The Open Record

Top Ten List of Challenges

2009-07-07T19:45:00.003-04:00

As this column goes to press I do not know the outcome of the resolution submitted by the Mayor to terminate my employment with the City. At the July 7 meeting I will ask that the resolution be withdrawn or rejected, and that a list of items that I need to work on be presented with a timetable for completion. I believe that anyone deserves that opportunity, especially someone who has been in this position for eight highly productive years. The Chamber’s resolution calls for giving me that opportunity as well.

There is no doubt that our town faces a host of long-standing challenges, which now have the added difficulty of a poor economy. However, the City Commissions of the last eight years have adopted a Strategic Plan and have implemented strategies to address these challenges. Let’s take a look at our town’s “top ten list of challenges”:

Preparation of this year’s budget. Declining revenues will make it very difficult to balance next year’s budget. The additions of prime commercial properties to our tax base kept it from declining as much as some other cities in the county.

Economic Development. The City Commission’s approval of a Chapter 180 plan for the SR 60 west area to Petersen Industries will bring into the City any industry wishing to locate there and connect to central utilities. Airport improvements will also help attract businesses to our town.

Continued revitalization of downtown. At the July 7 meeting the Commission will consider the first step in the re-development of the Grand Hotel with the selected developer. There is also a CDBG grant to fund landscaping improvements. These activities follow the recent re-surfacing of the downtown streets, and the installation of additional water lines and fire hydrants are facilitating the renovation of several properties with code-required fire safety systems.

Continued revitalization of Lincoln Ave. This effort should get a real boost when the Walker building at the corner of Lincoln and C St is renovated. The City took ownership of this 8,000 square foot building through foreclosure for code enforcement liens, and the Green and Gold Foundation is seeking investors to work with the CRA on plans to create apartments downstairs and professional offices upstairs. One building nearby, the barbershop, has been renovated, and several buildings will get facelifts using CDBG funds.

Building trust. The incident involving Sgt. Burney Hayes seemed to open questions regarding City, police, and citizen relations. In addition to directives in the strategic plan, city staff will continue to reach out to build trust through open communications and transparency.

Repairing the wastewater plant. With a change in wastewater staff came the discovery that several plant components were under-designed and will not function properly as flow increases. Recently the City Commission approved the funding for design changes and the City will apply for state revolving loan funds next month to construct the re-designed plant components.

The pool. The City Commission put aside the money to build the pool… but where will the money come from to pay for operational costs? Unity in Community is preparing a report.

The 1919 building. This 11 year project remains unfinished at the two-thirds (or so) mark due to a lack of funding. While grants were the stated funding source at the outset, it appears that grant funding has dried up. The building will be closed up until more funds can be raised. It is hoped that a coalition of arts organizations would take up this worthwhile project.

Financial footing. The City has made much progress in building reserves since the discovery in 2001 that General Fund reserves were dangerously low. Interim financial reports are now provided monthly to avoid such unpleasant surprises, along with a fiscal impact review for each agenda item.

Water supply. The City’s water use permit issued by the Southwest Florida Water Management District expires next year. City staff is working on the renewal.

The City Commission and staff are already working on each issue. Citizen comments, particularly at the budget meetings to be scheduled in August, will be welcomed.
As a footnote, if the resolution for my termination goes forward, hiring a new City Manager will add another challenge to the list.

Termination: A Distasteful Feature of City Management

2009-06-30T14:27:00.004-04:00

I was warned early in my city management career that you should not wrestle with a pig – you and the pig end up in the mud, and the pig loves it! While avoiding pig wrestling, let’s explore one of the distasteful aspects of the job of city manager: dealing with the prospect of publicly being fired.

In a professional employment relationship, the employer gives the employee a balanced assessment of what is good and what needs to be worked on. This is the purpose of annual evaluations, to give this valuable feedback.

Four Commissioners participated in my last evaluation, in November. (Commissioner Rogers abstained, saying he was a new Commissioner and needed more time. Commissioner Thornhill was not on the Commission at that time.) The overall average rating was in the “good” range. The scores of three of the Commissioners were fairly close, in the upper half of the “good” range. The fourth evaluation was substantially lower, barely adequate, submitted by Commissioner Van Sickle. This was a drop in his rating from the previous year (although that rating was also “adequate”) and I had not received any comments or conversation to indicate a problem. Comments written in the evaluation include, “With the down turn of the economy we need to think (sic) our priorities” and “The perception the citizens have is we are wasting money. In most cases they do not understand the budget process. However, we cannot continue matching grants that do not have end. Or apply for a grant just because it is their (sic).” There were several comments referring to projects already in progress, and the area of “Strengths” was left blank.

I held two meetings with Commissioner Van Sickle to try to get feedback on what he was concerned with, and the only area mentioned was the results of the employee survey. I was not presented with a list of concerns and recommendations for areas that need improvement. We spent the rest of the two meetings in general discussion.

Although the introduction of the resolution to terminate my employment was a surprise, I can’t say I was completely blindsided. There were rumors during the election that I would be fired by the Commission.

What truly amazes me is that life in our community, by my assessment, is very good. The City has accomplished a lot in the last eight years. Some of these things are obvious, like newly repaved streets downtown and new fire hydrants, gorgeous flowers and landscaping, the new water tower in the south end of town, and many new recreational facilities that were all done at virtually no capital cost: the new soccer-multi-purpose complex, the skate park, the soccer field in Kiwanis park, the refurbished boat ramp, and the refurbished shuffleboard court. But many things are not obvious, such as the land development code adopted four years ago that has brought many positive changes, the aggressive utility system maintenance program and the completion of projects that were on hold for years such as the southside forcemain and a major lift station and line improvement in the area near Lakeshore and Bullard, and drainage projects. The City’s net assets have increased from $8 million to $32 million during this period… and despite the continued downturn of the economy, the tax rate is the lowest it has been in 17 years.

In any case, the City Commission certainly has the authority to terminate my employment and pay me the six months’ severance pay that is included in my employment agreement. Such severance packages are an “industry standard”, given the lack of job security. But would anyone think that this is a good time to change managers? We are now preparing the most difficult budget in many years. Beyond that, is this the reputation that the City Commission wants to build in having a good working relationship with the city manager?

I believe that citizens want a City Commission that is sincere and transparent with the city manager – that when there are problems they are presented clearly and the manager has a chance to correct them.

In addition, I have been a full-time advocate for our community. This enthusiasm is reflected in writing this column and in the City’s Strategic Plan, which I wrote and the City Commission adopted several years ago.

The Commission will decide at its meeting on Tuesday, July 7, at 6pm on whether to start the process of termination. Public comments will be welcomed.

Formulating Next Year's Budget

2009-06-23T11:34:00.002-04:00

The daily operation of the City is directed by the City budget. This lengthy document is adopted every year by the City Commission in September, and the formulation of next year’s budget deserves your attention.

For most local governments across the state, the preparation of the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 budget will be very difficult. We have come through two waves of property tax reform measures mandated by the state legislature, and the economic downturn is being reflected in expected reductions in many revenue sources. This is particularly true in our town, where like many cities in the county our tax base has declined and in the current budget year our water revenues are off by over $200,000.

On the expenditure side, we will be challenged to maintain the current level of service and to take on some new responsibilities – such as the maintenance of the new landscaping on the US 27 median at Central Ave. The warranty period for that landscaping expires on December 9. In addition, the medians from Mountain Lake Cut-off to Waverly/Cypress Gardens are scheduled to become the City’s responsibility in the future if the City goes forward with the landscaping planned for those medians.

The preparation of the City budget involves a number of special City Commission meetings, with the current year budget used as the starting point. The current budget is available on-line for review on the City’s website at www.citylflakewales.com.

A General Schedule for Budget Preparation

In a typical year with stability in City revenues and expenditures, there are relatively few citizens who attend Commission meetings to discuss the budget. At a time when a local government is facing budget challenges, it is more important than ever to seek citizen input. The general schedule for the formulation for the City budget for the October 1, 2009-September 30, 2010 fiscal year is as follows:

Initial budget workshop held by the City Commission: Thursday, June 25, 6 pm, City Hall. At this meeting Commissioners will discuss the priorities for the preparation of next year’s budget. As noted above, the guideline for this discussion will be the current year budget.

Presentation of the independent audit of the October 1, 2007-September, 2008 fiscal year by Purvis Gray, the City’s audit firm: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 during the regular City Commission meeting that begins at 6 pm. City staff usually schedules a Finance Committee meeting before the Commission meeting in which the audit is presented, at 5 pm, to provide the Committee with an opportunity to ask the auditor detailed questions on audit findings. Citizens are welcome to attend both meetings. The information contained in the audit indicates the City’s financial position at the start of the current fiscal year.

Presentation of a Financial Forecast: July 21 regular Commission meeting at 6 pm, City Hall. This is the first year that a formal financial forecast has been prepared, and it is an important outlook on the revenues that can be expected for the next few years. This document is key for the City to ensure the sustainability of its services.

Early August: The Commission will set special budget meetings during August to review the draft budget prepared by City staff. Each year the department heads submit a proposed budget for their departments to the Assistant City Manager, who then consults with the City Manager and prepares the first draft of the City budget. Information provided by the property appraiser’s office on the tentative tax base is essential to the budget, and this figure is due to be provided to the City by July 1. Citizens are welcome to attend these special meetings.

September: During September the City Commission adopts the budget for the new fiscal year beginning October 1. The adoption must take place with two “readings” of the City’s millage rate (City property tax rate) and budget at two separate meetings. These meetings are advertised in a newspaper and are the subject of notifications mailed to property owners by the county property appraiser, which note the date, time, and place of the meetings, and the tentative millage rate that has already been adopted.

Everyone is cordially invited to these meetings, and input is welcome.

Maintaining the Landscaping

2009-06-09T12:10:00.001-04:00

We live in a beautiful area. Our town is surrounded by picturesque orange groves and green pastures, and dotted with lakes and rolling hills. Our town is also enhanced with flower beds along selected streets and in front of buildings such as the JD Alexander Center.

The landscaping along a number of city streets is maintained by three entities, and more landscaping is on the way! Let’s take a look at the ongoing effort to provide landscaping, and what lies ahead.

On-Going Efforts

Caring for the landscaping maintained by the City – including the areas downtown, on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd at Wiltshire, on Central Ave coming into downtown, and at the pier on Lake Wailes – is basically done by one city employee – Helen Gay – with assistance from other city employees, and from persons who have been sentenced through the court system to perform community service.

In addition to the City’s maintenance, there are two other groups that regularly maintain landscaped areas:

The Northwest Community group, led by Linda Kimbrough, maintains selected planted areas in the Northwest part of town; and

The Olmsted Neighborhood group, led by Joyce Otte, plants and maintains the annual flower beds on Lakeshore and at Scenic Highway and Central Ave. This group also took it upon themselves several years ago to clear out the heavy growth behind the library that blocked the view of Crystal Lake. What difference that project made! Over many weekends volunteers cleared the brazilian pepper trees, vines, and undergrowth to present a wonderful vista from the library.

What Lies Ahead

There are two major landscaping projects and several smaller projects on the schedule. It is noteworthy that none one of these projects are being funded by the City’s General Fund.

Providing landscaping in sections of US 27 from Vanguard School to Cypress Gardens Blvd: The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has provided the City with $400,000 for a landscaping project on this widened section of US 27. The City Commission recently approved the plans drawn by local landscape architect Marshall Whidden for Florida-friendly plants that do not require irrigation. FDOT staff has recently approved the plans, and they will now be put out to bid. This project is scheduled for completion by year’s end;

Re-landscaping Downtown: The City has just been awarded a Community Development Block Grant in the Commercial Re-vitalization category. A portion of the funding from this grant will provide over $300,000 for re-landscaping the curb areas downtown between First Street and Scenic Highway, on Central, Stuart, and Park Avenues. One area of emphasis will be to provide more shade trees.

East Central Ave: As a part of the land development code prepared by City staff and adopted by the City Commission several years ago, developers who destroy certain types of trees on their site and do not plant replacement trees must pay a fee into the City’s tree replacement fund. These funds are then used to purchase and plant trees in City right of ways and parks. A number of trees were lost in the hurricanes in the past few years on the section of Central Ave between Scenic Highway and Lakeshore Drive. These trees have been replaced recently with high quality trees planted in the right of way.

Kiwanis Park: The City’s Parks and Beautification Committee has developed a plan to plant trees in this very actively used park. City staff prepared a grant application for the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program for this purpose, but there were no applications funded this year due to a lack of state funds. A number of trees will be planted with funding from the tree replacement fund. The Kiwanis Club is also interested in planting trees around Barney’s Dream.

US 27 and SR 60 Intersection: The Parks and Beautification Committee is taking a look at providing landscaping in this area.

The maintenance of our landscaping is truly a community effort, and our town needs more partners for this worthwhile endeavor! Please call 678-4182 extension 225 to volunteer!

Looking at the Next 120 Days

2009-06-02T12:03:00.007-04:00

The next 120 days will be particularly important for our town. Let’s take a look at what is possible, and what is definite:

It is possible that we will see hurricane activity. Over the years, most of us have been through many predicted hurricanes that were nothing more than a thunderstorm. This experience fueled the popular notion that hurricane force winds always die down by the time they reach us in the center of the state. That thought was “blown away” by the three hurricanes of 2004.
Everyone who was on the City staff five years ago remembers the seemingly endless hours, being away from our families when there were pressing needs at home, sleeping on the floor in the fire station, and directing sewer lift stations without power to be pumped out well after midnight.
Forecasters are saying that we may have an active hurricane season, but I pray that they are wrong. Many people suffered terribly when their homes were damaged, and a number of families – including everyone living in the Sunrise Apartment complex – had to re-locate. Hopefully we will not revisit that experience.
Another possible event is the renovation of the Grand Hotel. City staff continues to make steady progress in the complex contract negotiations with the developer and we are looking forward to a successful conclusion!
Topping the list of the “definite” events that lie ahead is the preparation and adoption of the City budget for the next fiscal year, which starts October 1. This year will be especially tough, as there have already been two years of tax reforms imposed by the state legislature and Governor. Many areas of the city’s budget have already been trimmed, and this year the city is also suffering the effects of the recession and a shrinking tax base.
With the tough choices that have to be made, citizen input is needed and welcomed. The schedule for budget meetings will be published once it is finalized, and everyone is invited to attend the budget review meetings.
The Clerk of the Courts office provides a variety of services, including taking payments for traffic tickets and child support. At the end of this month, our branch of the Clerk of Courts office in the shopping center behind IHOP will close. Clerk Richard Weiss says that budget cuts from the state are to blame, and invites us to visit his branch office in Winter Haven (on Lake Alfred Road) or the main office in Bartow. Mr. Weiss has offered to meet with City representatives to discuss this situation.
The new branch of the Polk County Health Department is scheduled to be open in July! The new building is located on West Central Ave and is a vast improvement over the crowded and outdated facility on Central Ave at Sharp Street. We are all looking forward to this new facility and we want to thank Dr. Haight, his staff, and everyone involved for this wonderful addition to our community!
At the June 25 workshop meeting the City Commission will review the results of the municipal swimming pool survey with the group who did the survey, Unity in Community. Several years ago the City Commission set aside $1 million of the proceeds from the sale of the former Cooperative Fruit Property to build the pool, and interest income is building up. However, the annual cost of operating the pool is estimated at over $100,000, with entrance fees not expected to cover even 20% of this cost. Innovative ideas are requested!
The Florida Department of Transportation is revising their drawings for the medians on East State Road 60. The plans should be completed for distribution well before the July 21 Commission meeting, when FDOT staff is scheduled to present the revised plan.

The Lake Wales Fire Department Has Come Far

2009-05-26T11:10:00.003-04:00

Our Lake Wales Fire Department has come a long way since it was established in 1916. Let’s review this critically important department and examine a relatively new service, the department’s paramedic program.

Personnel

The Lake Wales Fire Department has 27 professional fire fighters. Every firefighter is also certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), and six firefighters are certified as Paramedics – an advanced level of certification.

Twenty-four firefighters work in shifts – 24 hours on, 48 hours off, which is a fire service standard. There are 8 firefighters assigned to each shift. Three department members typically work a “normal” work schedule: The Fire Chief, the Fire Marshall, and the Fire Prevention Specialist.

Stations

Our Fire Department operates out of two stations. The main station (station 1) is located on Central Ave in front of City Hall at Sharp Street. This station opened in 2000 when the Fire Department moved from the previous headquarters in old City Hall, further east on Central, at Second Street. The Fire Department had been located at old City Hall since in opened in 1928.

In May 2005 the Fire Department opened Station 2 on Thompson Nursery Road, just west of US 27. As soon as funding is available, the City plans to construct a permanent fire station building for station 2 in the northern area of the City.

Services

Our Fire Department answers over 2,700 calls per year. Of that number about 200 are fire calls. The remainder are medical calls, including vehicle accidents and other types of rescue calls. Vehicle accidents sometimes require the use of the department’s specialized equipment to extricate persons who are trapped in heavily damaged vehicles. All department personnel have received special training in this type of rescue as well as other rescue operations. The department’s average response time is between 4.5 to just over 5 minutes.

Paramedic Program

We live in a very large county. Lake Wales accounts for 14 square miles of the 2,010 square miles that make up Polk County. Our county is the fourth largest county in the state, and the ninth largest in population with over 561,000 residents.

Ambulance service is provided throughout the county by the county government. There are 29 ambulances with paramedics responding to over 75,000 events per year. The ambulances serving Lake Wales are not located in the city limits but are stationed east of town and west of town near the airport. For medical calls requiring an ambulance, our Lake Wales firefighters almost always arrive on the scene first.
Prior to March of last year, our Lake Wales firefighter/EMT’s provided basic life support at the scene of a medical emergency until the ambulance arrived. EMT’s are trained and licensed to provide basic life support, which includes patient assessments, taking vital signs, utilizing advanced airway devices to secure an airway, and operating an automatic external defibrillator to correct lethal heart arrhythmia during a cardiac arrest.

In March of 2008 our fire department started its advanced life support emergency service. Our department has 6 paramedics, with two assigned to each shift. Our paramedics are:

Paul Byrd

Lashon Johnson

Roy Wilkinson

Dean Copson

Brian Draper

Shad Smith

Paramedics are capable of providing a much higher level of medical care and can perform a more comprehensive patient evaluation. Paramedics can utilize more advanced airway devices by intubating patients in respiratory distress, starting IVs to administer drugs and fluids, and treat a wide array of problems such as patients with burns or severe trauma. Paramedics also treat diabetic patients, and monitor, detect, and treat cardiac arrhythmia in the event of a heart condition.

In addition to our Lake Wales Fire Department, several other fire departments such as Winter Haven, Lakeland, and Polk County have begun training their firefighter/emergency medical technicians as paramedics. This is a huge increase in the level of service provided at a fraction of the cost for additional ambulances and staff.

Paramedics are required to complete 16 weeks of EMT training prior to beginning the program. The training program includes one year of college, 470 hours on an ambulance, and 120 clinical hours in an emergency room, followed by a state exam. The tuition cost is $3,600 to attend the program.

As funding is available our department will be training additional paramedics. Congratulations to everyone involved in this progressive, life-saving program!

Note: Fire Chief Jerry Brown assisted with this article.

Workshop Topics

2009-05-12T12:30:00.006-04:00

The next City Commission workshop meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, May 14, at 6 pm at City Hall. The agenda includes topics of current interest as well as topics regarding the planning for the future. Let’s review two of these topics:

1919 School Building

At the last workshop the project Construction Manager presented an alternative proposal for the next phase of the work. The City Commission’s direction to this point has been to complete the first floor of the building cost-effectively in order to open and begin using the building as quickly as possible. This has meant stretching grant dollars, which are not as plentiful now as they were a few years ago. A number of items originally included in the design, such as extensive lighting for large dramatic performances and an orchestra pit, as well as expensive finishes such as metal ceilings, had been laid aside. The next phase of the work anticipated using less expensive materials, such as vinyl tile in the restrooms rather than ceramic tile. The alternative plan drawn up by the architect and presented by the Construction Manager proposed to finish a portion of the first floor with the original, more expensive finishing materials in order to attract major donors to the facility.

The Commission will discuss the direction of the next phase of the work at the workshop. The funding for the next phase includes a $350,000 grant from the state historic preservation agency and a $300,000 match from the City’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds.

Review of City Growth Policies and the City’s Capabilities to Serve Growth in the Future

City staff is preparing an update to the Capital Improvements Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Every city and county in Florida must have a Comprehensive Plan as prescribed by the 1985 Growth Management Act. These plans include maps indicating the future land uses and zoning for all properties within the City, and a description of how the City will serve the needs of these areas.

In the last six years the City has made far-reaching changes to better prepare for growth. The first professionally prepared impact fee study was completed to ensure that new growth pays for itself as much as possible. The future land use map, the centerpiece of a comprehensive plan, and related growth regulations, were extensively overhauled in 2005 during a period in which the City Commission declared a “zoning in progress” period and stopped the approvals of new subdivisions until plan overhaul was completed. This re-write was long overdue, and was attempted twice in the past by hiring consultants. Those efforts were not adopted. The 2005 revision was prepared by City staff, principally City Planner Margaret Swanson and Assistant City Manager Judy Delmar, and adopted by the City Commission.

An example of the type of subdivision that is produced under the new planning regulations is Whispering Ridge. The first proposal from the developer was a plan with over 500 lots arranged in a grid (square blocks) system. The final plan, after many reviews and suggestions by the planning staff, has 349 lots, a bike/walking trail, and a “spine” road that has “neighborhood node streets” rather than driveways connecting to it. The neighborhoods feature a number of common areas in which the original pine trees were saved.

Those staff members also worked with the City’s Utilities Attorney Jerry Buhr in the preparation of the City’s first Concurrency Management Plan. The key provision of the 1985 Growth Management Act is to ensure “concurrency” – that fundamental public services such as capacity for transportation, water, sewer, garbage disposal, recreation/open space, drainage, and schools are available to serve new developments when the services are needed. The City’s concurrency management system now requires new development to pay a portion of their impact fees up front, in two steps, for the building of these new facilities to serve growth.

City Planner Margaret Swanson will review the staff’s updating of the Capital Facilities Element of the Comprehensive Plan, which projects the City’s ability to serve growth that is anticipated during the planning period.

The workshop will feature seven other topics of interest as well, and the agenda is listed on the City’s website at www.cityoflakewales.com and at city hall. Everyone is invited!

Topics to Explore: Recreation & Information

2009-05-05T14:26:00.007-04:00

This week we have two topics to explore:

Youth Recreation: the Boys and Girls’ Club

The parents in our town have a long tradition of providing organized recreation opportunities for our youth. The Lake Wales Little League has been in existence for over 55 years. The Steelers youth football league has been in operation for over 20 years. More recently, with Junior Magic basketball, the Gators youth football program, and the Lake Wales Soccer Club we have a nice variety of parent-run, independent leagues. We are also very fortunate to have the YMCA and the Boys and Girls’ Club.

I suspect that the economic downturn is making it particularly difficult for all non-profit organizations to make ends meet, and I know this is the case with our Boys and Girls’ Club. The Lake Wales Boys and Girls’ Club has been in operation for eight years. The first few years the Club was located on the campus of Roosevelt Academy, and then it moved to its present home in the former and newly remodeled elementary school at the corner of Seminole Avenue and Fourth Street. Every school day the Club’s bus travels to seven schools and picks up our children and takes them to the Club. There is a study hall with tutoring, and then organized activities. This year, the Club operates the Kirkland gymnasium in an agreement with the City.

Our Boys and Girls’ Club serves over 80 of our children each school day, and operates a summer camp during the out-of-school summer months.

Our Club is a branch of the Boys and Girls’ Club located in Winter Haven, and that club has subsidized the Lake Wales Club every year that it has been in operation.

Again, I suspect that every non-profit organization can use our help now. But I am particularly concerned about the Boys and Girls Club.

Information About Our Town

We are fortunate to live in a time when there are so many sources of information about any subject of interest. This is certainly true when it comes to learning more about our town. Town topics are covered by two daily newspapers as well as our own twice weekly hometown newspaper. Perhaps the biggest change in recent times in the creation and continued building of the City’s website (http://www.cityoflakewales.com/).

Our town’s website contains a variety of data and information about our town. One of the most interesting items is the full agenda packet provided for each City Commission meeting. This information is typically published on the Friday before the regular City Commission meetings.

The regular Commission meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The agenda packet for the second regular meeting of the month typically contains the interim financial statements for the fiscal period ending the month before the meeting. There is also an analysis of the City’s financial position, including comparisons to targets for each fund, a focus on utility billing, and the amount of cash.

In addition to the two regular meetings, the Commission is now having a workshop meeting every month on the Thursday in the week between the regular Commission meetings. The agenda for these workshops cover items that will be coming up on future regular meeting agendas, as well as any other items that Commissioners wish to add to the agenda.

The preparation of City Commission agenda packets is an important staff function. The information is prepared by a City staff member and contains a recommendation for Commission action, the background material on the item, a review of the fiscal impact, and optional actions that the Commission could take. Attachments are also included giving additional or source information.

If you are not familiar with the City’s website or how to access the internet, there are 12 public access computers at our fine City library, and one of our librarians will be happy to assist. All of this information is also available at City Hall.

In the “information age”, our town has taken advantage of this useful tool. Data and information about our town is readily available for anyone to review!

Water Matters

2009-04-28T13:18:00.000-04:00

In this space last week the City’s plans for renovating the wastewater treatment plant were discussed. The other side of the City’s utility coin is water service, and there are several new challenges in the provision of water service. Let’s review where the City is now in the provision of water service and the factors we must deal with to successfully provide the required service in the future.

Water Service is Crucial to Attracting New Development

Like wastewater services, the ability to provide water is crucial to attracting new development. The City staff is focused on “right-sizing” our tax base, by attracting more industrial and commercial development. The principal area of interest is SR 60 west, as well as the other areas of the City that are zoned for those uses. But unlike wastewater services, the City has the basic water infrastructure to supply about 5 times the number of customers we now serve.
In addition to wells, water towers, and pipes, the key to water service in the future will be the answer to the question, “How much water will the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) allow you to pump?” SWFWMD has already notified local governments that the amount of water pumped from wells in 2013 will be our “cap” in the future. After that year, cities and counties will not be allowed to pump out of the ground any additional amount of water over what was pumped in 2013. With growth expected to continue, where will the water come from to serve the new customers?

Water Supply Planning

Polk County pro-actively asked all of the cities to join with them in preparation of a county water supply plan to explore this topic. The plan has been completed and there are two recommendations that stand out:

Conservation – the amount of drinking water now being used could be stretched much further if we all conserve. This conservation can be achieved in several ways, including the reduction in the use of irrigation water through the provision of re-use water, which is treated wastewater. As discussed in last week’s column the City is taking a number of steps to initiate a re-use system. The City cemetery, the Longleaf Business Park, and the new multi-purpose sports complex on Hunt Brothers Road are the first areas to be served with re-use water. The provision of re-use water will be essential to the growth of the City in the future; and

Retired Agricultural Well Capacity – like many cities, Lake Wales has a utility service area that outlines the properties that the City intends to serve with water and sewer in the future. Much of this area surrounding the City limits is now being used for orange groves, and many groves have irrigation wells. When a former grove is sold and developed for another use, a portion of the capacity of the well can be assigned to offset the new water use. The question is, who will be the beneficiary of that capacity? Will it be the area where the former ag well is located, or some other area in the county? These and other questions must be answered definitively to avoid jurisdictional problems in the future.

Every provider of drinking water must operate under a permit from a water management district. Our City’s water management permit expires next year, and City staff is already working with SWFWMD staff to prepare the new permit request.

In the City’s water division there have been many advances in the past few years, with the building of the new well and storage tank at the airport, the building of the water tower near the intersection of Scenic Highway and Hunt Brothers Road, the elimination of chlorine gas and the switch to liquid chlorine, and the current task of changing the water meters out to new automatic, radio read water meters. City staff is continuing these successful efforts by identifying the challenges that lie ahead and moving forward in a cost-effective manner.

Two Major Projects: Status Report

2009-04-21T13:39:00.000-04:00

There are several topics that are receiving a lot of attention these days from City staff. Let’s take a look at the status of the Grand Hotel, and the plans for making necessary renovations at the City’s wastewater treatment plant.

Grand Hotel

As you may remember the City foreclosed on this dilapidated property when the owner could not pay off liens resulting from code enforcement fines. The City then went through two rounds of soliciting proposals from developers before making a selection. The proposal submitted by Ray Brown of Winter Haven was selected, and City staff began with the preparation of a draft contract. The negotiations are now underway, and an interesting opportunity is being explored. It may be possible for the developer to purchase a nearby property. The property is for sale, and while the purchase is not necessary for the project, it is an opportunity that may be worth exploring. This has resulted in a modification to the original schedule. Negotiations are actively proceeding and are on-going.

Necessary Renovations to the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant

The provision of wastewater service seems to be something that many people take for granted. As you watch the water go down your kitchen drain, you are probably not thinking of its eventual delivery to our multi-million dollar wastewater treatment plant.

Our City’s wastewater plant, located behind the City cemetery, is now over twenty years old. The plant takes in about 1.3 million gallons of raw sewage every day and processes it to produce two products: treated wastewater, which is available in some areas for irrigation purposes; and sludge, a thickened product that can be applied as a fertilizer for approved sites such as sod farms. The operation of the wastewater plant is closely monitored by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

Several years ago plant operators suspected that there was a problem in the processing capability of the plant. An engineering study found that the plant needs the addition of several large components that were apparently left out of the original plant design for cost reasons. These components are necessary to meet FDEP quality regulations for treated wastewater and sludge. The plant needs to reach a treatment level of “Class 1 reliability” in order to provide a consistently high quality of treated wastewater to be used for irrigation. The cost of producing quality sludge has risen by about $120,000 per year due to the inadequacy of the present plant.

There is a large cost attached to the planning and constructing of improvements at wastewater facilities, and these large costs necessitate that the City take out loans. The City had plans drawn up and delivered two years ago for the expansion of plant capacity that would also resolve the plant’s operational flaws at a cost of $1.1 million. The funds to pay for design engineering were borrowed in a low interest loan from the state revolving loan fund. These plans call for components that will increase capacity by over 3 million gallons, more than double the plant’s current capacity. However, with the slowdown on new development, those plans are now being modified so that the improvements can be phased in.

The City now has an opportunity to apply for a low-interest loan from the state revolving loan fund, which has had an infusion of cash from federal stimulus funds. The projected cost of the first phase of the improvements is $8.5 million. In order to give our loan application more points in the competition for funds, City staff is proposing to take on additional customers from a subdivision south of town that has a failing sewer treatment plant. FDEP officials have been urging the City to take this plant on our system for at least the last five years.

The low interest loan payback is projected is cost an additional $2.25 per month for sewer customers in the first year, and a similar amount added in the second and third years. Even with these additional amounts our sewer rates are less than some surrounding cities for the 8,000 gallon per month customer.

Upcoming Community Activities

2009-04-14T11:48:00.004-04:00

There are many ways to find out what events are scheduled in our dynamic town. In addition to newspaper announcements, the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce website has a community calendar. The City’s website has a link to that calendar.

Let’s take a look at some of the activities coming up in our town.

Commission Swearing-In

The elected candidates from the April 7 election will be sworn in at the May 5 City Commission meeting at 6 pm at City Hall. Vice-Mayor Jack Van Sickle will be sworn in as Mayor, and re-elected City Commissioner Terrye Howell will be sworn in for another term. Commissioner Kathy Manry will retire and be recognized for her service, and new Commissioner Jonathan Thornhill will be sworn in. A Commissioner will then be chosen by the Commission members to serve as Vice-Mayor. The regular City Commission meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 6 pm at City Hall. Everyone is cordially invited to attend.

Workshops

At the April 9 City Commission meeting the Commissioners decided to set the schedule for monthly workshops as follows:

This month the workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 28, at 6 pm in the lunchroom at City Hall. One of the topics to be discussed is the feasibility of holding an “Economic Development Summit.” It is proposed that the purpose of the Summit would be threefold:

To review the City’s economic development strategy and to gauge how it is working;

To hear from representatives of the Central Florida Development Council their vision of economic development for the entire county and how we fit within that plan; and

To get input from our citizens and advisory board members to determine what the City’s focus should be.

In May and every month thereafter, the monthly workshop meetings will be held on the second Thursday of each month in the City Commission chambers at City hall at 6 pm. The date of next month’s meeting will be May 14.

Municipal Pool Survey

The survey cards for the municipal swimming pool survey are scheduled to be sent out with this month’s water bills. Please fill one out, attach a stamp, and drop it in the mail… or drop off the completed survey card at the B St. Center, City Hall, the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce, or the YMCA.

