ST. CLOUD, Fla. — Osceola County leaders are moving forward with plans to review a joint planning agreement with the city of St. Cloud, in an attempt to address concerns over funding for road improvements.

What You Need To Know

  • St. Cloud is the fastest growing city in Osceola County 

  • City and county leaders are working on a joint mobility fee study to determine funding for road improvements

  • The study is expecting to be ready in March, and fees are expected to be updated some time after

Some Osceola leaders say they don't think St. Cloud is paying its fair share.

St. Cloud released a statement Thursday saying: “It was surprising to hear the comments made at a recent county meeting regarding the joint planning agreement.”

Currently, the city has reached out to the county to create a joint mobility fee to help address all roads in the JPA regardless of jurisdiction. Many residents in St. Cloud say it’s no secret that the city's growth is outpacing the current infrastructure.

In downtown St. Cloud, you can hear an odd machine making what sounds like a drill. No screws are being installed though. The noise is coming from a clicker press inside Jerry Brown’s downtown The Gun Store, where a machine is cutting leather for holsters.

While it’s guns, ammunition, and holsters on Brown's shelves, it’s something unrelated he often shops for on someone else’s.

As he opens his fridge you’ll see two containers of the same thing: coffee creamer — or as Brown calls it, “nectar of the gods.”

It’s not just any coffee creamer, it’s amaretto flavored, and because he doesn't want to deal with St. Cloud traffic, Brown usually looks for it online.

“I go online and I search for it,” Brown said. “I check inventory at Walmart, Publix, Winn Dixie, Walmart Market place, Walmart in Lake Nona.”

He said that with the traffic and lack of roads to get in and out of St. Cloud, it is a pain in the neck to drive the three miles from his home to Walmart. Brown said that the six minute trip takes more like 20 minutes.

So instead, Brown drives to Lake Nona, which is eight miles away — but only six or seven minutes by car — to shop.

With constant growth and development in St. Cloud, the city hired a consultant to ensure the city’s maps and plans are updated to support a robust and safe muti-model transportation network in the future.

“The county approves the developments on a massive scale, and there is no infrastructure to funnel the traffic in and out,” Brown said. “Ten thousand home developments are here, the roads are not yet built.”

Brown said he believes the county and city have to work together — which is something representatives from both entities say their goal as well.

St. Cloud leaders told Spectrum News that even though they are not legally required to contribute to funding county roads, the city was looking out for their citizens by helping pay for county roads.

The joint mobility fee study is expecting to be ready in March, and officials say updated fees will be likely follow.