Board of County Commissioners on 2025-08-05 9:00 AM

one let's take a seat so we can get started today heard that not a problem let's get started uh on august 5th 2025 regular meeting the board of county commissioners and would everybody please stand for the implication and remain standing for the pledge of allegiance invite you all to pray

with me lord you are good and your mercy endures forever help us to never become tired of doing good as we draw closer to you give us the endurance to serve and love others not just when it is easy but especially when it is difficult thank you for your grace and your mercy and i ask this prayer

in jesus name amen amen all right we don't have any presentations or recognitions today uh public comments on concerning uh on uh agenda items and i don't believe nobody signed up for that and randy you said that uh on this new portion communications divisions just to confirm no one has

signed up for anything to speak on the agenda right all right that's great okay thank you all right

uh we need to approve a consent agenda we need a motion second got a motion in a second any further

discussion all in favor uh opposed motion carries all right miss butterfield hey good morning good morning we need to approve and ratify payroll checks number 04071 through 04111 and the amount of fifty five thousand seven hundred forty two dollars and twenty five cents we have two thousand nine hundred and sixty direct deposits in the amount of four million four hundred eleven thousand eight hundred twenty dollars and five cents those are dated july 11 through july 25 of 25 we have wire and electronic fund transfers of thirty six million two hundred fifty four thousand two hundred eighty six dollars and one cent those are dated july 15 through august 4th of twenty twenty five and we have invoice checks numbered four eight six nine six eight through four eight eight four two three totaling thirty four million eighteen thousand thirty three dollars and seventy four cents and those are dated july 15 through august 4th of 2025 for you to approve and ratify please second got a motion in a second any further discussion all in favor opposed motion carries we also ask that you approve the minutes of your regular board meeting that was held on july 15 2025 that have been distributed for review second got a

motion in a second any further discussion all in favor opposed motion carries thank you anything else no thank you very much all right thank you ma'am uh mr beasley good morning mr chair members of the

board members of the viewing audience the manager's office will have two items for board consideration this morning item number g1 is to request the board to approve a community investment program amendment and a budget transfer from the chestnut road sidewalk project in order to create the following priority drainage projects one the willow ridge drainage project two the lake sewer drainage project and three the davenport drainage improvements project board action today will approve these proposed drainage projects and reflect a one-time transfer budget transfer totaling two million eight hundred thousand dollars the fy 2425 budget includes the chestnut sidewalk project within the roads and drainage budget with a brought about a project budget totaling five million dollars design is nearing completion and construction pricing has been revised to 2.2 million dollars with the available 2.8 million surplus funding it is recommended that the board fund the following priority drainage projects within the roads and drainage unfunded projects list one the willow ridge drainage project with a budget set at five hundred and fifty thousand dollars this project will address flooding in a closed basin for events greater than the 100 year 24 hour storm event by installing permanent pumping and discharge piping that will tie into the kathleen road drainage project with a budget drainage project with a budget drainage drainage project with a budget drainage project with a budget set at one million dollars this project will also address flooding in a closed basin by installing permanent pumping discharge piping that will connect into the tillery road drainage system that will facilitate removal of flood waters out of that closed basin and finally the davenport drainage project with a budget set at one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars this project will reroute an existing drainage system for which the county does not have any easements and divert the existing drainage system into the counties right away to eliminate any potential maintenance maintenance issues in the future upon board approval of the community investment program amendment 2.8 million dollars will be transferred from the roads and drainage and the roads and drainage project to the newly established drainage project and finally the davenport drainage project with a budget set at one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars this project will reroute an existing drainage system for which the county does not have any easements and divert the existing drainage system into the counties right away to eliminate any potential maintenance maintenance issues in the future upon board approval of the community investment program amendment 2.8 million dollars will be transferred from the roads and drainage sidewalk project to the newly established drainage project to the newly established drainage projects within the general capital improvement fund so mr. chair members of the board i think in light of the recent storm events having identified some vulnerable communities with closed basins or at least very limited drainage capabilities i would request that the board approve the proposed community investment program amendment and the budget transfer from the chestnut sidewalk project to the willow ridge the lake seward and the davenport drainage projects all within the general capital improvement fund in order to the so that staff may begin these capital projects for immediate execution

all right do we have a motion move for approval second i got a motion and a second any further discussion all in favor opposed motion carries

mr. chair members of the board final item item number g2 is to request the board to approve amendment number five to the existing master purchase agreement with motorola solutions incorporated to reflect a three-year term to support necessary system maintenance and equipment purchases in connection with polk's public safety communication with polk's public safety communication systems this agreement amendment will reflect a three-year term with a cost not to exceed four million seven hundred and seven thousand four hundred and forty dollars in december of 2014 the board approved the initial master purchase agreement with motorola to support public safety communication products accessories and related services subsequent amendments were executed by by this board in 2016 2016 2019 and 2022 for system maintenance and related equipment purchases a proposed fifth amendment is now recommended in order to execute a combined three-year maintenance agreement to support one the public safety radio system to the fire rescue paging system three the mutual aid radio system for the microwave network and five related is now that we will reflect a three-year term to reflect a three-year term beginning october one of this year 2025 and will conclude september 30th of 2028 at a total cost not to exceed again four million seven hundred and seven thousand four hundred and forty dollars invoicing in year one is not to exceed one million four hundred and two thousand seven hundred ninety seven dollars year two is not to exceed one million five hundred and sixty three thousand four hundred and fourteen dollars and the third and final year of the amendment one million seven hundred and forty one thousand two hundred and forty nine dollars funding for this priority public safety commitment is budgeted in the radio communications fund beginning in fy 25 26 and will again be budgeted in each succeeding year to cover the term of this proposed amendment so mr chair members of the board i think in keeping with the board's priority commitments to support all elements of public safety i would request that the board approve the proposed fifth amendment to the existing master purchased agreement number 15-09 with motorola solutions incorporated to reflect a three-year term and a total services cost not to exceed four million seven hundred and seven thousand four hundred and forty dollars

second got a motion and second any further discussion all in favor all right opposed motion carries that's it for regular agenda mr chair thank you sir commissioner trautman mr brazil

yes i do thank you i want to brag a little bit on the communications department one of the things that we've talked about many times as commissioners is to get the information out to the information out to the public as much as we possibly can it's easy it's not as easy for people to click on to our website so we have to find innovative ways to provide information well lo and behold miss amber smith and her team have done an outstanding job in putting information out on facebook and i'm showing instagram and other places i saw it on facebook and i even saw the comments i think is it caitlin right am i correct caitlin did a a little i don't know a little i don't know skit about a property uh values and things like that and one of the comments that uh i read on it was this is the best information that i've heard about how to understand property um property what uh yeah millage thank you and um and i thought that was really great and of course i saw the forwards the on it so congratulations to the team you're finally we're finally getting the information out to the community and that's what we want we want people to understand what we do and how things are done in the county so thank you to kudos to all of you would you please make sure that the rest of your team hears that all right thank you nothing else

thank you uh commissioner scott no comments here uh i uh having a reappointment you want to handle that

yeah um move to reappoint uh jacqueline codd as a member of the pole county sidewalk advisory committee

for the three-year term october 1 2025 through september 30 2028 second our motion is second any further discussion all in favor all right opposed motion carries and i don't have anything today so uh we'll

move right on into expedited hearings yes sir before we go to the expedited hearings i will go over the public hearing general procedures we ask that you please turn off your cell phones and other devices that may distract from the public hearings please adjust the microphone and state your full name and address for the record before you begin speaking on a topic individual speaking during the public comment section of a matter will be strictly limited three minutes the board is experiencing these matters and is able to discern what is legally relevant to an issue and what is not information is irrelevant and repetitive only serves frustrate and necessarily prolong the day's business the commission expects civility at all times during all public hearings speaking out of turn shouting out from the audience this respectful sounds or utterness while another speaking or unacceptable when you will be asked to leave the chamber's remainder of the day if any person decides to appeal any decision made by the board with respect to any matter consider here today you will need a record of proceedings and that for such purpose you may need to ensure that verbatim record other proceedings is made which record includes the testimony evidence upon which the appeal is to be based which you must gather at your own expense anyone as audience who wishes to speak or present testimony today must be sworn in all testimony given during public hearings shall be deemed to be sworn at this time if you're going to address the commission or speak on any case today please stand raise your right hand and answer out loud to the following question do you swear or affirm the testimony or evidence you provide to the commission today the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth all right thank you mr chair i will go over expedited hearing procedures expedited hearings are held pursuant to resolution number 2022-089 expedited hearings are used when no opposition was present at the planning commission hearing the applicant agrees to the expedited hearing and recommendation of development review committee is for approval expedited procedures are the following after staff briefly introduced this case their hearing will be open for public comment if anyone speaks during public comment the applicant will be given the opportunity to respond at the public comment the board will consider the land use case at any time full presentation staff can be requested from commissioner the applicant or members of the public all documents attached to the agenda and are deemed part of the record of the land use case unless removed from the list of experts by motion of the board all individuals on the list of experts attached to the agenda are deemed experts for the purpose of the land use case and at this time i will turn it over to miss siscoe to