SR 60 Road Work

Last week the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) began an improvement project on State Road 60, from US 27 to the Scenic Highway overpass. The improvements will include sidewalk sections, some landscaping, and resurfacing. There will also be a change in the median cut at Second Street.

Sidewalks

The City’s efforts to increase our “walkability” continues with the completion of the sidewalk on Central Ave from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd to US 27. A path connecting the two walking trails near the Little League fields on Lakeshore was also completed. The next area for sidewalk construction will be on the north side of Sunset Ave, from Yarnell Ave to Lakeshore Blvd. These efforts are being funded by a portion of the proceeds from the CRA bond issue.

The Great American Clean up

A clean up is scheduled for this Saturday, April 18, from 8 am to noon, beginning at Kiwanis Park. Everyone pre-registered will receive a free t-shirt and a ticket to Bok Tower Gardens. To pre-register please call Jacquie Hawkins at City Hall: 678-4182 extension 233.

A Note on the Proposed Use of the 1919 Building

In this space on March 25 it was mentioned that the 1919 building could become a center for music education as well as musical performance. Those uses, along with using the building for film showings and as a conference center, were part of “The Vision” that was proposed for the building by Dr. Gabe Statom. He reviewed this vision with the citizens attending the facility open house in March of last year. A copy of that event program is available at City Hall.

Facilitating a Fact-Based Discussion, Part II

2009-04-07T12:02:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago in this space I stated my hope that during this election campaign, the welcome discussion on City matters would be fact-based. Over the weekend I opened a daily newspaper to read some fictitious statements concerning City debt. This topic has been covered before, but let’s review it again, with a few more points to consider.

Point One is that debt is inevitable for most cities, not unlike the situation in which the typical family finds itself. The typical family cannot make large purchases, like a home, without borrowing money. Yes, this puts them in debt… but it also makes them better off in the long run. Houses tend to appreciate in value, so building equity in a home is a good risk.

Cities are similar in this regard. There are major (capital) projects that must be done, projects that the City cannot afford to pay for within its annual budget. These are projects that the City cannot afford to save up for because the savings period would take too long. When utilized appropriately, the issuance of debt can lead to a more equitable tax burden across generations of citizens and taxpayers who use the asset being funded.

The Auditor General’s website has various tables that list cities by population category. In our population category, Florida cities of 6,000 to 14,999 population, every city reported long term debt. It is unlikely that there will be a time when our City does not have some level of debt.

Point Two is that when the typical family borrows money, it is paid back in a set payment schedule that indicates that both principal (the amount borrowed) and interest are partly being paid back with each payment. The City also makes debt service payments according to a payment schedule, which includes both principal and interest. In compliance with this schedule, the City pays down its debt every year. In the current fiscal year, the City will pay down over $2.6 million in principal and make over $1.2 million in interest payments.

Point Three is that the City is required by its Charter to prepare a 5-year capital improvements plan every year. This plan lists the major capital projects that are needed and how the City is going to pay for them. In the current fiscal year the plan calls for capital expenditures of over $18 million. Many of those expenditures come from money in the current year budget – like the purchase of police cars, library books, water meters, and various equipment items. It is anticipated that the funding source for some items will be grant funds – like the airport runway extension.

Out of 45 capital projects or items listed to be accomplished in this fiscal year, there are only a handful of large utility projects that are scheduled to come from new debt. Some of these projects are driven by growth, and others are of a lower priority. All of those projects will likely be put off to another year. The one large utility project that cannot be put off is one that the City has been working on for several years: improvements needed at the City’s wastewater treatment plant. It is anticipated that this year the City will borrow over $8.5 million to fix the wastewater treatment plant, which is now more than 20 years old and in need of repairs. In addition to repair work, the requirements for the quality of the treated wastewater and sludge, the two products that the plant produces, are quite stringent. The state regulatory agencies and the federal EPA monitor these products to ensure that the City has the proper quality controls in place. Several years ago the City suffered a $6,000 fine from the EPA for an inadequate sludge quality control process.

Again, a comparison is helpful to put this matter in perspective. Even with this new amount of money to be borrowed this year, the City would still have the lowest principal debt amount in comparison to two similar sized cites nearby, Haines City and Auburndale.

Good government needs an active citizenry, one that is fully informed. Information is available on the City’s website or at City Hall, with helpful City staff members to answer any questions. Discussions are welcomed and encouraged, and every citizen is cordially invited to participate… but let’s stick to the facts!

Connect with Downtown

2009-03-31T08:55:00.004-04:00

In the midst of the present economy one may wonder how the downtown areas in small towns like ours are coping. I believe that many people judge the vitality of a town by the condition of the downtown – so the downtown area takes on additional weight as it represents the entire area.

The Big Picture

The goods and services available in many downtowns across the country have changed over the years. In the 1950’s and 60’s new highways were built, and new “shopping centers” appeared. The historic downtown areas often evolved over the years into a mix of specialty retail shops, professional offices, and restaurants.

I have a personal connection to the downtown area of a small town, and over the years I have witnessed these changes. As a boy I would frequently go with my mom or grandfather to the downtown where I grew up in Cheviot, Ohio. At one of the two drugs stores there was a counter with a soda fountain. As often as possible I would indulge in a chocolate soda with hand-dipped vanilla ice cream, a concoction that I believed was brought down from heaven by angels. I could have eaten my weight in chocolate sodas if my mom would have let me!

A few years later that drug store closed and was replaced with a furniture store. As the years went by several historic buildings were demolished and replaced by national chain fast food restaurants. Their familiar architecture that we typically see along major highways looks out of place in a downtown. Cheviot has changed and survived, but I can’t say that what is there now was well planned.

Lake Wales’ Success

By contrast, there have been several plans prepared for downtown Lake Wales, and the process of successful planning involves placing building blocks upon a solid foundation. We have had both “foundation shoring” activities, as well as some celebrated success with new building blocks. Some of the foundation shoring accomplished in the past few years are as follows:

The City Commission’s approval of the historic district, companion boards, and regulations downtown. This ordinance will go a long way towards preserving the charm of downtown.

The CRA’s approval of the capital improvement’s bond, which paid for the resurfacing of the streets downtown and elsewhere in the district.

The City Commission’s approval of the water main improvement projects downtown, which enabled the build out of the Bank of America building.

Following these foundation-shoring moves, some important building blocks have been laid:

The opening of the JD Alexander Center, the newest Polk Community College branch campus, made possible by Senator Alexander, our legislative delegation, the City Commission’s donation of the property and willingness to assign and construct parking, and the foresight of Robin Gibson in suggesting this use for the building.

The renovation of a number of buildings are now underway, including The Bullard Building, One Scenic Place, and the Gifford property at 251 Park. The north Arcade building has been restored, and negotiations are in process for the renovation of the Grand Hotel.

The Murals and Enhancements Group, led by Cliff Tonjes, has added energy and interest in downtown.

The opening of a number of retail stores in recent years, including the Else Group, the Polka Dot shop, Brenda’s Gifts, and the just opened Village Kitchen shop that moved from the mall, are all signs of good progress. These are important retail businesses that have become part of the core of retail stores that include True Value Hardware, Mayer Jewelers, and art stores such as BSD Galleries, Bellissimo, the Gallery and Frame Shop, and the Artists’ Guild.

At lunchtime there are now a variety of fine restaurants to choose from downtown, and a number of them are staying open for dinner. A new Puerto Rican restaurant has now opened in the arcade.

Ed Pilkington has remodeled a storefront to a professional office.

If you grew up with a connection to a downtown area as I have, you can renew your connection now! Become a part of this process by patronizing downtown stores, or by helping Lake Wales Main Street. This wonderful organization markets our downtown, puts on events such as the recent World Dance Bazaar, and coordinates planning efforts. Call them at 676-2028 or visit their website at www.lakewalesmainstreet.com.

Facilitating a Fact-Based Discussion

2009-03-24T11:44:00.004-04:00

At election time every year there are healthy discussions on what the City has done or should be doing. Some of the topics currently being considered are the City’s tax rate, the level of debt, and spending on two capital projects: the Rails to Trails, and the 1919 building. Let’s explore these topics to facilitate a fact-based discussion.

Tax Rate

The City’s tax rate for the current fiscal year is 7.3277 mills. An examination of City budget history reveals that the tax rate approved by the City Commission for the current fiscal year is the lowest tax rate in 17 years! The tax rate for FY ’91-92 is the next lowest. As noted in a previous column in this space, in the last four years the City Commission has reduced the City’s property tax rate 22%.

City Debt

There has been much discussion on the level of City debt, but I have yet to hear anyone mention how our City’s principal debt amount (i.e., the amount owed on the original borrowed amount, without adding in interest payments) compares to that of other similar cities. The cities of Auburndale and Haines City are often used for purposes of comparison. For the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year, these three cities ended the fiscal year with these respective amounts of principal debt:

Auburndale - $54,143,338

Haines City - $45,360,648

Lake Wales - $32,725,486

Lake Wales has the lowest principal debt amount of the three cities.

In this space I have noted before that debt is a necessary method of providing funding for large capital projects.

Rails to Trails

The first phase of this project was a Florida Department of Transportation project, and no city funds were involved. That section of trail begins at Fourth Street and ends at Kiwanis Park.

The extension of the Trail to Buck Moore Road was a City project, paid for with grant funds that required a match of $133,000. The matching amount came from City Recreation Impact Fees, which can only be used to expand or provide new recreation facilities.

1919 Building (Hardman Hall)

The 1919 building project started with high hopes after the property was acquired from the county school board in 1995. An article in this newspaper on June 8, 1995 stated that the buildings would be renovated with funding “…from a variety of sources in the form of grants.” It was also noted that “… the entire project cannot be completed at one time but can be done in phases.”

To date, three of the buildings have been restored, with grant funding for one of the buildings, the former elementary school being leased to the Boys and Girls’ Club. The Club paid the matching funds required for that restoration grant. The other two restored buildings, the Kirkland gym and the Little Theatre, were restored with City bond proceeds and (non-city) funds raised by the Little Theatre, respectively.

The 1919 building has to date utilized $1,869,711 in grant funds and $300,000 in Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds towards rehabilitation. There have also been $154,285 in private donations and $17,124 in other city funds used for the project. The next phase of restoration is currently being planned, and it will use $350,000 in grant funds and $300,000 in CRA funds. Beyond the next phase, it is estimated that it will take $1,011,087 to open the building for use and another $712,787 to completely finish the building, grounds, and parking. The spreadsheet detailing all of these figures (as well as the City budget and millage history noted above) is now available on the City’s website at http://www.cityoflakewales.com/.

The City Commission has established an advisory committee to work on the fund-raising needed to complete this building. Applications for membership are available at the City Clerk’s office.

It is anticipated that when this magnificent structure is completed its focus will be on musical education and performance. Lake Wales has a long tradition of musical excellence at our High School. The recent establishment of McLaughlin Middle School as a “School of the Arts”, and the strong music program being built at Bok Academy will greatly enhance this tradition. We look forward with the vision of the new advisory committee raising the remaining dollars necessary for our children to learn and perform at this wonderful new facility, which will richly add to the definition of our community as a place for both the arts and education.

The Lake Wales "Sense of Community"

2009-03-17T13:52:00.003-04:00

The Lake Wales Unity in Community group has volunteered to be involved in the effort to build a community swimming pool. This is one more example of the amazing “sense of community” that is present in Lake Wales.

Lake Wales Unity in Community

The Lake Wales Unity in Community (UIC) group was formed some years ago at the suggestion of Pastor JJ Pierce of the First Institutional Baptist Missionary Church. It was a project that was initially carried out by a Leadership Lake Wales class (an annual program offered by the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce). The UIC group meets on the first Thursday of every month at the B St Center at 8 am. This group is dedicated to having an on-going dialogue about diversity issues and bringing our community together.

A Community Pool

The talk of building a City pool has gone on for decades. At this point the City Commission has set aside $1 million, which was realized from the sale several years ago of the Cooperative Fruit property on US 27 at Hunt Brothers Road. This money is in a separate line item account and is accruing interest. Presently there is about $40,000 in interest proceeds, and they continue to grow. But many questions remain, with the principal question being how the operation, maintenance, and capital replacement costs for the pool will be funded. Community pools elsewhere have annual operations and maintenance costs of over $100,000, and an additional amount on the order of $20,000 annually must be set aside for capital replacement costs.

UIC has offered its services in the quest to build a pool. The UIC is working with the new director of the YMCA, Nate Seidl, who has experience in the building of a community swimming pool and has generously volunteered to help. At last Tuesday’s workshop of the City Commission, UIC asked the Commission if they and Nate could work on this project, and they bring a new and fresh perspective. A community pool is a desirable amenity. Why not survey the community to determine the best way to address the questions surrounding this project, and then move ahead. The City Commission agreed, and a proposed schedule for this survey was presented by Nate at Monday’s meeting of the City’s Recreation Advisory Board:

April 2 – UIC meeting, discussion of the survey instrument

May – begin survey work

Upon completion of the survey, prepare the report to bring back to the City Commission in August or September.

There is more to come on this project, and UIC and Nate are to be commended for their willingness to work on this project.

The Amazing Lake Wales Sense of Community

It occurred to me that this effort is typical of the Lake Wales sense of community. Lake Wales has the strongest sense of community of any of the towns that I have lived in. This sense – or spirit - of community is evident in many ways, but let’s just look at a few examples in the field of recreation.

This past Saturday was Opening Day for the Lake Wales Little League, which has been in existence since 1954. This is a parent-run organization, and the parents of the children playing in the league also volunteer to coach teams, work at the concession stands, and serve as announcers and official scorekeepers. Last Saturday was also the Opening Day for the Spring Season of the Ridge Soccer League, another parent-run organization that also has parents serving as coaches, concession stand workers, and volunteers.

Both of these leagues play on city-owned facilities, and the City is a partner with them in providing these wonderful recreational opportunities for our children. Other City recreation partners include the Boys and Girls Club, and the Little Theatre, both of which are also housed in City-owned facilities and also provide superb recreational programs.

The Pram Fleet operates out of a City-owned facility on the shore of Lake Wailes. For many decades this parent-run organization has taught our children how to sail, and on Sunday afternoons during sailing season the view of the little sail boats on the lake with their student sailors is priceless.

With all of these partnerships, the effort by Unity in Community is another example of the Spirit of Lake Wales. All of the individuals serving our community in these and other community organizations are to be commended.

A Well-Trained & Experienced Workforce

2009-03-10T11:14:00.004-04:00

In this space last week there was a review of the mix of education and experience in the City’s senior management team, and an assessment of the educational achievements in the police and fire departments. Let’s take a look at the other City departments and the credentials held by those City employees.

Library

Our City library is a fantastic resource by any measure. The library staff of 18 members includes five professional librarians - persons holding a Master’s Degree in Library Science. There are also five other library employees with bachelor’s degrees, and one with an associate’s degree. The library staff members have many years of experience and hundreds of hours of training in specialized library topics, such as archiving, cataloging, and information searching on the internet through a variety of databases. In addition, three library staff members are fluent in French and two are fluent in Spanish.

Utilities

The City’s Utility Department is responsible for providing drinking water, and wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal. These activities are fundamental to our community and are highly regulated by state and federal agencies. State regulations require that the City have individuals working in these fields who hold state utility licenses, which are issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Obtaining such a license requires the passage of an extensive course and a number of years of experience.

The City’s water department employs two individuals with a state license in water plant operations, and three individuals with water distribution system licenses. The City’s wastewater department employs two individuals with wastewater plant operation licenses, and three individuals with wastewater collection system licenses. Employees in this department also have state licenses in other specialized areas, including one employee who is a certified plumber, and another employee who is a certified electrician. In addition to these licenses, training, and experience, one member of the department has a master’s degree, and one staff member has an associate’s degree. Two staff members are fluent in Spanish.

Planning, Zoning, and Development

The City’s Planning, Zoning, and Development Department is responsible for the processing of development requests, the enforcement of zoning code and building regulations, and city compliance with the state Growth Management Act and development related laws. The department has 7 staff members, and in addition to the director’s credentials there is one individual holding a master’s degree, and one staff member with an associate’s degree. The two staff members responsible for building inspection jointly have 42 certifications in state building code areas of specialty. Together, the individuals in this department have many years of experience in both the public and the private sector. Two members of this department are fluent in Spanish.

Finance Department

The Finance Department also carries out a fundamental task in ensuring that all funds are properly accounted for according to generally accepted accounting principles. In addition to the Finance Director’s credentials mentioned in last week’s column, the department has staff members with bachelor’s degrees and one staff member with an associate’ degree. The employees in this department also have many years of experience in both the public and private sector. Two department members are fluent in Spanish.

City Clerk’s Office

The City Clerk’s Office is responsible for recording and maintaining the official records of the City, City Commission agenda production, citizen board membership, records management, elections, and transcribing minutes for the City Commission, as well as other duties. This office has two employees, one with a bachelor’s degree. Both employees have years of experience in the public sector.

Public Services: Parks, Building Maintenance, Cemetery

In addition to the Director’s credentials, this department with 15 staff members has one individual with a bachelor’s degree. This department also has staff members with many years of experience in both the public and private sectors.

Support Services: Streets, Fleet Maintenance, Purchasing, Inventory

This department has 13 staff members and one individual holds a bachelor’s degree. These employees have many years of experience in both the public and private sectors as well as specialized training in their fields.

Information Services; and Human Resources

These two departments have a total of 4 staff members and one employee with a bachelor’s degree, and one employee with an associate’s degree.

The City of Lake Wales is fortunate to have a well-educated, trained, and experienced workforce!

A Well-Educated & Experienced Group

2009-03-03T12:42:00.003-05:00

In my presentation of the City’s Annual State of the City Report to the Chamber of Commerce, I noted that I started working in the public sector in 1972. I have worked in a number of different settings since then. I am very happy to say that the people that I work with now – my fellow employees at the City of Lake Wales – are the best group of people I have ever worked with. I am proud to be a Lake Wales city employee and to be associated with this fine group of individuals. They are dedicated to their work, which is sometimes carried out under very difficult circumstances. It is not uncommon to receive a letter or phone call thanking the City for the work of City employees.

In my experience, working for a City or for any agency in the public sector can be a trying experience, and in many ways a different environment than the private sector. I remember when a new employee came to work for the City several years ago after years of working for private companies in various types of construction. He said that on some projects, on a particular high profile project downtown, he felt as if everyone in town was watching him and carefully measuring the pace of progress. I told him that I too had private sector experience, and there are times when City projects attract a lot of attention. But this is to be expected – after all, we are dealing with public funds and doing the public’s business. On the plus side, there is a feeling of accomplishment in doing a good job for the people of our town.

Many Skills Are Required

The operation of a city requires a wide variety of skills and educational credentials. From library-specific college degrees, to fire and police certifications, to state licenses for utility department procedures, to state certifications for building inspection, to accounting certifications, there are many skills required. Our town’s employees have a good mix of education and experience to carry out these widely diverse work tasks.

For example, let’s look at the senior management team for the City staff. This group consists of myself as City Manager, the Assistant City Manager, and 11 department heads. In terms of education, six persons have Master’s Degrees; three persons have Bachelor’s Degrees, and one department head has nearly completed her Bachelor’s Degree. Another team member has an Associate’s Degree.

There is also a healthy mix of experience on this team, with individuals who have worked for the City of Lake Wales for many years, and others who have come to the City recently. Again, in this group of 13 individuals: One person has worked for the City for over 30 years; three people have worked for the City for over 20 years; three people have worked for the City for over 10 years; five people have worked for the City for 5 years or more; and one department head was recently hired here.
Of the six people who have worked for the City less than 10 years, four have over 20 years of experience in their fields, and one has more than 10 years of experience that was brought to the team.

Another interesting question involves where these 13 individuals were living when they came to work for the City. Five were living in the Lake Wales area, three were living elsewhere in our county, four were living elsewhere in Central Florida, and one person who had lived in Florida previously and wished to return was living in another state.

The amount of education and training among other City employees is no less impressive. In the police department alone, there are 8 officers with Associates’ Degrees, 8 officers with Bachelor’s Degrees, 3 with Master’s Degrees, and one department member with a juris doctorate. In the Fire Department there are 14 firefighters with Associates’ Degrees, and one Department member with a Bachelor’s Degree. Many employees have taken advantage of the City’s educational incentive program.

The Police and Fire Departments also emphasize training. Within the past 18 months, six firefighters achieved their paramedic licenses through a City program and are now using their skills for our benefit. The Police Department also provides more training than the state mandated minimum for our officers every year.

We are fortunate to have a well-educated and experienced group of City employees working for the betterment of our town!

Providing Water & Wastewater Services

2009-02-24T13:14:00.004-05:00

The City’s Strategic Plan contains six “foundation statements” expressing fundamental goals for the City. The second statement, just after financial stability, calls for a focus on “core services”. The City’s fire, police, and utilities departments, and the streets division provide these core services.

The work of the fire and police departments usually receives the most attention in the newspaper as their work is often mentioned in dramatic stories of a rescue from a burning car or building, or the arrest of dangerous criminal. On the other hand, people tend to take for granted their City utilities. We all expect the water to be there when we turn on the faucet. It really doesn’t enter our minds that employees in the water department may have been up all night fixing a water main break, or employees in the wastewater department spent their evening repairing a sewer line. (Note: the words “wastewater” and “sewer” are used interchangeably here.) Most of the facilities that these departments are responsible for are underground, and the expression “out of sight, out of mind” may apply here.

In reality, the provision of water and sewer services holds a very important place in the menu of city services. These services must also be provided in compliance with state regulations, which are strictly monitored by state regulatory agencies. City utility employees are highly trained and experienced, and individuals with state utility licenses are responsible for their operation.

Let’s review some of the requirements for utility service operation as well as a few of the current projects.

Operations and Maintenance

The City operates three water plants, one wastewater treatment plant, 34 sewer pump stations, and many miles of water and sewer lines. State regulations require that water samples be taken to a certified lab periodically to ensure that our water meets the state requirements for drinking water. Samples of treated wastewater water and sludge are also taken periodically and tested to ensure compliance with state regulations.

City utility workers have scheduled activities each day for the maintenance of facilities and equipment, and must also respond to emergency situations such as water and sewer main breaks, and any other events that could cause an interruption of service.

Automatic Water Meter Reading

In addition to maintaining the water plants and wastewater plants, the City has over 9,800 water meters to be read every month. The City is gradually changing out these meters and replacing them with a more advanced meter that provides for the readings to be transmitted either by touching the meter with a reading wand, or by transmitting the readings directly to City Hall by radio waves. One of the farthest communities from City Hall, Lake Ashton, is the first area where the new meters are being installed.

New Water Tower

The Longleaf Business Park is an important asset for attracting new businesses to our community. However, the park cannot bring in additional businesses unless the proper water volume and pressure are available to operate the sophisticated fire sprinkler systems that are needed in these commercial buildings. Therefore, a new water tower was needed to serve the business park and the surrounding area. The new tower is now being constructed near the intersection of Scenic Highway and Hunt Brothers Road. The new tank will hold 500,000 gallons, which is the same size as the City’s water tower at the Eagle Ridge Mall. The cost of the new water tower is over $1.2 million dollars, paid for from the CRA bond. The Longleaf Business Park and some of the surrounding area are in the CRA. As other developments outside the CRA begin utilizing the new water tank, a portion of their water impact fee payments will reimburse the CRA.

Downtown Water Improvements

CRA revenues are paying for the second phase of the downtown water system improvement. Much like the Longleaf Business Park, the development or rehabilitation of commercial buildings downtown requires that the proper water volume and pressure is available for the fire sprinkler systems. The first phase of this project is now finished. It provided the water service necessary to complete the build out of the top two floors of the Bank of America building. The first phase also provides improved service to the entire west side of downtown.

The second phase of this project is now under construction. It will provide improved water service to the east side of downtown, with lines recently constructed in the area of the public library.

Partnering with the Community

2009-02-17T15:48:00.006-05:00

During the presentation of the City’s Annual Report it was noted that there are a number of factors that are having a negative impact on the City’s budget. These factors include the poor condition of the economy, the two waves of property tax reform, and new duties passed on from other levels of government. Governor Crist has announced that he will present several more tax reform proposals for consideration in the upcoming session of the state legislature. With these factors outside any city’s control, what can a city do to sustain its level of services?

Come budget time, there will be some very difficult decisions to be made. To use a time-worn cliché, city officials will have to begin “thinking outside the box.” One of the methods suggested in the Annual Report presentation could be re-phrased as follows:

Explore the Power of Partnerships

Actually, this is not a new idea in Lake Wales. Years ago the City Commission signed a long-term lease with the The Little Theatre group to use the former high school band building on Third Street. The Little Theatre has done an outstanding job in offering quality community theatre performances, as well as remodeling the building for a worthwhile purpose. The offering of the children’s plays, in particular, is an amazing enterprise. I remember the first year that my son Dave participated in this event. There were over 80 children in that production of Dr. Dolittle, and director Danny Baynard kept all of them focused through many rehearsals and performances.

Another more recent partnership came with the remodeling of the elementary school building at the corner of Seminole and Fourth St for the Boys and Girls Club. The remodeling was funded by a state historic preservation grant, and matching funds were provided by the Boys and Girls Club. Again, the City signed a long term lease with the Boys and Girls Club, and they maintain the building and offer an important program to our community.

The building of the soccer/multi-purpose sports complex on Hunt Brothers Road, the JD Alexander Center of Polk Community College, and Barney’s Dream playground are all examples of successful partnerships. In the building of the sports complex, the board members of the Ridge Soccer League (now the Lake Wales Soccer Club) partnered with the City in securing a county grant for the project. The City negotiated the sale of the larger property and the conveyance of the 18 acre complex area back to the City. The City then used the value of the property to obtain another grant. With these two grants and many other donations, the complex was completed.

The City Commission donated the old city hall building to Polk Community College and agreed to provide parking for the building. Senator JD Alexander led the way in finding state funding, and the newest branch of PCC was opened.

Barney’s Dream was a project of the Lake Wales Kiwanis Club, initiated by Kiwanian Barney Moore, in the City owned and maintained Kiwanis Park. That park has received much attention in recent years, with state grants providing the soccer field and the skatepark, while a county grant helped fund the playground, along with many donations.

The partnership model extends beyond capital projects. The City has entered into other agreements recently with the Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Lake Wales Society for the operation of the Main Street program and the Depot Museum respectively. The agreements provide for a more cost effective operation than in the past. The City has also partnered with the Green and Gold Foundation in the development of three residential lots, and the development of the Walker Building on Lincoln Ave is in the works.

The City has field maintenance agreements with the Lake Wales Little League and the Lake Wales Adult Softball League. These leagues maintain the city facilities that they use. The predictions on how long the recession will last are mixed, with a wide variety of opinion. What is certain is that the future will hold many more challenges than the recent past, and communities need to start exploring new ways of getting the job done. I am confident that we will prevail, as the City already has a track record of success in “thinking outside the box.”

Think Carefully about a Career Field

2009-02-10T16:30:00.003-05:00

For many years growing up I worked in my family’s construction business in the Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana area whenever school or college was out of session. This was a priceless introduction into the world of work, and it taught me good work habits as well as many timeless lessons. The work was physically taxing, and much of the time was carried out in difficult weather conditions. I still remember the sub-floor we set when it was 2 degrees below zero, or all the roofs were shingled when it was so hot we had to sit on the packaging for the shingles! There were other moments that were just plain scary – like setting trusses on a three story apartment building without a crane! (We used a motorized winch with a basket on a tall ladder. My father later bought a crane, but that’s another story.)

One day while driving to a job my father told me that picking a career field is one of the most important decisions that I would ever make; therefore, it is very important that I spend some time and think carefully about what “line of work” I would enter.

My father and his two younger brothers continued the family construction business until just a few years ago. By this time my father was 80 years old and doing more office work but he still did his share of “on the job” work, such as running the crane (a “cream puff job” in his words). While visiting over a Christmas vacation and driving to the store one day, I asked him why he got into the construction business. Interestingly, he said that he felt like he had to because it was the only career that was available to him… which makes his advice to me as a teenager even more meaningful.

Recently the Lake Wales High School Young Leaders group visited City Hall. As part of my presentation to the group about how their city works, I passed on my father’s advice – that choosing a line of work is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make, and therefore it should be made very carefully. But going a bit further, I told them that they should not be afraid to ask adults what they do for a living, what they like about their job, and how they got started in that field. I believe that most adults would share this information with a student.

I am proud to say that the City of Lake Wales has been proactive in this regard, providing police and fire cadet programs, and participating in school career days. The City will again be a participant in the upcoming career day at Lake Wales High School on March 11, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.

These are valuable opportunities, as it takes many different types of career fields to carry out all the operations of the City. While many of these career fields require a college diploma, most do not. A high school diploma or GED, and specialized training are the requirements for most city career fields. For example, police officer and firefighter jobs require a high school diploma and further schooling for the appropriate state certifications. Another excellent field to enter is utility work. Many high school graduates enter this field and then see a clear and attractive career path. State licenses in water and wastewater plant operations, and system operation, are available with special coursework without a college degree… and the opening of the downtown branch of Polk Community College makes a college degree more available than ever before.

Bottom line, the message I want to convey here is this:

I want every high school student in Lake Wales to feel that each career field utilized by a city is open and available to them, and they are cordially invited to call city hall and learn more about that career.

I encourage any interested high school student in Lake Wales to call the City’s Human Resources Department (678-4182, extension 233) to make arrangements to check out a career field utilized by cities. The Polk Works’ Young Leaders program at the Austin Center (455-1014) is also an excellent resource.

Here is one more event that was not mentioned in last week’s column:

Lake Wales Arts Center Gala: Friday evening, February 13, at the Arts Center on State Road 60 at 11th Street. Tickets are available at the door.

Mark Your Calendar

2009-02-03T08:56:00.001-05:00

February will be a busy month! Let’s take a look at just a few of the activities, meetings, and events planned for this month:

Thursday, February 5, 5:30 pm, City Hall: the regular meeting of the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. Agenda items include a discussion of the feasibility of applying for a grant to fund the next section of the trail that now ends at Buck More Road.

Friday, February 6, 6 – 9 pm, in the Park Ave. Rhodesbilt Arcade: James R. Hahn Productions presents “A Taste of Lake Wales” featuring drinks, food, art, and music, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Vanguard School Performing Arts Center project. Tickets are $25 and are available at the Gallery at 230 E. Park Ave or by calling 863-241-3852.

Friday, February 6, 5:30 pm, City Hall: a meeting of the City’s Finance Committee. The agenda will include:

a discussion on the feasibility of applying for $200,000 swimming pool construction grant. While the City has over $1,000,000 in the swimming pool construction fund, there is not an available revenue source to pay for the operation and maintenance of the pool. City staff recommends passing on this grant opportunity until there are more funds built up in the pool fund. The cost of construction is over $800,000, and user fees are not likely to support the on-going costs of operating the pool. This item will come to the City Commission for the final decision on this grant opportunity at the February 17 regular meeting;

Paul Simmons will discuss the requested donation to the Winter Haven Area Transit (WHAT) system of over $5,000 for the route that serves Winter Haven and the area around the Eagle Ridge Mall. Mr. Simmons is also on the February 17 City Commission meeting agenda to formally make this request.

Saturday, February 7, 9:00 am – 1 pm, City Hall: Polk County will hold its annual Household Hazardous waste drop off event in conjunction with Keep Polk County Beautiful. Area residents can bring a variety of hazardous items to City Hall and dispose of them for free. The items accepted include cleaners, polishes, solvents, automotive products, aerosol cans, insecticides, disinfectants, paint products, batteries, and pool chemicals. Residents can drop off up to five electronic items per household, including computers, monitors, keyboards, terminals, televisions, stereos, printers, fax machines, VCR/DVD players, video cameras, and video game consoles. Business waste will not be accepted. If you are planning on buying a new television to prepare for the changeover this month to the digital signal, this would be a good place to take your old television. In addition, up to 10 standard vehicle size tires without rims will also be accepted per household with a photo ID and proof of Polk County residency. For further information call (863) 284-4319 or (863) 399-2689, or visit the Polk County website at www.polk-county.net, or call Keep Polk County Beautiful at 676-7019 for questions about tires.

Saturday, February 7, 10 am, Kiwanis Park: the Grand Opening of Barney’s Dream, the new playground constructed at Kiwanis Park by the Lake Wales Kiwanis Park for children of all abilities. Kawanian Barney Moore initiated this project and the Kiwanis Club raised the money through a variety of fund raising efforts to see the project to reality. Congratulations Barney and the Lake Wales Kiwanis Club for an outstanding job!

