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Did Kissimmee widen Thacker Avenue by June 2025, as promised?
The Roadmap Reckoner · Kissimmee, Florida (Thacker Avenue, between Flora Boulevard and Osceola Parkway) · last checked 2026-10-30
| Verdict | PENDING, OVERDUE (by about 16 months) |
| Promiser | City of Kissimmee |
| Place | Kissimmee, Florida (Thacker Avenue, between Flora Boulevard and Osceola Parkway) |
| Promised | 2025-06-30 (construction "7/1/2024" to "6/30/2025", the city's Jan. 2024 request to the Florida Senate) |
| Delivered / status | Not complete: still listed under Capital Projects (5-Yr Plan) in the city's Aug. 25, 2026 budget; no construction contract award found in 36 months of Commission records; the state's $250,000 was vetoed |
| Last checked | 2026-10-30 |
Verdict: PENDING, OVERDUE, by about 16 months. In January 2024 the City of Kissimmee asked the state to help pay for "the remaining two lanes of an important collector road within the city, Thacker Avenue" [C1, C5], with construction to start on "7/1/2024" [C2] and finish by "6/30/2025" [C3]. On August 25, 2026, the city's budget still listed "Thacker Ave Widening" under "Capital Projects (5-Yr Plan)" [C12, C12b, C12c]. In the City Commission's published agenda outlines and minutes for its 118 meetings over three years, the trace for this entry found no award of a construction contract for the widening. The state money the city asked for did not arrive: the Legislature appropriated $250,000 of the $500,000 requested [C6, C8c], and that line is on the Governor's veto list [C9].
Last checked: October 30, 2026.
Re-checked October 30, 2026. The City Commission has met once since the last check, on October 20, 2026 [C15], and the minutes of its October 6 meeting are now posted [C16]. Thacker Avenue is not an item in either meeting's record: it appears nowhere in the October 20 agenda and its 324-page packet, or in the October 6 minutes [the re-check's census]. The city's Projects list still shows "13 Result(s) Found", and the widening is on neither of its two pages [C17]. The Engineering Division page does not mention it [C18]. One web search for news of the widening found nothing newer. The verdict is unchanged; the delay is counted to this check.
- The promise. The remaining two lanes of Thacker Avenue [C1], "two signalized intersections" [C1b], construction from "7/1/2024" to "6/30/2025" [C2, C3], and a "$7 million project" [C4].
- The state's share. "Funding Request: $500,000" [C6]; $250,000 in the Legislature's budget [C8c]; on the Governor's veto list [C9].
- The city's budgets. "Thacker Ave Widening" is listed in the budgets for fiscal years 2024-25 [C10b, C10c], 2025-26 [C11] and 2026-27 [C12, C12b].
- The City Commission's record. No construction contract for the widening in 36 months of agenda outlines and minutes.
- Whether work has begun. The records read do not establish it either way.
The promise
The City of Kissimmee's request to the Florida Senate, Local Funding Initiative Request #3330 for fiscal year 2024-25, "Date of Request 01/10/2024" [C5]:
"In an effort to keep up with the unprecedented growth in the region, the City of Kissimmee seeks funding to construct the remaining two lanes of an important collector road within the city, Thacker Avenue. This is an important connection to one of the major arterial roads within the city, Osceola Parkway. In addition to increasing capacity by constructing two lanes, the project will add two signalized intersections, improve stormwater drainage, and add sidewalks to improve pedestrian connectivity in an area with two elementary schools, retail centers, and thousands of residential and multifamily units." [C1, C1b]
The same request gave the dates: "What is the estimated start date of construction? 7/1/2024" [C2] and "What is the estimated completion date of construction? 6/30/2025" [C3]. On the money, it said: "the city is in need of additional funding to complete this $7 million project. The city currently has $6.5 million budgeted in its CIP." [C4]
Timeline
- October 17, 2023. The City Commission's agenda listed the project among the city's funding requests: "Thacker Avenue Roadway Improvement Project Project Costs: $7,000,000 City Match: $6,500,000 Funding Request: $500,000" [C6].
- December 5, 2023. The City Commission's agenda listed: "Support for funding for the widening and signalization of Thacker Avenue between Flora Boulevard and Osceola Parkway" [C7].
- January 10, 2024. The date of the city's request to the Florida Senate [C5], which gave construction dates of "7/1/2024" to "6/30/2025" [C2, C3].
- 2024 legislative session. The Legislature's budget for fiscal year 2024-25 (the General Appropriations Act) named "City of Kissimmee - Thacker Avenue Roadway Improvement Project (HF 1598) (SF 3330)" [C8] under "Specific Appropriation 2069A" [C8b], at 250,000 [C8c].
- Fiscal year 2024-25 veto list. The Governor's veto list carries the line "2069 A 57 City of Kissimmee - Thacker Avenue Roadway Improvement Project (HF 1598) (SF 3330) - 250,000 250,000" [C9].