present the expedited hearings thank you mr mint good morning for the record ben zisco land development director there's one item on today's expedited public hearing agenda item number n1 is an expedited public hearing for case ldc pal 2025-1 gpk holly hill groves 2 cpa amendment to consider a future land use designation change from employment center to residential high on approximately 14.6 acres located in the green swamp area of critical state concern the subject site is located on the map here between holly hill groves road 2 on the north and holly hill groves road 1 on the south and as you can see it is an l-shaped property containing three parcels the request is to change from employment center to residential high uh important to note is that the property due east of the subject site is a proposed site for commercial development including a cost a walmart and a sam's club and holly hill groves road 1 in that area has been vacated vacated so the subject site will will receive access from holly hill groves road 2 the combining of the three sites will allow access for the residential development to come from the north part of the challenge with vacating this right away is these southern portions in order to have access if not combined would have to come down and then access from holly hill groves road 1 here to change the residential residential which is consistent with properties to the north and to the west this was reviewed by the planning commission and they recommended approval this is a large scale comprehensive plan amendment so today this is a transmittal hearing and following any questions or comments staff recommends transmitting this to the florida department of commerce

any questions just a clarification when you say the three parcels are you talking about the one in black and the one to the left and then that little one in the top

one in the top is that what you're referring to this area that's that's in the black outline right right here where the cursor is a northern parcel and then the southern part is actually two separate parcels okay that one one here all inclusive in the it is three parcels that are proposed to be changed thank you to then be developed as one residential project anyone else all right ladies and gentlemen this is a public hearing if you wish to come forward and speak on this matter please come forward now and give me give us your name and address

okay not for this one we don't have any one scheduled for this one okay oh sorry my bad all right we need a we need a motion in move for approval got a motion in second uh any further discussion

i have one sorry one other question okay the one email opposition that we had received uh can you just give me a highlight of what that was concerning if it was traffic-based or

i believe that was traffic-based and also school-based changing from commercial to residential um there was concerns about the capacity of schools and and traffic okay very good thank you but there is a light at the end of holly hill am i correct on 27 yes ma'am the the northern holly hill grove road one there's an intersection

can you go back right here where the cursor is can you go back to the map map here okay at this intersection of

of holly hill grove road two and 27 this is an intersection with a light again the the entrance this this particular roadway has been vacated it will be an entrance into the commercial development but there is an intersection and there's also improvements currently underway to to improve this section leading up to that intersection you good everybody okay we did have a motion i mean okay uh

we got a motion in a second all in favor all right opposed motion carries and that includes the expedited

portion of today's agenda mr chair i will now go over the non-exercise public hearings the first is zero one or oh one a public hearing to consider adoption of of an ordinance amending ordinance 25-036 master inwood street lighting msbu ordinance to replace boundary description found in exhibit a this order is to be amended to correct the legal description that was this um there was an error in the legal description that was discovered when it was sent to the property appraisers and it's recommended for approval we need

at least we do to open up a public hearing ladies and gentlemen uh this is a public hearing if you wish to come forward and speak on this matter please come forward at this time address and you'll be given three minutes seeing none we will close the public hearing and bring it back to the board for a motion motion in a second any further discussion all in favor aye opposed motion carries good morning

for the record i'm amy gregory traffic manager in the roads and drainage division and i have four items for you this morning the first item is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of seven traffic calming devices on catherine drive and kathleen catherine drive is classified a local residential road 20 feet wide 5 290 feet long with a posted speed limit of 35 miles an hour upon receiving a request for traffic calming staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history and with an 85th percentile speed of 48 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 1 150 vehicles catherine drive met the board's traffic calming policy policy criteria for speed and volume staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronting catherine drive and we received the 80 favorable response from yes votes and from non votes per the board's policy on june 11th 2025 a hearing date of august 5th 2025 was set by consent agenda and staff posted on-site notices as well and as much as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices have been met staff recommends the adoption of a resolution to install seven speed humps along catherine drive and

i'll stand for any questions any questions for no questions just a comment on a resident who contacted me and they live right in that bottom corner and they have replaced mailboxes i think close to a dozen time and basketball hoop a few times and so i appreciate you making this come to fruition anyone else ladies and

gentlemen this is a public hearing if you wish to come forward and speak on this matter please come forward and state your name and address and you'll be given three minutes and i believe i have a mr decker

good morning my name is frank decker i live at 7022 catherine drive and i arrived today in support of this resolution the reason for the resolution is to curtail the speeding that has occurred and and it's been significant speeds well over 60 mile an hour uh up and down that road you'll probably only find a couple incidences where you've got a law enforcement report that documents any of that one of those several months ago wound up before they got the guy stopped with one polk county sheriff and seven highway patrol cruisers to get the guy stopped i mean it was going well over 100 mile an hour i had urge you to approve this resolution before somebody gets hurt thank you thank you sir anyone else

seeing none i will close this public hearing and bring it back to the board for

all in favor opposed motion carries next item i have before you is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of five traffic calming devices on lakeland highlands road in lakeland lakeland highlands road is classified as a local residential road 20 feet wide 6063 feet long with a posted speed limit of 35 30 miles an hour upon receiving a request for traffic calming staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history and with an 85th percentile speed of 40 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 360 vehicles lakeland highlands road met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronting lakeland highlands road and we received 80 percent favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes per the board's policy staff also distributed ballots to homeowners whose access is through lakeland highlands road and we require we received the required 50 percent favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes per the board's policy on july 15th 2025 a hearing date of august 5th 2025 was set by consent agenda and staff posted on-site notices as well and as much as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices have been met staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install five speed humps along lakeland highlands road

any questions for ladies and gentlemen this is a public hearing if you wish to come forward and speak on this matter please come forward at this time you'll be given three uh state your name and address and you'll be given three minutes seeing none we'll close the public hearing and bring it back to the board for a motion got a motion in a second all in favor aye opposed motion carries the next item

before you is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of two traffic calming devices on stevenson avenue in a babson park stevenson avenue is classified a local residential road 20 feet wide 627 feet long with a posted speed limit of 20 miles an hour upon receiving a request for traffic calming staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history with an 85th percentile speed of 28 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 808 vehicles stevenson avenue met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronting stevenson avenue and we received the required 80 percent favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes for the board's policy staff also distributed ballots to the homeowners whose access is through stevenson avenue and we received the required 50 favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes on july 1st 2025 a hearing date of august 15th 2025 was set by consent agenda and staff posted on-site notices as well in as much as the board's criteria for installation of traffic calming devices have been met staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install two speed humps along stevenson avenue any questions for ladies and

gentlemen this is a public hearing if you wish to come forward and speak on this matter please come forward this time state your name and address and you'll be given three minutes seeing none i'll close the public hearing and bring it back for a motion move for approval got a motion in a second all in

favor opposed motion carries the final item i have for you today is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of three traffic calming devices on tangelo street in highland park manor the segment of tangelo being considered for traffic calming is classified a local residential road 20 feet wide 669 feet long with a posted speed limit of 25 miles an hour upon receiving a request for traffic calming staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history and with an 85th percentile speed of 34 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 1742 vehicles tangelo met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume with no homeowners directly fronting the segment of tangelo being considered for traffic calming staff distributed ballots to the homeowners whose access is through tangelo and we received the required 50 favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes per the board's policy on july 15th 2025 a hearing date of august 5th 2025 was set by consent agenda and staff posted on-site notices as well and as much as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices have been met staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install three speed humps along tangelo street any questions for ladies and gentlemen this is a public hearing if you

wish to come up and speak on this matter please come forward and state your name and address and you'll be given three minutes and miss richards come on up while she's coming up may i ask a question

approximate time where these will actually go in after they're approved today i'd have to talk to

the project manager over the paving contract i think it's getting close because i think they were paving in that area and we were holding off on the freelander to do and to do it together but i think we're

close but i don't have a definitive date for you i'm sorry thank you you answered one of my questions on the way up here cassandra richards 23 57 freeland the road i am so excited i saw a car come through their speed and he had to be going 80 miles per hour didn't even stop at the stop sign at freeland and louis griffin went straight across it's sad that they have to do that with children in the neighborhood that's the road that the school buses travel on so i'm hoping these speed bumps are quickly because school starts monday and the bus stops on tangelo and the bus stops on freeland and i've seen another issue now where now that the sign was at the corner about the public hearing they're beginning to go down the side roads to kind of offset the speed bumps that they don't have to travel with this for the speed bumps i pray that we get this project done quickly i only have one man that can offer that to me jay are you hearing me thank you are you hearing her jack thank you miss richards anyone else

morning my name is lily may faircloth i live at 2418 lower street lake wells highland park manor and the speed bumps is needed just like mrs richardson had just said they're no longer taking freelander road they're coming down lower street which i live on the corner of law and lewis griffin and they do not stop we have children that are standing for the bus stop walking to the bus stop they're going at a fast speed that's unbelievable i can be sitting on my porch and you can hear the brakes and it's in the danger so please help us in that community thank you well i hope that jay can get all

these in in a timely manner so we know that there's a problem all right anyone else wish to speak on