Monday, February 16, 6 pm, City Hall: I will give the “State of the City Address” as requested by the Mayor and everyone is cordially invited. This address was given to the Chamber of Commerce at their January luncheon. Arrangements are being made to televise the address on Comcast Channel 33. (I will also give the address at the coffee meeting in Lake Ashton on Monday, March 23.)

Tuesday, February 17, 6 pm, City Hall: The City Commission will hold their regular meeting.

Thursday, February 19, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, City Hall: The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will hold its anticipated Open House on the proposed project to construct medians on State Road 60 from 11th St to Capps Road. Consultants to FDOT have stated that they will be mailing a notice to all property owners along this route, as well as distributing flyers.

Measuring Forward Progress

2009-01-27T10:13:00.004-05:00

A curious statement appeared in a column in the January 14 edition of this newspaper:
“When looked at from the standpoint of where we are today compared to where we were on election day four years ago, there is little doubt that we have not, by any measurement, made any appreciable forward progress and that major changes are necessary in order to reverse this trend.”

Let’s take a look at some measurements and try to determine if “any appreciable forward progress” has been made by the City since election day four years ago.

Financial Matters

Tax Rate - four years ago our city tax rate was 9.44 mills. Now it is 7.3277 mills, a reduction of over 22%;

Tax Base – in four years our tax base has increased from over $543 million to over $830 million, an increase of over 52%;

Helping Citizens – The Fire Department received an improved rating from the Insurance Services Office from a 5 to a 3. This improvement could help lower insurance premiums for many property owners. In addition, the City Commission approved these measures:

Utility lifeline rate – provides low income water customers with a lower bill;

Utility rate reduction for low water users;

Limited senior exemption - provides an additional property tax exemption for low income seniors.

Core Services

Fire/Rescue service improvements in the last four years include:

a second fire station serving the north city area has opened;

We now have the best Fire Department fleet ever, including our first ladder truck;

the department has implemented a paramedic program that has already been credited with saving lives.

Police service improvements include:

a police sub-station has been opened in the Lincoln Ave area;

our police officers have been issued tasers;

our police patrol officers have video cameras in their cars.

Both police and fire have new, advanced technology radios.

Utilities improvements in the last four years include:

the start up of the reuse system (strongly recommended by state regulatory agencies.) This project, 10 years in the making, provides highly treated wastewater for irrigation rather than using drinking water;

the completion of the southside force main, another long planned project which relieves heavy flows in the sewer collection system around Lake Wailes and prepares for the future;

the establishment of the queue system, which collects money from developers up front to use towards the expansion of water and sewer capacity for new developments;

the new water tower that is going up at the corner of Scenic Highway and Hunt Brothers Road;

a great deal of preventative maintenance that was deferred over the years.

Streets – this is another area in which a great deal of work has been accomplished that had been deferred for decades. Many streets in the historic area have been resurfaced, and the worst flooding area (First and Seaboard) has been corrected.

Enhanced Services

The grand openings of the soccer/multi-purpose complex, the skate park, the boat ramp, and the Boys and Girls Club have significantly added to our recreation opportunities – with all capital funding coming from grants.

Economic Development

Downtown – major events include:

the successful foreclosure of the Grand Hotel;

The City Commission’s conveyance of old city hall to Polk Community College for the JD Alexander Center branch, which has its grand opening this Friday at 2 pm;

City Commission approval of the Core Incentive program in cooperation with the county, forgiving many impact fees in the core area to encourage re-development.

Elsewhere in town: Business openings include:

At the Longleaf Business Park, Harley Davidson and the state fire marshal’s office;

Around the mall, Lowe’s, Chili’s, Hampton Inn and Suites, and Gate Petroleum, with additional construction underway.

SR 60 area, three new medical office buildings, and Pizza Hut.

The City Commission approval for the conduit financing package allowed the retirement center project supported by area churches to move ahead, after being stalled for years.

Airport – Perhaps no other area of the City has changed as dramatically as the airport. In addition to all new buildings on the airport property following the hurricanes, there is a new water system (required for the new buildings), and the City Commission’s purchase of 60+ acres for a future runway expansion project. All of this work was done with insurance proceeds and state grant funds.

The last four years has recorded many outstanding accomplishments - providing a lower tax rate, better services, and preparation for the future.

State of the City

2009-01-20T22:48:00.005-05:00

Last Friday I was pleased to deliver the “State of the City Annual Report” to over 100 attendees at the January luncheon of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce. The year 2008 was a banner year of accomplishment for the City. Despite a continuation of new tasks being given to the City by the state, two waves of tax reform that eliminated over $400,000 from the City budget, and fiscal constraints that started in the 2000-2001 fiscal year, a broad spectrum of accomplishments are now in place.

Let’s take a look at just a few of these achievements:

Core Services Improvements

Many streets have been resurfaced in the historic area of the City through the CRA bond. The debt service is paid for by CRA funds, of which the County contributes nearly half;

Phase One of the downtown water improvement project, providing increased water pressure and flow. One immediate impact of this project came as it enabled the build-out of the Bank of America building and the retention and expansion of a long-time legal firm in town;

Several key improvements in fire and police services, including a new fire pumper truck paid for in cash from fire impact fees (the first fire truck bought in cash in 30 years); the new paramedic program; new hand held radios, and the digital finger print system;

The start-up of the re-use water system, which takes highly treated wastewater and uses it for irrigation rather than using potable water;

The replacement of gas chlorine use at the City’s three water plants with liquid chlorine, a safer technology.

Services to Enhance Recreation and Education

Completion of three major recreation facilities: the soccer/multi-purpose complex on Hunt Brothers Road, the skatepark at Kiwanis Park, and the rehabilitated boat ramp with expanded facilities on Lake Wailes, all with grant funding for the capital expenses.

Promoting a Strong Sense of Community

Completion of a plan for the area around the Grand Hotel and selection of a developer;

City Commission approval of conduit financing for the Water’s Edge Retirement Village on First Street, which enabled the project to move forward.

Promoting a Vibrant Economy

The area around the mall has strong commercial development. The new Hampton Inn and Suites opened last year as did the Gates Petroleum gas station;

All of the buildings at the Airport have been replaced using insurance money, and the first fire hydrant system has been installed with a new well and storage tank using state grant funds. Without the construction of the fire hydrant system, the airport buildings could not have been replaced;

The City’s utility service area significantly expanded in the northeast area through an agreement negotiated with the County;

The City Commission approved a Chapter 180 plan to serve the SR 60 West area with utilities in the future:

A number of significant commercial/industrial properties, including the Hunt Brothers offices and packing facility, annexed into the City.

Caretakers of the Environment

New contract with waste hauler contains recycling incentives;

Partial clearing of invasive plants from 2 lake areas.

Looking ahead to next year, here are some of the key areas in which achievement is anticipated:

Core Services

Completion of the Southside water tower, which is being constructed near the intersection of Hunt Brothers Road and Scenic Highway. This project is needed for the continued expansion of the Longleaf Business Park and other area developments;

Installation of new lighting on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Lincoln Avenue;

Completion of the resurfacing of many alleys using recycled asphalt from the re-surfacing project.

Service to Enhance Recreation and Education

Grand Opening of the Polk Community College J.D. Alexander Academic Center in old city hall. This project improves education, brings new business opportunities downtown, and restored an historic city landmark – all in one! The grand opening will be held on Friday, January 30 at 2 pm. Everyone is cordially invited!

Promoting a Vibrant Economy

The redevelopment of the Grand Hotel and the Walker Building on Lincoln Avenue are anticipated;

Commercial projects scheduled for completion around the mall include Holiday Inn Express, Kohl’s, Walgreen’s, and the Willowbrook Square commercial center.

The entire list of key accomplishments for 2008 and anticipated achievements for 2009 has been added to the City’s website at http://www.cityoflakewales.com/. [See "Annual Report 2008"]

Note: The next Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon will be held on February 20 at the First Baptist Church.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

2009-01-10T12:14:00.002-05:00

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an official national holiday observed on the third Monday in January. This date is around the time of Dr. King’s birthday, which was January 15. After a lengthy campaign to have the day recognized as a national holiday, the holiday was first observed in 1986. However, some states initially resisted observing the holiday by calling it a different name or combining it with other holidays. It was not until 2006 that all 50 states officially observed the day.

In Lake Wales the day was officially recognized as a holiday by the City Commission at the November 19, 1985 Commission meeting. The first day that it was officially observed was on January 20, 1986.

This year’s celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will be very special. The event committee has a record seven events planned, and everyone is cordially invited to participate. The events are in a variety of locations and are spread out from Friday, January 16 through Sunday, January 19. Let’s take a look at what the committee has put together for us:

· Friday, January 16, 7 pm - Oratorical Contest/Talent Festival, Allen Temple AME Church, 241 C Street

Any Student from first thru twelfth grade is eligible to participate, and prizes will be awarded. This event is free.

· Saturday, January 17, 8 am - Unity Walk, Kiwanis Park, Lakeshore at Tower Blvd.

This walk will present an opportunity to fellowship with someone you do not know. The starting point of Kiwanis Park was chosen as it is where the black workers at the turpentine still lived in 1911. In 1914 the Wetmore Brothers built the first frame house in the “quarters”, now known as the Northwest area, for Mr. E.C. Stuart’s workers. Walkers will take the trail from Kiwanis Park to Spook Hill Elementary School, and then take the sidewalk on Dr. Joseph Wiltshire Blvd to Stuart Park. This event is free and you may contact Linda Kimbrough to sign up: 679-3896.

· Saturday, January 17, 7 pm - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lake Wales Country Club Commemorative Celebration, 2925 SR 60 East - Inaugural Ball

This fun filled night will feature food, speakers, and a variety of musical styles. Tickets are $30.00 per person or $250.00 per table. The proceeds will benefit the NAACP Scholarship fund. For tickets or information contact the B Street Center: 679-8091.

· Sunday, January 18, 2009 4 pm, Gospel Fest, Lake Wales Legion Field, Lakeshore Blvd. at North Wales Drive

Choirs, Individuals, Groups, and Praise Dancers will be performing. This event is free. Anyone wishing to perform may contact Minister Daniel Williams 534-7996, Tremayne Thombs 667-8688, Jackie Jackson 521-8508, or Rob Quam 676-6678.

· Monday, January 19, 9 am - Legacy Breakfast, Austin Community Center, 315 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd.

This event is sponsored by the J.A. Wiltshire Foundation. This will be a momentous event showing how the honorees of this breakfast were inspired by the founding fathers of Lake Wales to become pillars of the Northwest Community. This event is free.

· Monday, January 19, 11 am - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Austin Community Center, Annual Celebration Program

A number of presentations will be given including Rob Quam’s recitation of the “I Have A Dream” speech. This event is free.

· Monday, January 19, 3:30 pm - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Austin Community Center, Annual Parade

The parade line-up will begin at 2:30 pm and will kick-off at 3:30 pm. The parade route begins at the Austin Center and goes to D Street, and then on to Lincoln Avenue, to A Street, to First Street, to Park Avenue, and back to the Austin Center. The entry fee for the parade is $10.00 and entry forms can be picked up at the B Street Center, or call 679-8091 to request that a form be faxed to you.

I hope that you will attend and participate in one or more of these events!

LWPD K-9 Unit

2009-01-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

At the December 16 City Commission meeting, Commissioners and everyone in the Commission Chambers stood and applauded the fine work done by the K-9 Officers of the Lake Wales Police Department: Officers Albert Coppedge and Dale Hampton. These officers were present with Chief Gillis as the City Commission approved the purchase of a new police dog (with funds from an unexpected FEMA reimbursement). The new dog replaces Canine Zeke, who succumbed to illness and passed away on November 28. The new canine, a German Shepherd named Fly, will partner with Officer Coppedge. Officer Hampton’s canine partner is a Belgian Shepherd named Rico.

These officers and their police dogs provide many valuable services for our town. Let’s explore this interesting aspect of police work: the history of using dogs in law enforcement, the types of dogs used, the training and cost, and their specific assignments.

History

Internet sites suggest that using dogs in police work grew out of their use in the military, with one site suggesting that this use can be traced as far back as the Roman Empire. In modern times, it is said that police dogs were used in the early 1900’s by the police department in London. The use of dogs by the German military during World War I has also been cited in the story of Rin Tin Tin, the famous German Shepherd that was left behind by retreating German forces. The dog was retrieved by a soldier and eventually transported to Hollywood for a career in the movies.
In the United States, a national organization for the use of police dogs was formed in 1964 and the widespread use of police dogs was realized in the 1970’s.

Types of Dogs Used

The most popular breed for police dogs is the German Shepherd, although there are a number of other breeds used as well – including the Belgian Shepherd (also called the Malinois), Rotweillers, and Doberman Pinchers. Historically, some departments have also used Bloodhounds for tracking suspects, and some airport police departments have used specially trained Beagles.

Training and Cost

Each canine police officer and the police dog must successfully complete in excess of 800 hours of training prior to certification. In addition, each work day the individual canine teams do obedience training, and each month both teams conduct 4 to 8 hours of training together.
An untrained police dog may cost between $2,500-$5,000. A police dog that has already been trained and certified by FDLE may cost between $10,000-$15,000.

In addition to the cost of the dog, a specially outfitted sport utility vehicle – a Ford Expedition – is used for the Lake Wales Police canine units. The special equipment needed for these vehicles costs about $2,500 per vehicle and includes an automated door opening system, a heat monitoring system with an alarm, and an air conditioned kennel. This equipment is in addition to the electronic equipment normally found in police cars, which includes a mobile data computer, a mobile camera video system, police radio, and emergency lighting system.

The vehicles used by the two Lake Wales canine officers are also four wheel drive vehicles, which allow the canine teams to operate in all terrains including agricultural lands and construction sites. During times when one of these vehicles needs servicing, the department keeps a Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor fully equipped for canine use as a spare.
The police dogs go home and live with their officer handlers. The Police Department provides funds for a kennel as well as dog food and veterinary visits at a cost of about $1,500 each year for both dogs.

The police dogs used by the Lake Wales Police Department are certified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the National American Police Work Dog Association, in the various areas of law enforcement for which they are used.

Specific Assignments

The two Lake Wales’ police dogs perform many valuable functions in the performance of daily law enforcement duties. Their primary duties are:

· Tracking and apprehending suspects
· Searching buildings for suspects
· Searching for illegal drugs
· Searching for missing persons, including children and the elderly

One case that stands out was the tracking of an armed and dangerous subject by one of our police canines about 18 months ago. Our police dog led our officers to the crawl space beneath a house, where the suspect was found to be hiding. He was successfully apprehended.

Our police dogs and their officers add a very valuable service to the Lake Wales community!

Backflow Prevention

2008-12-30T12:26:00.000-05:00

The City of Lake Wales Utility Department recently sent letters to a number of businesses setting a deadline for the installation of backflow preventers. These devices prevent a reverse flowing of water from the business into the City water system and are required by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. From the inquiries being called in to City Hall, there are some questions as to what the devices do, who can install them, and why they are needed. Let’s take a look at this timely topic.

So just what is a Backflow Prevention Device?

In the City water system, water normally flows under pressure from the well at the water plant through water pipes to the City water customers around town. As noted above, a backflow preventer prevents a reverse flow of water, where water could possibly flow backwards from a customer and back into the system. (This backflow is sometimes referred to as a “cross connection.”) That sounds impossible, but there are some very rare situations in which it could happen. One such situation is in fighting large fires. The fire truck arrives and places a large and sudden demand for water on the system in a particular location. Let’s imagine that a nearby business owner is getting ready to clean his building and needs to use a special concentrated chemical solvent for this purpose. He has placed the concentrated solvent in a 55 gallon drum, and has a hose in the drum to fill it up. The hose is underwater, and if there were a drastic and sudden demand for water - such as in fighting a large fire – the water from the drum could be sucked out of the drum and into the water system.

Such a scenario would be very rare and has not ever happened in Lake Wales to my knowledge. But the state agency that regulates all water utility operations across the state has determined that this is a possible hazard that must be addressed. There are a variety of backflow prevention devices, ranging from an inexpensive device that can be placed on a homeowner’s faucet, to large and elaborate devices to ensure water safety in a high hazard business use.

The basic means of preventing backflow is an air gap, which is simply a vertical, physical separation between the end of a water supply outlet and the flood-level rim of a receiving vessel. There are also a variety of mechanical backflow preventers, which provide a physical barrier to prevent the possibility of a backflow. Some of these devices are costly, involving two independently acting, spring loaded check valves.

Who can install them?

As prescribed by the state, only a state certified backflow prevention installer can install the devices. Once they are installed, state regulations require that some types of the devices must be inspected and maintained annually by a state certified backflow prevention inspector.

Why do we do this?

Ordinance 96-06 describing the City’s backflow prevention program was approved in 1996 and now appears in Section 21-72 of the City Code. This ordinance refers to rules in the Florida Administrative Code as the basis for the ordinance. The ordinance prohibits cross connections in the public water system and requires that all connections have a type of backflow device depending upon the hazard present from the particular water user, as determined by the City’s Utilities Director.

Additional information is available from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website: www.dep.state.fl.us/water/drinkingwater/bfp.htm

Public Information Sources

2008-12-23T14:34:00.000-05:00

In the aftermath of hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne four years ago, one of the many problems that we faced was finding a way to reach the public with critical information. The problem was especially acute after Charley, as the post-hurricane experience was so new and different for most of us. There was no electricity for days, and we needed to alert everyone that there were water, ice, and supplies available at city hall. It struck me that there really is no one way to alert citizens to essential information. We then came up with the idea of posting temporary signs around the city and distributing flyers door to door. It wasn’t long before there were cars lined up around the block to come through the supply line.

It has occurred to me more recently that we are thoroughly blessed to have so many cultural events right here in town to choose from. We also have many different organizations and committees that all have meetings going on in various locations around the city. The question is, how do we learn about all of these events? It is neither practical nor legal to have temporary signs all over town, just as we did after the hurricanes. So where do we look to find out what events and meetings are scheduled, and where? And do these outlets meet your needs for this information?

Three Sources for General Information

I have found that there are three sources of general information about the events and meetings that occur in our town:

The Lake Wales News: a section of this paper lists “Community and Area Events,” organized by the sponsoring organization. A sampling of the events listed in the last issue of this paper includes events at The Arts Center, the James P. Austin Community Center, the B Street Center, Bok Tower Gardens, the Care Center’s Youth Coffee House, and the Library. The events listed tend to be cultural and educational in nature.

The Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce website (lakewaleschamber.com): This site lists events in a calendar format, listing a number of events each day. Many of the events are similar to those found in the newspaper.

City of Lake Wales website (cityoflakewales.com): A new feature of the City’s website lists “Meetings, Events, Free Activities, and Notices.”

That we have three dependable sources of general information for events and meetings may seem to be adequate… but is it? Not everyone reads the newspaper, and not everyone has easy access to the internet (the library does has 12 public access internet stations). So what other methods of publicizing information are available?

Television and Radio

The first medium that comes to mind is television. While visiting relatives in another state years ago, I noticed that there was one channel that was simply called a “Community Bulletin Board.” Notices of meetings and events were listed, scrolling down the screen.

We have two cable television services serving different parts of our town. I went on the Comcast website and found a reference to their Community Calendar service. The site invites you to enter your zip code to see if the service is available in your area… but when I entered our zip code the website informed me that this service is not available to us.

In checking the Brighthouse website, I could not find where they have such a service.

For radio listeners, there is a show on WIPC (am 1280, on the web at WIPC1280@yahoo.com) hosted by Rev. Lawrence Epps on Sundays from 8am to 10am. Rev. Epps has been hosting this radio program since 1978. He makes many announcements of upcoming events during his gospel music program, including many church meetings and functions, as well as family and class reunions, birthdays, and special requests.

The other programs on WIPC are in Spanish, and event and meeting announcements are given throughout the day.

In summary, are your needs for event and meeting information being met? Or do you sometimes say, “I wish I had known about that.” If you have any suggestions on this topic please let me know.

City Planning

2008-12-16T11:48:00.000-05:00

One of the keys to a healthy community with a high quality of life is good planning for the use of land. This planning effort includes both public property, such as parks, as well as private property that is scheduled for development. Good planning must determine the best future land uses, as well as the provision of roads and utilities. Let’s take a look at some of the planning that has been recently completed or is in process for the benefit of our town.

Downtown

Before the recent proposals for the renovation of the Grand Hotel were received, the City’s CRA board gave $25,000 to the Chamber’s CRA Steering Committee to conduct a study downtown. The money had been donated to the CRA by Richard Quaid for this purpose, and the study focused on the area around the Grand Hotel.

Contract negotiations have commenced with the selected firm, Dixie Walesbilt LLC, for the renovation of the Grand Hotel. This project is scheduled to be done in concert with the downtown plan.

Park Planning

City staff is working with representatives of Bok Tower Gardens, Green Horizon Land Trust, and others to develop a trail network. Developers who have projects along the network will be requested to construct links as a part of their sidewalk/parks requirements.

Planning has been completed for a renovation of Kiwanis Park, and a grant application has been submitted for funding. Parking lot reconstruction, baseball field reconfiguration, trees, benches, and restroom gates are included in the plan.

Comp Plan Amendments

The City’s Planning and Development staff is working to update the Capital Improvements Element of the Comprehensive Plan. This element outlines what facilities will be needed to serve growth and how they will be paid for. The City already has in place a menu of “impact fees” that are charged to new developments for this purpose.

City staff is also working with the Planning Board on the “evaluation and appraisal report,” which is an evaluation of the Comprehensive Plan.

Roads

The “East Polk Road Study” is being conducted by Polk County in an area that extends from Haines City to Frostproof, east of US 27. Some of the recommendations that are currently under review include:

The extension of Venus Lake Blvd in Hunter’s Glen (north of Peddler’s Pond on US 27) to CF Kinney Rd

The extension of CF Kinney Rd to Starr Blvd at Home Depot

A new road connecting Starr Blvd going south to Chalet Suzanne Rd, across from the western-most entrance to the Eagle Ridge Mall. A traffic signal is proposed for that intersection

The extension of Hickory Hammock Road to US 27

A new road connecting Scenic Highway to US 27, north of Mountain Lake Cutoff Road

A new street connecting Burns Ave at Scenic to Wiltshire to make a connection to US 27

There are a number of other recommendations in this study that can be viewed at ftp://ftp.glatting.com/ with the network password of Polk.

Selected Area Studies (SAS)

A number of “selected area studies” are being conducted by Polk County. These studies recommend future land uses and services to developing areas:

East Polk SAS – this study includes the City of Dundee and a portion of Lake Wales in the area of Lake Annie, Waverly, and Tindal Camp Road;

Southeast Polk SAS – this study includes the area south of SR 60, and east of US 27. City Planning Board Chairman Chris Lutton is serving on the focus group for this study.

Gateway area SAS – this study covers the area to be impacted by the CSX development in Winter Haven. The area is west of US 27 along SR 60. Masterpiece area SAS – This study is proposed for the area including Chalet Suzanne Road and Masterpiece Road, east of US 27. City staff is working with the County on the scope of work and an interlocal agreement for the County to reimburse the City for the study.

Update on FDOT projects

2008-12-09T12:54:00.002-05:00

This week is a holiday grab bag of items. Let’s start with a welcome, a quick update on FDOT planned activities, and a reply to the letter in Saturday’s paper on debt.

Welcome

We were sad to see Sylvia Edwards leave last July to become the Finance Director of Sanibel. The City now welcomes our new Finance Director, Dorothy Pendergrass. Dorothy’s experience includes working as the Finance Director for the cities of Deltona, Florida and Monett, Missouri. She also has seven years’ experience as a public auditor. She has a BA in Business Administration and has held a Missouri CPA license for 13 years. Welcome, Dorothy!

Road and Street Projects

Many people are not aware that planning and maintenance responsibility for streets in our town is shared between the City, the County, and the State depending on the particular street. Most streets and alleys are the City’s responsibility. Certain streets, including Buck More Road, Burns Ave, South 9th Street (south of the railroad tracks), South 11th St, and Hunt Brothers Road are the County’s responsibility. The State, through its Department of Transportation (FDOT), is responsible for State Road(SR) 60, SR 17 (Scenic Highway), and US 27.

The FDOT 5 year Capital Improvement Program lists a number of projects in our area:

SR 60, construction of medians between 11th St and Capps Road: FDOT staff is planning to conduct an open house meeting with the anticipated date to be in early February. The plan for this project is available for review in the Planning and Development office at City Hall.
SR 60 re-surfacing projects:

Scenic Highway overpass to 11th Street;
Peace Creek to US 27

Scenic Highway: Two sections of Scenic Highway are scheduled for resurfacing:

Starr Ave. to Waverly Road; and
Ray Martin Rd. through downtown to Mt. Lake Cutoff Rd.

Scenic Highway drainage improvements are planned between Seminole and Osceola Aves. City staff is working with FDOT staff on this project.

Planning continues on the intersection at Scenic Highway and Mt. Lake Cutoff Road.

City Commissioners and staff have been involved in several of the FDOT projects (as well as the county projects) to urge those agencies to take action. For example, the construction of the traffic signal at Scenic Highway and Mt. Lake Cutoff Road has been a high priority for the City for years. This project involves funding from both the state and the county, a request for a property donation from the Mountain Lake Corporation to accommodate turn lanes in all directions, and continued monitoring by FDOT staff to determine if that intersection meets all FDOT requirements for a traffic signal.

Other Projects

Recently the City Commission approved an agreement with FDOT to provide an upgrade of the railroad crossing at South 9th Street. This railroad crossing, just south of the Whispering Ridge subdivision, crosses south 9th Street at an unusual angle. The improved crossing will have flashing lights and cross arms and will be installed by the railroad. The City and the railroad will share the annual maintenance for the crossing, with the City’s portion initially capped at $1,573 annually plus future cost adjustments.

A Reply to a letter in Saturday’s paper

A letter in Saturday’s paper again questioned debt figures and information I provided in last week’s column. All of the information provided in that column is accurate and responsive to the earlier letter. The date I used for discussing the City’s principal balance is the first reporting date after I arrived in July, 2001, and all of that debt was in place before my arrival. Again, this and other financial information is available on the City’s website, http://www.cityoflakewales.com/.

City Debt Level

2008-12-02T14:32:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday’s edition of this paper published a letter to the editor concerning the City’s level of debt and how it has changed over the last seven years. Unfortunately, the conclusions presented were based on a flawed analysis of numbers in existing documents. A meaningful comparison of financial schedules from one time period to another requires an “apples to apples” comparison. Let’s take a quick look at the City’s debt and what has changed over the last seven years.

The Basics of City Debt

When we talk about City debt, we are referring to money that the City has borrowed and must pay back over a period of time. The City’s “payback” is divided into principal payments and interest payments, with the principal being the amount of money borrowed in a particular loan. The term “principal balance of debt” refers to what part of the principal is left to pay back at a given point of time and does not include interest to be paid.

City of Lake Wales Debt at October 1, 2001

On October 1, 2001, the principal balance of City debt was $25,584,934. (The letter writer stated that it was $18,845,000…?) The money borrowed went to pay for a number of items including the new City Hall, the new fire station, a new fire truck, a wastewater collection alarm system, and a wastewater system upgrade.

City of Lake Wales Debt at October 1, 2008

On October 1, 2008 the principal balance of City debt was $33,215,612… a 30% increase, not “nearly double” as the letter writer claimed. Additional City debt in the seven year period includes:

Two short term loans for two new fire trucks, replacing worn-out fire trucks;
A lease-purchase for new police and fire radios, replacing obsolete radios; and
Two projects to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant.

Debt Service

The term “debt service” refers to the amount of principal and interest payments to be made in a fiscal year.

In the current fiscal year, total City debt service is budgeted at $3,847,134, of which the CRA will pay $752,381. For the next fiscal year, the total debt service will be about $4,000,000, with the CRA again paying a significant share. The exact amount of the total debt service next year depends on the drawdown of the wastewater improvement line of credit and the structuring of that loan, which is scheduled for October 1, 2009. The letter writer quoted a figure of “over $6,000,000,” which is incorrect.

The Sunshine Law

So how did the letter writer get off track? Simply by not asking questions. The Sunshine Law requires that nearly every document in City Hall is open for review. (Records not open include items like police officer and code enforcement officer home addresses, etc.) However, the law does not require city staff to do research to create records. For example, someone once asked for the amount of City funds spent to host the Mardi Gras celebration over the last twenty years. That number does not exist in a single report, but the person interested in that figure is welcomed to dig through 20 years of City budgets to determine that number… City staff is not required to assemble a report.

That is apparently what happened in this case. The letter writer asked for information on debt. Without asking any questions, it appears that the letter writer assumed that a debt report 8 years ago included the same type of information that it did in last year’s report. The report format had changed over time, and hence the analysis was flawed. In addition, the $6,000,000 figure for next year’s debt service incorrectly assumes the City would pay off a wastewater line of credit in one year rather than using an amortization schedule with payments over time.

There is a tremendous amount of information available about City operations on the City website (http://www.cityoflakewales.com/) or at City Hall. Asking a few questions is also a good idea.

Commercial Development

2008-11-25T16:30:00.002-05:00

While the housing market continues to struggle, general contractors have stayed in business with the building of commercial buildings. This is a welcome activity in our town, as one of the key goals for city staff is the building of our tax base through economic development – the development of commercial and industrial properties.

Let’s take a look at what commercial projects are now underway, and what we anticipate in the early months of the new year.

What projects are now underway

Holiday Inn Express – 82 rooms at Shoppes on the Ridge II, near Home Depot on US 27 North.

Bank of America building downtown- 2nd and 3rd floor build-out and rear parking area re-surfaced, with landscaping.

Walgreen’s – nearing completion at the corner Thompson Nursery Road and US 27 North, is part of a commercial center to be known as Willowbrook Square. The center will include a 7-11 convenience store and a bank.

Polk County Health Department – new building on Central Ave. West, behind I-Hop.

UPS expansion – The building just off SR 60 near the Crazy Fish Restaurant has been expanded and the parking lot and retention pond are now being finished.

Lake Wales Hospital – Wings B & C are being renovated to include 32 suites, with meeting rooms and multi-purpose rooms. The projected value for the project is $2,600,000.00.

Gate Petroleum gas station– at Shoppes on the Ridge II, US 27 North.

Dr. Pass Medical Offices – a two story, 16,477 square foot building, located at SR 60 and 13th Street.

Water’s Edge Independent/Assisted Living Facility – 159 units are under construction at this new life care facility near the intersection of SR 60 and 1st St. S.

Carwash – SR 60 at 2nd St., renovation of a former gas station.

Polk Community College – renovation of former City Hall to provide a new branch campus to include 6 classrooms, 1 Community room/class room on the first floor, administrative offices(4), and support areas for the building. The new campus will be open for classes in January.

Offices and Loft Apartments - downtown in the Bullard building at the corner of Stuart Ave and Scenic Highway.

Airport – the re-building of the airport is nearly complete. New hangers, both t-hangers and corporate hangers, are finished, and the Fixed Based Operator building is nearing completion.

New restaurant- “Lil Chambrots Diner” is coming into the space at Central and Phillips formerly occupied by Havana Nights.

What we anticipate

Shoppes on the Ridge Phase II – completion of 67,000 square feet in-line shopping and 4 additional out-parcels on US 27 N, between the Publix center and Home Depot.

ABC Liquor – to be built on an out-parcel at Lowe’s.

New medical offices – 11th St. across from hospital.

Peace Creek Promenade – Just North of the Hampton Inn and Suites on US 27 N, 240,000 square feet of commercial space.

Topper’s Creamery – SR 60 next to Suntrust Bank.

Grand Hotel – At the December 2 meeting the CRA will be asked to approve the prioritized list of developers who responded to the “request for proposals”, and appoint a committee to negotiate a contract for the conveyance and renovation of the hotel building downtown.

Race Trac gas station – US 27 N across from Wendy’s.

Walker Building on Lincoln Ave.- a group is seeking to renovate this building for a professional office upstairs and apartments downstairs. There would also be an office space downstairs for the police sub-station, which currently works out of the B Street Center.

Medical Offices – Renovation is proposed for an existing building on US 27 North.

Employment for Young People

2008-11-18T12:58:00.000-05:00

It is to be expected that young persons looking for employment will experience some new and challenging situations. But with the current condition of the economy, it is particularly tough to get started.

Last week in this space there were a number of resources listed to help unemployed persons find a job. One of the resources mentioned was the Polk Works’ Young Leaders Program, which serves Polk County residents ages 16-21 with both academic and employability training. This successful program has an office here in Lake Wales and is FREE for those who qualify! Let’s explore the services available, the program’s record of success, and how to enroll.

Services Available

Help for high school students: homework, tutoring, or preparing for the FCAT - Program staff offers services to high school students that focus on helping them graduate from high school and get started on their career goals. These services include individualized instruction as well as interactive, web-based tutoring programs.