- July 1, 2024. The promised start of construction [C2]. No construction contract for the widening appears in the City Commission's records.
- July 23, 2024. The "Fiscal Year 2024-25 Annual Budget" listed "Thacker Ave Widening" [C10b, C10c].
- June 30, 2025. The promised completion date [C3]. No construction contract for the widening appears in the City Commission's records.
- July 22, 2025. The fiscal year 2025-26 budget listed "Thacker Ave Widening" [C11] under "2026 Budget: Transportation Program" [C11b].
- August 25, 2026. The "Executive Summary Fiscal Year 2026-27 Annual Budget" listed "Thacker Ave Widening" under "Capital Projects (5-Yr Plan)" [C12, C12b, C12c].
- October 6, 2026. The last City Commission meeting in the trace's census. No award for the widening.
- October 20, 2026. The City Commission met again. The widening is not on its agenda or in its packet [C15; the re-check's census].
What changed, and why, in the record's own words
- The money. The city asked the state for help because, in its words, "the city is in need of additional funding to complete this $7 million project" [C4]. Its own listing asked for "Funding Request: $500,000" [C6]. The Legislature's budget gave 250,000 [C8c], and that line is on the Governor's veto list [C9].
- The date. The records read give no new start or completion date. The budget of August 25, 2026 still lists "Thacker Ave Widening" under "Capital Projects (5-Yr Plan)" [C12, C12c].
- Why. The records read do not say why no construction contract appears in the Commission's records, or whether work has begun.
What it cost
- The promised cost. "$7 million", with "$6.5 million budgeted in its CIP" [C4]; in the city's own listing, "Project Costs: $7,000,000 City Match: $6,500,000 Funding Request: $500,000" [C6].
- The state's share. 250,000 in the Legislature's budget [C8c], then on the Governor's veto list [C9].
- A revised cost. None was found. The budget summaries read name the widening but give no dollar figure for it.
What is still open
- Whether work has begun. A search-engine summary of a city Engineering Division page named the widening among the projects its inspectors inspect. At the address tried, the city's website returned its "Page Not Found" page, so this entry has not read the page the summary came from, and does not rely on it. The city's current Engineering Division page does not mention Thacker [C14]. Neither does its Projects list, which shows "13 Result(s) Found" over two pages [C13, C13d]. That absence is not proof that no work has started.
- The city's pages were read on October 8, 2026.
- The current cost and year. The city's adopted capital improvement plan, which would give them, was not read.
What this entry did not check
- Most of the city's website. Three of its pages were read, in a browser: the Projects list (both pages) and the Engineering Division page.
- Contracts below the Commission. A contract signed under the City Manager's own authority would not reach the Commission's agendas; the city's purchasing rules were not checked.
- The Governor's own copy of the veto list. The copy read is the one republished on the Florida courts' media site.
- The road itself. No site visit or street imagery was used.
Sources
- C1 https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/FiscalYear/FY2024-25/LocalFundingInitiativeRequests/FY2024-25_S3330.pdf
- C1b https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/FiscalYear/FY2024-25/LocalFundingInitiativeRequests/FY2024-25_S3330.pdf
- C2 https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/FiscalYear/FY2024-25/LocalFundingInitiativeRequests/FY2024-25_S3330.pdf
- C3 https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/FiscalYear/FY2024-25/LocalFundingInitiativeRequests/FY2024-25_S3330.pdf
- C4 https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/FiscalYear/FY2024-25/LocalFundingInitiativeRequests/FY2024-25_S3330.pdf
- C5 https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/FiscalYear/FY2024-25/LocalFundingInitiativeRequests/FY2024-25_S3330.pdf
- C6 https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=7374,plainText=false)
- C7 https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=7461,plainText=false)
- C8 https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/5001/BillText/er/PDF
- C8b https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/5001/BillText/er/PDF
- C8c https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/5001/BillText/er/PDF
- C9 https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/2443705/file/FY_2024-25_Veto_List.pdf
- C10b https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=7834,plainText=false)
- C10c https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=7834,plainText=false)
- C11 https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=8376,plainText=false)
- C11b https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=8376,plainText=false)
- C12 https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=11097,plainText=false)
- C12b https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=11097,plainText=false)
- C12c https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=11097,plainText=false)
- C13 https://www.kissimmee.gov/Projects
- C13d https://www.kissimmee.gov/Projects
- C14 https://www.kissimmee.gov/My-Government/City-Departments-Offices/Public-Works-Engineering/Engineering
- C15 https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=11181,plainText=false)
- C16 https://kissimmeefl.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=11194,plainText=false)
- C17 https://www.kissimmee.gov/Projects
- C18 https://www.kissimmee.gov/My-Government/City-Departments-Offices/Public-Works-Engineering/Engineering
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