this matter that's my wife and as she said we really need your help bad out there because it's going to take death for this county of the state to step in because these people fly through all these streets like it's a racetrack and they're going nowhere fast and it's just sad every day you look out there hump brother row free lander they just shoot down like it's a dover racetrack or something and i look at these people what is wrong with y'all you got children out here people crossing where where where are the speed bumps that's just what we need there speed bumps to slow down when people get damaged on their vehicles and front end going then they understand what we're trying to do trying to prevent life and save lives all right thank you we thank you anyone else all right seeing

none i will close the public hearing and bring it back to the board for a motion move for approval

got a motion and a second any further discussion yeah just one uh comment i guess for us on the county side it sounds like potentially with traffic flow that the commuters may be avoiding where we're putting the speed humps ultimately so if that's the case i just want to queue us up for if it's lower street and i think that's lisa to the north for those other subsequent parallel roads that we're we're preparing and i guess whatever we need to do to engage the community on getting support for those if necessary so ultimately we can eliminate or hopefully reduce the issue that is being observed by the

residents yeah we can certainly do an after study we'll probably wait until the speed humps are installed to make sure we know how traffic is shifting but we can do a study after that's complete very good thank

you all right thank you anyone else all right we have a motion and a second all in favor aye opposed motion carries all right now we're going to move on to general public comments i have a uh dr whedon

good morning uh dr robert whedon 8631 ring road polk city here we are again last two times i've spoken with you we talked about the drastic need for a more feral friendly animal ordinance in polk county we talked about the woefully low live outcome rate in polk county surrounding counties have fared much better why is this the obvious answer is lack of support in polk county for the humane and effective management of feral and free-roaming cats known more broadly as community cats yet no questions no discussion no comment and especially no action but you said that we were speaking to the wrong people you said this was grady's problem respectfully i disagree the polk county board of county commissioners is a governing body in polk county and according to the polk county charter as amended on november 5th 2024 article 2 paragraph 2.8 powers subparagraph 2 it states quote adopt such ordinances as may be necessary to carry out both county and municipal powers and purposes in july 2023 best friends animal society submitted a robust offer to assist polk county animal control in improving life saving at the shelter at the same time a local philanthropist offered more than 20 million dollars to build a state-of-the-art shelter in the county that offer was rejected why the same year i spoke to this board in support of a 250 000 fund by the county in support of low-cost sterilization then commissioner lindsey supported this and indicated that it would become a reality then nothing more from him why why because grady vetoed both ideas are you so afraid of grady that you refuse to exercise good judgment and make things better for the animals in polk county look i respect sheriff judd as a law enforcement officer but as the leader of polk county animal control not so much i recognize that sheriff judd is an avid bird photographer and that he believes the cats should be killed because they prey on birds what he does not understand is that by supporting tnvr there will be fewer cats to prey on his beloved birds more importantly with managed colonies there's evidence that by providing resources i.e food there's less predation of wildlife we've been killing cats for decades and it hasn't helped time for a change it's past time for polk county to join the 21st century and embrace evidence-based humane and effective management of community cats in our county so i'm here to ask you today why the inaction thank you thank you uh i hope i get this right uh salabine eve salabine and was i

close ma'am salabini okay i forgot to get the we're pretty close though so my name is eve salabini i live at 4230 live oak road in lakeland and i am the uh director and founder of the street cap project of polk county along with dr weedon we work with the colonies of cats that are in polk county of which there are hundreds of cats um again we're asking for some sort of a low-cost spay and neuter voucher which we were promised again by dr lin or by director lindsey but it never came through um i sat in his office and he specifically told me that it was on his desk the funding was available and then nothing where did the money go why did it not happen um obviously now commissioner lindsey is off on a boat somewhere i guess fishing um but we are looking to you for guidance we are looking to you for um some sort of a program to help the animals in our county the people want it the people that elected you with our taxpayer money so currently the street cat project has 55 colonies that we're working on trapping we have 59 that we've completed since the beginning of the year there are 201 colonies on our list still waiting for help that right there should tell you that there is a huge need for low-cost help we cannot do it alone it costs us 50 minimum per cat and that is at the lowest rate from the low-cost spay and neuter facilities currently 425 animals are euthanized every month at polka animal control if we had a tnvr program and those cats were returned to field after being uh sterilized we would be a no kill county let me say that again if we take care of the feral cats fix them and return them where they came we are a no kill county we all want less cats let's do something

to make that happen thank you thank you ma'am uh sharon garrett good morning my name is sharon garrett i live off of carl boozer road down a private rain uh road in a cow pasture and what i want to talk to you about is this weekend uh about well as you measure it using pope county property appraiser measuring tool it's 1.65 miles to what was called los pinos or blah blah ranch enterprises down henson uh whoever runs this it's owned by salvador lopez uh which nobody seems to be able to find but somebody uh lily may ochoa it has the licensed uh company with the division of business in tallahassee and uh they play music so loud you can hear at my house these people cannot hear my tv why should i be having to hear their music from 12 30 in the morning till late at night and i really feel sorry for the people that live next door and you guys should be so blessed as to have something like this next to your house and see how you like it or and have the base bounce around in your rooms and drive you nuts uh these people have no concern for their neighbors all they're interested in is making money at least it says on a social media site they get twenty dollars a head uh if you go in there i read a little bit of spanish i'm not fluent um but you know this is kind of ridiculous i've talked to autumn a couple different times and uh it kind of works on a slow basis it would be nice if something could go faster and we drove out there sunday night to see what was going on and you could hear out there on henson and the cars were lined up near this place on the side of the road both sides of the road that is a safety hazard because they're parked right to the edge of the pavement you know it seems like the sheriff's department could go out there and put a ticket on each one of these cars and maybe if the people that attend this thing and park outside got tickets maybe they wouldn't come again and if you're going to have events you should be providing parking there's over 200 acres there and and all so i'd like to kind of know what you guys are going to do about this stuff and how the county can move along you have a noise ordinance the noise ordinance says people are entitled to enjoy their property without interference in so many words uh you can't enjoy your property i mean if you got to go to a motel to get away from this stuff that's ridiculous because you're already paying property taxes to the county uh so something needs to happen and i think you know they say they can't find mr lopez i think it's all a subterfuge because bill goes to his daughter uh his son lives in his old house uh you know this lily may was on a nightclub in orlando with a lopez up there i don't know if they're related with that lopez is related but

this is kind of ridiculous mr chair if i if i may uh first if the board may recall the board authorized actually before i became kind of turning for us to seek an injunction against um los pinos and we did go through that process we have also went back from the from the court for contempt orders and we have um we're pursuing all our legal action through the courts it doesn't move as quick as some would like through the courts but my also my understanding correct me if i'm wrong i don't we have pursued um code enforcement cases against los pinos and i believe this last meeting in front of special magistrate we brought them in front of special magistrate and received a fine if correct me i'm wrong autumn of fifteen thousand dollars that's correct they have around five to six parcels we we are taking code enforcement action against this property we we are seeking injunctions and the courts against this property so we're taking all the legal steps that we can to try to bring them into compliance miss garrett so well it's blah blah ranch now you can't put the injunction i can see that we we we we take that take against the property that okay not the so we're we're we are seeking all the legal actions we can i understand it for those in the community that's it's a tough event to deal with and we're doing the best we can working with law enforcement see if we can address the issue but it's not because the county's not trying and through the court process we just have to go through those hurdles and through code enforcement and we like said last meeting i know we got fifteen thousand dollars per day the event i can't recall what the actual total amount of fine that we received against them and we'll we'll we have certain time limits that we have to go through before we can seek uh reimburse our seek um trying to collect those fines to the court system so we will go through that process and we are taking it as seriously as we can and moving as quickly as we can as the law will allow us but i come because i think people

should come and say something but we understand the seriousness of it and we're working on it and

thank you ma'am we're on top of it thank you very much uh patricia jesquez good morning um i am deeply concerned about the current address please ma'am oh i'm patty patricia jakes 378 inverary drive auburn dale florida 33823 okay i'm deeply concerned about the current practices at poll county animal control it has come to my attention that animal control officers are picking up cats even those that have been spayed neutered and ear tipped and euthanizing them this includes cats that may be owned and cared for by residents other counties in florida have chosen a better path they have adopted humane programs like trap neuter return or tnr and manage colonies these programs save taxpayer money reduce shelter overcrowding and prevent needless killing here's the reality in 2024 polk county's shelter reported a live outcome rate of 58 meaning 42 of animals never left alive in contrast alakua county's operation catnip reduced cat euthanasia from 81 percent to eight percent and cut shelter intake by 65 hillsborough county's tnr and voucher program reduced intake by 51 percent and raised their live release rate to over 81 percent a university of florida study this year found that counties with tnr or return to field consistently have better outcomes even in rural rural areas tnr works across multiple studies it reduces feline intake by about one-third and euthanasia by 80 percent in florida programs euthanasia of of tnr cats is nearly zero usually only in cases of severe illness it also saves money orange county found that sterilizing 8 000 feral cats cost 442 500 over 10 years far less than 1.1 million it would have cost to impound and euthanize them pasco county runs a successful five dollar a copay program to return healthy cats to their habitat with strong public support about 70 percent of residents prefer tnr over killing i respectfully recommend that polk county establish number one a county funded or co-sponsored tnr rtf program to increase spay neuter voucher funding for low-income residents and caregivers three create an independent oversight committee to review shelter debts escapes and euthanasia four expand volunteer foster and adoption programs to reduce shelter strain right now hundreds of healthy cats are at risk of being picked up and killed our county's euthanasia rates for x far exceed other florida counties that have embraced proven humane solutions polk county is facing an animal welfare crisis we have the evidence the models and the community willingness to change i urge you to act now not only to improve policy but to reflect the compassion and values of our community thank you thank