Get ready for college or technical school - Program staff will help students prepare for entrance exams (SAT, ACT) and will provide assistance in finding financial aid opportunities, learning about college programs, and understanding the application process. College tours and field trips can also be arranged.

Help with obtaining a GED - Young people who have not obtained their high school diploma can receive individualized instruction to prepare for the GED test. Program staff helps participants register with the Polk County School Board to take the test. Participants receive a voucher to cover the cost of the exam. Those youth who did not pass the FCAT and obtained a certificate of completion from high school can also take advantage of this option.

Learn to find a job – Program staff will help students learn interview skills, how to search for a job, how to dress for work, how to write a resume and cover letter, and how to connect to local job opportunities. Internships and job shadowing are also provided.

Scholarships - Persons age 18-21 may receive scholarships for specialized training in selected fields, based on the individual’s aptitude and interests. Once these skill-building activities are completed, program staff will work one on one with each participant to assist in marketing their skills to employers. Program participants often have an opportunity to earn cash incentives as they reach milestones in the program.

Other Services - Program staff is authorized to make referrals to enable participants to obtain other needed services, including medical, housing, substance abuse prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, and assistance to obtain proper workplace attire.

Record of Success

In the last fiscal year, the Polk Works Young Leaders Program served 222 participants countywide, and 91.6% of all the participants who exited the program obtained a job, entered post-secondary education, or entered the military. The Lake Wales office served 34 young people.

How to Enroll

The City provides the Polk Works’ Young Leaders program with office space in the James P. Austin Community Center, located at 315 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, just a few blocks north of Lake Wales City Hall. The office is open from 8am – 5pm Monday thru Friday. The phone number is 455-1014. Ms. Beverly Dingle is the Program Manager in Lake Wales and will be happy to help you. Applicants must complete an application and interview with a Program Career Coach. Polk Works’ Young Leaders is a federally funded program and income guidelines apply.

Much of this information came from the Polk Works and the Young Leaders Program websites.

Resources for Job Seekers

2008-11-11T10:06:00.001-05:00

The poor condition of the economy has the unemployment rate soaring. In our county it is reported that there are 21,303 persons unemployed for an unemployment rate of 7.9% as of September. Compare this to the rates reported in August for the state at 6.8% and the nation at 6.1%.

In addition to the relative lack of jobs, many job seekers suffer from employment impediments. A survey of unemployed persons done over a year ago in our town listed some of these impediments:

An arrest record

No high school diploma or GED

No transportation

Lack of child care

No job training

There are a few resources available to help all job seekers find work. In addition to the employment ads in our local newspapers, the website www.employflorida.com is a job matching service that is available on the internet. These and other resources can be found at these locations:

The Lake Wales Public Library, 290 Cypress Gardens Lane, Lake Wales, Florida 33853, (863)678-4004. Hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 9:00am to 6:30pm; Wednesday and Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm; Saturday, 9:00am to 3:00pm. Copies of local newspapers are available for review with open job ads. There are also 12 public access computers for Internet job searches. Library staff can offer assistance.

The B Street Center is located at 230 B Street, Lake Wales, Florida, 33853, (863) 679-8091. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. A variety of assistance is available here, including internet job searches, instructions on how arrest records for certain crimes can be purged from the system, and assistance in finding instruction for GED and job training. The computers are not available on Fridays for public use. Computer classes are also available at the center on Monday and Tuesday, 4:00pm to 6:00pm.<.li>
Polk Works – The Polk Works One Stop Career Center office is located at 500 East Lake Howard Drive. Suite 400, Winter Haven, Florida 33881 and the phone number is (863) 508-1100. The website address is www.polkworks.org. Services include employment search assistance, assistance in filing out job applications, and job training.

Polk Works also has a mobile unit that comes to Lake Wales offering internet job search capability. The schedule for the mobile unit is as follows: 1st Tuesday in December, Lake Wales City Hall; 1st Tuesday of every month beginning in January, Wal-Mart parking lot; 2nd Tuesday, Frostproof Library except November; 3rd Tuesday, Mulberry Wal-Mart; 4th Tuesday, Haines City Wal-Mart.

Polk Works also has an office serving youth between the ages of 14 – 21 at the James P. Austin Community Center, 315 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Lake Wales, Florida 33853, (863) 678-4003. The “Young Leaders Program” will assist youth in obtaining a GED and/or employment. The service is open to youth who are in school as well as those who are no longer in school.

Two items on the list above were not mentioned as being addressed in any of the resources above: transportation, and child care. The WHAT system has several bus stops in town as described on their website. As for childcare, reasonably priced childcare can be difficult to find. In addition to the childcare centers listed in the phone book, there is now a childcare center at Lake Wales High School that is open to the public although there may be a waiting list.

Road Improvements

2008-11-04T15:34:00.002-05:00

The need for street improvements in our town has been a frequent topic of conversation in the past. With the City Commission’s approval of the recent bond issue and resurfacing project, the County’s resurfacing of Buck Moore Road and Burns Avenue, and the FDOT’s (Florida Department of Transportation) widening of US 27 and work on SR 60 east, this year has seen a welcome and substantial improvement in street conditions. Let’s take a look now at some additional improvements planned for the South 11th St, South 9th Street, and the SR 60 east area.

A New Route Connecting South 11th St to South 9th Street

On 11th street just south of SR 60 a new section of Grove Avenue is being paved. The developer of Whispering Ridge is doing this work as required by the development agreement negotiated with the City. When this section is finished it will provide a new route between South 9th St and South 11th St without having to use SR 60. This improvement has become more important since the County, at the City’s request several years ago, paved South 9th street south of the railroad tracks.

The railroad crossing on South 9th Street is also scheduled for improvement, as the City Commission recently approved an agreement with FDOT in which they will construct a new crossing complete with flashing lights and cross arms that are lowered as a train approaches. The City will be responsible for one-half of the annual maintenance cost of this new equipment.

New Project for SR 60 east of 11th St: Grass Medians

At the November 18 City Commission meeting the Commission will be asked to approve the conceptual plan for constructing a grass median on SR 60, from 11th St east to a section with an existing median near Capps Road. Elimination of the middle turn lane between 11th Street and Capps Road and construction of the median were recommended by an engineering safety study. If approved the $1.5 million project will be funded by highway safety funds and will be scheduled for design in 2009/2010 and construction in 2010/2011. The City would then seek funding for landscaping the median.

The median would limit the ability of motorists to make turns. For example, the conceptual plan would allow turning movements as follows:

Open Intersections allowing turns in any direction

11th St

12th St/the driveway just west of the Tractor Supply building

14thst/the entrance to the Winn Dixie plaza

Buck Moore Rd/Hunt Brothers Road

Lewis Griffin Rd/Evergreen Drive

Entrance to the Country Club/County Fire Station

Hibiscus Drive

Limited access to streets and driveways serving the following properties:

McDonald’s and the Orange Grove Plaza West driveway: right turns only (going in, coming out)

Tractor Supply East driveway: right turns only

13th St, Hamlin St (Perkins and Race Track): right and left turn in, right turn out, no left turn out

Most of the businesses on the North side of SR 60 from 13th to 14th Street – right turns only

Walgreen’s driveway: right turns only

Bank and All-Star Grill plaza driveways east of Buck Moore: right turns only

Wal-Mart and other businesses’ driveway: right turns only

Orange Park Blvd: right turns in and out, left turn in, no left turn out

Tangelo St: right and left turns in, right turn out, no left turn in

Highland Dr, Shady Oak Ave, Myrtle Ave: right turns only

Driveways east of Lewis Griffin Road: right turns only

A copy of the conceptual plan for this project is available for review at City Hall during normal business hours. A copy of the plan can also be viewed on the City’s website (http://www.cityoflakewales.com/). All affected businesses listed above are scheduled to be notified and are invited to attend the November 18 Commission meeting, which starts at 6 pm at City Hall. For further information please call City Hall at 678-4182 extension 225.

Assorted Items of Interest

2008-10-28T15:55:00.002-04:00

This week let’s look at several topics of interest in our town.

Trail and Sidewalk Planning

There have been questions asked recently about the new trail on the east side of North Wailes Drive. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee recommended the connection between the new Trailway to Spook Hill Elementary School to improve safety for school children. Using asphalt allowed for a wider path at a lower cost than the use of concrete. It also opened up the paved area for easier travel for bicyclists. The east side of the street was chosen since it keeps pedestrians from having to cross a number of streets and provides a much safer path for the elementary school students.

The next phase of this work will include painting in a crosswalk, the installation of signage, and the construction of a concrete sidewalk on school property. Additional sections of sidewalks are planned along the west side of North Wailes Dr. south of the Trailway to make a connection down to Lakeshore Drive.

SR 60 East: Lighting and Medians

City staff approached FDOT several years ago to inquire about their ability to improve street lighting on State Road 60 from 11th St to Buck Moore Road. FDOT completed that work months ago. City staff then approached FDOT about the feasibility of continuing the grass median from 11th St to the east. FDOT staff prepared a conceptual plan that is on display in the lobby of city hall. The City Commission will be asked to endorse their plan, and FDOT staff will then hold an open house to review and explain the plan to affected property owners and interested citizens.

At present this stretch of State Road 60 has an open turn lane. Motorists traveling either east or west can pull into the lane and then turn left. Unfortunately, some drivers also use this lane as an “acceleration” lane. If they want to turn left from a street, say 12th Street for example, but traffic is heavy going in that direction, drivers sometimes pull into the center lane and drive there until traffic opens up and they can move over. This is a very dangerous move.

FDOT has federal safety funds that can be used for this sort of project. The conceptual plan shows that there will be full openings at some intersections, and “directed” turns (which only allow cars to turn a certain direction) at other locations. Landscaping will be provided to enhance this area and make a very nice entryway into town from east SR 60. The median will end west of Capps Road.

Park Planning, Trees

The Parks and Community Appearance Board has been busy. The board recently heard a presentation from an arborist regarding trees in Lake Wailes Park, including the type of trees and their condition. One of the arborist’s recommendations will involve ways to relieve the stress of some large trees caused by mowing grass beneath the trees. These areas may need to be mulched.

City staff is also researching available properties in the northern areas of the city for the building of a city park. It is anticipated that recreation impact fee funds, as well as any available grant funds, would be used for this purpose.

Utility System Improvements Workshop

Every year the City Commission approves a plan that lists the capital improvements that will be needed for the next year. The plan recently adopted contains financing and expenditures for the first phase of work for the wastewater treatment plant. This work includes maintenance work for the plant, which is now twenty years old, as well as other improvements and a small expansion of capacity. There are also plans to extend a water line to connect to the new airport system and go further west on SR 60. It is anticipated that these topics will be discussed at an upcoming City Commission workshop.

Vandals & Litterbugs

2008-10-21T16:05:00.002-04:00

Many people have a cell phone…and yet there are relatively few calls made to the police department to report crimes while they are in process. I believe that there is at least one crime that could be substantially curtailed if people would call when they see it happening: vandalism. Another problem that can be addressed with community action is littering. Let’s take a look at these problems and determine what can be done to address them.

Vandalism

Our parks have suffered the effects of vandalism for years. Some of the worst cases in recent years include the following:

Crystal Lake Park – There were very few swings in the park this summer. Most had been vandalized, and the swing seats that meet insurance requirements cost $129 each. Other items of playground equipment have been destroyed as well. Perhaps the most costly item was the bar-b-que grill. Last spring, vandals literally dismantled the chimney to the grill. The entire chimney had to be re-built at a cost of over $3,000.

Shuffleboard Courts – in 2004 the City was awarded a grant (no city money required as match for this grant) to re-surface the shuffleboard courts and make other improvements. Soon after the work was completed, the improved area was vandalized – including damage to the new scoreboards. In order to reduce the likelihood of continued vandalism, the City had to close in the courts with new sections of tall, chain-link fence.

Northwest Complex (Frasier Field) – vandals destroyed fixtures in both restrooms. Following their replacement, a heavy metal bar had to be placed over the doors to ensure their security.

Lincoln Park – playground equipment has been vandalized.

The pier on Lake Wailes – this picturesque spot, with the gazebo reaching out into the lake, has been severely vandalized. Much of the woodwork has been broken off and removed, and City facilities staff had to install a plywood ceiling as vandals had punched a hole through the wood shingled roof from the inside.

Graffiti – Graffiti defaces public buildings, traffic control signs, and street signs around town, as well as privately owned buildings. City staff spends hours painting out graffiti and replacing signage that has been defaced.

It is difficult for me to believe that not one vandalism incident has been witnessed by someone with a cell phone. If you see vandalism occurring please call the police at 911. Vandalism is a crime that must be stopped.

Littering

Another problem that could be curtailed with community action is litter. In a number of areas of the city we are awash in litter. It is so bad that I occasionally take a plastic grocery bag with me when I take a walk to pick up the litter as I go. In my experience the most popular litter items come from fast food restaurants, but there is the occasional beer bottle, drink can, or 12 pack cardboard carton.

City staff is considering the preparation of an ordinance similar to the county program and state program, in which groups could volunteer to “adopt a street”. In this program a group would volunteer to pick up litter at least once every three months on both sides of their adopted street. A sign designating that group and their adoption of the street would be placed in the area.

One of the many keys to attracting visitors to our town is to have a sparkling clean appearance. This fact was echoed in the first Donald Trump book, in which he expounded on his demands for cleanliness at every one of his facilities. Our beautiful entryway to downtown via Central Avenue is quickly spoiled if the roadsides are littered. The same is true once visitors begin exploring our “quaint” downtown, which quickly losses its charm if visitors are stepping over food wrappers or discarded newspapers.

Your City staff is open to your suggestions on how best to fight these two nagging problems. Please give me a call at 678-4182, ext 225, or e-mail me at totte@cityoflakewales.com. All suggestions will be given serious consideration.

Rumor Report #2

2008-10-18T16:43:00.002-04:00

In this column let’s look at several rumors that have been circulating around town for quite some time.

Rumor: The City is going to close the Depot Museum.

The City never had any intention of closing the Depot Museum. City staff prepared draft budgets for the Depot Museum last summer that included the funding for operational expenses, such as electric, phone, water, etc., with the idea of having the Museum operate with volunteers. This plan came from the thought that a number of community museums operate with volunteers. It was later reported that museums in Dundee, Fort Meade, Frostproof, as well as in other communities around the country operate with volunteers.

In a later draft of the City budget, City staff proposed that in addition to the operational expenses noted above, the budget contain a grant to the Historic Lake Wales Society for the operation of the museum with funds for a paid position. The initial proposal was for a part-time position; the final agreement contained the funding for a full-time position. The total cost of museum operation under the contractual arrangement with the Historic Lake Wales Society, even with the full-time position, is less than the previous year with a city employee. At no time did the City staff recommend, nor did the City Commission discuss, closing the museum.

Rumor: The City violated the law in the approval of a contract with former Mayor and City Commissioner Linda Kimbrough.

The City Charter has a provision which provides that no former elected City Official shall hold any compensated, appointed city office or employment until one year after the expiration of their term. The City went out to bid for community development consultant services last year and received two bids. The bid submitted by Kimbrough and Associates was the lower bid. The City Attorney was asked if the acceptance of this bid was a violation of the charter provision referenced above. He stated that in his opinion since Ms. Kimbrough was not employed by the City in her individual capacity, the utilization of consulting services from Kimbrough and Associates does not violate the charter provision.

Rumor: a portion of the south wall of the 1919 building fell down.

Earlier this year the Construction Manager for the 1919 building project brought in a structural engineer to inspect the south wall. A portion of the wall was “bowing” out, and the engineer recommended that this section of wall be removed by the contractor and re-built. The wall was taken down carefully so that the original windows and bricks in the exterior wall would be in good condition. They were then re-used in re-building the wall. In this way, there was no problem encountered with matching the existing windows and bricks. This work was reported in an article in the Lake Wales News on February 27th.

Speaking of the 1919 building, there have been two tours of the building recently with Hank Donaldson, a local residential contractor, at his request. Mr. Donaldson then wrote a letter to the editor that omitted some relevant information.

For the first tour Mr. Donaldson was asked if the project architect and structural engineer could attend. Mr. Donaldson said no, he did not want to “get in a debate” with them. Later, Mr. Donaldson called back and requested a second tour, this time with a reporter. City staff asked if he would object if a structural engineer who had no connection with the project could attend. It was explained that the large engineering firm that employs the City’s water and sewer engineer also employs structural engineers, and an engineer who has never been in the building and has no connection with it would be available to accompany us. Mr. Donaldson said that was fine, no problem with that. But then Mr. Donaldson wrote in his letter to the editor, “I wish the City had chosen an independent engineer to initially review this. Instead they chose an employee of a firm the City has an ongoing contractual/monetary relationship with. This makes me question the City’s integrity, not the engineer’s.” Mr. Donaldson failed to disclose that before the tour he agreed to have an engineer from that firm present, knowing the firm and their relationship to the City that he later questioned!

Follow-up reports from these tours are being prepared and the results will be featured in a future column. The reports will be available for review at City Hall.

Economic Redevelopment

2008-10-07T16:13:00.002-04:00

Community re-development is a busy activity in our town. The proposals for the Grand Hotel will be opened, the Lincoln Ave area is moving forward, and the City Commission just approved the submission of an application for the next round of Community Development Block Grant awards. Let’s take a quick review of these activities!

Grand Hotel

The City has received five proposals for re-development of the Grand Hotel. The City Commission has appointed a committee to review the proposals consisting of the following individuals:

Robin Gibson, representing the Chamber’s CRA Steering Committee;

Betty Wojick, Chamber Executive Director

Jan Privett, Main Street Manager

Tony Otte, City Manager

Harold Gallup, City Economic Development Director

Tina Peak, Library Director

A representative of the City’s new Historic District Regulatory Board

Don Martin of Martin Vargas (author of the recent downtown re-development plan), advisor

The proposals will be distributed to Committee members and opened at the Committee’s first meeting, which will be held at 1 pm on Thursday, October 9, at City Hall. Two additional Committee meetings have already been scheduled: Thursday, October 16, and Thursday, October 23, all at City Hall at 1 pm. All review committee meetings are open to the public, and minutes will be taken.

Lincoln Avenue Re-Development

Five years ago a meeting was held at the B Street Center to discuss the re-establishment of neighborhood commercial business activities on Lincoln Avenue. Al Hawkins, a member of the Green and Gold Foundation, summed up what was needed to be successful: the area has to be “clean, and safe”.

Since that meeting, the City has purchased or foreclosed on 8 land parcels in the Lincoln Avenue area, with additional parcels being considered. One of these parcels is the location of the Walker Building at the SW corner of Lincoln and C Streets, which is the largest commercial structure in the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood commercial area. The City has secured and painted the building using a color from the color palette selected for the area. Plans for the sale and renovation of the building are now being formulated.

The City has also demolished two dilapidated commercial buildings on Lincoln Ave, and has provided grants through the CRA to renovate the building front and exterior walls (“façade grants”) for four commercial properties, two on Lincoln and two on Wiltshire Blvd.

More recently, the CRA Board approved the opening of a police sub-station to serve Lincoln Ave and the surrounding area. The substation will supplement existing police efforts and will be staffed with three experienced police officers. This community policing initiative is another step to make the area safe.

CDBG Grant Application

The City Commission recently approved the submission of a grant application for the next round of Community Development Block Grant awards. In order to be competitive, this grant requires a match of City funds. The match is a City utility project that has been planned to bring better water service to the east side of downtown. If awarded, CDBG grant funds will be used for the following projects:

Additional landscaping on Central, Stuart, and Park Avenues

New lighting on Lincoln Avenue

A parking lot near Lincoln and C streets

New facades for three buildings on Lincoln Avenue

Re-development is an essential goal for our town. The City is working with the Chamber’s CRA Steering Committee, Main Street, and other interested parties to plan and complete re-development projects. Your interest and participation are welcomed.

Rumor Report #1

2008-09-30T16:53:00.001-04:00

The purpose of this column is to provide direct and accurate information from the City to the residents of our town, so that citizens know what’s going on. In the past several months I have seen an upswing of rumors based on inaccurate information. I have written in this space about how the repetition of misinformation hurts our town. I have also made suggestions on rules for public discourse and the need for individual citizens to check out rumors.

It is time to get serious about addressing rumors. Let’s define a rumor, shed light on the effect of rumors, and create a method for getting accurate information.

Rumors

My edition of the Random House Dictionary of the English Language gives this definition of the noun “rumor”: “1. A story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts; 2. Gossip; hearsay; 3. a continuous, confused noise, clamor, din.”

There is a surprising amount of research devoted to the study of rumors. A 1944 study described three basic characteristics that apply to rumors:

They’re transmitted by word of mouth;

They provide “information” about a “person, happening, or condition” and

They express and gratify “the emotional needs of the community” v. an individual need. This distinguishes rumors (community interest) from gossip (individual or trivial interest.

This study also found that negative rumors were more likely to be disseminated than positive rumors. A later study found that rumors tend to be shortened as they travel.

More recent research on rumors has also theorized that rumor-mongering is simply an attempt to deal with anxieties and uncertainties by generating and passing stories that can explain a situation. It was also found that when anxieties are intense, rumormongers are less likely to monitor the logic or plausibility of what they pass on to others.

Another observation on rumors holds that when parties are engaged in intense conflict, there is typically little direct communication between the parties; however, there are likely to be numerous individuals who are informally talking with one another about the conflict. Any gap in information may be filled by rumor or misrepresentation.

The Effect of Rumors

Rumors often contain seriously inaccurate information. In conflict situations, this inaccurate information is likely to make a conflict more destructive. It also tends to erode the parties mutual trust. This makes it more difficult for the parties to move towards a resolution of the conflict. A proliferation of negative rumors increases the chances that the parties will develop worst-case images of one another, which in turn may result in the individuals becoming entrenched and unwavering in their positions.

Therefore, rumors can serve to escalate conflict and make it much more difficult to find a resolution.

The Rumor Hotline

In order to bring rumors to light and respond with accurate information, the City has established a rumor hotline. The rumor hotline number is: 678-4182 extension 231.

This number goes to the desk and answering machine for the Human Resources Director, Sandra Davis. Anyone may call the line to report a rumor. The line is available during business hours and during non-business hours by simply leaving a message. All rumors may be reported anonymously.

City staff will research the rumor and will report the results in this column. The records researched will be open for review at City Hall.

I believe it is our civic duty for the good of the entire community - the duty of each of us as a Lake Walean - to report rumors and bring them to light. We now have an opportunity to do so.

Changes to Garbage Pick-up

2008-09-23T19:22:00.007-04:00

There will be a change in the method of garbage collection in our town as the result of a new contract with Florida Refuse. The biggest change is going to once per week garbage pick-up using large garbage cans on wheels. These new cans will be provided next week to residential customers by Florida Refuse.

This new contract includes the following features for residential customers who now use their own garbage containers:

Florida Refuse will provide large garbage cans on wheels, called Totes, to each residential customer (except customers who currently use dumpsters). The Totes will be provided, maintained and replaced as necessary by Florida Refuse.

Totes will be delivered the week of September 29, 2008 and once per week pick up of the Totes will start the week of October 6, 2008.

Flyers will be provided with the Totes that will provide information such as pick up days, Tote placement, etc.

Residents may call the City’s Customer Service office at 678-4196 for the following services:

Additional Totes will be provided at no additional cost.

The Totes provided may be changed out for smaller Totes.

After 60 days, residents will be able to request twice per week pick up service for an additional charge.

Back door service may also be requested.

During a transition period of three weeks, Florida Refuse will pick up overflow garbage. After that if a resident overflows on a habitual basis, the City will be notified so they can contact the customer and request that an additional Tote be delivered.

Pick up days for yard waste, recycling, bulk furniture and garbage will be provided on the flyer delivered with the Totes.

If a holiday lands on a pick up day, the garbage will be picked up the next day.

Florida Refuse has agreed to pick up an unlimited volume of yard waste at each house at no additional charge. However, this service is subject to the following requirements:

Residents will need to cut items such as tree limbs, three trunks, palm fronds, etc. in lengths no greater than four feet long if the item’s diameter is less than six inches and need to be put in lengths no greater than two feet long if the item’s diameter is six inches or greater.

Grass cuttings, weeds, leaves and other yard material must be placed in containers, bags, or bundles.

No single item shall exceed fifty pounds in weight.

Debris resulting from a professional tree service company must be taken off-site and disposed of by the tree company.

Yard waste will be collected from the front of the premises at curbside or from service alleys at the rear of the property, where available.

Please notify the City of any missed pick ups. If Florida Refuse is notified by the City before 2:00 pm, a missed pick up will be removed within 24 hours.

Florida Refuse will not begin collection prior to 6:00 am or later than 8:30 pm unless prior authorization is obtained from the City Manager or his designee.

Florida Refuse will continue to provide two annual citywide clean ups annually.
Florida Refuse will promote recycling participation with a marketing campaign to provide incentive gift cards to residents who recycle.

Florida Refuse will provide an annual rebate payment to the City for increasing recycling tonnage. The City will receive a rebate of $25.00 per ton on the annual average tonnage increase year-over-year.

Florida Refuse has the exclusive right to provide solid waste collection services within the City.

Contractors engaged in building or remodeling operations shall be permitted to remove waste accumulated as a result of their operations if they own their own containers but they may not contract for the service of any other waste hauler/refuse contractor.

If you have any questions on garbage collection please do not hesitate to call the City’s Customer Service office at 678-4196.

Florida Refuse assisted in the preparation of this article.

Multi-Purpose Sports Complex Now Open

2008-09-16T19:49:00.007-04:00

The Multi-Purpose Sports Complex on Hunt Brothers Road is now open for league play. If someone familiar with municipal budgets were to take a close look at our City budget, and then drive out to see the new Complex, I would expect this question:
So just how does a city with a relatively small tax base, and a financially constrained General Fund, in this tax reform era, come up with the money to build a $1 million dollar+ sports complex?

This question recognizes the fact that the City could not fund the construction of this project. In fact, other than fertilizer and weed control, the City did not contribute any hard cash to the construction of the fields. Remarkably, all of the other development costs were paid for through grants and donations.

This is the modern day equivalent of a community barn raising, where everyone joins together and pitches in to get the job done. This can serve as the model for similar projects, here and elsewhere, in the future. The elements of this project that made it successful are as follows:

It started with a clear “end use” with wide appeal: to build a facility to serve as the home for soccer games, and for other sports as well. There are hundreds of Lake Wales youth who play soccer who would benefit from the building of such a complex.

The project is inclusive. Sports and youth activities attract families from all income levels and neighborhoods. The development of this project required the cooperation of many people and organizations, and everyone involved welcomed the contributions that new partners brought to the project.

The project had a driving force in Robbie Shields, Tony Mathewson, and the other directors of the Ridge Soccer League. They were willing to do a tremendous amount of work.

The city staff and the soccer league directors recognized and capitalized on opportunities.

With these four cornerstones, the City’s inability to fund the project was not an obstacle. The directors of the Ridge Soccer League were willing to conduct fundraisers and go after grants to make the dream come true. Along the way there were other “spin-off” benefits, such as the re-establishment of the City’s Recreation Advisory Committee, and participation in countywide recreation meetings.

In this new era of tax reform, the development of this project is the new paradigm of community capital projects. A single local government alone will be less likely to have the financial resources to make large community improvements.

The next challenge will be to ensure that there is adequate funding for maintenance. The same ingenuity that was used to build the complex will be needed to develop the resources to properly maintain it. New ideas include:

A small maintenance fee will be charged to players for each season;

For a certain fee, a field and the entire complex could be named for a person or a company for several years;

The fields could display company advertisements on field fences; and

A fee could be charged for use of the concession stand and for use of the field for clinics.

As one speaker noted at the grand opening Saturday, the Soccer/Multi-Purpose Sports Complex is a good example of the spirit of Lake Wales – a town with a strong sense of community!

A few Facts in response to a letter in Saturday’s edition

A position’s total compensation consists of a salary and benefits. Unfortunately, a letter in Saturday’s paper mistakenly stated the total compensation for the City Manager position as “salary”. The salary budgeted for that position in the current fiscal year is $105,527 (which includes $4,058.73 in deferred compensation). How does that compare to City Manager salaries in other cities of similar size in our area?

Auburndale Salary $117,042, car allowance $500/month

Haines City Salary $133,413, car allowance $375/month

City Manager car allowance: The car allowance of $400 per month is the same amount provided in the employment contract dated July 3, 2001, when regular un-leaded was $1.22!

Framework for Public Discourse

2008-09-09T20:05:00.001-04:00

In the 1970’s one of the prominent requirements for federal grant programs was demonstrated evidence of public participation. This meant that the local government had to hold public hearings and allow citizens the opportunity to voice their opinions on the proposed project that would be funded by the grant. Since that time, many people have come to recognize the value of an environment that encourages public discourse and healthy debate of public policy.

This is also the theme of the “sunshine law” and the “open records law”. Any matter that may come to the City Commission for a vote is off–limits for discussion between two City Commissioners, or between two members of a board appointed by the City Commission. Any such discussions would be considered to be a public meeting, requiring proper notice of the meeting, and minutes being taken.

The Attorney General’s Office has advised that reasonable rules may be adopted by a local government to ensure the orderly conduct of meetings. For example, a rule which limits the amount of time an individual may address the City Commission may be adopted provided that the time limit does not unreasonably restrict the public’s right of access. In another example, a court ruled that the mayor of one city did not violate a citizen’s First Amendment Rights when he attempted to confine the speaker to the agenda item in the meeting and then had the speaker removed when the speaker appeared to become disruptive (Page 45, volume 30, Florida Government in the Sunshine Manual.)

The open records law allows review of practically any city record. The definition of a record is defined rather broadly to facilitate access to local government documents.

The City of Lake Wales’ Score

In my estimation, the City of Lake Wales scores well in making information available that is necessary for public discourse. The City’s website is filled with information including City Commission agendas, staff reports, adopted policies such as the strategic plan, and user friendly documents like the city budget. City staff also makes themselves available to meet with citizens to explain programs and policies. Each City Commission meeting has a call for citizens to come to the podium and address the Commission, and there is an extensive array of advisory boards that develop policies and make decisions in their areas of expertise.

The Pledge of Civility

To establish a “standard of behavior for public meetings”, the City Commission adopted an ordinance in 1998 that contains the following:

We may disagree, but we will be courteous and respectful of one another.

We will not engage in personal attacks.

We will direct all comments to the issue under consideration.

This standard is written on a plaque on the podium in the Commission chambers under the heading of the “Pledge of Civility”.

A Corollary: Seek Information Before Forming an Opinion

In addition to the “Pledge of Civility”, I would like to add a corollary: that with the availability of information as noted above, it is counter-productive to have public discussion when inaccurate information is sometimes dispensed as the gospel truth. It is not clear if this is done out of an ignorance of the facts, a disregard for the facts, or simply using the old debate tactic of distorting the facts and then attacking the distortion. Anyone who chronically dispenses opinion based on inaccurate information eventually loses all credibility. However, in the meantime, the inaccurate information brought to the public stage negatively impacts our town. In our information-rich environment there is no excuse for not asking questions or researching answers before pronouncing an opinion. Asking questions and gathering information should be step one before entering the public forum. Only then can thoughtful and influential public discourse take place.

LWPD Items of Interest

2008-09-06T21:05:00.000-04:00

Let’s take a look at two informational items from our Lake Wales Police Department:

Lake Wales is a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Unfortunately, we are still susceptible to the larger problems that affect other areas of the county and state… including crime.

When the economy takes a downturn, there is often an increase in theft. Recently we have experienced a variety of thefts, from homes, vehicles, and businesses. What can we, as citizens, do about this? Isn’t that something our police officers need to deal with?

The first and most important step in combating property crimes is this: We all need to realize that we are called upon to play an important role in preventing crime in our community. That means that we need to stay alert and be aware of our surroundings. When we see anything that is suspicious, or something that just does not seem quite right, we need to call the police.

If it is an emergency situation, we need to call 911. If it is not an emergency, please call the police at the non-emergency number: 678-4223. Our police officers will investigate anything suspicious, regardless of how small it may seem. Sometimes these investigations turn out to be something that could prevent a crime.

For example, a vehicle that looks out of place in your neighborhood, driving around slowly, could actually belong to a burglar planning to victimize a home in the area. Or someone you see running through your backyard or down the street may be running from a crime scene, or from the police.

Besides serving as eyes and ears for crime prevention, we all need to be mindful of making our homes, businesses, vehicles, and ourselves a much more difficult target for criminals. A great number of crimes occur when the criminal perceives that there is an opportunity for an easy score. Crime prevention experts tell us that by simply making it more difficult for criminals to work, they may very well move on to a different, less familiar area… and a crime was prevented.
Simply locking doors, checking to make sure windows are secure, and installing exterior lighting are all good ideas.

