in any other case wouldn’t have as an “insurance policy” to offer them certainty throughout an unsure time? Probably.
Were these agreements “unlawful,” “unusual,” or “suspect” as the brand new Board of Supervisors claims? Those phrases should not even remotely synonymous. Not plenty of precedent exists for an organization to have its personal particular district that enables mentioned firm to behave as its personal authorities, so technically, something that district does is “unusual.” That doesn’t make it illegal or suspect, particularly if these strikes are made with transparency and in compliance with Florida legislation.
Moreover, I wouldn’t belief the assertions of board members who, as not too long ago as this month, didn’t know the way to accomplish essentially the most fundamental part of the job that they have been appointed to do. These people not figuring out concerning the existence of an settlement doesn’t make it illegal, uncommon, or suspect. I’ve by no means visited Massachusetts, however that doesn’t imply it doesn’t exist.
Based on the general public report, the settlement between RCID and Disney was made out within the open, following correct discover and listening to necessities. It’s overtly accessible for viewing on-line. Current CFTOD board members might’ve attended that assembly in the event that they so desired, simply as I might board a flight to Boston or wherever.
It’s additionally completely potential that the brand new Board of Supervisors doesn’t consider what they’re saying, and that that is extra grandstanding. They wanted to discover a strategy to stay related and within the highlight, and never burdened by the unpleasantness of native governance or administrative legislation. (Ew.) Since Walt Disney World wasn’t serving to them out by sticking with the battle, they discovered a brand new and thrilling strategy to revitalize it. Beats doing precise work!
In equity, it additionally doesn’t imply that the brand new Board of Supervisors is improper. It’s completely potential that these agreements are all the issues that the new-look CFTOD claims. Maybe Walt Disney World needed to stop the general public battle, however give themselves an insurance coverage coverage. That may very well be exactly why the corporate has launched the conciliatory statements–as a result of they knew it didn’t actually matter and the brand new board would have its arms tied.
Perhaps the Walt Disney Company is enjoying 4D chess, and their calculus is that this new board difficult agreements in courtroom is the higher plan of action than Disney suing the state. This route positively does appear extra boring and uninteresting, and fewer prone to garner headlines and captivate the eye of extra mainstream audiences. The factor is, we don’t know and received’t know till that is dragged out for extra months and/or years, or till the events tire of it and transfer on.
Honestly, at the same time as somebody who enjoys the Walt Disney Company’s inner-workings, palace intrigue and political machinations, I’m exhausted by all of this. Some of the verbiage within the Developer’s Agreement from February 8 is mildly humorous, however I do know that amusement will rapidly give strategy to extra unpleasantness. Even as I wasn’t wild concerning the total end result of the Reedy Creek substitute, I used to be greater than able to put this entire saga within the rearview mirror, hoping that CFTOD simply go about its mundane day-to-day enterprise. The characters are one-dimensional and cliche, and the writing on this season has gotten tedious and lazy. If I would like dumb drama masquerading as one thing extra, I’ll simply watch Succession.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What is your response to the most recent season of the Reedy Creek Improvement District drama? Keep the feedback civil, and keep away from private assaults or perpetuating pointless tradition wars. Respectfully debating the change is completely fantastic, however don’t assault others or troll for controversy. That’s why Facebook was invented.