you ma'am donna malone good morning my name is donna malone i live in davenport florida i am one of the many colonies caregivers and i wanted to tell you about the situation that started with just one hungry cat uh and then of course more came and then before long there was a whole colony of the hungry cats and i don't know about you but it's it's hard to turn away a cat or any animal that's looking at you and it's hungry i found out my neighbor who no longer is there had been leaving her window open for them to come in and keep her rat population down but at the same time they they were also coming in and giving birth and she was providing a safe place which kept producing the cats so after looking for the answer to too many cats i found street cat project and learned about the tnr and so this summer because of their help and because of what i'd learned there i didn't have any summer kittens this year whereas before they were just producing but with the tnr it stopped it so you know without the programs like this and that you know that they need the funding they need the audience ordinance to allow people to care for the community cats and because without all these programs without the funding you would see so many more stray hungry cats running the streets which i understand causes some problems but um we just can't do it alone you know we need that help so thank you ma'am

uh i hope we get this right annette or i can't really read the read uh we're bliski yeah we're bliski

oh um good morning everyone my name is annette rubleski i live at uh 60 17 murphy road and beautiful bartow and i am the president and founder of laughing pig sanctuary i cater mostly to potbelly pigs my purpose here today is to um not only um enlighten you on the plight of the potbelly pig mostly in the state of florida but also to offer a solution to the overpopulation and abandonment of potbelly pigs um here in polk county potbelly pigs are considered pets their companion animals until someone abandons them then they're considered livestock if they fall into the hands of polk county animal services they're brought to um auction so basically if you um if you buy a potbelly pig from auction in polk county and you choose to eat it you're eating someone's pet so um this is actually a statewide situation um my solution would be to uh make them exotic determine them exotic pets therefore they would be licensed registration there would be revenue coming in into the county and into the state for sales tax on the purchases etc um it would probably uh hopefully get rid of the backyard breeders and overpopulation i'm sure that this is something new to um everyone because people don't want to relinquish them to the county because yes they will inevitably inevitably be eaten so rescuers which there are about 30 in the state of florida that that not they do other animals and livestock but also potbelly pigs there's about 30 registered in the state of florida we are usually the first line of communication for wanting and we're blown it we're blown out of the seams they're not neutered they're not spayed um and they procreate at a quick pace um they're very amorous animals um but my my mission here is to hopefully nip this in the bud so we're not back here next year having the plight that we have right now with the dogs and cats

in the community that's it thank you thank you ma'am uh alie vanderbush i am alie vanderbush uh 1203 kick avenue um i like data uh the slide up here is basically you've heard most of this i just wanted to sort of one slide it for you uh the goal of tnvr is to long-term reduce the community cats that we have that people complain about and we also want to make sure those cats are healthy so they're not spreading disease to um other animals or from other animals um you can go to the next one um like i said i'm all about data um i took information uh self-reporting from county shelters um it's a florida law they have to report numbers so self-reporting or from one of the two national organizations that collect sheltered data um one is run by best friends and the other is called shelter animals count um it kind of depends on how quickly they get numbers together so these are sort of the numbers i was looking at sometimes i've sort of averaged them um but just looking around uh hillsborough close to us 93 these are live release rates so these are animals these are specifically cats who walk into the shelter and walk out of the shelter obviously not on their own um looking at counties near us pasco 84 live release rate uh pinellas uh osceola 83 orange 86 percent thank you um i think the okeechobee's the lowest at 74 but if you look they're all in the high 80s they're like mid to high 80s so most of the counties around around us do have what's considered a no kill which is 90 of the animals leave the shelter by their on their own um alive let's put it that way um so 90 is the goal um if you look at polk county uh looking at numbers directly from their website uh we are at 44 we average half of the counties in our area um i don't know about you guys but that kind of hits like a pride issue um not only is it welfare and i've worked in animal welfare for 25 years most of my adult life and i've worked all over the county oh sorry all over the country um and 44 compared to other counties that should really make a difference to you guys if for no other reason that that is embarrassing we're literally i think the top the second lowest on live release rates for cats in the state if this was anything other than cats people would be a lot um a lot more concerned about it but uh trigger warning so if you're offended by things you don't want to look at um if you want to go to the next one i will leave you on this uh if you want to know what 44 looks like oh we lost it all right did we lose it oh you have it on we see it on the computers ma'am okay so what you're looking at is probably in a week maybe a day up to a week usually um freezers are emptied sooner than a week but that's what 66 percent of cats that don't leave their shelter look like thank you ma'am uh debbie hicks good

morning good morning good morning debbie hicks 236 alderman road lakeland florida as you know i'm here regarding the animal control facility the facility was built in 1988 originally there's been a couple new buildings an administration building and i think a medical section that have been more but basically i volunteered there for four years two days a week taking dogs out cleaning kennels i know the facility i know it doesn't work in 1988 the population in this county was 389 1160 people in 2023 it was 818 330 000 people 2025 it's 878 226 and they foresee it to be over 950 000 by the time 2030 rolls around the facility needs to be torn down and a new facility made the sheriff whoever manages it cannot operate and provide ordinances and everything else when they have a facility it does not work not taking anything off the sheriff don't get me wrong but the facility is ancient i picked up last week when i was here this wonderful booklet about the boards and committees and you have the authority to be able to make one of these advisory committees i would gladly serve on it i would ask you to make an advisory committee as other counties have done regarding the welfare of their animals it could be an animal related advisory committee other counties have them this problem is a county problem whether you deal with the facility you deal with the management i'm sorry to say that you have inherited it it needs to be dealt with and it is a black eye on this community which i love and have been here for 30 years whether we talk about the facility or the sheriff's management of it that is still a county issue both all all of you and the sheriff were elected to serve the citizens of this county and as a citizen of this county i ask you to do the right thing get a board together and let people advise you that have been working out there trying to help thank you

very much thank you ma'am jerry dempsey i believe that's pronounced right my name is jerry dempsey i live at 347 vineyard drive in lakeland um i'd like to first say that i'm very proud of the pope county sheriff's department i was proud to work at animal control for two years between 2022 2024 i worked on adoption in the kennels i was out there all day my issue is the extreme heat on the kennels i was overcome personally by the heat and had to be given treatment there at the facility to cool my body core down my temperature we have overhead fans that work out there and they make noise they do not move the air in my opinion what i found they gave me no relief it is extremely overwhelming for these animals i personally had to bring in four high velocity fans three of which i left at the facility because i was concerned for the animals the one fan that i used was the fan that i had on adoption to keep me cool for a good period of time of working there we need to do something about that cooling some of the animals are panting i've seen this firsthand i'm very proud of the work that the sheriff's office does and their deputies i'm very honored to work with them but this is something that really needs to be looked at these animals deserve a lot better than to be in extreme heat conditions like that if you would tour there you're walking through probably 30 minutes i'm out there when i was working for a full day's time and we have heavy uniforms and it was overwhelming for us to work out there i'm not only asking this for the animals i'm asking this for the people that work there and i'm not the only one that's been overcome by the heat the prisoners that come out to help us they've been affected as well by the heat and have been overcome as well with those same heat issues the repositioning of those fans would help i'm not saying air conditioning the kennels i know the expense of that would be great but if there was a little bit of attention with getting some air to those animals it would be of a great help the kennels themselves are very old the doors you have to physically a lot of times kick open physically and not just one kick to get some of them open they come off their tracks they're pieced together by wire because the dogs actually chew through the chain link fencing to get out of the kennels and some of them escape through the holes that are in them we'll find them out running around in the morning when i was working there a replacement of these kennels would be something that should be a priority um if you walk through and take a look at them i think you'll see i thank you very much for