Our police department has information to help you be more crime resistant and reduce the chance of being a crime victim. Please contact Judi Gladue at 678-4223 extension 261 for more information on how to keep your home, business, and yourself, safe.

Chief Herbert Gillis invites all residents to register to attend the 2008 Citizens Police Academy.

Our police department will conduct the 2008 Citizens’ Police Academy from September 17 thru October 29. Courses will be conducted on seven consecutive Thursdays from 6 pm to 9 pm and on two Saturdays from 8 am to 2 pm.

The Citizens’ Police Academy follow the training provided to law enforcement officers and includes the following topics:

Canine Unit operations

Crime scene procedures

Drug recognition and identification

Emergency vehicle operations

History of law enforcement

Less-lethal weapons familiarization

Lethal weapons familiarization

Patrol section operations

Problem oriented policing

Report writing

SWAT Team operations

Traffic control procedures

Traffic enforcement procedures

Prospective academy participants can obtain an application by contracting Lieutenant Joe Elrod at 678-4223 extension 257 or e-mail jelrod@cityoflakewales.com.

Another Day at the Office

2008-08-26T10:37:00.003-04:00

Tuesday of last week was a disruptive day for most people. Tropical Storm Fay caused the schools to close, as well as many businesses and government offices. But in a sense, for most city employees it was just “another day at the office.”

I say this because our city employees know that although City Hall is closed, they will most likely be called to come in and work in bad weather, leaving their homes and families in the care of other family members. The Emergency Operations Center at the main fire station held its first meeting at 7am, with employees ready to answer 9 City phone lines forwarded to that location. From there, employees went out in the weather and cleared stormwater pipes, moved several downed tree limbs out of streets, and generally kept things moving. Luckily there was no damage, in stark contrast to what we suffered from the hurricanes four years ago.

Even so, the dedication of your city employees is remarkable. They are ready to do whatever it takes to keep our town operating. I am privileged to lead this outstanding group of men and women. Their efforts usually “fly under the radar”, and therefore often seem unappreciated. They deserve an occasional thank you for what they do especially when the going gets rough. I’m sure they would appreciate a compliment from you. So the next time you see a city employee, it would be nice to tell them that their work during the storm – as well as everyday – is appreciated.

Meetings

The summer of 2008 will soon be in the books, and September is shaping up to be another busy month. Let’s take a look at some of the things to expect next month.

City Commission Meetings (all held at City Hall):

Special meeting for continued review of the draft budget and CDBG application items: Wednesday, August 27, 6 pm;

Regular meeting including setting the fire assessment rates: Tuesday, September 2, 6 pm;

Special meeting for first reading of the millage rate and budget: Wednesday, September 3, 6 pm. Per the formula in state law for this meeting date, this year the meeting for first reading of the millage and budget could not be held on the regular Commission meeting date;

Regular meeting, including the final adoption of the millage rate and budget for the October 1 fiscal year: Tuesday, September 16, 6 pm.

Meeting to discuss Youth Recreation programs for the summer of ’09: Thursday, September 18, 6 pm, Charter Schools meeting room, corner of Central and Market Sts. downtown;

Airport Authority meeting to tour the Fixed Based Operator building currently under construction at the Municipal Airport: Thursday, August 28, 5:30 pm.

Report on Selected Capital improvements

Phase 1 water main project downtown – has begun with work on Sessoms Avenue, near the water plant. The new water main will be located on Sessoms, Wetmore, and Stuart Avenues. When completed, the street re-surfacing project will continue;

Street Re-surfacing - this project is scheduled for completion in October, and work will include portions of First Street, Polk Avenue, and Old Scenic Highway;

Phase 2 of the Trail – following the intent of the voters in the April 5, 2005 referendum, construction of the trail from Kiwanis Park to Buck Moore Road is underway. Sod installation and north-side fence construction will commence soon;

New Water Tower: Construction has begun on the new water tower to serve the southern portion of our utility service area;

New Soccer/Multi-Purpose Park on Hunt Brothers Road (between Scenic Highway and US 27): Grand Opening is scheduled for Saturday, September 13, at 10 am. Everyone is invited to see this new City park!

Kiwanis Park improvements:

A retention pond to serve the High View Drive area is being constructed in an unused area of Kiwanis Park. This work addresses a stormwater problem that has plagued this neighborhood for decades;

The City’s Parks and Community Appearance Board is preparing a grant application for improvements at Kiwanis Park including the re-construction of three of the baseball fields, landscaping, and a site reservation for the “Barney’s Dream” all-children’s playground.

For additional information please consult the City’s website at http://www.cityoflakewales.com/.

Mark Your Calendar. . .

2008-08-23T10:58:00.004-04:00

Within the next 30 days there will be two important City events! The budget process will draw to a close in anticipation of the start of the new fiscal year on October 1; and the new soccer/multi-purpose park will open on September 13.

City Budget Meeting

The draft of the City’s fiscal year ’08-09 budget was discussed at a budget workshop on Wednesday, August 20, at City Hall, and will be discussed again at a budget workshop to be held in the next week (probably either Wednesday or Thursday at 6 pm in the Commission Chambers).

The preparation of this year’s budget was particularly difficult, given the effects of two waves of tax reform and the poor condition of the economy. Despite a shrinking general fund revenue picture, there are some bright spots:

The draft CRA budget contains funding for a community policing effort in the Lincoln Avenue area. The effort is another facet of the revitalization of neighborhood commercial in the area. In the past 12 months there has been one new business, Massey’s Meat Store that has opened on Lincoln between C and D streets. The barber shop building a block away has been sold, and the new owners are remodeling the interior and plan to open soon. Improvements are also planned for the 2 story building at the SW corner of C and Lincoln which is owned by the CRA. When completely renovated, the building will provide 5 apartments, a police sub-station, and professional offices on the second floor;

Capital improvements in the draft budget include the following:

A modest allocation for Police Department replacement vehicles;

The Twin Lakes water level pump station project, to keep the water level low so that rainfall does not raise the lake level above the stormdrain system on Grove Ave;

Several water utility improvement projects, including Phase 2 of the downtown water main replacement, and the Southside water tower near the corner of Hunt Brothers Road and Scenic Highway; and

The replacement of the blue light poles on Lincoln Avenue and the installation of the standard black pole, “acorn” lens lights similar to those downtown.

Grand Opening of the New Soccer/Multi-Purpose Park

The grand opening of the new soccer/multi-purpose park on Hunt Brothers Road, between US 27 and SR 17, is scheduled for September 13 at 10:00 am. Following the ribbon cutting, the Ridge Soccer League has scheduled a game for an under-17-year-old team. The park has been in development for several years, beginning with a donation of 18 acres by Feltrim Developments, a $400,000 grant from the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, a $200,000 grant from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program, and a significant donation from the Breakfast Rotary Club.

The park features four soccer/multi-purpose fields, a concessions/storage building with a covered picnic area, and a parking lot. One field is lighted at this time.

City Charter

Just a quick note on the City Charter, as there seems to be some confusion expressed in a recent letter to the editor. The city charter is included with the city’s code of ordinances and appears as Part 1 of the code. The charter and the entire code is available for review at City Hall, at the public library, and on the City website at http://www.cityoflakewales.com/. The website can be viewed at one of the public access computers in the public library.

Changing the City charter requires a public referendum. City staff is not working on any proposed changes at this time.

Taxes v. Fees

2008-08-12T11:31:00.000-04:00

At recent City Commission meetings, comments were made by persons at the podium regarding the difference between a tax and a fee, and the acceptance of either method of raising revenue for fundamental government operations. It was also asked if the City was going to explore the use of fees to reduce reliance on taxes. In this era of property tax reform created by the state legislature, it is inevitable that this discussion would take place – as many local governments, Lake Wales included, are searching for alternatives to property taxes. User fees are now a hot topic.

Taxes v. Fees

Simply put, a tax is an exaction of one’s personal funds by a government, often based on the perceived value of the item being taxed (such as real property), without a precise connection to how the tax money is going to be spent.
In this context, a fee is an amount charged by government which represents the cost of a service provided to a person or property.

These are two different concepts, as one is based on the cost of the service provided (fees) and one is not (taxes). For example, water bills are viewed appropriately as fees, since the amount on the bill is determined by how much water the customer uses and has available to him or her. But people get them confused, I believe, since government charges both taxes and fees. It can also be confusing when the service is provided city wide, and the customer has no choice but to pay.
One of the arguments commonly heard to advance the utilization of fees is that the fee is determined by use or a calculation of cost to provide the service. Therefore, it is a more equitable revenue source than taxes. When the fee is not charged citywide, it is appropriately charged only to the persons who use that service. One example is the charging of fees for the rental of city facilities, like the James P. Austin Community Center or the Tourist Club. These fees help to offset the cost of operating these facilities; without the fees, taxes would have to go up to pay for that cost.

Generally speaking, citizens dislike taxes – presumably because their calculation is not directly linked to a specific service. A citizen recently asked the City Commission if fees could be charged on services other than fire suppression, to further reduce taxes.

What is Available: Fees

Per state law and the findings of the courts, there are not many fees that can be charged citywide. In addition to a fire assessment, many cities charge a stormwater fee. The revenue realized from this fee is used to maintain and improve the stormwater system in a city. Funding for this operation currently comes from the general fund, which receives revenue from a combination of taxes, state shared revenues, and other sources.

Other fees that cities across the state are looking at include the following:

Traffic accident fees, to pay for emergency response costs

Fees for specific services, such as checking records for liens on individual lots or parcels

Red-light cameras – while not a fee, these cameras provide evidence for citing drivers who run red lights

Recreation league fees – this fee will soon be implemented, charging players $4 per season to help offset the cost of maintenance and lighting at recreation facilities

There may be other revenue raising methods in addition to taxes and fees that need to be researched – such as advertising at recreation facilities by businesses, allowing them to hang signs on outfield fences. This is already done at Legion Field and the little league fields by the High School and the little league organization. It could also be permitted at the new soccer/multi-purpose fields on Hunt Brothers Road. In addition, it may be possible to sell field-naming rights – to allow a field and the entire new complex to be named for a set period of time after a sponsor, much like Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and Amway Arena in Orlando.

With mandated reductions in property tax revenue, and a poor economy, government is stepping up its efforts in looking at new ways of doing things – including doing more with less, and innovative methods of funding basic operations. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Capital Project Updates

2008-08-05T11:39:00.004-04:00

There are many projects going on in our town! Let’s get a quick update on where we are on some of the most prominent projects:

Proposals for the Grand Hotel – The City is soliciting proposals that are due September 24, and there continues to be interest in the building. For additional information on submitting a proposal please call Harold Gallup at City Hall;

1919 Building/Hardman Hall – The contractor is completing Phase 5 and will begin work on Phase 6 of the rehabilitation work. Strategic planning is underway for the adaptive re-use of this former school building as an auditorium for cultural activities, with classrooms to be located on the side exterior walls of the second floor. A capital campaign is forthcoming, and building relationships with user groups in on-going;

Phase II of the Lake Wales trail, from Kiwanis Park to Buck Moore Road – Work has started on this next section of the trail, as intended by the referendum that was approved by the voters on April 5, 2005;

Lake Wales Skate Park, Kiwanis Park – The skate park is complete and is now open;

Lake Wailes Boat Ramp and handicapped accessible floating pier – This facility is complete and is now open;

Polk Community College campus in old City Hall – Renovations are now well underway and the facility is scheduled to open in January. Work yet to be completed includes the construction of angle parking spaces on Second Street and Tillman Avenues;

Soccer/Multi-Purpose Park – The concession stand is completed, the fields are growing in, and plans are underway to open this 18 acre park next month – watch for announcements!

Airport Improvements – The re-construction of the airport buildings is nearing completion. There are now 16 T-hangers and two larger corporate hangers that have been completed, as well as the airport’s first fire response system. The new fire system includes a new well, storage tank, and hydrants. The Fixed Base Operator (FBO) building is currently under construction with a scheduled completion date in January;

Street Re-surfacing – There are still several streets left to be re-surfaced, most notably First Street between Central Avenue and Wiltshire Blvd, and Polk Avenue between Scenic and First Street. The First Street section is awaiting the phase 1 downtown water line improvements (see below), which will involve an “open cut” near Sessoms and Stuart Avenues. Additional work will involve taking the “millings” from this work and spreading them in alleys to provide a better road surface. A number of intersections, as well as spot repairs, will also be completed;

Downtown water line improvements, phase 1: A large water main will be constructed from the Market Street water plant to Wetmore to the intersection of First Street and Stuart Avenue, with a “stub out” for a future connection to a new line to run out to SR 60 West. The contractor for this project is scheduled to begin work in the next 30 days;

Sewer pipe on Polk Avenue, from Lakeshore to Second Street – A contractor hired by the City is constructing a new sewer line along this route to replace an old line as part of a multi-phased project to upgrade sewer capacity in this area of the City;

Sewer Southside Force Main – This new sewer line provides the new development areas south of SR 60 and east of Buck More Road with City sewer service. A portion of this project – the area just north of SR 60 on Buck Moore Road – took longer than expected. The plans approved by the FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) called for the line crossing beneath SR 60 at this intersection to be over 20 feet deep, and the “directional bore” machine ran into rocky sub-soil. The problem was resolved and the construction is now complete;

Elevated Water Tank –Construction on a new, elevated water tank near the intersection of Scenic Highway and Hunt Brothers Road has begun;

US 27 Widening – This FDOT project is scheduled for completion in June of next year. The contractor is currently ahead of schedule;

Lake Belle pumping station – This County project is actively being planned by County staff. They are now seeking approval for the route of the water to be disposed of from the proposed pumping operation;

Twin Lakes pumping station – Similar to the Lake Belle project, City staff is in the planning stages for this project. If grant funding is made available, a pump station would keep the elevation of the lake at a level which will allow for the storage of rainwater.

Adopting an Interim Millage Rate

2008-07-29T13:06:00.006-04:00

State law requires every city to follow a complicated and time-sensitive process for the adoption of the millage rate (also known as the property tax rate) and budget. This year the process has become more complicated with the adoption of Amendment One last January, representing the second wave of property tax reform. In addition, the consideration of the Fire Assessment Fee by the City Commission adds more potential for misunderstanding, as City staff is recommending that the interim millage rate be adopted at 7.7459 rather than 5.7157. In this column let’s explore the requirements for the adoption of the property tax rate and budget, and why timing – as they say – is everything!

The Process

State law requires that cities have a fiscal year that begins on October 1 and ends on September 30; therefore, the adoption of the millage rate and budget for each new fiscal year takes place in September, at two separate public hearings.

State law also requires that property owners receive a mailed notice of the first of these two meetings, along with what is called the “interim” millage rate. In order to provide adequate time for the mailing of the notices, this year the interim millage rate must be adopted no later than August 4. To add a further complication to the process, state law also requires that the interim millage rate may be reduced later, at the adoption hearings… but it cannot be increased. Therefore, there may be a tendency among cities to adopt a higher interim millage rate and have the opportunity to reduce it at the adoption hearings. The untenable alternative is to set the interim rate too low and not have an opportunity to raise it upon adoption.

Millage Rates

In addition to the “interim” millage rate, there are several other rates that are calculated:

The “rollback” rate is the rate that will provide the same amount of revenue that was produced last year;

The “maximum” rate is the highest rate that can be adopted by a simple majority of the City Commission. The rate may be higher with a two-thirds vote.

In the past, the rollback rate was usually lower than the rate the City Commission adopted for the previous year, because when new growth is factored in, it will take a lower rate multiplied times the higher tax base to produce the same amount of revenue. However, for the first time in anyone’s memory, this year the rollback rate is higher than our present millage rate – because the value of our tax base declined (by over $18 million or 2.25%) rather than increased. The actual rates are as follows:

Current rate 7.3521

Rollback rate 7.7459

Maximum rate 7.3277

City Staff Recommendation for the Interim Millage Rate

City staff is recommending that the City Commission adopt the rollback rate as the interim millage rate. The rollback rate is revenue neutral for the City, providing the same amount of revenue that was provided in the current year. If the Commission wishes, this rate can be reduced at final adoption.

Effect of the Fire Assessment Fee

City staff is also recommending adoption of the fire assessment fee and an equivalent reduction in the millage rate. The schedule for the timing of these actions is as follows:

Second reading of the ordinance to establish the fire assessment fee ordinance August 4

Final approval of the fire assessment fee rates September 2

First public hearing of the millage rate (with the equivalent reduction in the millage rate allowing for the fire assessment fee revenue) and the budget September 3

Second public hearing of the millage rate (with the equivalent reduction in the millage rate allowing for the fire assessment fee) and the budget September 16

Conclusion

The interim millage rate cannot be set assuming that the fire assessment fee and the proposed rates will be approved; therefore, the rollback rate is proposed for the tentative millage rate. If the Fire Assessment Fee and the proposed rates are approved, then City staff recommends a millage rate of 5.7157 be adopted – which is the maximum millage rate with the equivalent reduction provided by the approval of the Fire Assessment Fee and the proposed rate schedule. This would provide the revenue allocated in the proposed budget and reach the goal of significantly reducing the millage rate.

Adopting a Fire Assessment Fee

2008-07-15T13:20:00.004-04:00

The City Commission will finally get to consider the fire assessment fee this month! First reading is scheduled for the July 15th meeting, and if approved, it will be heard on second reading at a special meeting on July 29, at 6 p.m. in the City Commission chambers at the Municipal Administration Building.

The fire assessment fee has been discussed at four open forums. It wasn’t until the final forum that City staff could present preliminary numbers on the effect of the fire assessment fee on the City budget in terms of a tax reduction – the tax base figures from the county property appraiser’s office were not received until Monday, July 7. This figure is the basis for determining how much property tax revenue will be received by the City. The formula is: Tax base x millage rate = property tax revenue. The millage rate this year is 7.3521.

The preliminary figures indicate the following:

If institutions such as non-profit agencies and churches are charged the fire fee, the millage rate can be reduced to 5.7157

If institutions such as non-profit agencies and churches are not charged the fire fee, the millage rate can be reduced to 5.7451

The latest draft of the report on fire assessment fee indicated the fees to be as follows:

Residential & Duplexes - $68.68 per unit

Multi-Units & Mobile Homes - $52.72 per unit

Commercial - $88.13 per 1,000 square feet

Industrial/Warehouse - $108.08 per 1,000 square feet

Institutional - $13.68 per acre

Vacant/Agricultural - $87.56 per acre

It is important to note that if the City Commission adopts the fee, the fee amount will not be set until the Commission meeting on August 26th before the Commission adopts the millage rate, budget, and all other fees for the next fiscal year.

The Effect of the Fee

A good argument can be made that user fees are more equitable than property taxes. A user fee is based on the cost to produce the service; the property tax is based on the value of one’s home and has no relation to the cost of providing services to that home or that type of house.

At the last forum, which was held on July 8th, I pointed out that while a user fee is more equitable as noted above, the imposition of the fee, coupled with a reduction in the millage rate, will affect homeowners in different ways depending on the assessed value of the house. For example, there is an exemption on the first $25,000 on assessed value of a home (assuming it is listed as the owner’s homestead). This means that anyone who owns, lives in, and has a homestead exemption on a home that is assessed at $25,000 or less has never paid any property taxes. (It has been estimated that there are about 130 such properties in the City). However, if the fire fee is implemented, this home owner will now pay a fee for fire protection – a service that is provided to the homeowner’s property but one that this exempted homeowner has never before paid for. City staff is recommending that the City implement a lifeline program for such properties, similar in concept to the lifeline rate adopted by the City Commission in the water billing rate structure last year.

Some property owners with large tax bills will see a reduction in their overall payments. Why? Because the millage reduction is going to be greater on a highly assessed property than the amount of the fire fee. Taking the amount of cash raised by the fee and lowering the millage rate by that amount is revenue neutral for the City – but as noted above, it affects individuals differently, depending on the value of the property.

Why do this?

The fire fee will raise about $1.1 million, which the City staff is proposing to reduce from the cash raised by property taxes by lowering the millage rate. Again, why are we doing this? For three very good reasons:

For economic development – our town is in competition with every other town in this area to attract new industry and commercial businesses. One of the cost factors that stands out is a city’s tax rate, and this year ours is the second highest in the county. We have a great opportunity here to significantly reduce our tax rate. The fact that we are raising the same revenue with a fee is not felt as much, since every city has different fees – some have stormwater fees, some have downtown development fees – we have neither of those fees.

More equitable - every property owner will pay what it costs our town’s fire department to serve their category of property.

A sure revenue stream for one of our most critical services – as the state legislature set up two waves of tax reforms that are being felt by every city and county statewide, some legislators have said there is still more cutting to be done. The fire fee provides a sure revenue stream for one of our most basic, critical services. Unfortunately, this is the only public safety service for which such a fee is permitted.

Discussing a Fire Assessment Fee

2008-07-08T19:43:00.003-04:00

One of the topics that has brought out a great deal of citizen interest is the discussion of the feasibility of having a fire assessment fee for city property owners. There has been good attendance at the first three forums on the subject, and the City Commission is scheduled to hear the proposal on first reading at the July 15 regular meeting (6 p.m. in the City Commission chamber at City Hall). Baring technical difficulties, this meeting will be broadcast live on Comcast channel 5.

The City staff is bringing this proposal forward for the City Commission to consider. In this article, let’s take a look at what the fee is and why staff believes that this fee is a good idea to pursue.

What is the Fire Assessment Fee?

Cities and counties are permitted to assess a fee for the cost of providing fire response services. When approved, this fee appears on the property tax bill and is paid along with the annual property taxes. The residents of unincorporated Polk County pay a fee for fire service, as do property owners in the City of Avon Park. The City of Sebring is considering the fee and recently voted to proceed with it.

The fee charged to each property must reflect the actual cost of that fire department to properly respond to that type of property to combat a fire. Without the fire assessment fee, the cost of fire service is paid with general fund revenues, including property taxes. The goal of assessing the fire fee is to remove the amount of money raised by the fee from the amount needed to be raised by property taxes -–thus allowing the City Commission to lower the tax rate.

Determining the actual cost to provide fire service to each type of property is a task with very exacting requirements. A company has been hired to make these calculations, which includes a review of our fire department’s response to fire calls at all the different types of property, with the number of firefighters needed and the equipment used. Costs are then calculated, and the cost per property type is determined.

There is a great deal of work required, with its attendant cost, to set up a fire assessment fee system – so why would this be of interest to the City?

Facilitating Economic Development

One reason for considering this fee is that it helps facilitate economic development. One of the most important goals for the City is to set conditions that encourage business expansion and attract new businesses to locate here. Our county includes two other towns (Auburndale and Haines City) that are about our size, and by comparison we have the lowest tax base and the highest tax rate. The City Commission has directed that major efforts be made to encourage economic development, and this goal is included in the City’s Strategic Plan. (The strategic plan can be viewed on the City’s website: http://www.cityoflakewales.com/)

When considering whether or not to move to a community, one of the criteria that is reviewed by company representatives is the city’s tax rate. Our present rate of 7.3521 mills is not the highest in the county, but it is not far from being so. Only Mulberry is higher, at 7.8358 mills. The implementation of a fire fee would permit the City to decrease the present millage rate to a rate that is below a number of other cities in the county.

The addition of the fire fee is one of many potential fees that new business reps would expect to find in a prospective new location – but the tax rate always stands out as a key indicator.

Fairness

The argument has been made that the charging of a fee that is based on the service provided is more equitable than a tax based on the value of property. Many citizens have expressed their distain of the property tax system. Some cities seek to charge user fees as much as possible to keep their property tax rates low. User fees are directed at the persons or entities benefiting from a particular service, and thus make a direct connection to a service made available.

In this era of state legislature mandates for property tax reform, Lake Wales and many other cities are exploring the use of fees (rather than taxes) to pay for city services. This is especially important for the critical services provided by our fire department.

Next week let’s continue on this topic and take a look at the fees recommended by the independent company hired to conduct the fee study.

Volunteers --A Valuable City Resource

2008-07-01T14:16:00.003-04:00

Cities, counties, and school boards all over the state are finding that the preparation of the fiscal year 2008-2009 budget is very challenging. The effects of the poor economy are being felt in reduced revenues from a variety of sources, and the second wave of tax reform set up by the State Legislature and voted in last January in the statewide referendum will now be felt with the adoption of the City budget that starts October 1.

Our City Commission held an early budget workshop last Thursday to brainstorm ways to cope with reduced revenues while providing needed services. City staff stated that one area being explored is to seek new partnerships, such as the contract recently approved by the City Commission with the Chamber of Commerce for the Main Street program. This partnership has the potential to save dollars down the road as the Chamber provides management services to this important program, which markets downtown businesses and promotes revitalization activities.

Another important resource to look to for the future is the use of volunteers to carry out work that would otherwise be done by paid staff or consultants. Our town has greatly benefited from the work of several concerned volunteers with special expertise, as well as through the efforts of community service workers. Let’s explore this resource and the opportunity for volunteer efforts.

Volunteer Efforts

Volunteers such as Mimi Hardman, Nancy Furland, and Bob Dioguardi have each given a great deal of their time in a particular area of interest to benefit our town.

In the area of historic preservation, Mimi Hardman has led the effort that created the depot museum and the preservation of a number of buildings. The latest such building is the former CSX building on Scenic Highway near Kissimmee Ave. Mimi is also a member of the State Historic Preservation committee, appointed by the Governor.

Nancy Furland has led the effort to maintain the lakes in the city, most notably Lake Wailes, Crystal Lake, North Lake Wales, Lake Alta, and Twin Lakes. She served as chairman of the committee she helped to form, the City’s Lakes Advisory Committee, and continues now to work on lakes projects and coordinate the efforts of city staff and various regulatory agencies.

Bob Dioguardi is the city’s volunteer bicycle coordinator, and as such he promotes bicycle safety and bike events. Bob also writes a column in this newspaper to alert everyone to safety matters and bicycling programs.

Volunteer Opportunities

There are a number of opportunities for volunteers to help our town save money and continue valuable services:

Voice – This unit (Volunteer Observers Impacting Community Effort) in our Police Department and helps extend police services in many ways, such as performing traffic duties during parades and other events;

Office assistance – volunteers have been very helpful in the City Clerk’s office, performing routine office duties and disposing of documents in compliance with the city’s records retention schedule; and

Offering special expertise – volunteers with special expertise are particularly helpful. In addition to the individuals listed above, Chris Smuck has assisted in the inspection of work done by the city’s asphalt contractor, as he is a retired road company executive.

Anyone who wishes to volunteer their time and expertise is cordially invited to call the Human Resources Department and describe what work they are available for, and when. Your City needs you!

The City's Water System

2008-06-24T15:09:00.000-04:00

One key to growth and development lies in having good water and sewer systems. Over the past two years, with the appointment of Ray Creel as the City’s Utility Director, major strides have been taken to upgrade our existing systems and to plan for the future. Let’s take a look at the City water system – system basics, how water quality is assured, what is being planned for water supply, and some upcoming projects.

System Basics

The City water system includes an elevated storage tank at the Eagle Ridge Mall and four well plants at the following locations;

Downtown on Market Street at Sessoms Ave.

South of SR 60, on Marietta Ave. at Grove Ave.

Adjacent to the campus of Lake Wales High School, off of Burns Ave.

At the airport, on SR 60 West

The City system includes over 112 miles of water mains throughout the City and in some unincorporated areas beyond the city limits. This system is maintained by the 11 dedicated city employees who work both during normal business hours and on “call outs” at all hours of the night and on weekends to ensure that we have water service.

Water Quality

To ensure water quality, the City technicians take water samples monthly from points throughout the system according to the sampling plan approved by the Polk County Health Department. The samples are taken to an independent, certified laboratory for testing. The City water system must comply with strict regulations from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Every year, per state regulations, the City mails a report on water quality to each resident. The most recent report is being mailed this month and is also available for review on the City’s website, www.cityoflakewales.com.

Water Supply

Every day the City water plants pump over 3 million gallons of water from a deep groundwater aquifer called the Floridan aquifer. The amount of water pumped is regulated by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). Recently SWFWMD awarded the City a slight increase in the amount allowed, and the total available is now set at 3,821,000 gallons. The City is seeking to increase this number and is working on a permit modification.
Looking ahead, after 2013 all increases in water use must come from sources other than the aquifer. The cities and Polk County are studying what those sources could be, including the use of surface waters – lake water, and water from Kissimmee River. Any such project will involve great expense to treat the water, as well as to convey it to where it will be used.

In the meantime, the City is following other suggestions from SWFWMD to allow more water supply for growth by encouraging conservation – such as designing a water rate structure that charges more per gallon of water for high users. This rate structure has been put in place.
Another project that SWFWMD has partnered with the City on is the establishment of a re-use system. Re-use water is treated wastewater that is made available for irrigation. The water is not of drinking water quality, but it is safe to use for irrigation. The more that re-use water is used, the less drinking water pumped from the ground will be used for this purpose. Re-use water is now being used for irrigation in the city cemetery, the Longleaf Business Park, and the new sports complex on Hunt Brothers Road. It will soon be available in the Whispering Ridge subdivision, the first residential area to receive re-use. The City Commission has designated that new subdivisions south of SR 60 will have re-use water, and the developer of Whispering Ridge has installed the “purple pipes” to convey this water throughout the subdivision.

Water Projects

The City is working on a number of major water projects, including:

New Elevated Water Storage Tank: This tank will be constructed near the intersection of Scenic Highway and Hunt Brothers Road. It will hold 500,000 gallons of water, which is similar to the City’s elevated tank at the Eagle Ridge Mall. Funding is through the CRA bond.

Downtown Water Improvements: These improvements will be done in two phases: Phase 1 will bring a new water main out of the Market Street Plant to serve the west end of downtown with better water volume and pressure for fire flow. CRA funds will be used for this project. Phase 2 will serve the east side of downtown, and City staff anticipates that CDBG funding will be sought for this project.

Mark Your Calendar. . .

2008-06-17T16:00:00.004-04:00

There is an annual family event just around the corner, as well as many recreational opportunities for our young scholars who are off for the summer. Let’s take a look at what is available:

City July 5th celebration: yes, this year we will be celebrating July 4th on Saturday, July 5th, at the Lake Wailes park. In addition to fireworks (courtesy of some community-minded business people) in the evening, Parties by Robert will again host the day’s music and activities. In addition there will be crafts, food vendors and pony rides for children.

Free Children’s Movies: The City has again paid Eagle Ridge Cinemas to host free children’s movies at the mall theatre every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10:00 am. The movies for June 17th and 18th are Mr. Magorium, and Firehouse Dog. For more information and listings go to http://www.regmovies.com/

The Lake Wales Care Center “Stay at Home Work Camp”: This long-running camp provides work opportunities for several different age groups throughout the summer. Please call 676-6678 for further information.

YMCA – The YMCA pool and other Y facilities are open to non-members for a charge of $5 per day for children and $8 per day for adults. Please call 676-9441 for further information.

Ridge Soccer League British Challenger Soccer Camps: From June 23rd to June 27th. Ages 4 to 6 years from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., cost $102. Ages 6 to 16 years from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., cost $117. Camps are held at East Central Park in Dundee on Scenic Highway. Fee includes a t-shirt and a soccer ball. Register on line at http://www.challengersports.com/ or call Robbie Shields at 676-3304.

Lake Wales Little League: The All Star Tournament will be from July 7th through July 14th at the little league complex on Lake Shore Blvd. For information call 676-1943.

Kirkland Gym: open for basketball and weight-lifting everyday: Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Located at 400 N 3rd St. Call 678-4088 for further information. Free admission.
Lake Wales Care Center’s Heat Retreat: Middle and High School students Monday through Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. through August 8th at the Youth Coffee House at 205 Park Ave. Free admission. Call 676-6678 for details.

Lake Wales Care Center’s Youth Coffee House: Activities every Friday from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for high school students. Activities include music performed by local bands, billiards, board games and video games. Free admission.

Lake Wales Care Center’s College Fellowship Night: every Wednesday night through July 30th from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Youth Coffee House. Free admission.

Lake Wales Arts Center Camps: from July 7th through August 1st, each two week camp for $25.00, for students 6 to 12 years of age. Classes include Theatre Camp, Clay Creations, Collage, Wood Sculpture, Modern Dance Camp, Medieval Stained Glass, World Dance Camp, Optical Art, Flower Jungle Painting, 3-D Mask Making, Clay Creations, Wood Sculpture, Bookmaking, and Greek Pottery. There are a few openings available for the session starting June 16th and running through June 27th. Call the Lake Wales Arts Center at 676-8426 for information.

