Altamonte Springs approves $3.32 million storm repairs, names growth director

Storm-battered banks along the Little Wekiva River and the area north of State Road 436 near Riverbend Drive are set for $3.32 million in repairs after Altamonte Springs commissioners unanimously approved contracts meant to stop erosion from getting worse.

The work is tied to damage left behind by Hurricane Milton and is aimed at stabilizing slopes, drainage areas and riverbanks in a corridor the city has already tracked through bid maps and cleanup photos. Estep Construction, Inc. will handle the primary project sites, while Cathcart Construction Company - Florida, LLC will take on an alternate site. For residents near the river corridor, the first visible sign of the project should be increased construction activity as crews begin the stabilization work.

City leaders paired that infrastructure decision with a staffing move that carries long-term planning weight. Dean Fathelbab was sworn in as the city’s Director of Growth Management, a role tied closely to how Altamonte Springs reviews development, handles land-use questions and administers its Land Development Code.

That division is not a back-office formality. Altamonte Springs Planning & Development coordinates review of development applications and development review services, and the city’s planning-board calendar directs questions to Growth Management at 407-571-8160. In a city where storm recovery and new construction often move on the same calendar, the appointment places a new face at the center of the process that shapes how projects are reviewed and approved.

The timing also reflects the pressures facing a fast-growing city in Seminole County. City storm updates said the Little Wekiva River rose more than two feet in a week during recent heavy rainfall, and the city distributed sand and bags while supplies lasted. Against that backdrop, the commission’s vote signals an effort to protect vulnerable infrastructure before erosion turns into a larger and more expensive failure.

Altamonte Springs has also long highlighted its effort to stay debt free while keeping one of Florida’s lowest tax rates, a fiscal posture that makes the pairing of emergency repair spending and growth-management staffing especially notable. The city is trying to protect a damaged corridor now while keeping tighter control over the development pipeline that will shape what comes next.