hearing my concerns thank you sir uh k bork bar bouquet good morning my name is k bork and i live at 1133 brook road in fort mead thank you for allowing me to speak to you again um in the previous two times i've spoken to you i talked about the state of animal welfare in polk county being in crisis others today have given you lots of specific information i'm not going to talk to specific information today what i want to talk today about is paradigms we have a paradigm in this county and we have to change our way of thinking about animal welfare in the last couple of weeks we've seen a couple of really good incremental changes the sheriff has hired a new director of medical director at the shelter and they've improved the sharing of adoptable animals so that we can get more adopted these are good but we're never going to rescue adopt or kill our way out of this crisis we're just not going to do it we must address the root cause that got us to this point of pet overpopulation in this county there must be a paradigm shift and that a paradigm shift is when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way of thinking so i want to i want to tell you a story about a paradigm shift in new york city on a sunday morning there was a man he was on the the train and it was quiet everybody was reading their papers everybody was calm it was just a nice time and the doors open and this man got onto the train with his three kids and the three kids just started running around yelling and hollering and throwing stuff around and and the man was just sitting over there with his eyes closed and so the man that had been riding the train and thought it was such a wonderful calm morning looked over at the man he got more irritated as time went on just just got to him so he said i'm gonna have to say something to you so so he said to the man he said could you ask your kids to be calm you know we we got a lot of people on the train here and man opened his eyes he said oh i didn't realize it he said uh we just came from the hospital where their mama died about an hour ago and i don't think they know how to handle it any more than i do the man's paradigm suddenly shifted he was no longer irritated at these kids or this man he suddenly he saw things differently he because he saw things differently he thought differently and because he thought differently he felt differently and he behaved differently his irritation vanished he didn't have to worry about controlling his attitude or his behavior because he felt the man's pain people today have been sharing their pain with you the mama dog that was dumped because she was no longer a good breeder the puppies that were dumped because they were an accidental litter nobody wanted them the abundance of cats who continue to breed because there's no tnvr program the time is now for you to see things differently to think differently and to take the opportunity to affect change in this county we must resolve to make data-driven strategic shift in the way we manage animal welfare in this county to create sustainable long-term change i implore you to take action immediately and to stop the endless cycle of intake and euthanasia thank you for your time thank you ma'am jennifer castro jennifer castro good

morning i'm jennifer castro i live at 216 stembridge road lake wales i am here in support of tvnr as i've been before i would like to say in response to gerald's comment about the heat in the shelter hillsborough actually sent out an emergency plea very recently because the heat was so bad and they asked people to you know not just foster but also to donate items that would help the animals and the community really came together and helped it would be very helpful if we did something similar on these high heat days when we know that there isn't much air circulation going on in those buildings but i would also like to talk about tvnr and i want to talk about it from a personal stance i moved here about three years ago and when i got here i was very surprised by what i i saw um basically i saw a lot of community cats i saw a lot of cats running everywhere and i didn't see that i came from virginia we had community cats but we had a lot of low cost options and our animal control wasn't picking up the ferals um they were neutering people were neutering but it just wasn't the problem that i see down here now half of that is because of the climate because virginia they probably do die because there are very cold days in virginia um ranging between the months of november to about february so some of that attributes it but down here we have like this summer forever and summer forever leads animals to breed and breed and breed there isn't the typical spay you know the cycle we'll put it that way in other places so when i came down here um i spotted a bunch of cats um somewhere and i ended up trying to meet the people who were feeding there because i wanted to find out if they were controlling the colony and they had been except that the person who was helping control that colony moved away so i asked the people if they wouldn't mind if i would trap and spay and so i did it and i covered the cost and so did the other feeder the colony also um i i took out kittens anybody who was adoptable got adopted i joined a rescue so i was able to clear that colony and i've got that colony down to seven cats it was about 20 to 22 i've lost three due to getting hit unfortunately things happen but that colony is very stable and i don't have kittens there and i don't i have cats that just lay around and i don't see dead birds i don't see anything i literally just have cats that see me come running love getting fed and then go about their business and it has really helped to just stem the population so that is why we keep advocating for this because it will make a difference thank you for your time

thank you ma'am uh mr abercrombie good morning james abercrombie for the record i'm going to review a little bit for the last three or four months folks i've been coming here quite a bit i've been complaining about public records i've been complaining about fences jobs it's being created through the county i can find no public records about that fence at fountain fountain park i've complained to you board once again for the last three to four months i've been here complaining about the county manager and county attorney they're the ones that are supposed to be taking care of this problem they should hear me out they shouldn't be doing some kind of research i've heard nothing from nobody here nobody three months of complaining about a fence so folks i have to come to my own conclusion because i can get no proof so my conclusion my opinion is that they're being somebody's taking that money from that fence and putting it in their pocket excuse me somebody's taking that money becomes uh they stole the money they've laundered the money and the worst of all that's federal grant money that they're taking away from the public general public now once again i've been here for three months i've been talking about this for three months i've heard nothing from three months that makes you complicit as well you should be doing something about it you should be investigating your own if you don't do that at least go to the state because once again this is state money that's being being done about it same thing with that park on um doctory road i've come to the conclusion too that that is federal money that's why it's been pushed so hard i asked for public records on that as well i have not received anything no no conversations no letters no emails you know once again i've been coming here for 25 years ann gibson joe jarrett michael hurr have never been as bad as these two folks right here they've always been able to talk to me we sat down and talked a lot i went into the records i needed to see i i don't understand the problem here i mean everything we've lost our government here we have nothing to say about this this morning everything was taught every guy's talking about sidewalks and stuff that's all in committee now we don't even have a thing to say about it we're not involved in the meetings anymore nothing about this county we are involved in anymore this total morning all morning this morning was once again public business but we had nothing to say about it we had no opportunity we don't even see what's going on i have no idea what sidewalks you're talking about or roads or anything else you got a big drainage problem for kathleen road that's my area i know nothing about it i will go upstairs and i'll see if i can get some public records i may or may not be able to get them probably not you folks are

terrible terrible you need to change your attitudes all right mr abraham are you done yeah okay now listen to me well i've got a few things i want to tell you 25th you were charged five dollars for a thumb drive that contained 24 documents nine of those documents were related to fencing june 25th you were put you paid five dollars for a thumb drive containing 19 documents and 24 documents from the april 24 request then uh i believe it was in june you wanted a uh x amount of uh some emails and stuff that we gathered up you told the people here that you were going to be on vacation and they gathered them up sent word to you and never heard back from you so after 10 days we did not pursue it anymore so mr abracumby i've got a list of stuff here that you have been getting and so when you start talking about our people that don't do their job you don't have any rebuttal on this i'm just giving everybody knowing that listening to this that we are we are doing what you request i have a chance to rebuttal i didn't say you could

yes i do i do you're accusing me of stuff that's no no i'm just giving you you're telling me that's not true it's not true is is this what i brought i brought those records in here i brought a thousand pages in yes sir i dropped it off in the meeting all right sir i'm just letting you know i'm just telling you what i'm telling you i brought the proof i always bring proof when i come all right all right giving you proof thank you sir very good i hope the state can hear this all right uh diane

shafer good morning diane shaffer 36 57 tiger eye court in mulberry there are 67 counties in the state of florida 66 counties have adopted a tnr program or have partnered with a veterinary clinic offering no cost or low cost spay and neuter services to the residents in those counties polk county is the only county in the state of florida that does not offer a spay and neuter service for the residents the only county the route the reality is this the shelters in polk county are overcrowded and turning people away the spca in lakeland has a waiting list of about a hundred applicants the cats continue to multiply and kittens are found crossing streets and getting run over many are suffering from starvation and disease this is not protecting the welfare of the animals and if you care about the welfare of the animals in polk county you will implement a program allowing tnr at no cost or low cost the program for the residents i care deeply about animal welfare the people in this room care deeply about animal welfare and we're asking you to have the same feelings we have a duty you have a duty responsibility and obligation to make the right decision to put an end to animal suffering and killing grady judd claims the animals at animal control are treated with love euthanasia is not love refusing to enact a tnr program is not love close closing a blind eye to a desperate need to protect our animals that's not love how many more kittens need to get run over before you decide to make a change how many more cats must suffer from disease and how many more need to get euthanized before something gets done in this county we the people are depending on you to take action and to do the right thing the animals are counting on you to do the right thing because it's their lives you know what is the what is going on in this county is wrong you have the ability to make a change and to save lives your prayer this morning stated let us never get tired to do the right thing we ask that you never that you do the right thing do it immediately please thank you

ma'am uh johanna lindy i hope i didn't butcher that too bad good morning uh my name is joanna

mukai allende and it's my first time here it's a little intimidating but thank you for having me um i'm here today as a concerned resident of polk county i also care for community cats um sometimes i have to wait until i can spay and neuter them so i can afford them i volunteer for polk county bully project i'm a big supporter of other animal rescues um the overpopulation of homeless animal is a statewide concern i get it but it's time to make a change um and we've heard the data the spay and neuter vouchers um florida statute 828.12 makes illegal to intentionally hurt or kill animals spay and neuter programs will lessen the number of animals that suffer due to abandonment and neglect polk county requires pet owners to register their pets this will encourage responsible pet ownership and reduce the number of unregistered pets these vouchers are also aligned with low income assistance programs it will help vulnerable population care for their pets responsibly again you heard the data um there's no need to reinvent we already have seen what works we can implement what we already know um so i just urge you guys to open your hearts um and i'm going to share a quote from gandhi the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated he also stated i hold that the more helpless a creature the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man so by doing nothing that is a description of the cruelty of men so i am passionate about this um and i just feel like you'll probably see me again um we're not going to stop so hear us out um i also want to emphasize that my support and the support of many pet owners including animal supporters i know that paul county bully project alone has almost over 50 000 followers and other rescues have thousands of followers um looking to see change so um i will only vote for candidates to commit to making a difference in this area so thank you for your time email stephanie widener my name is stephanie