Lake Wales Arts Center’s “Artrageous”: a hands-on exhibit running until August 8th at the Lake Wales Arts Center, 1099 SR 60. Free admission.

Lake Wales Library: Every Monday is craft day, and special activities are held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Story times are scheduled throughout the week, and every Saturday at 11:30 is Chess for Kids. Please call 678-4004 for further information.

CITY MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Tuesday, June 24, two meetings:
The City Planning and Zoning Board will hold a public workshop on Tuesday, June 24 at 6 pm to begin the process of updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The meeting will be held at City Hall; and The City Recreation Advisory Committee will host a Recreation Summit at the Boys and Girls’ Club, corner of Seminole and 4th St, at 6pm.

Thursday, June 26, Budget Workshop and preliminary discussion of the fire assessment fee proposal: 5:30 pm, Lake Wales Arts Center, corner of SR 60 & 11th St.

Two Important Meetings

2008-06-10T19:55:00.001-04:00

Everyone is cordially invited to two significant City meetings coming up this month:

The City Commission’s first budget workshop for the preparation of the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 City budget; and

The City’s third Recreation Summit, hosted by the City Recreation Advisory Board.

Budget Workshop

All cities in Florida operate on a fiscal year that begins on October 1 and ends September 30. The City staff prepares the draft City budget every year and usually submits it to the City Commission in early August. The City Commission then conducts one or more special meetings to consider the draft budget and then adopts the final millage rate and budget at the regular City Commission meetings in September.

This year will be different in many ways. The City Commission has set the first budget workshop as follows:

DATE: Thursday, June 26, 2008

TIME: 6:00 P.M.

PLACE: The Lake Wales Arts Center, NW corner of SR 60 and 11th St.

The City Commission wanted to get a head start in the budget process, as the preparation of next year’s budget promises to be very difficult. At a time when the City needs to build cash reserves in the General Fund, fuel and materials prices are sending operational costs into the stratosphere. In addition, the legislature has passed two tax reform measures in two years. The second wave was voted in last November, which will shrink our town’s tax base.

Preliminary figures from the county Property Appraiser’s Office indicate that if our tax rate remains the same, the City will have about $140,000 less in tax revenue than last year to provide services. Coming on the heels of a very minimal increase in last year’s tax revenue due to the first wave of tax reform, preparing this budget will be a real challenge.

Some of the areas already cut back include:

The current year budget did not provide the normal replacement of some police vehicles;

One police patrol officer position was eliminated;

For the first time in many years the City switched from a partially self-insured health insurance plan to a plan offered by a health insurance provider, which reduced benefits;

A reduction in funds for the Depot Museum.

The City staff will make recommendations on where additional reductions will need to be made.

Recreation Summit

The City’s Recreation Advisory Board will hold its third “Recreation Summit” as follows:

DATE: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

TIME: 6:00 P.M.

PLACE: The Boys and Girls Club, located at the corner of Seminole Ave and Fourth St in the old elementary school. Seminole Ave crosses Scenic Highway less than one mile from downtown. Turn east off of Scenic Highway and go two blocks and the Boys and Girls Club is on the left.

The purpose of the Recreation Summit is to review the recreational opportunities available in our town and determine if there is an interest in offering new programs. At the last Recreation Summit one of the topics discussed was a need to provide an adult softball league. Mr. Ken Duel stepped forward and the adult league plays at Frazier Field in the Northwest Sports Complex off of Florida Ave.

It is hoped that this year there will be interest in expanding the programs available, perhaps in the areas of tennis and volleyball. The City has tennis courts available and the Kirkland Gym is equipped for volleyball courts.

This is also a great opportunity to visit one of the City’s newest recreational locations! The Boys and Girls Club has a no cost lease for this City owned building in the Hardman Recreation Complex. The building was re-habilitated to historic preservation standards with grant funding from the state, which was matched by the Boys and Girls Club.

Again, everyone is cordially invited to attend these significant meetings! If you have any questions please call Jacquie Hawkins at 678-4182 extension 225.

Citizen Boards & Committees

2008-06-03T11:38:00.003-04:00

The regular City Commission meetings are normally held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm in the Commission Chambers at City Hall. Some of the items that come before the City Commission for a decision are first reviewed at one of the City’s many advisory boards and committees. For these items the board or committee makes a recommendation to the Commission on what action to take.

All of the meetings of the City’s advisory boards and committees are open, public meetings, and everyone is cordially invited to attend. Some of the meetings are also televised on Comcast channel 5. Each meeting has an agenda, and minutes are taken to keep a record of decisions that are made.

Some of the boards and committees have authority that is separate from the City Commission. For example, the Board of Zoning Adjustments and Appeals hears requests for variances from the zoning code. A typical variance request is to allow a homeowner to build a screen room onto the back of his or her home that extends into the “setback” area of the lot (where no structures are allowed). A final decision is made on variances by this board - variances do not go to the City Commission.

The City Commission appoints the members of the boards and committees. Some of the member seats have specific requirements, such as categories of membership; and most seats require city residency, while some do not. Application forms for appointment are available at the City Clerk’s office in City Hall, and on the City’s website. The completed application form must be submitted to the City Clerk’s office with an original signature.

Let’s look at when and where each of these important boards and committees meet:

Airport Authority: meets monthly on the first Monday at 5:30 pm in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall;

Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee: meets monthly on the first Thursday at 5:30 pm at City Hall;

Board of Zoning Adjustment and Appeals: meets monthly on the third Thursday at 9 am in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall;

Code Enforcement Board: meets monthly on the second Monday at 5:00 pm at City Hall;

Depot Advisory Commission: meets monthly on the last Monday at 12:30 pm at the Depot Museum;

Drug & Prostitution-Related Nuisance Abatement Board: this Board does not have a regularly scheduled meeting but meets as needed at City Hall;

Historic Preservation Board: This Board does not have a regularly scheduled meeting but meets as needed at the Depot Museum;

Historic District Regulatory Board: This board was recently created by the City Commission. Applications for appointment are now being taken;

Housing Authority: While this is not a City advisory board, the City Commission appoints the board. The Housing Authority meets monthly on the third Wednesday at 6:30 pm at the Housing Authority office in the Grove Manor complex on Sessoms Ave near First Street;

Lakes Advisory Commission: meets monthly on the second Tuesday at 5:30 pm in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall;

Library Board: meets monthly on the first Thursday at 11 am in the Library;

Parks & Community Appearance Board: meets monthly on the fourth Monday at 5:30 pm in City Hall;

Planning and Zoning Board: meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday at 5 pm in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall. This board also meets monthly on the second Wednesday at 5:00 pm at City Hall to review the agenda for the upcoming regular meeting;

Recreation Commission: meets monthly on the third Monday at noon in the City Manager’s Conference Room at City Hall;

Police Officers’ Retirement Board: meetings are arranged quarterly at the Fire Station;

Firefighters’ Retirement Board: meetings are arranged quarterly at the Fire Station;

General Employees’ Retirement Board: meets on the third Wednesday in the months of January, April, July, and October at 8:30 am at City Hall.

More Project Updates

2008-05-27T16:23:00.002-04:00

Last week in this space we reviewed a progress report on a number of high-profile projects, both public and private. There are other public projects underway as well, so let’s take a look at a few more!

Hardman Hall (the 1919 building)

Work continues on this project. The contractor has finished the masonry work on a section of the south exterior wall that was failing, and the wall was taken down and put back up using the same exterior bricks. The remodeling work funded by the Phase 4 historic preservation grant is now complete, and work on the Phase 5 grant should be completed by the end of June. The phase 6 grant is scheduled to start in July and will focus on the installation of drywall and other improvements on the first floor.

This $4.6 million project is being funded with a combination of grants, CRA funds, and donations, and work has progressed as grant funds have become available. As discussed at the public meetings held in the building last March, $907,236 has been secured toward the remaining $2,373,875 in project costs, leaving $1,466,639 yet to be raised. Dr. Gabe Statom has been hired to assist in the fund-raising efforts and to prepare the programming for the building.

Planning is underway for this building to become:

The home auditorium of the Lake Wales Chorale and the Youth Chorale;

A venue for concerts by a variety of artists;

A music education center, reflecting the long tradition of musical excellence in school band performance.

You are cordially invited to join in these efforts that will have far reaching benefits for our community!

Rails to Trails

Funding for the second phase of the Rails to Trails project has been awarded by the Office of Greenways and Trails. The grant award of $200,000 is matched with $133,000 from City recreation impact fees, which are restricted funds that can only be spent on the expansion of recreation facilities. This section of the trail will be built from Kiwanis Park to an area west of Buck Moore Road. It is anticipated that the City will hire the contractor for this work with the contract forbidding the use of vibratory compactors. Again, per the ordinance adopted by the City Commission, contractors with unresolved complaints from City residents will not be eligible to compete for this work.

City staff is checking on the possibility of extending the contract with the asphalt company that is doing the City’s resurfacing work for the construction of the trail. A schedule for the project will be released at that time.

The design of this section of the trail will include the construction of a fence for a portion of the north side of the trail, as well as posts at certain points, to discourage motorized vehicle riders.

CSX Building

The former high school agriculture building on Scenic Highway near Kissimmee Ave is undergoing a facelift. The exterior of the building is being restored to its original look, and inside the restrooms have been renovated. A visitor welcome center room has also been created, to be staffed by volunteers, for area visitors and persons using the trail. The remainder of the building will continue to be used by the City’s parks and streets divisions for offices and equipment storage. Funding for this project is provided by a historic preservation grant which was matched with insurance proceeds that were used to repair hurricane damage.

Re-development activities on Lincoln Avenue

The Community Re-Development Agency has acquired several properties on Lincoln Ave over the past few years. One of these properties is referred to as the Walker Building at the corner of Lincoln Ave and C Street. The CRA’s re-development contractor, Kimbrough and Associates, is exploring the feasibility of using the building for apartments and offices. Recently the interior furnishings on the first floor were removed. In addition, both the Walker building and the barber shop building (under private ownership) were painted using colors from a palette provided by the architect hired to assist in this project. In addition, across the street from the Walker building, a new meat store has opened.

Project Updates

2008-05-20T17:03:00.004-04:00

Our town is buzzing with activity these days! A number of high-profile City projects and private developments are already underway, or on the drawing boards. Let’s get an update on some of the projects that have great citizen interest:

Street Resurfacing: This project is set to be completed by the end of June. Streets yet to be done include Polk Ave. and First Street.

Lake Wales Boat Ramp Renovation: The contractor has poured the concrete for the section of the ramp that will be almost entirely under water. The concrete in that section must cure for 28 days to ensure durability. Once that section is pushed into position, the second section will be poured in place. The seawall and walkway/dock will then be constructed.

Skatepark at Kiwanis Park: The equipment for the skatepark has been ordered and is scheduled to arrive on-site in the latter part of June. It is anticipated that the equipment will be installed no later than mid-July.

City Swimming Pool: When the City’s property across from the Longleaf Business Park on US 27 was sold, the City Commission took $1 million out of the sale proceeds and put it in a special account for the building of the pool. While the $1 million is adequate to build the pool, additional funds may have to be found for the locker facilities. But the most disturbing expense is the annual cost of operating and maintaining the pool. Other cities with pools report spending from $50,000 to $100.000 and more per year. With revenues shrinking, this project is now on hold.

Lake Belle Pumping Station: It is anticipated that this County project will be constructed in the next fiscal year, with funds contributed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the County, and the City. It is anticipated that the pump station will be located on an easement provided by the City. The station would be owned and operated by the County. The station would keep the lake pumped down at a relatively low level, to allow it to fill-up during periods of heavy rain. The high water would then be pumped down again, with the water flowing westward, eventually reaching the Peace Creek. The City’s contribution is budgeted in the current fiscal year and will have to be carried forward to next year’s budget.

Grand Hotel: The second round of proposals will soon begin for a period of 120 days. In this second round, potential proposers will receive a copy of recent studies of downtown and will meet with the Chamber of Commerce’s CRA Steering Committee.

Airport: The Fixed Base Operator building is now under construction, and the renovations to the north hanger building to provide housing for slightly larger aircraft are now complete.

Sidewalks: A portion of the recent CRA bond proceeds has been allocated for new sidewalks in several areas. Planning has just started for these sidewalks - including sections around the library, along North Wailes Drive, and on Fourth St. from Spook Hill Elementary School to the Boys and Girls Club.

Private Developments

New businesses around the Eagle Ridge Mall: This is a hot area for commercial development! The Hampton Inn and Suites has opened to brisk business, and another hotel is planned next to Home Depot along with two gas stations nearby. A pharmacy and a commercial center are being constructed across US 27 from the Publix center at the corner of Thompson Nursery Road.

SR 60: New commercial development includes a new Pizza Hut/Wing House nearing completion at the corner of SR 60 and 2nd Street; and a medical office under construction on SR 60 and 13th Street.

www.cityoflakewales.com

2008-05-13T17:19:00.000-04:00

Do you know that the City has its own web site on the Internet? If so, have you visited it lately?

The City’s web site at http://www.cityoflakewales.com/ is nothing short of amazing. It offers a vast amount of useful and interesting information on a variety of topics, as well as on-line services. Our town’s web site also offers maps and photographs in an aesthetically pleasing and easy to use format. The web site is an open invitation to conduct business with the City, get answers to questions on services and programs, or just to visit… a fantastic resource!

If you do not have Internet service at your home, you can visit the City’s web site by using one of the free public access computers at the City library. You can use the address printed above or you can simply type in the words ‘city of lake wales’ into a search engine and the link to the City’s site will pop up.

Let’s explore some of the information and services that are available to everyone on our town’s web site:

Commission agenda packets: In the past these packets were done on paper, which involved copying hundreds of pages for each meeting. Now, each Commissioner has been provided a laptop computer, and the agendas are provided on a ‘flash drive’. The agenda is also installed on the City’s web site so that citizens can view the same information that Commissioners receive for each meeting.

Utility bill payment/account information: You can pay your City utility bill on-line, or check your utility account.

Lifeline program: The City Commission approved this program to help our residents with low incomes pay their water and sewer bills. Customers approved for this program receive a credit on their monthly bills in the amount of the base charge for water and sewer. The Lifeline Application Packet is available on-line.

Limited income senior exemption: The City Commission approved this program, as described in state law, for City residents. Homeowners who qualify for the regular homestead exemption are eligible for up to $25,000 additional exemption from City ad valorum taxes if they are 65 years of age or older and if they have a total household adjusted gross income that does not exceed the limit set by the state during the previous tax year.

Do you wish to do business with the City? All City bid invitations, requests for proposals, and requests for qualifications are provided.

Check a City calendar: There are calendars of City events posted.

Do you wish to work for the City? Current job openings are listed.

Would you like to take an active role in City government? Information about all of our citizen boards and committees is available on the web site with a printable application for appointment.

Report a pothole, streetlight out, or code enforcement violation: Forms are available on-line for reporting directly to the department head responsible for resolving the problem.

Information on items being considered by the City Commission, and current City projects: For example, the historic preservation ordinance and the designation of a section of downtown as the City’s first historic district (under the ordinance) are posted.

Information on the City’s financial status: Preliminary current fiscal year financial statements, the budget, and prior year audits are available.

Contacts: you can e-mail a City Commissioner or the City Manager.

This site is the work of Assistant City Manager Judy Delmar. It is well worth your time to check it out!

Believe in the Future

2008-05-06T20:05:00.003-04:00

The other day I read about a man who was unhappy with his salary. At the time he was making $25,000 a year, and he decided he wanted to make $100,000. He did not know how he was going to do this, but he decided to make this his goal and really focus on achieving it.

The first thing he did was to write a short paragraph stating that making $100,000 a year was his goal, and to copy this paragraph down on index cards that he distributed around his house and workplace. He would read this paragraph several times to himself each day. He even prepared a mock check for $100,000 that he made out to himself, and taped it to the ceiling in the bedroom, so that at both the beginning and end of everyday he would see the check, which would remind him to read his paragraph. (His wife observed this behavior with a mixture of support and silent wonder.)

Can you guess the end of this story? Within two years he did not make $100,000 a year – but he did make $92,000, by writing a book. In reflecting on his experience, what he found most interesting was that his paragraph did not seem to work at first – it did not generate any ideas for making $100,000. He then revised it so that it read as if he had already achieved his goal – that he was enjoying his new salary of $100,000 and all the things it could purchase for him and his wife. He felt that by convincing himself and believing that he had already achieved his goal, it inspired him. He started to get ideas for ways to actually achieve his goal – which, by the way, took a tremendous amount of creativity and hard work. But the belief came first; then ideas; then implementation. Then came his new salary.

He goes on to comment that we all have built in inhibitors – people and experiences that sub-consciously tell us that our goal is impossible for us to achieve. He cites that many lottery winners go through their new found wealth very quickly, because sub-consciously they are uncomfortable with their new standard of living and wish to return to their former standards. By imagining that you have already achieved your goal, these inhibitors evaporate and enable you to move forward.

After reading this, it occurred to me that this scenario also applies to the Lake Wales community. There are some individuals who criticize and find fault, more often than not using faulty information; and there are some who see a goal for our town and work for it – the ”true believers”, working for “our best future”.
In recent memory, there have been a number of important accomplishments - including the sale of the hospital, the adoption of the new land development code, the charter school system, and now the planning for downtown - that indicate that we are beginning to believe that we have already achieved the goals we seek. If we believe, the ideas will come… and generate the excitement, which fuels the hard work to get there.

The City Commission has adopted a strategic plan, which lays out goals for our town expressed in six foundation statements. These goals that can be viewed on the city's website. I recommend that we review these goals and believe – despite the naysayers, the budget crunches, and the “we’ve never done that before” syndrome - believe that we are already enjoying their fruition. The next steps for us to take will then appear – just as they did for the man who didn’t like his salary.

The future belongs to us. We need to believe it.

Planning for Recreation

2008-04-29T17:26:00.002-04:00

Chief Gillis has announced that in order for our Police Department to properly respond to the increasing need for police services, a reorganization is necessary. The department reorganization allocates more resources to the patrol division. But due to budget constraints in this era of state tax reform, one of the areas affected is the City's recreation program. Your input in the planning of recreation programs and facilities is important.

Recreation Program

The City's recreation program has many facets, including both facilities and programs. We are fortunate to have a wealth of recreation facilities, including the Kirkland Gym, numerous playgrounds, trails, parks, and athletic facilities to host baseball, softball, football, soccer, basketball, tennis, and shuffleboard. On Lake Wailes we have a fishing pier, the Pram Fleet’s youth sailing program, and a boat ramp that is being renovated. A skatepark and a soccer/multi-purpose sports complex are under construction, and the second phase of the trail (from Kiwanis Park to Buck Moore Road) is on the drawing boards.

Because the City has been successful in obtaining grants for facilities, and with other resources such as the recreation impact fee funds, the City has been able to improve existing facilities and add new facilities in recent years.

However, funding for recreation programs and maintenance of parks and recreation facilities comes from the City's General fund. In this year’s budget, $1,045,060 is included for parks and recreation programs and facilities. As previously noted in this space, the General Fund has been hard hit with both tax reform revenue cutbacks as well as revenue shortfalls due to the poor condition of the economy. At the same time, the cost of providing services in increasing.

For the past few years the City's recreation program has consisted of four elements:

Operating the Albert Kirkland Sr. Gym, consisting of the gym and weight room;

Conducting the Junior Magic Basketball Program, for youth 6 – 15 years old;

Providing support for numerous recreation programs run by other organizations such as Little League Baseball, youth football leagues, adult softball, and shuffleboard. This support typically involves the provision of fields and funding for insurance, maintenance, and utilities such as lighting and irrigation. The City also has made arrangements with the Boys and Girls Club, the Little Theatre, the Pram Fleet, and the Railroad Club, that enables those organizations to occupy their city-owned buildings at no cost. In exchange, these organizations offer wonderful programs and the Boys and Girls Club and the Little Theatre pay for the on-going building operations and maintenance costs; and

Special programs, such as spring break camp, summer camp, and support for the Charter School program for summer school.

Police Lieutenant Burney Hayes has been the City's recreation manager during this period, and he established the City's Police Athletic League (PAL) organization. The PAL seeks to unite all of the community‘s recreation organizations under one umbrella for the purpose of coordination and funding. For example, one of the two youth football leagues, the Gators, received an $11,000 grant from the National PAL organization after joining PAL. Because of increasing demands for police service and reduced resources in the police patrol division, Lt. Hayes has been reassigned as a Patrol Watch Commander; however, the PAL organization will continue with volunteers. The Kirkland Gym will also continue to operate, but with reduced hours.

Planning for the Future

In order to continue recreation programs and support services in this era of budget cutbacks, a great deal of planning and coordination will be needed. City staff will ask the City’s Recreation Advisory Board to call a special meeting in the next 60 days to formulate a plan. It is hoped that a good turnout of citizens will work with league volunteers to discuss new ideas. A major area of emphasis will be on raising funds for these programs and services in this new area of budget cutbacks. Please watch the newspapers for an announcement of this important meeting. All interested persons will be cordially invited to attend.

Opportunities & Challenges

2008-04-22T20:16:00.001-04:00

Our town is presented with a number of exciting opportunities as well as some difficult challenges. Let’s explore some of the more prominent opportunities and a difficult challenge that are before us.

Some Exciting Opportunities

Downtown Investment - It has been estimated that there is more money being invested in downtown in 2007-08 than in any time in the last 20 years. Planning and renovations are in process or just completed at the North Arcade, Bank of America building, old City Hall, the Bullard Building, and Ed Pilkington’s building on Park Ave. next to the Arcade. Substantial investment has also been made at Tres Jolie and the Arcade Coffee Shop. Brenda’s Gifts adds another fine retailer, and another restaurant is opening in place of the Stuart Ave. Café. These improvements will help crystallize our position as a premier destination in Central Florida.

Downtown Study - The study of downtown by Martin Vargas, funded by Richard Quaid, is nearing completion. It will be the starting point for healthy discussions on the direction for downtown capital improvements.

Grand Hotel - The City’s acquisition of this landmark building is a step forward. On March 30 the CRA board and the Chamber’s CRA Steering Committee will meet at 6 p.m. in the Commission Chambers to discuss the downtown study and the next round of requesting proposals.

CSX - The CSX development proposed in Winter Haven is expected to bring companies that will use the facility to SR 60 in our town’s utility service area (and future city area) east of the railroad track at Petersen Industries. The City Commission recently gave an endorsement of this project with conditions relating to the abatement of pollution and traffic.

A Difficult Challenge

Budget Woes
The downturn in the economy is affecting cities as well as households. At this point City staff projects that at year end, budgeted revenues will be short nearly $400,000; however, because of spending cutbacks to this point, the current difference between revenue and expense is projected to be $91,550 in the General Fund. The City’s Finance Committee and City Commission will hold special meetings to determine how this shortage will be corrected. The dates and times of these meetings are now being arranged and will be announced in the near future.

The need for spending cuts comes at a time when the City needs to improve the amount of reserves in the General Fund. The General Fund contains the funding for critical emergency services (police and fire) as well as culture/recreation, and many of the departments in City Hall. A major funding source in the General Fund, property tax revenue, has the bulk of its receipts after January 1. The General Fund reserves are used not only in case of unanticipated, emergency expenditures, but to “carry” the General Fund in the early part of the fiscal year (October, November, and December) until the bulk of the tax revenue is received.

Our town has been through difficult times in the past, and the City Commission will make the necessary corrections. In this process, your input is welcome.

Water and Wastewater Projects

2008-04-15T21:16:00.003-04:00

Our town’s water and wastewater utilities are the key to future development. Let’s take a quick review of some of the City’s utility projects that were recently completed, are now underway, and those that are on the drawing board:

Airport Water Plant: The airport has been served for years with a small well that was only capable of serving water for the restaurant and restrooms in the FBO (Fixed Based Operator) building. Until the new water-plant was completed last year, there were no fire hydrants on site. The new water plant supplies water to new fire hydrants for the fire flow in this initial phase, and will be converted to a potable well in the second phase of development. This project was needed for the reconstruction of the airport and was funded by a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) grant and insurance proceeds.

Southside Force Main: This project has been on the drawing board for years and is now underway. This new sewer line runs from the corner of Buck Moore Rd. and Sunset and goes south along Buck Moore to the south side of SR 60, and then west to Miami St. This opens up the area along the route and further east of Buck Moore for additional development. This project was funded through a line of credit arranged with Wachovia Bank, to be re-paid by wastewater impact fees.

Re-use Line: The Whispering Ridge subdivision will be the first residential development to have re-use water for irrigation purposes. Re-use water is non-potable, highly treated wastewater. Other developments planned for the area south of SR 60 will be able to extend this line to serve their subdivisions. This line is funded by a combination of Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) grant funds and the Wachovia line of credit, with re-payment of the borrowed money by wastewater impact fees.

Downtown Water Line, Phase 1: Many of the water lines in our downtown area are undersized, reflecting engineering practices from many years ago. With the redevelopment of a number of multi-story buildings, larger water lines must be constructed and the older lines abandoned. The larger pipes are needed to bring adequate fire flow to sprinkler systems in the upper story of buildings being re-habbed. Phase 1 will run a line from the Market Street Water Plant, across First Street, south on Wetmore, and east on Stuart. This project will be funded by City Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds to facilitate development in this area.

Downtown Water Improvements, Phase 2: This project will serve buildings on the eastside of downtown. City staff is planning to apply for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for this project, which the City’s grant writer says is the only CDBG category open to the City in the next round of applications.

Southside Water Tower: This project will serve the Longleaf Business Park and surrounding areas. It will be funded by the recent CRA bond issue to facilitate development in that area of the CRA and adjacent areas (water impact fees will also be used for this project).

Wastewater Plant Improvements and expansion: The current wastewater treatment plant has a permitted capacity of treating 1.9 million gallons of sewage per day. It is presently treating about 1.2 million with outstanding commitments to serve about 1.7 million gallons per day. A few years ago the operation of the plant became more difficult, and an engineering analysis indicated that a number of operational improvements were needed. The first phase of the improvements will increase plant capacity to 2.19 million gallons per day, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection recently issued a permit to this effect. It is anticipated that this work will be done with a loan through the State Revolving Loan Fund, a low-interest loan program that funds municipal utility projects. The final stage of funding for the first phase loan will be considered by the state in July. Construction work will be scheduled following the award of funding.

In addition, City utility staff has also completed a major re-habbing of the City’s sewer pump station at the corner of Wiltshire Blvd. and Miami St., and the reinforcement of 500 feet of sewer pipe along Wiltshire Blvd. This work was part of a larger project that included drainage improvements in the area of First Street and Wiltshire. The project was paid for by a CDBG grant and CRA funds.

These improvements come at a time when utility contractor costs are lower than they have been in years, due to the slowdown in new home construction.

Cost-saving Measures & Service Delivery

2008-04-08T21:23:00.005-04:00

At the last City Commission meeting the continuation of the contract with Florida Refuse, our garbage collector, was discussed. A citizen asked if the City would look into operating that service in-house, and someone else mentioned that all that is needed is one truck.

Following the City Commission meeting, the citizen that made this suggestion – Mike Carter, a member of the City’s Airport Authority – offered to help with the analysis and suggested that a group of interested citizens might be useful in looking into this and other cost saving measures. I told Mike that I welcome this effort, and I would ask for his help and the assistance of other interested citizens.

I take this opportunity to call the first meeting of interested persons to review the in-house garbage collection option and other cost-saving measures. The meeting will be held at the next City Manager Open Forum meeting, on Thursday, April 17, at 5 pm at the Austin Community Center on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Finding cost savings is a priority for city staff, and there have been some significant cost saving measures in the last few years. One such measure can be seen in maximizing the use of community service workers. These workers are available at no cost on weekends, and for the cost of transportation and supervision, we have made many accomplishments. For example, they have helped maintain the beautiful new look of the medians on Central Ave. and the shoreline on Lake Wailes.

The analysis of municipal projects begins with the understanding of two basic principles:

The municipal budget is a grouping of individual funds with restricted uses. A municipal refuse operation should be expected to fund itself and cannot pull money from, say, the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). The restrictive nature of municipal funds is sometimes overlooked – for example, three letters in Saturday’s edition of this paper applauded a recent editorial questioning the use of $133,000 to match a trail grant. Unfortunately, the editorial did not mention that the $133,000 was from recreation impact fees and not from money that can be used for operating expenses. These funds are paid by new homeowners and can only be used to expand recreation facilities.

There must be an element of redundancy programmed into many municipal projects. The collection of garbage, recycling, and yard waste is a good example of this type of project, as they must be collected every business day - without fail! Extra capability must be provided to account for unanticipated equipment failures or emergencies. Therefore, it would take more than one truck, even if we had only one route! But our town has grown, and the landfill is no longer on Lewis Griffin Road - it is much further away. Florida Refuse uses four trucks to collect the residential and commercial can garbage (not including dumpsters) four days per week. There are also dumpster routes, recycling routes, and yard waste collection to consider. But there are also some cities in the county that perform this service in-house, so there is some available data.

Every local government, and more recently, each school board, is dealing with the State Legislature’s tax reform measures. It will take a good deal of innovation and creativity to maintain the previous levels of service as we move forward. I welcome all interested persons – including letter writers and editorial writers – to bring your ideas and participate in designing the services to be provided in this new era.

Using New Technologies

2008-04-01T21:34:00.005-04:00

Last week in this space the technology improvements achieved in the Police Department were explored. There have been a number of other uses of technology that departments throughout the City are planning, or have implemented. Let’s review some of these other technology advancements.

The Green Agenda

The City Commission recently adopted an amendment to the City’s Strategic Plan that directs staff to seek out ways for the City to “go green” – to conserve natural resources. One of the first projects in this effort is now in it’s first run: The Green Agenda. In this program, rather than copy hundreds of pages for City Commission agenda packets, the agenda is transferred to PDF files and loaded on to laptops for the City Commission. A side benefit is that the PDF files can also be quickly made available on the City’s website (http://www.cityoflakewales.com/) for everyone to review. The cost of this program is estimated at $9,500 which will be recovered in approximately 2 years from the savings in copy machine, bindery supplies, and paper costs.

Fuel Accounting

Until January 2006, City employees dispensed gasoline to city vehicles and then wrote down the number of gallons pumped in a book. This presented a number of problems, and staff found a company with software that:

Records the number of gallons dispensed in a particular vehicle

Records the mileage

Downloads this data to a schedule for oil changes and other preventive maintenance items based on mileage.

Since the fuel accounting has been in use, expenditures for fuel are fully accountable and maintenance scheduling has improved. The new system also tracks the use of diesel fuel to off-road equipment, which has resulted in fuel tax savings. This investment of $13,098 paid for itself within one year.

Automatic Water Meter Reading

A number of cities use computerized devices to read water meters by transmitting the readings by radio frequency directly into the city records and billing department. The vendors for these systems insist that the city should change out all meters immediately to realize the savings quickly – except that would require borrowing about $1 million dollars, and result in laying off some water meter readers with valuable experience. City staff decided to go with a “pay as you go” approach, where new developments pay for their new meters, and the existing meters in the rest of the city are phased in as old meters are routinely changed out. The City is also taking a two-step approach, using a hand-held wand to collect the data, and later switching to the radio frequency method, to help ensure system accuracy.

Work Orders

There is an old saying in city government: “What gets measured, gets done.” To keep up with work assignments in the water, sewer, streets, building maintenance, and parks departments, City staff began using a computerized work order system a year ago. This system allows the City to keep track of work requests, and is building a database for measuring how long it takes to complete assignments.

Computerized Fire Pre-Planning and Reporting

The Fire Department utilizes computer technology for report writing and for “pre-fire planning”. Every commercial building in town has been visited by fire fighters who have drawn a floor plan and made notes pertinent to combating a fire. These notes include whether or not the building has a fire sprinkler system, and the presence and location of stored gasoline or other flammable materials. Another computer program, using “global positioning system” technology, shows a map of the fire hydrants in the area of the fire. These plans and maps are stored in laptop computers on our fire trucks and are accessed by one of the firefighters enroute to the fire scene. The critical information is then radioed to members of the department pulling up on the scene, and the scene commander makes decisions concerning how and where to begin the fire attack with the benefit of this information.

Fire Department Imager

Each of our two fire stations has an “imager” that allows fire fighters to find persons trapped in smoke-filled buildings. These units cost on the order of $10,000, and one was paid for by the Lake Wales Fire Department Ladies’ Auxiliary.

Technological Advances in the Police Department

2008-03-25T11:14:00.000-04:00

Tax reform continues to be a popular topic in Tallahassee. The first wave of property tax reform hit the budgets that were adopted by local governments last September. One-third of the cities in the state chose not to comply with the state legislature’s intended reforms (our City Commission voted to comply with the reforms and adjusted the city budget accordingly). The second wave, voted in on January 29, will also affect schools and will be reflected in the budgets to be adopted this September. The third wave is now being considered as the state legislature is in session. Some local government observers, including newspaper opinion writers, are calling on state legislators for careful consideration this time around to prevent core services including police and fire from suffering substantial cutbacks.

