https://www.rcid.org/about/
This is a good synopsis of why Reedy Creek was created in the first place. Over time as the surrounding area developed it shifted to more like most CIDs, that is to maintain your property at levels higher than the standards of the surrounding areas. Disney, unlike many CIDs which are smaller have maintained their utilities and services.
If the local counties were to take over these services with dissolution of RCID (I don't think they will and an agreement would occur) look at the value of these facilities and how much the County would have to pay to purchase these top notch facilities with ground leases. Prohibitive. Disney is holding all the cards there.
I don't see it as biting the hand. Nothing will really change. Disney will just have more scrutiny on what it builds and where. As to your comment about drastically changing the environment, Disney sits on the headwaters of the Everglades, something that has probably let to many of the problems it faces today.
False.
Disney has more scrutiny on it than most. Before any disturbance of land for new builds they will jump through hoops for possibly years on any one project. Everything you can imagine from water and soil testing happen and hundreds of pages of documents are submitted to the South Florida Water Management District for approval. In addition to that to disturb land they must set aside new land that will remain undisturbed. That land area is called the Disney Wilderness Preserve and currently has approximately 12,000 acres of protected lands.
After SWFMD approves they must go through ALL the permitting process with the local counties governments. All of this happens after the initial project is approved by Reedy Creek. There is likely no business in Florida that has such a rigid approval process.
Note: All this is public information, projects and paperwork are mostly available online to read. SFWMD is the entity that protects the Everglades.
https://www.sfwmd.gov/who-we-are
What I don’t understand is that the State and Disney made this agreement years ago. Before Disney poured billions into building WDW. How can the State turn around and pull the rug out?
I'm sure there is a way they can dissolve it if they really want to but with anything be careful what you wish for. CIDs are formed by the BUSINESSES in agreement with the local/state government. I do not believe a State can force a CID on anyone. So if they dissolve it, Disney can opt to not re-apply. At that point we likely won't see much change on property because it is private property and Disney has ability to control their own amenities and destiny. The government they would answer to is Orange and Osceola Counties and they are likely to continue to be an ally to Disney since they would be the ones to absorb the costs of the things like emergency services, water, power ...
And then there is the bond .... that would go back to the State to pay??? I mean they dissolved the holder of the bond so ... ?
The biggest impact will be on the 2 counties and their citizens that would absorb Reedy Creek. Reedy Creek historically operates at a loss of approximately $5 to $10 million per year, per its financial reports. The current arrangement renders that meaningless since Disney is able to subsidize its own operations with theme park revenue. But, if dissolved then this falls on the county tax payers. I did read that the Reedy Creek fire department would be happy since WDW has failed to increase staff or equipment, even though the area they are required to protect has grown over 30%.
The union representing Disney World’s first responders is backing Gov. Ron Desantis’ plan for Florida to take control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, according to a report.
“Anything has got to be better than what we currently have,” Tim Stromsnes, communications director of the Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters
But like a PP mentioned, this all could change again when a different person becomes governor of Florida in the future.
The Fire Department has been understaffed for too long and the Skyliner was their breaking point. From Disney's perspective they have the backup and support of the two counties they are in, mostly Orange. Just like we see Orange County Sheriff all over the parks and property ~ they work in conjunction. The fire department would likely see no service changes unless Orange Co decided they wanted to increase services. As fast as offsite is being built, I think we'd see more stations just off property that would support Disney and surrounding area. The question is what does Reedy Creek pay them in salary & benefits vs say Orange or Osceola County because they would now work for them. I think their salary would go down.
Honestly I hope Disney is doing all their planning for the dissolution of the district and how they will operate without it. Let the bond go back to the state, and start discussing with the Counties how the transition of emergency services will happen and what agreements they will make regarding water, power etc since Disney owns the "equipment" so perhaps there is just an agreement of self servicing that would happen that keeps their local taxes about the same. The need for Reedy Creek is not as strong now as it was when they developed it, they are still private property and still very much in control of their future. I think one of the bigger items is Disney has been selling land but because it was within Reedy Creek they had control of the application, permitting, design etc ... ex: Flamingo Crossing. They might now have to become long term land lessor like Disney Springs hotels.