widener 9055 hickory walk in city florida um 33844 i just witnessed this morning where this board has approved eighty thousand dollars in traffic calming devices which they need i'm kind of wondering though what was done before that because we do have sheriffs and deputies and police officers so i've seen the little things that say how fast you're going in lake alfred and the con the cameras so i get that we need the traffic calming devices but i'm kind of wondering if there's any proactive where they go out and send deputies undercover cops things like that to try to stop some of that for those citizens i am here to speak on the animal control issue and the tvnr anyway this was recommended by a commission and a service that they send out and look at the traffic and decide what to do so we have heard multiple times statistics from other counties how it works how it saves the taxpayers money mr wilson you said if it would save the taxpayer money we will do it and we're still waiting um now people i speak to people and talk to people on a daily basis most of your voters agree we need change at animal control and in the situation most of them want low cost spate neuter lots of people want to go get their animals fixed however it is 125 225 i believe i got quoted from you know spca that is a lot in this economy we need change in animal control they are tired the voters are tired of their taxpayer money being basically sent down the drain the same thing's been happening for over a decade apparently and they're wasting their taxpayer money basically euthanizing animals i mean i know they're adopting some but they're not doing compared to other counties we're doing dismal now the taxpayers may not vote out grady judd he is very popular for for um law enforcement however they may decide that we need new commissioners to act on this you have the chance to act we've been coming here for three months we would like some change we all these people we can obviously get together organize we can campaign for a new commissioner or commissioners that will act in our best interest thank you thank you all

right that's everyone i had signed up i don't think there's anybody else so we're going to take a 10-minute recess and re-evine for cip yes sir okay we'll get cip thank you all right everyone let's take a seat so we can get rolling get this get this started and ended mr beasley mr chair um i want

to say good morning maybe this is a topic we have a bit more control of our destiny here um let me say a couple quick words before i turn it over to john uh let me thank the staff i know outside of the public hearing set for september the 8th when the two the two in september uh there's been about five months of just solid work in bringing the board uh a budget that i think is is reasonable and i can't thank the board enough for supporting that budget initiative uh today um the county's community investment program i think is a vital part of that proposed budget and i think it represents kind of an outward or at least a visible um commitment to our citizens and the visitors of polk county of our ability to provide essential government services um what staff will share with you today in essence is about 794 million dollars in capital investments plan for just the next year's proposed budget the fyi 25 26 budget it also reflects a five-year projection um of a 1.9 billion dollar capital investment program over that five-year horizon um but what that doesn't include for example are three or four major capital facility investments the board has funded the north government north lakeland government center the jail expansion and the court annex facility we have funded the planning the engineering and the architect for those big projects in the near future we'll be working with the clerk and comptroller's office about how we're going to fund those three big projects those three projects are not in this capital budget because they're not funded yet everything you're going to see today and here is funded um i i i think it it is it is a testament to the men and women who work here um it i think it's a testament to to what this board has prioritized in terms of the level of service we provide to our citizens uh and the assets the infrastructure that's available for providing those services to the government from the government to the citizens of the county um what so what i'm going to do is let john john's going to take the point along with several uh division directors and they're going to share with you uh it's going to be in a more video format we're moving into that technology that video platform now where everything is going to be more uh um kind of automated and it's it's it's a slicker presentation i think it really is a sign of the times i want to thank the communications division again they've been uh that paradigm shift that we heard citizens talk about that movement is now occurring in terms of how we do certain things in the county as opposed to the narrative and the graphic formats you've seen in the past but i think the board will be impressed i think we will take this show on the road we'll use it through pg tv through other social media outlets and i think the general citizens will be impressed with just what the county is planning and what it

takes to plan these big investments so john please thank you mr beasley so uh mr beasley said some of the the things i was going to say but i will uh i stole it i stole it from john he stole a little yeah he stole a little thunder that's okay i'll be brief uh as will the directors when they introduce but let me uh let me say that we kind of took a page out of last year's and you saw a couple videos last year uh so we took a page out of that and uh communication staff was up for the task uh and as your mr beasley said i mean they've done a yeoman's job i think you will be thoroughly impressed with these uh with these videos but also in front of you you have a quick reference guide um also you have a usb of all the videos today but the quick reference guide will will help you throughout the year if you need to refer to a project the scope the cost location anything like that it's in there in that quick reference guide so the division directors today you'll get a flavor of the projects so you're not going to see every projects i think are all the projects i think one of the divisions has 90 projects you're obviously not going to see 90 projects within the uh within their their video here today but we've highlighted the major ones again mr beasley said it totals 700 and approximately 794 million dollars just next fiscal year and 1.9 billion over the next five years so um let me tell you real quick about the format the format of each video will show you projects projects that were completed within this last year projects under construction and then those that are in the programming and design phase so as you work through the videos that's kind of the format um after each video will be available for questions the senior staff will be of course and the division directors will be available for questions that you have on any of these projects um mr beasley mentioned we'll take it on the road these will run on pg tv these videos as as well as well on social media the directors have been uh have been asked and maybe voluntold to sit down and do part of the interview they can certainly join you as with your commissioner reports uh to do that as well so um but before we get into each division's videos i wanted to remind the board we have a short video on the one-time money so back on july 11th the board uh basically gave us direction to how to spend the 70.4 million dollars of one-time money so there's a brief video really just to remind the board to summarize what the board and the direction you gave us ultimately those projects end up in the cip for the respective divisions um is where they end up but and you'll see some of them highlighted later such as the ag center because that's already a funded project and you you agree to give more money towards that project so we'll show that video first and then the first division will be roads and drainage so mr jarvis will get up after that um but if there's no further questions we will roll with that that first video okay welcome to polk county government's

proposed one-time money presentation for fiscal year 2025-2026 the total one-time money available for the proposed projects is 70.4 million dollars the proposed expenditure for the following projects is 68 million 354 269 dollars the remaining 2 million 45 731 will be moved to the county's reserve fund the following projects are funded by one-time money generated from the prior year's audited general fund ending balance minus any projects already approved by the board of county commissioners it is simply defined as the total actual revenue over total actual expenditures during this presentation we will be reviewing the priority capital projects for the following divisions facilities management roads and drainage parks and natural resources real estate services emergency management and fire rescue and miscellaneous emergency preparedness projects and miscellaneous emergency preparedness projects facilities management will receive 23 million 224 000 roads and drainage will receive 26 million 250 000 parks and natural resources will receive 11 million 55 000 real estate services will receive 1 million eight hundred thousand dollars emergency management and fire rescue will receive 5 million 300 000 dollars miscellaneous emergency preparedness projects will receive 725 269 dollars so if there's no questions

we'll move on to jay jarvis uh who will bring up roads and drainage first good morning commissioners

just to give a little background on the roads and drainage and how we've gone through preparing our cip for this coming year uh if you all recall back when at the board retreat there was some discussion or was discussion about the priorities how we were going to move forward so uh the priorities kind of changed from capacity as a highest priority to more the maintenance the intersection projects bridges more the smaller projects rather than the major capacity projects and so that's the way we've kind of looking forward now we do have existing projects already in the cip that are funded that we plan on moving forward with that are capacity projects but as we move forward from year to year we'll start looking at kind of deprioritizing or making that the priority uh putting in another capacity projects compared to once again the maintenance activities and the intersections etc um what we did do was we based on our revenue estimates we were able to increase our payment management by five million dollars so we're now going from 18 million a year to 23 million dollars a year and that would be now allocated over the next five years now it's 23 million dollars a year per year not five million dollar increase every year it's not it's not being done that way we don't have the revenues at this time but once again as projects are completed and we look at our revenue we can then look at that the other part is we have added 11 intersection projects that typically what happens throughout the year is we have intersections that we evaluate and determine if there needs to be improvements whether that's a turn lane or signalization and so those projects were prioritized and basically placed onto the the cip we have three new bridge projects where we've looked at bridge projects that may be functionally obsolete and trying to move those forward as well sidewalk projects the sidewalk advisory committee has recommended four projects to move forward one of those is the dotry road project uh from where walmart is they're close to 98 all the way back to where the new park is proposed to be built that's that was the top priority project for them in addition to that we have one project based upon representative soto's uh appropriation of 850 000 in the point siana area and the sidewalk advisory committee recommended caspian road is for that project so those are the uh kind of the highlights so uh for now sit back enjoy the video and i'll be available for any questions in pulk county

