News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

[lazyboy97o]

Seriously Disney, it’s time to buy Turkey Point.

 

[lazyboy97o]

State bond guy says they have 1 billion outstanding and a new district will be created to have the same powers minus the nuke plant among others but the debt will NOT be pressed on the surrounding counties. They are very sensitive to their rating quality and he called the principal debt holders when this first was brought up to soothe their fears.

He says he thinks it will. It’s not something he controls or for which any actual work has been made public. Less powers could also still be an impairment of the District’ ability to carry out its work, especially given the lack of care out into understanding how the District is actually structured and operates.

 

[Dan Deesnee]

I was not even think of cyber attack and this possibility losing power/ services, I was focused about the 2 Billion of bond debt that could be dumped on the Orange and Osceola tax payers.

No Air conditioning AND 2 billion of bond debt!

It just keeps getting worse for Orange and Osceola tax payers.

I don't think that bond debt / that article mean what you think they mean. The residents will be fine.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I don't think that bond debt / that article mean what you think they mean. The residents will be fine.

I guess we will find out eventually.

 

[Disstevefan1]

State bond guy says they have 1 billion outstanding and a new district will be created to have the same powers minus the nuke plant among others but the debt will NOT be pressed on the surrounding counties. They are very sensitive to their rating quality and he called the principal debt holders when this first was brought up to soothe their fears.

That’s good news.
Ya know all that bull about the right to build a nuke plant they were NEVER going to build, the ironic thing (that no one wants to admit) is that nuclear power IS THE SOLUTION to global warming and energy independence.

All the stuff about it not being safe and the waste is a problem is pure fiction. Nuclear plants are costly but once in place and running, they provide reliable power and puts nothing in the air.

Instead, we are going to play with (and fail) with wind and solar.

 

[GoofGoof]

BLOOMBERG - Florida’s Bond Chief Sees Disney District Being Re-Established

I will try again. This sounds very familiar. Many on here have speculated for a while that this would be the eventual plan for RCID. Replace it with a new district that’s virtually the same in all areas that matter and remove some of the useless or non-essential elements like the option to build a nuclear power plant. I assume that would satisfy the bond holders, keep the local taxpayers from taking any of the burden from dissolving the district and leave Disney economically about the same place they are today. Cooler heads will prevail and those wanting a big, public fight will be left disappointed, but it checks mostly all of the boxes for everyone else.

 

[GoofGoof]

That’s good news.
Ya know all that bull about the right to build a nuke plant they were NEVER going to build, the ironic thing (that no one wants to admit) is that nuclear power IS THE SOLUTION to global warming and energy independence.

All the stuff about it not being safe and the waste is a problem is pure fiction. Nuclear plants are costly but once in place and running, they provide reliable power and puts nothing in the air.

Instead, we are going to play with (and fail) with wind and solar.

The discussion on wind/solar vs nuclear is kinda off topic, but I will comment on the idea of RCID building a nuclear plant themselves.

Back when RCID was established we (the US) were still actively building nuclear power plants everywhere. It wasn’t until after the 3 mile island accident in 1979 that we stopped licensing new nuclear power plants. There were over 100 planned new nuclear plants that were cancelled in the early 80s and no new licenses were considered from 1979 until 2012. So it makes some sense that RCID could potentially have been involved in a nuclear project when the district was established but not today. The other thing that changed is the risk of terrorism. Having a nuclear power plant close to a large population center (Orlando) and in an area that attracts so many visitors would make it a potential target and would make the project unlikely to be licensed even if they wanted to do it. A melt down whether accidental or the result of terrorism would be devastating. So this was a long winded way of saying that the state of FL doesn’t need to worry about the threat of RCID building a nuclear power plant because the Federal government would never allow it anyway.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The discussion on wind/solar vs nuclear is kinda off topic, but I will comment on the idea of RCID building a nuclear plant themselves.

Back when RCID was established we (the US) were still actively building nuclear power plants everywhere. It wasn’t until after the 3 mile island accident in 1979 that we stopped licensing new nuclear power plants. There were over 100 planned new nuclear plants that were cancelled in the early 80s and no new licenses were considered from 1979 until 2012. So it makes some sense that RCID could potentially have been involved in a nuclear project when the district was established but not today. The other thing that changed is the risk of terrorism. Having a nuclear power plant close to a large population center (Orlando) and in an area that attracts so many visitors would make it a potential target and would make the project unlikely to be licensed even if they wanted to do it. A melt down whether accidental or the result of terrorism would be devastating. So this was a long winded way of saying that the state of FL doesn’t need to worry about the threat of RCID building a nuclear power plant because the Federal government would never allow it anyway.

Being involved in nuclear power doesn’t have to just mean building a reactor at Walt Disney World. The District is allowed to own and be involved in projects outside of its geographical boundary. The District is involved with Duke Energy on solar projects outside of the District. The Orlando Utility Commission has an interest in St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant which is well outside Orlando and Orange County. Preventing the District from being involved with nuclear power means preventing them from ever making the exact sort of energy investments Republicans generally favor.

 

[GoofGoof]

Being involved in nuclear power doesn’t have to just mean building a reactor at Walt Disney World. The District is allowed to own and be involved in projects outside of its geographical boundary. The District is involved with Duke Energy on solar projects outside of the District. The Orlando Utility Commission has an interest in St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant which is well outside Orlando and Orange County. Preventing the District from being involved with nuclear power means preventing them from ever making the exact sort of energy investments Republicans generally favor.

The article specifically mentioned operating a nuclear power plant:
The new district won’t have some of the powers previously granted that were never used such as operating a nuclear power plant.