The belt-tightening in City departments has required some creativity. In the police department, senior management had already implemented some technology improvements and has expedited this trend by carefully budgeting (and seeking outside funding) for additional technological advances. The use of technology will help improve productivity and the effectiveness of patrol officers. Let’s review the police department’s improvements that have been made and those that are being planned.

Leading-Edge Technology Already in Use (Year provided)

Mobile Data Computers (2002)
These laptop computers installed in patrol cars provide officers with the ability to complete required documents, forms and reports in the field. As a result, preventative patrol time increased and the response to calls for service improved.

Tasers (2007)
Tasers project two small probes via insulated wires and transmit an electrical signal. Violent offenders suffer an immediate loss of neuromuscular control for the duration of the impulse. Each Taser is equipped with an audio-video recording device that allows officers to record information prior to, during, and after its use.

In-Vehicle Video Recording (2007)
Each patrol vehicle is equipped with an in-vehicle audio-video recording system. These devices provide a recording prior to, during, and after calls for service. This provides for accountability, and video evidence.

SOFICS (State of Florida Integrated Citation System, 2007)
SOFICS is a fully automated traffic management system that allows officers to print traffic citations, collect and warehouse data and transmit records electronically to the Clerk of Courts. SOFICS allows for a reduction of personnel resources in the Records Section, as inefficient data entry is no longer required. Efficiency will be further improved when electronic transmittal of records to the Clerk of the Courts is implemented later this year.

LiveScan (2008)
Implemented in 2008, LiveScan allows for the digital submission of offender fingerprints. Positive identification can be obtained on offenders within minutes, and offenders arrested for misdemeanor crimes can be processed at the Police Department rather than the County Jail in Bartow. As a result, operational costs are lowered and officers remain in the community to respond to calls for service.

Leading-Edge Technology Being Planned (year anticipated)

Wireless Camera System (2008)
The Police Department is planning to implement a wireless video camera system to view public areas. The system includes public WI-FI access for residents and will begin with four cameras. Additional cameras will be added in the future, and cameras can be moved as needed.

Thermal Imager (2008)
The Police Department will receive a thermal imager through a Department of Defense technology transfer program. Needing no light to operate, thermal imagers generate high quality images on the darkest nights, even through smoke. Uses will include patrolling construction sites to prevent copper theft.

Chief Herb Gillis substantially contributed to this article.

Spring Break Activities

2008-03-18T11:24:00.004-04:00

Hey Moms and Dads! Spring Break is fast approaching! What activities are available for kids during Spring Break week, March 31 – April 4? Here are a few ideas:

City Spring Break Camp: open to 6 to 12 year olds, from 8 am to 4:30 pm at the Boys and Girls’ Club, corner of 4th St and Seminole Ave. Cost: $15, includes a tee-shirt. Sign-up forms are available on-line (www.cityoflakewales.com) or come to City Hall (corner of Central Ave. and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd downtown) from 8 am – 5 pm, Monday thru Friday. Sign up and pay at the cashier’s desk.

City Basketball Clinic: open to 5 to 15 year olds, from 9 am to noon at the Albert Kirkland Gym, on Third Street near Seminole Ave. Cost: $20. Sign-up forms are available on line or at the cashier’s desk at City Hall as noted above.

City Library: open from 9 am to 6:30 pm on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday; from 9 am to 5:30 pm on Wednesday and Friday; and from 9 am to 3 pm on Saturday, on Crystal Ave near Scenic Highway downtown. Activities include:
- Movie for kids: Open to all children on Monday, March 31, 3 pm.
- Chess for kids: Open to all children every Saturday, 11:30 am.
In addition, our library has an extensive collection of both Children’s and Young Adult books, as well as video tapes, CDs, and DVDs to loan for free! There are also magazines, reference materials, and 12 computer stations.

Open basketball play: Open to all children afternoons and evenings from 1 pm to 8:30 pm weekdays at the Albert Kirkland Gym, and 1 to 5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Looking ahead to this summer, some of the activities being planned are as follows:

Challenge Summer Soccer Camp sponsored by the Ridge Soccer League: June 23 – 27, East Central Park in Dundee just off Scenic Highway near the Dundee Ridge Middle School. Open to 4 – 6 year olds for the morning sessions, and 6 – 16 year olds in the evenings. Sign up on line at www.challenge.com or call 676-3304.

Boys and Girls’ Club Summer Camp: open to 5 year olds who have just finished kindergarten through age 18. Dates are yet to be arranged. Registration will be at the Boys and Girls’ Club, corner of Fourth and Seminole Ave. as follows: the first two weeks in May for members, the last two weeks for non-members.

Camp Rock at Hillcrest Elementary School sponsored by Polk County Leisure Services: June 16 – Aug. 8 from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm (four, two-week sessions). Recreation based summer camp program, includes arts & crafts, games, field trips, and special events. Call Brandy Gray at 534-4340 for more information.

Title 1 Summer Camp: Janie Howard Wilson Elementary School for selected 3rd, 4th and 5th graders from June 9 - 27 from 8:30 am to 11:30 am or July 28 - Aug. 8 from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. This camp offers tutoring for the next grade level requirements. Call Beverly Lynne at 678-4211 for more information.

Gnats Summer Camp: Babson Park Elementary School for K through 5th graders from Monday, June 9 - Aug. 8 from 7:30 am to 6 pm. Activities include arts & crafts, music lessons, swimming, outdoor recreation, nature hikes, tutoring, and computer lab. Call 678-4664 for more information.

State and County Road Improvements

2008-03-11T11:56:00.000-04:00

Street improvements are a hot topic in our town. In addition to the resurfacing of many streets being planned for the spring and summer, some state and county roads are also being reviewed for improvements. Let’s review what is in progress and what is on the drawing board:

The granddaddy of street projects in our town is the widening of US 27. The current phase of this project is between Vanguard School and State Road 60, and includes a new bridge over the railroad tracks and special landscaping at Central Avenue. This phase is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2009. Other phases of the widening project will complete the addition of a lane in each direction from SR60 to I-4.

The intersection of State Road 17 (Scenic Highway) and Mountain Lake Cutoff Road: Our City Commission has directed staff to follow-up with State and County staff to ensure that improvements are a priority. The County installed the blinking light about 6 years ago, and the State is planning to construct a center turn-lane from all four directions. However, there are strict state guidelines which must be met regarding the volume of traffic before the signal would be installed. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) takes traffic counts on a regular basis, but as yet the volume is not quite there. This project is estimated to cost $2.4 million, with $1.25 million to come from FDOT’s Highway Safety program. The City will be requesting the County’s Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) to add the remainder of the funding needed to their 5-year plan.

The installation of raised, grass medians on SR60 from 11th Street to Buck Moore Road. On some sections of SR60 in the City there is a grass median with raised concrete curbs. In the area between 11th Street and Buck Moore Road there is a center, omni-directional turn-lane. This type of design was popular years ago, but has been rejected by FDOT for the last 15 years or more. Grass medians have several safety features: they allow pedestrians a “safe haven” when crossing at designated crosswalks, and they control the places where drivers can turn. The present center lane is sometimes used by drivers as a lane to turn left into and then speed up and merge into a driving lane. This can be dangerous, and FDOT has completed plans for the median in this area. The plans will be displayed and discussed at a special meeting to be announced with the next 30 days.

Lighting project on SR60: Several years City staff requested FDOT to install additinal lighting on SR60.

A portion of SR60 will be resurfaced: from US 27 to the Scenic Highway overpass. In addition to the resurfacing project, City staff have requested funds for additional landscaping of the existing medians in this area and for signage to direct trucks away from the red railroad bridge at Polk and Scenic.

County resurfacing of Burns Avenue: The City Commission has asked that the County resurface Burns Avenue. Preparations for the work have started, and the project is scheduled to be completed before October 2008.

Recognizing Contributions of Citizens

2008-03-04T11:47:00.005-05:00

There are many people who are recognized for their personal contributions to our community. These worthy contributors include our Mayor and City Commissioners, those who serve on city advisory boards or other non-profit organization boards, coaches, Voice members, and volunteers. But there are a number of “unsung heroes” in our community who are rarely recognized, and I would like to single out one such individual in this column: Developer Joe Miranda.

I understand that calling a developer an unsung hero may raise a few questions. But let’s take a look at what Joe, who grew up in North Miami, has accomplished in a relatively brief time:

In 2000 the City was looking for a developer to work in a new venture, the Longleaf Business Park. This was quite an ambitious project, and some business persons questioned its viability - it is not near I - 4 or a major population center where such parks are typically found. But Joe pushed ahead. For the City’s donation of two lots, Mr. Miranda agreed to build two 50,000 square foot shell buildings to attract new industry to our town. Now there are 7 buildings in the park valued at approximately $15,000,000 and businesses with 250 jobs. The first business to locate in the park, Kegel Industries, was a particular success. In addition to 109 jobs, the building also houses a state-of-the-art center for bowling teams that come from around the world for training. The company also holds approximately 24 tournaments throughout the year. One such event is the International 10-Pin World Tournament, attracting teams from approximately 35 counties. Formerly located in a smaller building in an adjoining county, Kegel has helped put Lake Wales on the business-location map! From this first building built by Miranda Developers, we have a firm that contributes approximately $1,000,000 to the local economy from its training center activities and the tournaments.

One of the key tasks of the group that purchased the Lake Wales Medical Center in 2002 was to expand the medical staff and attract new doctors. That resulted in a need for new and contemporary medical office space. To provide this essential space, Joe worked with the hospital and built the attractive two-story building on SR60 near 11th Street that has helped bring in the new doctors and change the face of that area.

For many years business persons said that the City needed a new, nationally branded hotel. While he has never been in the hotel business, Joe carefully researched the hotel industry and the local market. He then purchased property on US27 across from the Mall, and a hotel franchise. His new Hampton Inn and Suites opened last month, the first new hotel in 20+ years in Lake Wales and the “first new Hilton prototype design” for all future new and remodeled Hampton Inn and Suites. With pleasing features such as wi-fi throughout the building, meeting rooms, and laptop-friendly tables, this high-end hotel exceeds expectations. Occupancies in the first month have been outstanding. The Hilton inspection team issued an unprecedented quality rating of 98.65% for a newly opened facility.

For our community to succeed, we must have a number of business people who believe in our area to such an extent that they are willing to risk a great amount of capital and locate their project here. These risk-takers deserve special recognition among the “true believers” in our community. With multiple projects accomplished, Joe Miranda is well established in their ranks.

Mark Your Calendar

2008-02-26T09:36:00.005-05:00

Coming off the heels of our town’s fabulous exposure on Tampa’s Fox Channel 13 last Friday morning, March is shaping up to be a busy month with some exciting events for every age group:

Wednesday, March 5, at 8 a.m. at the Albert Kirkland Gymnasium, near the intersection of Third Street and Seminole (one block east of the Scenic Highway): the Polk Senior Games will hold the basketball shooting contest, one of many events to be held throughout the County. For further information call Jennifer at the Depot Museum at 676-4209.

Wednesday, March 5, at 5 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall: CALLING ALL SKATEBOARDERS! City staff will seek input on the final design of the skate park being built in Kiwanis Park (at the corner of Lakeshore Blvd and Tower Blvd.) Our skate park will be similar to the skateboard area in Mary Holland Park in Bartow, consisting of a large, smooth concrete slab which is currently being constructed. The specific skateboarding elements, such as rails and ramps, will then be selected, purchased and bolted to the slab. The park is being funded by a grant from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program, and by a generous donation from the Jahna Corporation here in Lake Wales. City staff will have catalogues of skateboarding elements for skateboarders to review. Please participate in the design of your park!

Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m., at the 1919 building across Third Street from the Kirkland Gymnasium: Open House at the 1919 building hosted by De. Gabe Statom. Representatives of the architect, contractor, and City will be present to answer questions regarding design, construction, and financing of the project. Everyone is cordially invited to hear Dr. Statom’s exciting vision for this magnificent building, which is expected to become both a premier performance venue for our town as well as Central Florida and a community center for music education. This will enhance our tradition of superior student music performance at the middle and high school level. Everyone is also invited to see for themselves the progress that is being made, and to view the section of the south exterior wall that is being reconstructed. A brick column between two second floor windows in this section was found to have buckled, and it was inspected by a structural engineer. Following the engineer’s recommendation, that section of the wall was taken down by the contractor and is being re-built.

Saturday, March 15, 2-6 p.m., downtown in the Marketplace between Stuart and Park Avenues: The World Dance Bazaar, an event featuring a variety of dancing exhibitions. This will be followed by a street dance party from 6-9 p.m.

This last item deserves special attention: It is one of a number of events that is sponsored by our Main Street organization. It would be a perfect opportunity for individuals who have not been downtown lately to come and see the dancers and check out what Channel 13 found last Friday: that we have an inviting, interesting, and charming downtown.

The Main Street organization is dedicated to preserving our downtown and is seeking new members. You need not be a downtown business owner to join –everyone is invited for membership. This organization has a particular appeal to those who grew up, as I did, in a community with a historic downtown. You are cordially invited to join the preservation effort. Please call the Main Street manager, Dolly Pelletier, at 678-4182, extension 270, for more information, or visit the Main Street section of the City website.

Residential Development Process

2008-02-19T14:25:00.002-05:00

In recent columns I have noted that in order for our town to realize its best future, citizens need to be involved in growth management decisions. For citizens to feel comfortable in participating, it is necessary to have an understanding of the basics of the development process. Let’s review the typical process for approval of a residential development.

The first step for a developer is to meet with the City’s planning staff on a general concept for the development. Natural resources, particularly water bodies and stands of shade trees, are identified to be preserved and showcased, not obliterated. City standards are reviewed: lot size, minimum house size, water and sewer lines, drainage, street widths, etc. Also required are parks, underground utilities, landscaped buffers, street lights, sidewalks, as well as tree and wetlands preservation.

At this point, a decision is made whether the applicant intends to meet all of the development standards or to apply for “Planned Development Project” (PDP) approval, which allows some flexibility and creativity of layout. PDPs are encouraged because they result in less of a “cookie cutter” layout and provide the opportunity for more sensitivity to the natural resources.

The process is the same for a PDP as for a standard development: a recommendation from the Planning Board and approval by the City Commission. However, a PDP plan requires more care in design and a more rigorous review. Several revisions are normally required before the plan is presented to the Planning Board.

Often a developer prefers the PDP to allow for smaller lot sizes and other waivers. Approval of waivers is not granted easily. For instance, increased park acreage is required to compensate for reduced lot size. In Whispering Ridge, on 11th Street S., sidewalk requirements were relaxed on some of the small streets in favor of an 8-ft. wide, landscaped bikeway corridor through the development.

There is great opportunity for public input in the PDP process, while there is very little in the standard subdivision process. By law, an owner has a right to subdivide his land, if he meets all of the development standards. A PDP plan can be turned down by the City if it is not “superior” to a standard layout.

After approval of the preliminary plan (also called the “preliminary plat”) by the City Commission, detailed engineering plans are prepared, and various county and state permits are obtained. After City staff and the City engineer approve the plans, the developer can begin constructing the infrastructure --- water and sewer utilities, electric and (in some subdivisions) gas, streets and stormwater retention ponds. The City staff inspects the water and sewer infrastructure, since the ownership and maintenance of these mains will become the City’s responsibility. Depending upon the type of subdivision, the streets may also be turned over to the City. In such cases, they are similarly inspected.

The final step is the “platting” of the legal subdivision of the land into lots. Approval of the final plat by the City Commission is a formality, acknowledging that the plat meets all legal requirements. The final plat is then recorded with the clerk of courts. Only after the City Commission approves the final plat and it is properly recorded can the developer sell lots. By this time all of the infrastructure serving the lots has been constructed.

Through the review process, care is taken to design neighborhoods that reflect the character of Lake Wales – not a minimal design that could be approved anywhere else. Our City’s land development regulations were overhauled several years ago to do just that.

Margaret Swanson contributed to this article.

Principles of Good Planning

2008-02-12T14:31:00.003-05:00

In this space last week I proposed that successful growth management requires active citizen participation. This is particularly true in Lake Wales, a special place that needs citizen involvement to ensure that the town can maintain its unique character through periods of intense development and expansion.

Whispering Ridge, a newly developing subdivision on 11th Street south of SR 60, is a good example of this concept. Six years ago a developer came forward with a plan that was a perfect grid of north-south and east-west streets, with 550 lots, all 50 feet wide. On Grove Avenue, which at that time was little more than a driveway from Minnesota to 10th Street, the developer proposed a 7-acre park that had no access other than the lots that backed up to it.

When Margaret Swanson arrived to take the position of City Planning Director, she came with a knowledge of the planning principles espoused by Frederick Law Olmsted – the designer of Central Park in New York City, the White House gardens, and the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. (His sons designed the grounds at Historic Bok Sanctuary and prepared a landscaping plan for Lake Wales.) His principles include:

Have the best land reserved for public open space

Have natural-looking and irregular groupings of trees rather than orderly lines of trees

Have a “spine road” that takes you through an area, with side roads leading to neighborhoods

Have parks and open space throughout the development

Have interesting, curvilinear streets rather than straight line streets in a grid pattern

Have pedestrian walkways through interesting landscapes

These principles are the opposite of what had been presented in the first plan for the property. After many discussions and numerous draft drawings, a plan prepared by local landscape architect Marshall Whidden using Olmsted principles was endorsed by City staff and taken to the Planning and Zoning Board for approval.

This plan featured:

A spine road curving through the development from 11th Street to 9th Street. Along the road is an 8-foot concrete pedestrian/bike path in a landscaped corridor with the historic black pole, acorn lens light fixtures. The Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Commission has endorsed a plan to extend the path to both the east and west as surrounding properties develop in the area.

There are no driveways coming out on the spine road, and no houses facing it. Side roads lead to intimate neighborhood settings, each with its own green space.

There are sidewalks throughout the development. A mulched path leads from the spine road to Grove Ave., connecting to new sidewalks built by the developer on Grove and Marietta.

Besides the landscaped bikeway corridor, there are numerous small parks and green areas. Pine trees have been saved throughout the development, and natural vegetation has provided a base for plantings along Grove Ave.

The final development plan was reduced from 550 – 50-foot lots to 350 lots with varying lot widths.

Despite the new housing market decline, 50 lots have been sold and 23 are now under construction.

In addition to these features, the developer will be extending Grove Avenue from Minnesota Street to 11th Street. The developer is also constructing a sidewalk on Marietta Street, from Grove Avenue to SR60.

Good land planning is essential to maintain what has made Lake Wales special. Citizens are cordially invited to attend the Planning and Zoning meetings, which are held the last Tuesday of each month.

The Best Future for Our Community

2008-02-05T14:40:00.000-05:00

My wife and I left Northern Kentucky in 1985 and came to Lake County just north of us for my first City Manager job. Shortly after my arrival several reporters from the local paper descended on me and asked what I felt was the biggest challenge facing that town. From my research, I did not hesitate to answer: Growth Management.

Over 20 years later and now in Lake Wales, my answer is the same. Growth Management is a multi-faceted challenge with effects for the long-term, one that begs for citizen participation. The questions to be answered include, what kind of community are we building for the future? Will it be a “bedroom community”, with most working adults leaving during the week-long daylight hours to work somewhere else? Or will we have industry and commerce here? When they reach adulthood, will our children have the opportunity to work here, or will it be taken for granted that they must move away to find career jobs? If we have a bedroom community, will it be sustainable? That is, will the revenues from that type of community be able to support the public services such as police and fire that are necessary to serve the community, or will it take a mix of industry, commercial, and residential in order to be sustainable? And if we develop a community with adults leaving to work, what about the children? Will they have to leave during the day to find a quality education? In such case, what is the mindset of the families in the community when family members spend most of their weekday time in another community, away from where they live? Will they be as willing to volunteer their scarce free time to contribute to the community where they live? Will they have true community pride?

These were some of the questions posed five years ago at the outset of the Polk Vision process. The planner hired by the then new, non-profit Polk Vision group went around the county and met with citizens in various communities. His first meeting in Lake Wales was at the library, and he commented that it was the largest community meeting in Polk County that he had had up to that time.

The fundamental concept that came out of the Polk Vision process was that we – as a town and as a county – do not want to be a bedroom community. We do not want our citizens to have to leave during the weekday for employment or education.

I believe that Lake Wales has exemplified this point more than any other city in our county, and the foundations for this concept were well in place long before Polk Vision came along. Ready examples of this concept can be found in the last 7 years: in the sale of the Lake Wales Medical Center, and the establishment of the Lake Wales Charter School System.

Shortly after I arrived here in 2001, I was invited to a meeting to discuss the status of the Lake Wales Medical Center. At that time it was owned by Winter Haven Hospital, and over time there were fewer services being offered. After a series of meetings it was decided that the group would approach the parent company to encourage them to sell the hospital to another firm that would provide us with an independent, stand alone hospital with many more services. I remember thinking that this mission seemed like a long-shot… but then - Mission Accomplished! Winter Haven Hospital sold the Lake Wales Medical Center to Community Health Systems, based in Brentwood, Tennessee, a company with one other hospital in Florida. Our new and improved hospital now features many services that have returned, along with new services including cardiac catheterizations and other diagnostic procedures that have been added. Success!

Similarly, many parents over the years have been concerned with the quality of education at the county district schools in Lake Wales. A group was formed through the Chamber of Commerce to explore the formation of a city school district. Interestingly, the city had its own school district many years ago before merging with the county district. After much work and discussion, a new charter school district was formed that converted four elementary schools and the high school into charter schools under one district, with a new charter middle school starting up in the fall. The results have been very impressive, with many improvements including new science labs in all five schools. There has been a refreshing new energy in the schools, with more community involvement. Another Success!

These are just two examples of what I and my family have found here: that Lake Wales is a very special place, and the fundamental concept conveyed in the Polk Vision effort has been demonstrated here. But, looking ahead, there is more to do. There is much interest in expanding and growing our community. In order to achieve our “best future”, we must have active citizen interest and participation. In this space next week, we’ll explore how that can be accomplished.

The City's Utility Systems

2008-01-29T14:58:00.004-05:00

A number of times during the year, City staff members address citizen groups on the workings of City government. During these presentations I always take time to emphasize the importance of our City utility systems: water, sewer, and re-use water. While these systems are essential for every household and business, they are also one of the fundamental keys to growth and development.

Let’s review this topic and present a progress report on where we are now and where we are headed.

Our Current Situation

The City’s water utility serves 7.644 customers and pumps over 3 million gallons of water per day. This water comes from deep wells at three City water plants (Market Street, Burns Avenue, and Grove Avenue) that are capable of pumping over 17 million gallons of water per day. However, the amount of water that can be pumped from the aquifer is regulated by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). Our current “Consumptive Use Permit” (CUP) for this purpose is capped at 3.86 million gallons per day. While we are not exceeding this limit on an average basis, the demand for water is increasing with growth. For this reason City staff began serious discussions with SWFWMD on this topic over two years ago and then submitted a request to increase the City’s CUP in December of 2006. Since then, the City Commission has taken two actions to strengthen our position to have the CUP approved:

The City Commission approved a new water rate schedule that increases the price per thousand gallons as more water is used. This schedule, even more than the previous schedule, encourages water conservation; and

The City Commission approved a contract with SWFWMD that provides matching funds for the construction of the first substantial re-use project (see below). Re-use water is highly treated sewer water that is not at drinking water standards but is used for irrigation, thereby reducing the amount of water pumped by the City wells.

City staff expects that with these City Commission actions, the new CUP will be approved this year.

The provision of sewer service is, in many ways, more difficult than water. At present the City operates one sewer plant in the area of US27 and SR 60, with a capacity of 1.9 million gallons per day. It is currently treating 1.2 million gallons per day. The operation of the plant is regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)

FDEP requires that when the usage of the plant reaches 80% of plant capacity, the plant owner shall begin planning for plant expansion. Currently our plant is at 63% usage, but the City Commission has already taken action and the construction plans for the first phase of plant expansion are nearly complete.

Where We are Headed

It is not unusual for a city to issue bonds for the expansion of utilities, with the new developments paying the debt service for the bonds; however, in such cases, the existing customers, in effect, “co-sign the note.” In other words, if growth does not occur at the pace predicted, the existing customers are on the hook to pay off the debt.

Our City Commission has directed that, to the greatest extent possible, existing customers shall not be saddled with this expense. Therefore, the Commission approved a system whereby new developments line up in a “queue” and wait until enough developers are ready to commit to utility expansions and guarantee payments.

It is also important to note that some developers have existing commitments for all or some of the unused capacity in both water and wastewater. The City Commission approved the City’s first formal “Concurrency System” for City utilities to track the usage and availability of water and sewer service for new development.

The process for providing water and sewer capacity, along with a well-written Land Development Code, is the key to providing quality development. The City Commission has ensured that these items are now in place without requiring the existing residents to pay the bill.

Government in The Sunshine

2008-01-22T22:43:00.006-05:00

Recently I was eating lunch in a restaurant with a City Commissioner. A citizen came over to the table to ask, “Are you breaking the Sunshine Law?” The answer is no, and the question indicates a misunderstanding of the law. Let’s review the basics of this famous law and some of its unusual applications.

The Basics

For cities and counties, the fundamental focus of the Sunshine Law is two-fold:

Two elected officials on the same board cannot discuss anything that may foreseeably come before the board for a vote unless they are at an open meeting, with reasonable notice, and with minutes being taken. This requirement also applies to boards whose members are appointed by the elected board. This law, Florida Statutes 286.011 – 286.012 and 286.26 is referred to as the Open Meetings Law; and

Records of cities and counties are open for inspection unless they are specifically exempted. This law, Florida Statutes 119.01 – 119.19 and numerous exemptions in other sections of Chapter 119, is referred to as The Public Records Law or Open Records Law.

The Application of the Law

Every year the Office of the Attorney General prints a book entitled Government-In-The-Sunshine Manual. It is telling that the Open Meetings Law as reprinted in the manual is less than 5 pages; the Open Records Law is 33 pages. These sections are preceded by 177 pages of explanation and followed by 76 pages of exemptions to the laws, 17 pages of related court cases, and 81 pages of an alphabetical listing of exemptions. This seems to indicate that the basic idea of the law is straightforward –but its application takes many convoluted twists and turns to cover a wide variety of situations. The courts have been defining and redefining various aspects of the law over the years, such as what is a public record and who is covered by the Open Meetings Law. The state legislature also occasionally makes changes in the law –hence the need for a new and updated manual every year.

Consider the following examples:

The Open Meetings Law does not apply to committees appointed only for “fact-finding,” to homeowners’ associations, or to federal agencies. Meetings of staff members are normally not subject to the law; however, a group of staff members meeting as a committee that has delegated authority is subject to the law. Perhaps the area of the law with the most inquiries involves whom the law applies to.

Another interesting issue arises with written reports: the use of a written report by one commissioner to inform other commissioners of a subject which will be discussed at a public meeting is not a violation –as long as prior to the meeting there is no interaction related to the report among the commissioners who wrote the memo. The report, however, is subject to the Open Records Law.

A city manager, county manager, or school superintendent may meet with individual elected board members –but may not circulate the thoughts of one member to another.

Open records laws are worldwide phenomena. Wikipedia –the free encyclopedia on the internet –reports that Sweden’s Freedom of Press Act of 1766 is thought to be the oldest such law dealing with open records. In Florida, the roots of the present Open Records Law go back to 1909. On the federal level, the Freedom of Information Act was enacted in 1966.

Florida was the first state to pass an open meeting law in 1967. While all of the other states now have such a law, their provisions vary.

The state attorney general’s website – www.myfloridalegal.com – has an extensive section on Florida’s Government-In-The-Sunshine Law from which most of this material was taken.

Projects Update

2008-01-15T15:06:00.006-05:00

The budget approved by the City Commission for the 2007-2008 fiscal year contains a number of capital projects. Let’s take a look at some of the most anticipated projects and get an update:

Soccer/Multi-Purpose Complex: Located on Hunt Brothers Road between US 27 and the Scenic Highway, east of the Longleaf Business Park, this complex is scheduled to open in the spring. It will have four soccer/multi-purpose fields, two of which will be lighted. It also features a concession stand/restroom/storage building, and a playground area. Uses for the complex will include youth soccer hosted by the Ridge Soccer League. This project is funded by a combination of grants from Polk County, the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP), and the Breakfast Rotary Club, with City recreation impact fees. The property was donated by Feltrim Developments NA Inc, the developer of the “Mayfair” mixed-use development to be located nearby.

Selected street re-surfacing in the historic area of the City: A number of streets will be re-surfaced with proceeds from a bond issued by the City’s Community Re-Development Agency. The list of streets will be finalized at a special City Commission tour on Saturday, January 26, at 9 am.

City Swimming Pool: The City Commission set aside $1 million from the sale of the City’s property at the corner of US 27 and Hunt Brothers Road for the building of the swimming pool. Since that time City staff has been working with an investor who has expressed an interest in building the locker room area for the pool. It is anticipated that within the next two to four months a final decision will be made as to the location of the project and the schedule for completion.

Improvements to the Boat Ramp on Lake Wailes: This project is funded by a $50,000 FRDAP grant. The plans for the boat ramp improvements have been submitted for state approval and it is anticipated that work will begin in the next 120 days.

Skate Park at Kiwanis Park: This project is also funded by a $50,000 FRDAP grant. The plans are being finalized and will soon be forwarded to the State for approval.

Elimination of street flooding on First Street north of the railroad tracks: This project is currently underway and involves the construction of a stormwater pipe near the railroad down to Lake Worth behind the Austin Center. It is funded from a portion of the funds from a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and should be completed in the next four months.

The Southside Force Main: Construction of this long-anticipated project began last week. It involves the installation of a new sewer force main from the Wal-Mart area west along portions of Grove Ave to Miami Street, and it will divert some of the flow that goes through the piping around Lake Wailes and will serve new developments on Buck Moore Road and south of SR 60. This $2,500,000 project is funded by a line of credit to be repaid by sewer impact fees from new development.

The Extension of Grove Ave, from Minnesota to 11th Street: The building of this section of Grove Avenue, and the construction of a sidewalk on Marietta Avenue from Grove Avenue to SR60, were commitments requested from (and agreed to by) the developer of the nearby “Whispering Ridge” subdivision and approved by the City Commission. The road project awaits a property swap that has to be approved by a federal government agency. This section of road will complete the re-building of Grove Avenue and its extension to 9th Street that was completed several years ago with funding from a $750,000 CDBG and additional CRA funds.

With the exception of the City Swimming Pool and the possible exception of the last item, it is anticipated that all of the above projects will be completed by September 30, the last day of the City’s fiscal year.

Mark Your Calendar

2008-01-08T15:18:00.004-05:00

Each month the City hosts a number of regularly scheduled meetings. The month of January will be particularly busy with the addition of special events and additional meetings. All of this activity indicates that our town is at the threshold of a great year, a year in which a number of projects that were mere conjecture not so long ago are getting closer to reality!

The regular meetings and special events planned for our busy January include the following:

Wednesday January 9, 5 p.m., City Hall: The City Planning and Zoning Board will host a public hearing to make a recommendation to the City Commission on a comprehensive plan amendment for school facility planning.

Thursday January 10, 5:30 p.m.: City staff will discuss the proposal for a fire assessment fee to be levied to all properties within the city limits;

Saturday January 12, 2 p.m., Lake Wales High School: Board of County Commission representatives will host a forum on the January 29 tax reform vote;

Monday January 14, 5 p.m., City Hall: Code Enforcement meeting

Tuesday January 15, 6 p.m., City Hall: regular meeting of the City Commission. The agenda is scheduled to include the fire assessment fee.

Friday January 18, 11:45 a.m., First Baptist Church: The topic of the Chamber lunch meeting will be the “State of the City” address, with a look at the achievements of 2007 and the prospects for 2008. This presentation will feature views of downtown using the latest computerized mapping software.

Friday evening, January 18, downtown: Friday Night Live!!!

Monday January 21, 11:00 a.m., James P. Austin Jr. Community Center – a program of activities to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The parade will begin at 3 p.m. from this location and go past Roosevelt Academy and up Lincoln Ave to A street, and around to First Street.

Wednesday January 23, 6:00 p.m. at Lake Wales High School: City staff will hold an open forum on the January 29th tax reform vote featuring a video from the Florida League of Cities;

Thursday January 24, 6 p.m., Lake Wales Art Center: a repeat of the open forum held January 23.