infrastructure improvements are more than just a goal it's a commitment for the roads and drainage division every sidewalk poured every drainage system repaired or improved every roadway resurfaced or widened every intersection upgraded they're not just construction projects they're investments in safety connection and the future in 2025 the roads and drainage division continued to bring this vision to life by turning plans into action building connections and preparing polk county for what's next join us as we explore the milestones of the year the projects completed the work currently underway and the bold ideas on the horizon shining a light on the work that will shape the roads and drainage systems for polk county into the future every year the roads and drainage division allocates funds for recurring maintenance this year 31 million dollars has been allocated the biggest portion of that 31 million dollars is for pavement management projects at about 18 million dollars in fiscal year 2025 2026 we are increasing the pavement management budget by 5 million dollars a year for the next five years this increase will allow us to resume some projects that have been shelved due to cost increases and to undertake more pavement management projects throughout the county this year polk county completed several important projects designed not just to move traffic but to help improve lives located in the heart of lakeland a neighborhood street became the backdrop for thoughtful design and safer student routes to schools along wabash avenue the county added a 10 foot wide multi-use path and a five foot wide sidewalk near jesse keen elementary a pedestrian crossover island and new turn lane helped ease traffic and provided protection for our students this 4.2 million dollar project was paid for with federal funds acquired through a local agency program granted by the florida department of transportation on behalf of the federal highway administration the project didn't just connect sidewalks it connected families schools and neighborhoods in winter haven a vision of safer routes to school came to fruition near inwood elementary and westwood middle school more than 5 000 feet of new sidewalks and 33 crosswalks have created a secure and walkable environment funded by federal safety grants and completed in 2025 this 1.1 million dollar project made the simple act of walking to and from school safer and more accessible a critical corridor in lakeland received a long-awaited upgrade the west pipkin road widening project one of the county's largest undertakings expanded lanes added medians and sidewalks and reshaped traffic patterns from madilla road to state road 37 at 57.3 million dollars this isn't just a road it's a corridor of growth in east polk a bridge constructed in the 1940s was removed and north lake reedy boulevard was realigned the realignment of the road provided a safer intersection and connection to county road 630 the 2.2 million dollar project helped restore and improve a vital travel connection across the county additional improvements supported transportation and drainage initiatives drainage enhancements along benton street rifle range road and the lake victoria outfall new sidewalks in point sienna near pine street roadway improvements on mosley road and lake alfred a new pedestrian bridge along avenue z southeast and winter haven linking lake lulu to lake roy with a continuous walking path and intersection upgrades at county road 540a and hallam preserve boulevard east main street and cumby road state road 60 and 80 foot road four corners boulevard and u.s highway 27 and marigold avenue at hemlock avenue and lake marion creek drive together these projects delivered safety and mobility in the areas where they are located while we celebrate what's already happened the roads and drainage division is hard at work on what's next the fort fraser trail is transitioning from a recreational path to an essential pedestrian connection between bartow and lakeland now under construction this 10.3 million dollar extension project stretches west to lakeland highlands road and north to glendale street creating a 10 foot wide shared use path for walkers and cyclists it's not just a trail it's a more connected way to move through polk county the extension of power line road from south boulevard and davenport to highway 1792 will provide an alternative route around the city of davenport and serve as a route to ease traffic through the city this project is currently under construction and is being built through an agreement with a developer for 10.8 million dollars across the county additional improvements are being worked on to strengthen county transportation and drainage initiatives including drainage enhancements in imperial lakes and south lake wales with american rescue plant funds and various roadway improvements from road widening to improving intersections just beyond today's orange cones lies tomorrow's defining routes here's just some of the projects in the design phase in winter haven the thompson nursery road corridor from eloise loop road to us highway 27 is being widened from two to four lanes with the extension of lake eloise loop road and the addition of a csx flyover bridge from there it will continue around lake gwynn in juanita and connect to highway 17 in eagle lake at 336.3 million dollars this project will enhance safety improve traffic flow and strengthen connectivity throughout the area in lake alfred the county road 557 expansion will double the capacity of more than six miles of roadway connecting interstate 4 to us 1792 the 161.1 million dollar project will improve traffic flow enhance safety and provide better access these projects are more than plans they are positive steps towards easier commutes for motorists improved safety and a comprehensive blueprint that adjusts for current and future growth a transformative corridor is coming to northeast polk county the powerline road widening extension project will widen and modernize the existing route from south boulevard to hinson avenue the extension will be from hinson avenue south to scenic highway 17 south of dundee it's potentially a 406.9 million dollar investment in easing transportation congestion and another example of managing growth in a quickly developing area by creating alternative routes for traffic on the polk county side of point sienna a road widening project for marigold avenue is in the design stage the roadway will be widened from the cypress parkway to palmetto street this 62.5 million dollar project will help to ease congestion and provide a smoother commute for motorists currently in the planning and design phase are several roundabout projects roundabouts are being planned for several intersections including cypress gardens boulevard and lake ned road spirit lake road and sheffield road county road 559 and gapway road and north galloway road and west 10th street the roundabout projects which will help ease congestion on these roads is estimated to cost a total of 22.2 million dollars there are also 11 proposed intersection projects throughout polk county which are designed to help transform key traffic areas into safer more efficient connections proposed intersections include combi road at saddle creek boulevard in lakeland county road 559 at lundie road in auburndale us highway 27 at bates road in haynes city us highway 27 at north boulevard in haynes city us highway 27 at holly hill road in davenport 42nd street at avenue g in winterhaven masterpiece road at timberlane road in lake wales north crystal lake drive at longfellow boulevard in lakeland carter road south at eagle brook drive and christina boulevard in lakeland county road 35a kathleen road at west campbell road in lakeland and ewell road at old highway 37 in lakeland and in the vision for tomorrow five proposed sidewalk projects offer the promise of safer steps and stronger links between neighborhoods schools and everyday destinations the new sidewalk projects will be located along first street southeast between clubhouse road and fort frazier trail at us highway 98 in highland city shepherd road between bailey road and granfield circle in mulberry west daughtry road between us highway 98 and green road in lakeland cypress gardens road between mahogany run and willow brook circle in winterhaven and caspian road between lake marion creek road to pine street in point sienna from sidewalks near our schools to major roadways linking the county the roads and drainage division is doing more than building roads it's laying the groundwork for a safer stronger and more connected polk county the total fiscal year 2025 2026 cip budget for roads and drainage is 274 million 837 thousand 88 dollars any questions for mr jarvis or hipkin is really done yes sir it's i'll let jay respond but uh

it is done i think we might have had a couple signals still not operational but

other than that it's substantially complete yeah we own it okay i've driven it a few times

um yes the um we had a couple signals but those issues are either have been addressed i know it was really close and then the lighting as well was a concern and from what i've been told that is now operational so except for one location where we had an accident and wiped out uh one of our poles but we're getting

that fixed okay when i look at this um into the table here where you have the increases and decreases on some of your projects it appears that we have 16 that have decreased in changes and 14 that have increased can you speak to that i mean i'm surprised to see that that many decreased in what we were proposing

well what we're seeing is we kind of went through uh we were kind of on the high end over last year and what we're seeing now is basically it appears that prices are adjusting somewhat and so we had and also as we refine our designs we get better estimates and so that's what's reflecting so you don't have the great it's not like a it's a straight increase across the board thank you i do jay two two questions

um number one is about the poinciana parkway mary gold road that we had in our plans probably four or five years ago and because of the southport connector issue we stopped where are we with that is that even included in here or are we going to still wait the intent you're talking about cypress

parkway widening cypress parkway the intent is we were waiting on what cfx was going to do as far as the southport connector because they show in their plans currently the widening from actually they've talked they're talking six laning uh cypress parkway through that segment and so they are supposed to finish up this year or that several times but it keeps getting pushed back but supposedly this year they're supposed to take that to the cfx board for them to make a decision whether they're going to move into design and then ultimately right away in construction if that's the case then there will be coordination as far as including the cypress parkway widening as part of that project to be

included in that should that have been in these plans um some way indicated or we were still uncertain

until cfx basically says yes we're going then those discussions so we're still waiting on them yes and we've we've had conversations with cfx one thing is that they're wanting to utilize our right-of-way our 300-foot right-of-way and so that utilization and and our hope our discussions have been you can use our right-of-way if you build basically cypress parkway is kind of where my intent has gone to

win discussions with them just keep me posted on that definitely the other one is the um um they're in a new proposed intersection on 27 bates road and that is a horrible area i mean the traffic backs up tremendously and lots of accidents what are you proposing what is that

going to look like if you even have an idea right now right now the intent is to add a turn lane some of the issues are the distribution of traffic there needs to be another turn lane added and i think it's a right going north or turning a turn lane on bates road coming out to 27 to distribute the traffic on but that's coming off of bates trying to get on 27 that seems to be the back a major part of the backup that we've done the analysis on and so that is what the proposed our proposed project is

well i'm glad to see something's happening in that area because that's really really bad i mean all of 27 is bad don't misunderstand me but that intersection specifically causes a lot of problems that's

it anyone else i just wanted to clarify i only counted the front page of your note so it's not

all that that was it just for clarification all right mr chairman moving on uh will be parks and

natural resources ms gay sharp good morning commissioners for the record my name is gay sharp i'm the director of parks and natural resources i am presenting the proposed cip fiscal year 25 26 community investment plan consisting of about 45 projects for your consideration today in response to the direction received from the commissioners and the county manager we have been creative and aggressive in actively pursuing grants and other funding opportunities in this next year cip we have incorporated over 25 million from those partnerships the proposed cip ranges from array of projects from active and passive parks to outdoor exhibits trailheads to environmental lands and stormwater projects we are also very fortunate to have three citizens advisory committees um that help us with this cip and moving in the right direction for the for the county the lake i'd like to give thanks to the lakes access advisory committee the conservation land acquisition selection advisory committee and the stormwater technical advisory committee it's very important that they are bringing to us the citizens views of what we should be doing and moving forward so we appreciate that very much despite what mr abracombie thanks yeah what were you yeah we are extremely grateful for the board of county commissioners and the county manager and um supporting our parks the active and passive the environmental lands water quality improvements and our for our lakes and streams with your guidance we have accomplished much for the benefit of polk county whether they realize it or not it's behind the scenes on most of it it's not as pretty and sexy as um the roads you know what can i say it's just