I don’t think there would be any way to prevent them from buying nuclear power but that is different from operating a nuclear power plant, something RCID would have no interest in doing today.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The article specifically mentioned operating a nuclear power plant:
The new district won’t have some of the powers previously granted that were never used such as operating a nuclear power plant.

I don’t think there would be any way to prevent them from buying nuclear power but that is different from operating a nuclear power plant, something RCID would have no interest in doing today.

The article isn’t a review of a specific proposal. Would owning part of a reactor not count because operating might be handled by someone else?

Just because the District has no interest today doesn’t mean they should be prohibited from it, especially for excusing and encouraging egregious behavior.

 

[GoofGoof]

The article isn’t a review of a specific proposal. Would owning part of a reactor not count because operating might be handled by someone else?

Just because the District has no interest today doesn’t mean they should be prohibited from it, especially for excusing and encouraging egregious behavior.

If you go back and look, DeSantis’s specific comment was an objection that Disney (through RCID) could build their own nuclear power plant. I don’t think that would extend to buying output from a plant that someone else owns/operates. In addition, any company with the means has the ability to buy a financial interest in a nuclear power plant even if they have no need for the power produced. There are banks and even hedge funds that have been involved in various projects. There are much more stringent requirements around who operates the plants due to safety and security concerns.

As far as the second part, it’s an academic debate because the district would be very unlikely to get a license to build a nuclear plant on district property anyway.

 

[Magic Crush Drop]

Disney when they found out that they can't built a nuclear power plant (they want to become a military power)

 

[Disstevefan1]

Disney when they found out that they can't built a nuclear power plant (they want to become a military power)

Florida will have to get by with its 5 existing nuclear reactors...
Florida, not as good as the 11 nuclear reactors the state of Illinois has...

 

[LSLS]

I'm still not sure I see why Disney would accept anything other than total resestablishment with every power they originally had. Disney has ALL the power here. Their worst case is they have no district and Desantis has the press of adding a billion dollars in taxes to counties of his state. Then Disney pumps funds into whoever is running against him. If I was Disney, I'd run full on "Mess with the bull, get the horns." Don't let him get an ounce of victory out of it.

 

[flynnibus]

I'm still not sure I see why Disney would accept anything other than total resestablishment with every power they originally had. Disney has ALL the power here. Their worst case is they have no district and Desantis has the press of adding a billion dollars in taxes to counties of his state. Then Disney pumps funds into whoever is running against him. If I was Disney, I'd run full on "Mess with the bull, get the horns." Don't let him get an ounce of victory out of it.

Because 'scorched earth' policies tend to impact many bystanders and people will still associate the negativity with Disney no matter who caused it.

 

[pdude81]

To build on this, the only reason there is talk of a new district is because the original play by the state has backfired.

I have to agree here. They wouldn't be pitching ideas while backpedaling if this was already a sound legal action. You'd just see officials pointing up in the air and crassly yelling "Scoreboard!"

 

[GoofGoof]

Disney’s Reedy Creek district extends agreements

The Reedy Creek Improvement District, the governing body overseeing Walt Disney World in Orlando, is moving forward with business as usual, despite its looming dissolution in 2023.

www.yahoo.com

RCID is continuing to operate business as usual. They signed contract extensions through 2024 for electricity purchases for the district. Not sure if the contracts address the district being dissolved or have any sort of change of control clauses in them, but I would imagine Duke and the Florida Municipal Power Agency are both well aware of the situation and have determined the risk is not high enough to decline signing the contracts. These are the type of contracts that could end up in court if the district is really dissolved along with hundreds of other vendors doing business with the district.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Disney’s Reedy Creek district extends agreements

The Reedy Creek Improvement District, the governing body overseeing Walt Disney World in Orlando, is moving forward with business as usual, despite its looming dissolution in 2023.

www.yahoo.com

RCID is continuing to operate business as usual. They signed contract extensions through 2024 for electricity purchases for the district. Not sure if the contracts address the district being dissolved or have any sort of change of control clauses in them, but I would imagine Duke and the Florida Municipal Power Agency are both well aware of the situation and have determined the risk is not high enough to decline signing the contracts. These are the type of contracts that could end up in court if the district is really dissolved along with hundreds of other vendors doing business with the district.

RCID has no choice but to operate business as usual especially when it comes to something like electricity. No matter what happens, WDW needs power. I think who will pay the electricity bill after RCID is gone is the question.

 

[GoofGoof]

RCID has no choice but to operate business as usual especially when it comes to something like electricity. No matter what happens, WDW needs power. I think who will pay the electricity bill after RCID is gone is the question.

Yes, for sure. I wouldn’t expect RCID to act any differently. What is more interesting to me is that 2 other entities are willing to sign on for a period beyond next June. Without seeing the contract we have no idea if the risks for them are addressed. It’s possible they have a make whole payment should the district be dissolved or a clause that the contracts are assigned to another entity should the district be dissolved. It’s also possible that the price paid may be above market with a larger than normal counter-party credit risk premium. Typically selling power to a highly rated municipality is virtually risk free, but this situation is different.

 

[Brian]

Nothing groundbreaking here, but a takeaway from this article is confirmation that Disney is engaging in conversations with state legislative leaders and Gov. DeSantis' office.

“Since we left session, the conversation between the governor’s office and the interested parties of Reedy Creek have continued, and Disney is included in that, obviously,” said state Rep. Daniel Perez (R-Miami).

Reedy Creek replacement in the works

“We are not yet announcing the Reedy Creek plan, but we will.”

www.wftv.com