Saturday, January 26, 9 a.m., beginning at City Hall: The City Commission will tour the areas where funds from the CRA bond will be used to re-surface streets, address drainage problems, and re-build utility lines;

Monday, January 28, 5:30 p.m. at City Hall: The regular meeting of the Parks and Community Appearance Board will discuss improvements at Crystal Lake Park and parking near the Pram Fleet Building.

Tuesday January 29, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the locations listed below: Statewide presidential primary election and tax reform referendum. Polling places include:

B Street Community Center - 230 B Street

Lake Ashton Clubhouse - 4141 Ashton Club Dr

First Methodist Church - 230 N 5th St

Holy Spirit Catholic Church - 644 9th St South

James P. Austin Jr. Community Center - 315 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Please call the County Supervisor of Elections office for further information on the election.

State of the City

2007-12-31T15:28:00.006-05:00

On January 18 I will make my annual “State of the City” presentation at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon. This event will be held at the First Baptist Church at noon.

This year’s presentation will reflect the accomplishments of the past year but will focus on what we expect in 2008. The new year has the potential to be the most rewarding year in quite some time, as a number of projects that are being planned are scheduled to come to fruition. The areas of high expectation include downtown re-development, Lincoln Ave re-development, and City capital projects.

Downtown Re-Development

There are signs of a positive momentum beginning to take shape downtown:

The renovation of old city hall is now well-underway, with a new branch campus of Polk Community College set to open in 2009;

The Bullard building at Scenic and Stuart is being re-modeled at a sizeable cost to create office and apartment lofts upstairs;

Tres Jolie has opened in their new location on Park Avenue with a substantial investment for its bakery, restaurant, and catering business;

In anticipation of their mall lease expiring, Brenda’s gifts has opened a new store on Park Avenue;

The Bank of America building has been sold to the 610 Corporation, a firm with holdings that include properties in downtown Winter Haven. Peterson Myers has leased the upper two floors and construction plans are being drawn. The third floor of that building has never been occupied!

The City and the County have agreed to waive impact fees (except City water and sewer impact fees) in a “core improvement area” that includes downtown and the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood commercial district;

The Chamber’s new CRA (Community Re-Development Agency) steering committee has hired Martin Vargas to do the first phase of a downtown study with a $25,000 donation from Richard Quaid, who purchased and just completed the remodeling of the north arcade. The study is scheduled for completion in February, and it is anticipated that some recommendations will be implemented immediately with CRA funds budgeted in this fiscal year;

The City has received title to the Grand Hotel, and proposals for its use are being solicited with a deadline of March 31.

Lincoln Avenue Neighborhood Commercial Re-Development

There is progress being made in re-developing the Lincoln Avenue Neighborhood Commercial District:

The first new business on Lincoln Avenue since the hurricanes is preparing to open! Massey’s Meat Market is located at 344 Lincoln Avenue, between C and D Streets;

The Green and Gold Foundation operates a Farmer’s Market in the vacant lot at the SE corner of Lincoln Avenue and C Street on Fridays and Saturdays;

The CRA has acquired the Walker Building at the SW corner of Lincoln Avenue and C Street and is working with an architect to explore re-modeling options;

City staff is also exploring the feasibility of building a police sub-station at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and B Street with the help of an investor who is working with the Green and Gold Foundation.

City Capital Projects

The CRA Board, consisting of the City Commissioners, recently approved a $9.5 million bond issue for capital projects. The biggest single project will be street re-surfacing, with funds also budgeted for utility projects. All funds will be spent in the CRA area, which is generally the historic area of the City and includes downtown and the Lincoln Avenue/Northwest area.

Our town is welcoming the new year with great anticipation. Happy New Year, Lake Waleans!

The Community's Recreation Opportunities

2007-12-25T15:41:00.003-05:00

Our town is blessed with many active and passive recreational opportunities. Let’s explore them:

Active Recreation Opportunities for Adults

Softball – There is a senior softball league that plays at the Northwest Sports Complex (Frasier Field), located on Florida Ave. Contact: Ken Duel at 679-7783

Basketball – The City operates periodic leagues for adult basketball at the Albert Kirkland Sr. Gymnasium, located one block east of Scenic Highway (take Sessoms Ave east and turn left onto Fourth St.) The gym is also open at the following times for pick-up games: Mon., Wed., Fri. from 3:30 to 6 p.m.; Tu., Th. from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.; Sun. from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Contact Burney Hayes at 678-4088

Tennis – The City has two tennis court locations:

Five courts are located at the corner of Sessoms and Fifth Street. These courts are lighted for evening play; and

Three courts are located at the Northwest Sports Complex at the western end of Florida Ave, off of Scenic Highway;

Shuffleboard – The City’s shuffleboard courts are located in Crystal Lake Park, near the five City tennis courts noted above. The courts are operated by volunteers from the Senior Center; Contact Hubert Becker 676-3764

Hiking, walking – The paved trail around Lake Wailes is well used. A new trail connects the Hardman Recreation Complex on Fourth Street, one block from the Albert Kirkland Sr. gymnasium, with Kiwanis Park;

Weight lifting, fitness – Equipment is available at the City’s Albert Kirkland Sr. gymnasium, and at the YMCA on Burns Ave.

Boating – The City has a boat ramp on Lake Wailes. This ramp is scheduled for renovation in the spring.

Active Recreation Opportunities for Youth

Baseball – Lake Wales Little League is a parent-run league, in operation for over 50 years! Girls and boys of various age groups play at the sports complex on Lakeshore Drive;

Football – there are two youth footballs leagues:

The Steelers, in operation for over 20 years! Contact Richard DeLoach at 605-0265

The Gators, which started three years ago. Contact Tim Burns at 528-8197

Basketball – The City operates the Junior Magic program at the Albert Kirkland Sr. gymnasium. Contact Burney Hayes at 557-2047

Soccer – there are two youth soccer programs:

The YMCA operates a recreational program of youth soccer; Contact Leah at 676-9441

The Ridge Soccer League, a parent-run organization, operates a competitive league. Contact Robbie Shields at 528-1921.

Sailing – the Lake Wales Pram Fleet has been in operation since 1948 and is the 2nd oldest pram fleet in the world! It provides sailing lessons on Lake Wailes for youth ages 9 – 15. Their new laser fleet is available for all experienced sailors. Contact Patty McKeeman at 638-3546.

Future Active Recreation Programs

Tennis – We need someone to organize a league at the City tennis courts.

Volleyball – We need someone to organize a league at the Albert Kirkland Sr. gymnasium.

Swimming – The City is planning to build a swimming pool. More information on this project will appear in future columns.

Bicycling – Bicycle Bob will help at 678-9611

Skate Boarding – The City is planning to build a skateboard park in Kiwanis Park.

Recreation is good for the mind and body. Enjoy!

The Historic District Ordinance

2007-12-11T16:01:00.003-05:00

On January 2 at 6 pm the City Commission will continue the public discussion of the historic district ordinance. The draft document, presented at the December 4 Commission meeting, is available for review on the City’s website at www.cityoflakewales.com. (The City’s website can be viewed from internet access computers at the library.)

The ordinance has been recommended for adoption by the Planning Board, which reviewed its provisions at their October and November meetings, and will be fine-tuned before adoption hearings by the City Commission early in 2008.

Some frequently asked questions about the ordinance

Who wrote the historic ordinance? Where did it come from?

The ordinance was written by Planning and Development Director Margaret Swanson, following a review of a number of ordinances from various cities around the state and guidelines from the state’s historic preservation office.

What does the ordinance do?

The ordinance primarily does four things:
1. It designates our downtown area as a historic district, specifically the area between the Scenic Highway and First Street including the Dixie Walesbuilt Hotel and the post office block, and both sides of Park and Stuart Avenues. This area includes twenty-seven buildings identified in a 1988 study as potential National Register properties. The portion of the proposed district east of Market Street was designated a historic commercial district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
2. It requires review of new construction or exterior changes, including signage, to buildings within the district. The purpose of the review is to determine if the proposed work complies with standards for historic renovations based on the Secretary of the Interior’s guidelines. These standards are used nation-wide by local historic boards. Property owners will be issued a “certificate of appropriateness” if the proposed work complies with the requirements and will be allowed to move forward with their plans.
3. This review will be the responsibility of a new board, the “historic district regulatory board.” Board appointments are made by the City Commission and must include persons with demonstrated technical expertise in areas related to construction and historic preservation.
4. It sets up criteria for evaluating other districts that may be proposed. New districts may be proposed by the City Commission, the Planning Board, or by property owners. If initiated by property owners, a petition with signatures of at least 51% of the owners of property within the proposed district is required.
Don’t we already have historic districts?

Yes, we have three National Register Historic Districts. The register is recognition of the historic value of a district, but does not regulate changes to buildings within the district.

Don’t we already have a historic preservation committee?
Yes. The existing historic preservation commission will continue with its current charge to carry out educational programs, undertake studies, and make recommendations on general historic preservation matters.

Does the ordinance say anything about the murals downtown?
The ordinance also provides for the regulation of murals, as do many of the ordinances that were reviewed prior to the preparation of this ordinance. Gainesville has one such ordinance.

Is there a charge for the review?
Yes. The ordinance contains a fee schedule. City staff is already working on a revision of the schedule, to require a low or no fee for signs and minor projects. The fee for a major project or new building is proposed at $200 plus $75 advertising fee.

Will downtown property owners receive a letter about the ordinance?
City staff plans to send an informational letter to downtown property owners to let them know about the January 2nd discussion. Legal advertisements will be published prior to formal readings of the ordinance, as required by law.

In order for an ordinance to become law, it must be approved by the City Commission at two separate meetings; that is, to have two “readings.” The historic district ordinance has not yet been “read” as it is still under review by the City Commission. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Tax Reform and the City's Budget

2007-12-04T16:15:00.004-05:00

Our state legislature set up the second wave of tax reform as a proposal to be decided by the voters. The vote will take place at a special, statewide election on January 29. A 60% approval is needed for passage.

This proposal covers a range of complex items. If approved, it will have a destructive effect on the City of Lake Wales budget, and it will be the first time that school tax revenues will be affected. Let’s review the effect of the first wave of tax reform, and then look at the “second wave” tax reform proposal to be voted on, and the projected effect of the second wave on our town.

The Effect of the First Wave of Tax Reform

The first wave of tax reform contained a provision that allowed local governments to override it. Over one-third of the local governments in the state did so. Our City Commission voted to comply with the state legislature’s intent, and this year’s tax rate is 1.1 mills less than last year. The effect of this reduction, had the City Commission kept the same tax rate as last year, is as follows:

The General Fund was reduced by $645,108;

The Community Re-Development Agency (CRA) fund was reduced by $201,098;

The Library Fund was reduced by $75,070

Total reduction in tax revenue: $921,276

In order to meet the challenge of balancing the budget with such reductions, the City Commission took a number of cost-cutting measures, including:

Trimming the City workforce by 13 full-time and one part-time positions. All of the full-time positions were, in effect, vacant – some employees were shifted to other positions, and police dispatching and payroll preparation were contracted out at a lower cost;

The City changed from a self-insured health insurance plan to a less-expensive traditional plan, selected after bids were received;

Finding other ways to accomplish tasks, such as closing the cemetery office and moving those two positions to the Parks Maintenance division, which allowed the termination of the contract for grass cutting at Lake Wailes and other parks.

The Second Wave Tax Reform Proposal

The proposal includes the following:

It doubles the homestead exemption, from $25,000 to $50,000. This would not apply to school taxes;

It ensures the “portability” of the “save our homes” provisions, up to $500,000. This allows homestead property owners to transfer their Save Our Homes benefit to a new homestead within two years of giving up their previous homestead. This provision will apply to school tax levies;

It ensures a tangible personal property exemption of $25,000. This exemption will apply to school levies;

It provides a 10% cap on assessments for non-homesteaded property. This cap does not apply to school levies and will sunset in 10 years unless re-approved by voters.

The Projected Effect of the Second Wave on Our Town

The second wave of tax reform, if approved by the voters on January 29, will have the following projected effects:

It will cut the General Fund tax revenue another $276,486;

It will cut the CRA tax revenue another $293,838;

It will cut the Library Fund tax revenue another $31,148.

The City Commission had already reduced the City’s tax rate by one mill over the two years before the first wave of tax reform. The first wave then cut the rate an additional 1.1 mills. Managing the second wave of tax reform, should it be approved by the voters, will be much more difficult.

Dealing with the Challenges of Tax Reform

2007-11-27T21:24:00.000-05:00

When I was in college a professor told us that the founding fathers intended for the government of these United States to be like a layer cake with three distinct layers: federal, state, and local. However, over 230 years later, our layer cake looks more like a marble cake. The federal government is setting priorities for states and local governments; the state is reviewing and approving city annexations and zoning designations; and the cities and states are lobbying Congress for favorable legislative action.

The “marble cake” analogy comes to mind when I think of Tax Reform, a popular topic in Tallahassee these days. Our town’s budget has been through one wave of tax reform, and on January 29 voters across the state will decide if there will be a second wave. What were the consequences of the first wave? And what will likely be the consequences of the second wave?

THE FIRST WAVE

In the last three years the Lake Wales City Commission has lowered the city tax rate over two mills, from 9.44 mills to 7.3521 mills. The reduction of the first mill was called for by the City Commission; the reduction of the second mill came after careful deliberation as the Commission’s response to tax reform. (Please note that some cities did not follow the path intended by the legislature and kept their previous millage with a super-majority vote of their city council.)

If our City Commission had not reduced the tax rate the second mill it would have received $921,276 more than what is now being received at the adopted millage. This was a very difficult decision for the City Commission to make in light of these prevailing conditions:

Just like in everyone’s household, the price of necessary items keeps going up. In the last three years, City expenditures for the listed items have gone up as follows:

Gasoline - 40%

Insurance - 40.2%

Electricity - 35.2%

Operating Supplies - 41%

Despite the increases noted above, the overall General Fund expenditure budget for the current year is below the level it was two years ago.

The City has been working to build up its cash reserves since the 2001 fiscal year, when cash reserves were used to cover a serious budget shortfall. The City had made good progress towards establishing a healthy cash reserve until the unanticipated insurance costs rose drastically in the last two years. The City is committed to re-building this reserve.

These reductions have been welcomed by taxpayers, especially small business owners and the owners of rental property who are not covered by the “Save our Homes” Act, (which came into effect in 1995) that capped the county property appraiser’s office assessed value of homesteaded property at 3% per year. At the same time, the difficulty of achieving a balanced budget in the face of these thorny conditions faced by the City Commission last September can now be appreciated.

THE SECOND WAVE

On January 29, voters will have the opportunity to vote on the second wave of tax reform. Next week’s column will explore the expected results and ramifications of that important election.

Utility Infrastructure Planning

2007-11-20T16:30:00.004-05:00

Last week in this space we discussed the steps the City has taken to prepare for growth in the substantial revision of the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code, as well as an updating of the City’s impact fees. This week we will explore another important aspect of preparing for growth: the planning and construction of new water and sewer infrastructure.

A new system to ensure the proper planning for water and sewer facilities has been put in place by the City Commission. The new system has the following features:

Developments that wish to utilize City water and sewer facilities must now be annexed into the City. This is a change from the past, where developers outside the City were allowed to use these facilities and agree to annex at a later date;

The system requires developers who will need City water and sewer service for their future development to sign an agreement and get in the “queue” (that is, to “line up”) for future service. It costs 10% of the water and sewer impact fees to get in line;

Once in line, City staff will periodically check to see how many developers are ready to go to the next step, which involves signing a “Utility Service Agreement”. This agreement locks a developer in to making a series of payments of utility impact fees to construct the new facilities that will be needed for development.

At present there are 13 developments in the queue – some of whom were automatically entered as they were already in some stage of the development process when the system was adopted; others have paid the now required 10% fee.

New water and sewer facilities to serve growth are already in various stages of developments. These projects include:

A new water plant will soon be finished at the airport. Initially it will be used for the new fire hydrants at the airport (the first time the airport has had fire hydrants) and will be converted to a potable (drinking water) well to serve the west SR 60 area;

A new elevated water tank is being designed for construction in the area of Scenic Highway and Hunt Brothers Road;

A new sewer force main will serve the Buck More Road area, and developments south of SR 60 from the Hunt Brothers Road area to US 27. The City Commission has hired the contractor and this project will begin in the near future;

A phased expansion of the sewer treatment plant and operational improvements have been engineered and the plans have recently been submitted for state agency approval;

The City is changing how it disposes of the water that has been treated at the sewer plant. Rather than all of the water going into the Rapid Infiltration Basins near the Scenic Highway between Lake Belle and Hunt Brothers Road, the City is beginning to use some of it for irrigation in the Longleaf Business Park, the new soccer/multi-purpose field complex on Hunt Brothers Road, and soon in the city cemetery. There are also plans to serve the Whispering Ridge and Mayfair subdivisions.

Preparing for growth is a multi-faceted process, and the City is successfully moving forward to encourage quality growth and the facilities needed to serve it!

Preparing for Growth

2007-11-13T16:38:00.000-05:00

There is a feature that appears in this newspaper entitled, “Lake Wales in Motion,” which lists new developments. The City Commission has directed that the City must be well prepared for growth, and that existing residents not be saddled with the costs associated with new development. To this end, important steps have been taken in the areas of planning, impact fees, and utilities to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, growth pays for itself.

Planning

In 2005 the City Commission adopted a substantial overhaul to the City’s Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Regulations. City staff had recognized the need for this change for many years… in fact, the Land Development Regulations had been re-written twice by mid-2001, but each time the documents were not judged by City staff to be worthy of City Commission review.

In 2004 Assistant City Manager Judy Delmar and Director of Planning and Development Margaret Swanson took up this task. They each continued with their existing workloads while they wrote the massive document, which was then reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Board and transmitted to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval. A number of public hearings were also held before City Commission adoption.

Some of the major changes in the new code include the following:

Tree ordinance – developers are required to replace trees that are cut down on site, or pay into a fund to plant trees elsewhere in the city;

Sidewalks – developers are required to build sidewalks, and if there are good reasons not to, they pay into a fund to build sidewalks elsewhere in the City;

Commercial zoning strategy – existing commercial areas have a wide variety of permitted commercial uses, to encourage re-development of older commercial areas. Many new commercial areas have a new future land use designation: Limited Commercial/Industrial. This designation is more restrictive on the types of uses and discourages strip malls along state highways;

Two entrances to subdivisions with over 50 lots – this provides for better access for public safety vehicles as well as residents;

Density reduction – the prior code allowed for some areas to be developed at a density of 25 units per acre! The maximum density that can now be built is 12 units per acre; and

Site plan requirements have improved – Large residential developments reviewed under the new regulations have a “spine” road that runs through the development. The spine road does not have driveways coming out onto it, but connect “neighborhood nodes” of houses. They also provide for open space within the development. (Example: Whispering Ridge, on 11th Street south of SR 60.)

Margaret Swanson has continued to recommend adjustments to the Land Development Code as new situations present themselves. The next amendment to the code to be proposed is the Historic Preservation Ordinance. This is a very important document for our town, as we are blessed to have many historic structures. The ordinance recommends that the downtown area be named a historic district under the terms of the ordinance, while any other area of the City must undergo a process in which a majority of the property owners vote to make their area a historic district.

The primary regulation for properties within the historic district includes a process for developing vacant properties and modifying existing buildings. The ordinance proposes that a technical committee review such developments or modifications, and make a recommendation to the City Commission. The goal is to preserve the celebrated character of our historic areas.

Impact Fees

Also in 2005 the City Commission directed staff to review the City’s impact fees. An impact fee is paid by new development (or an existing development that increases its demand for service) and it represents the cost of expanding a City service to accommodate the new development. For example, the water impact fee represents the cost of expanding the water system – the well plants and water pipes – to accommodate the addition of this new customer. Impact fees are collected for the following City service areas:

Water

Sewer

Police

Fire & Rescue

Parks

Library

As this is a technical and esoteric area that could bring lawsuits if the fee is proven to be incorrect, the City followed the industry standard and hired a consultant to do this work. The fees are now updated every year. In addition to these City imposed fees on new development, the City also collects impact fees for the County in the areas of Transportation (used by the County to improve County roads), Corrections (for jail expansion), Emergency Medical Service (ambulances), and Schools.

Next week’s column will feature a review of the substantial work that is being done to upgrade our City’s utility systems and prepare for the demands of growth.

More on Code Enforcement

2007-11-06T21:07:00.002-05:00

Last week in this space we examined the code enforcement process. This week we will review recent code enforcement activity, the professionals who carry out this important work, and the role of citizens in the process.

Code Enforcement Activity

Each month the City’s two code enforcement officers investigate an average of about 130 code enforcement cases. Of these, about 118 cases are resolved when the owner voluntarily corrects and eliminates the code violation. The other 12 or so cases per month are brought before the Code Enforcement Board for hearings.

Cases are usually presented before the board for two public hearings. If the board determines that the violations alleged to be on the property do in fact exist, the board then orders the owner to make corrections. If the violations are not corrected, the case is brought back for a second hearing in which the board imposes fines and places a lien on the property. As discussed last week, a lien is a legal claim against the property. The City may foreclose (take ownership away from the owner) if the owner allows the lien amount to build up to an amount that he or she will not pay.

Code enforcement activity received a boost from several sources in the past two years:

The City Commission accepted a special Community Development Block grant after the 2004 hurricanes that repaired four homes and demolished 20 abandoned buildings. Some of these buildings, such as the Ridge Dry Cleaners on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd had been an eyesore for years. In addition, there were over 30 abandoned buildings demolished with other funding sources since March of 2005.

The City Commission adopted a “Code Enforcement Amnesty” program during this same period. The goal was to assist property owners with code violations by reducing fines and having liens released. The program ran for 10 months and 14 properties were brought into compliance; and

With the assistance of police officers, “code enforcement sweeps” are conducted 4-6 times per year, along with community clean-ups. In last Saturday’s event on Lincoln Ave, the police department and the City’s community development consultant began the painting of the Walker Building, which was recently acquired by the City.

Another subject of activity is illegal signs. Last year our code enforcement officers removed over 2,000 illegally placed signs from around the City. Many of these were the small, temporary signs that are placed on wire hangers and stuck in the ground.

Code Enforcement Officers

Code enforcement has become a legal and technical activity. The Florida Association of Code Enforcement (FACE) offers three levels of classes that lead to the certification of a Code Enforcement Professional. In addition to FACE, the Polk Association of Code Enforcement (PACE) meets monthly with guest speakers on legal issues and public safety.

Our two code enforcement officers are not police officers but they work out of the police department. Bill Gindlesperger is a certified code enforcement officer and a former president of PACE. He has worked for the City for a total of 5 years. Angella O’Connor recently transferred to code enforcement from the communications section (which was transferred to the Sheriff’s Department). She has worked for the City for nearly 1.5 years.

The Role of Citizens in Code Enforcement

Citizens play a key role in this operation, as they are the eyes and ears of code enforcement. Suspected violations can be called in anonymously by leaving a message at 678-4223, extension 275 or 265, between the hours of 5 pm and 7 am. Suspected violations can also be transmitted via the City’s website: www.cityoflakewales.com.

Citizens who are visited by code enforcement officers can also be of great assistance, by viewing the process as working for the betterment of the community. Code enforcement officers are seeking compliance with City codes, and a sense of cooperation and community spirit is very beneficial and always appreciated.

Several citizen groups have been very helpful in the utilization of properties that have been acquired through the code enforcement process:

The Green and Gold Foundation approached the City with a proposal to have houses built on some of the vacant lots acquired by the City. The City Commission conveyed three building lots to the Foundation, who has found a buyer to build houses on the lots; and

The B Street Center is now operating a Farmers’ Market on a lot that was acquired by the City. This provides a community service and utilizes this lot for a worthwhile activity. (The Farmers’ Market is at Lincoln and C Streets every Friday afternoon and all day Saturday.)

The City Commission has placed a special emphasis on eliminating dilapidated buildings from our City. It is my hope that with the information provided in this space, everyone will have a new appreciation for this important goal.

Code Enforcement

2007-10-30T21:17:00.002-04:00

In last Saturday’s edition of the Lake Wales News there was a front page article under the heading “Grand Hotel Headed for a Court Date.” The article made reference to City code violations and fines levied against this downtown property. It also noted that the City Attorney is taking the building’s owner to court to foreclose on the property.

These efforts are generally referred to as “code enforcement”. Many citizens are unfamiliar with the code enforcement process, and yet it is an essential and on-going City function - one that the City Commission, several years ago, directed staff to intensify.

The Code Enforcement Process

The City Commission has adopted a number of laws (also called ordinances) regulating the safety of buildings and the appearance of property. These laws are enforced by the City’s two code enforcement officers. The code enforcement officers are not police officers, but they do work out of the police department. They investigate and seek the property owner’s assistance to correct the following types of violations:

Substandard structures such as buildings that are dilapidated and appear to be abandoned

High grass and weeds

Trash and debris

Junk vehicles, and commercial vehicles parked in an area zoned residential

Zoning issues including illegal uses, such as a business operating without a permit within a residential neighborhood

Illegal signs and fences

Vending license violations

Occupational license violations

Illegal demolitions

Noise complaints

Animal complaints

If a property fails to meet the city regulations, a code enforcement officer contacts the owner to warn him or her of their property’s violation. The owner then has a period of time, usually 10 days, to bring the property into compliance. If the violations are not corrected within that period of time, the property owner is then given a notice to appear before the Code Enforcement Board.
As noted in this space last week, the Code Enforcement Board is one of 16 active boards that carry out city business. It is made up of seven members, appointed by the City Commission, with meetings scheduled the second Monday of every month at 5:00 pm in the City Commission chambers. During that meeting the Board members hear testimony and review evidence offered by both the code enforcement officers and the property owner. After reviewing all aspects of the case the Board members may find that the property either has, or does not have, a violation. Based on the circumstances of the case, the Board may offer the owner additional time to make the required corrections. The Board is also empowered to impose fines of up to $250 for each day of continued violation. Such is the case with the Grand Hotel.

The fine becomes a “lien” on the property - meaning that the City now has a claim against the title of the property. This claim has two very important features:

A lien against the property is likely to affect the title to the property and make it harder to sell. If the owner wishes to sell the property, the lien amount must be paid to the City. (Once the property is brought into compliance and the violation is removed, the owner may petition the Code Enforcement Board to reduce the lien.)

If the fine builds up to a large amount the City may wish to “foreclose” on the property. This means that the City could bring a lawsuit against the owner and obtain ownership of the property without payment to the owner. This is what the City is pursuing in the Grand Hotel case.

The City has another option in dealing with abandoned buildings: condemnation. Rather than a code enforcement action, condemnation is based on a determination by the City’s Building Official - that the building fails to meet the requirements of the building code. Buildings in this condition create a health, safety, and welfare concern. This action was used against the former Ridge Dry Cleaning plant on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, which after the 2004 hurricanes had sections of the metal roof become an airborne hazard. With proper notice to the owner the building was demolished, and the cost of demolition became a lien against the property.

Next week this column will explore code enforcement activity in the past few years, the professionals who carry out this important work, and the role of citizens in the process. Note: William Gindlesperger, Chief Code Enforcement Officer, and Albert C. Galloway, City Attorney, contributed to this article.

The Spirit of Volunteerism

2007-10-23T16:57:00.003-04:00

One of the many things that makes Lake Wales special is the spirit of volunteerism. There are multitudes of people who volunteer their time and energy to many organizations around the City. Agencies like the B Street Center, the Care Center, and the Senior Center could not operate at anywhere near their present level of service without volunteers.

This is also true in the world of recreation and sports, where adult coaches put in untold hours, year after year, to help kids learn good sportsmanship, discipline, and teamwork. The Lake Wales Little League, the Steelers and the Gators youth football programs, Jr. Magic basketball, the Ridge Soccer League, and the YMCA all offer coaching opportunities. I myself have only coached one season of soccer, but I still remember smiling when a fourth grader recognized me in the grocery store and said, “Hey mom, there’s my Coach!”

The City also has many volunteer opportunities, including service as a member of Voice, or by serving on a City advisory board. Voice stands for “Volunteer Observers Impacting Community Effort”, and Voice members carry out a variety of tasks to aid our police officers and stretch our law enforcement resources. For example, Voice volunteers can be seen at every parade, helping to direct traffic. They keep things running smoothly and enable us to have someone at every intersection. They also serve in this role when there are other special events, such as a bicycle race last summer. Voice volunteers are a tremendous asset to our police department.

Our City also has 16 active advisory boards. Citizens are appointed to these boards by the City Commission, and meetings are usually held once per month. Other conditions of membership vary with each board, such as the length of membership, and whether or not the member has to be a city resident. Some boards currently have vacancies, and applications for any open seat are available from the City Clerk’s office in the Municipal Administration Building.

The work of the Advisory Boards is very important, and their meetings are subject to the “sunshine law”. This means that the meetings are open to the public, with the meeting times posted in the Municipal Administration Building, and minutes are taken. Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings, especially if you are thinking about volunteering for one of the seats on an advisory board. The boards and their meetings are as follows (Note: all meetings are held in the Municipal Administration Building unless otherwise noted):

Airport Authority meets the first Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meets the first Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m.

Board of Zoning Adjustment and Appeals meets the third Thursday of each month at 5:00 p.m.

Code Enforcement Board meets the second Monday of each month at 5:00 p.m.

Depot Advisory Commission meets the last Monday of each month at 12:30 p.m. at the Depot Museum

Drug and Prostitution Related Nuisance Abatement Board meets when called

Historic Preservation Board meets when called – at least 4 times a year, at the Depot Museum

Housing Authority meets the 3rd Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Housing Authority Office

Lakes Advisory Committee meets the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.

Library Board meets the 1st Monday of each month at 11:00 a.m. at the library

Parks and Community Appearance Advisory Board meets the 4th Monday at 5:30 p.m.

Planning and Zoning Board meets the 4th Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Recreation Commission meets the 3rd Monday at 12:00 p.m.

Police Officers’ Retirement Board meets when called, at least quarterly, at the Police Department

Firefighters’ Retirement Board meets when called, at least quarterly, at the Fire Department

General Employees’ Retirement Board meets when called, at least quarterly

Last but not least, the 5 City Commission members receive a nominal stipend for their service. Each Commissioner spends innumerable hours preparing for and attending City Commission meetings, receiving input from citizens, attending City related meetings, and studying City matters. It is often a thankless job, and yet it is crucial to the well-being of our town. Please thank the Commissioners for all that they do for us!

The number of programs with volunteers in our community is an indicator of the vitality of our community. We are blessed with a wonderful Community Spirit in Lake Wales.

The Open Record

Top Ten List of Challenges

Termination: A Distasteful Feature of City Management

Formulating Next Year's Budget

Maintaining the Landscaping

Looking at the Next 120 Days

The Lake Wales Fire Department Has Come Far

More Topics to Explore...

Workshop Topics

Topics to Explore: Recreation & Information

Water Matters

Two Major Projects: Status Report

Upcoming Community Activities

Facilitating a Fact-Based Discussion, Part II

Connect with Downtown

Facilitating a Fact-Based Discussion

The Lake Wales "Sense of Community"

A Well-Trained & Experienced Workforce

A Well-Educated & Experienced Group

Providing Water & Wastewater Services

Partnering with the Community

Think Carefully about a Career Field

Mark Your Calendar

Measuring Forward Progress

State of the City

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

LWPD K-9 Unit

Backflow Prevention

Public Information Sources

City Planning

Update on FDOT projects

City Debt Level

Commercial Development

Employment for Young People

Resources for Job Seekers

Road Improvements

Assorted Items of Interest

Vandals & Litterbugs

Rumor Report #2

Economic Redevelopment

Rumor Report #1

Changes to Garbage Pick-up

Multi-Purpose Sports Complex Now Open

Framework for Public Discourse

LWPD Items of Interest

Another Day at the Office

Mark Your Calendar. . .

Taxes v. Fees

Capital Project Updates

Adopting an Interim Millage Rate

Adopting a Fire Assessment Fee

Discussing a Fire Assessment Fee

Volunteers --A Valuable City Resource

The City's Water System

Mark Your Calendar. . .

Two Important Meetings

Citizen Boards & Committees

More Project Updates

Project Updates

www.cityoflakewales.com

Believe in the Future

Planning for Recreation

Opportunities & Challenges

Water and Wastewater Projects

Cost-saving Measures & Service Delivery

Using New Technologies

Technological Advances in the Police Department

Spring Break Activities

State and County Road Improvements

Recognizing Contributions of Citizens

Mark Your Calendar

Residential Development Process

Principles of Good Planning

The Best Future for Our Community

The City's Utility Systems

Government in The Sunshine

Projects Update

Mark Your Calendar

State of the City

The Community's Recreation Opportunities