not in everybody's mind yeah that's what jay is yeah however we'll move to the video clip and

you'll see what wonderful things that parks and natural resources are doing to highlight some of our completed and ongoing future cip projects and i will stand for any questions at the end of the

video thank you county has an extensive parks and natural resources system home to more than 130 parks 135 athletic fields 40 boat ramps five campgrounds five community resource centers an atv park and much more these amenities provide residents and visitors access to an exceptional array of recreational opportunities and environmental experiences this update on our community investment program highlights completed milestones ongoing construction and future design plans to enhance polk county's parks and natural lands as well as the experiences they offer the parks and natural resources division has a robust community investment program with 45 projects coming from diverse revenue sources the division's capital program is supported by 25 million dollars in grant funding one major completed project this year was at simmers young park the park's five original multi-purpose fields were converted from natural grass to synthetic turf which will provide a more durable surface to allow for year-round play with minimal maintenance making these fields ideal for league and tournament play in addition two restroom facilities and a concession stand were added as well as led field lighting the overall cost for the project was 7.8 million dollars stormwater best management practices were also implemented to treat the parks and the surrounding community's impact on water quality as it drains through lena run and eventually to lake hancock the installation of a rain garden bioswale downflow filter system and the planting of native vegetation are enhancements made to the kids fishing pond on the northern edge of the property the county invested 2.5 million dollars on these stormwater and recreation amenities the athletic courts are some of the most heavily used amenities and maintaining them has been a challenge due to continuous use and aging surfaces to address this several basketball and tennis courts were resurfaced at the east central park in dundee northeast regional park in davenport and point sienna community park in point sienna these courts are resurfaced with a series of polymer interlocking tiles that improve safety are easy to maintain and offer a splash of color and style to the park's appearance these tiles also have a lifespan of more than 10 years making them an ideal solution instead of asphalt or concrete the county spent 576 183 dollars on the court resurfacing project for the four parks having easy access to county waterways is important for many residents the lake buffum boat ramp project was completed in late 2024 the new ramp offers a wider and more efficient way to launch water vessels and offers extended parking for trailers a new channel was added to make the lake more accessible when water levels are low florida boating improvement funds were utilized for developing this facility and the construction costs were 2.5 million dollars during the past few years the division has focused on meeting the growing demand for access to parks and recreational activities as well as addressing the aging infrastructure at county facilities as polk county continues to grow our parks facilities must keep pace we are committed to revitalizing key facilities to remain relevant and welcoming to residents and visitors and well equipped for long-term and future use lighting is a vital component for safe evening practice and games at the county's facilities and athletic fields much of the existing lighting infrastructure is between 15 to 20 years old and has reached the end of its effective service span a multi-year led lighting retrofit project was launched to reduce light pollution lower electricity bills and improve safety and access across the county parks that have or will receive lighting upgrades include hunt fountain park lois e harp park highland city park and polk city park the county invested 3.1 million dollars in recreational lighting improvements like the lighting at many of the facilities the fencing is also showing signs of deterioration a fencing replacement program will convert all existing park fences such as those in the outfield of a baseball or softball field to a durable black vinyl coated chain link fence this project will continue in subsequent years to ensure consistent quality and safety at the county's fields and facilities fencing upgrades are underway or will take place at the following locations hunt fountain park highland city park lois e harp park polk city park juanita park jan phill park simmers young park and mulberry park in total recreational fencing upgrades were a 9.6 million dollar investment for the county polk county will install all-inclusive playgrounds at four locations lois e harp park east central park northeast regional park and hunt fountain park the new playground equipment supports children of all abilities in developing physically socially and emotionally the playgrounds at lois e harp park and east central park have been funded by the county for a total of 2.25 million dollars hunt fountains inclusive playground is currently unfunded phase one of daughtry road park is set to offer relief to the increased use at hunt fountain park in lakeland the first phase of the design is anticipated to cost 6.9 million dollars and will feature three multi-purpose synthetic turf fields a concession stand restroom facilities and a parking area this new facility will expand athletic field access and meet the needs of both residents and sports teams to combat overuse of grass fields which can become unusable from various weather conditions and repeated use polk county park staff are utilizing synthetic turf plans for synthetic turf fields at both hunt fountain park and point sienna community park are in the works these turf fields will be an estimated 6.4 million dollar investment for the county and are anticipated to be complete in fall 2026 plans to develop the northern property of the bone valley atv park will feature a full service 50 spot campground new trails youth rider training areas event parking and a dedicated northern entrance the anticipated engineering and construction costs for the campground are about 5.9 million dollars while the parks and natural resources division continues to expand and enhance amenities and facilities it also remains committed to conservation and stormwater management protecting and restoring native habitats improving water quality and building environmental resilience for future generations of polk county residents and visitors the following projects have been evaluated for compatible recreation opportunities where appropriate in the past year polk county parks and natural resources staff have made major strides in land conservation through the acquisition of more than 1800 acres of high priority environmental lands since the 2022 environmental lands referendum nominated sites are reviewed by technical experts evaluated by the conservation land acquisition selection committee and presented to the board of county commissioners for their decision on whether or not to pursue acquisition beyond the obvious natural value of these acquired lands are their potential for future projects while a phase of an acquisition may be complete the same property may be the site of a future project or one that is in the design phase or even in progress in december 2024 the county purchased friedlander ranch a 640 acre property southeast of lake wales along the lake wales ridge for 5.4 million dollars the first to be nominated as part of the 2022 program the freedlander ranch acquisition extends florida's wildlife corridor and protects rare upland habitats along the tiger creek preserve also in december 2024 polk county completed the first phase of the masterpiece road updike property acquisition for 3.2 million dollars with florida department of environmental protection covering 1.8 million dollars of the total cost the property represents 123 acres of critical habitat for endangered species like the zisyphus plant which is endemic to the county and only grows along the lake wales ridge gopher tortoises and sand skinks also call this property home by the end of 2025 the county will have acquired phase two of this property adding another 640 acres of adjacent property along masterpiece road for 12 million dollars phase three of this acquisition agreement provides an opportunity for the county to create a conservation bank for sand skink credits that could be used for future internal infrastructure projects mitigation the conservation bank is an eight million dollar unfunded project the total investment in the masterpiece road property is 23 million dollars these land acquisitions will help the long-term protection and quality of the county's water resources as well as protect wildlife wilderness and working lands ultimately creating sustainable wildlife corridors the lake annie marsh is a 165 acre former muck mine the marsh captures and stores water that eventually flows to the peace creek canal and down to the peace river restoration of the lake annie marsh includes berm excavation invasive species removal cutting and clearing of overgrown vegetation and planting of wetlands currently underway these improvements aim to boost water retention in the marsh and improve water quality by encouraging growth of native plants and animals land acquisition and restoration for this project will cost 3.5 million dollars and is largely funded through the american rescue plan expansions of the water resources protection and treatment effort have been enhanced by the following projects buck man ranch reserve a 1 270 acre property south of dundee along highway 27 was acquired for 20 million dollars with the intent to protect the water resources and quality of the peace creek canal which flows through the property and mitigate future flooding impacts downstream the acquisition was largely funded by the florida department of environmental protection and the american rescue plan in partnership with the florida department of agriculture and consumer services rural and family lands protection program the raley groves property was acquired for 8.5 million dollars the county contributed 1.5 million dollars in may 2025 as a conservation easement with an active citrus operation and pasture lands preservation of these lands contributes to the developing pulp wildlife corridor and creates a barrier for wildlife from encroaching commercial and residential growth restoration and site prep are currently underway for the lake lulu water quality improvement and wetland restoration project this 120 acre wetland on the south end of lake lulu is also the outfall lake for the south winter haven chain of lakes all water exits through a control structure on the south end of the project and enters the juanita drainage canal eventually making its way to the peace river future restoration and cleanup phases of this project will enhance the wildlife habitat fisheries and water quality of both lake lulu and the winter haven chain of lakes development of the project will continue during the next year the cost of the lake lulu project is estimated at 2.8 million dollars mainly funded by the american rescue plan and the florida department of environmental protection each of these projects represents a major investment in polk county's quality of life environmental resilience and recreational accessibility from artificial turf fields and court resurfacing to wetlands restoration and land preservation parks and natural resources is working to build a stronger more sustainable future for the people and ecosystems of polk county the total fiscal year 2025 2026 cip budget for parks and natural resources is 116 million nine hundred and ninety four thousand eight hundred and eight dollars any questions

just one question as far as uh freelander ranch goes what are like long-term plans do we have any public access or amenities planned for that or any thoughts on that we we do go through a process for that so now

we're in the management plan a process where we evaluate the ecosystems out there that um and try to figure out what compatible nature-based recreation would be appropriate out there we also take it to the public to get their comments on that so that's early in the early stages right now where we're doing that

but we do that on every one of our environmental land sites great thank you anyone else i do and the voice for the pickleball players yeah so a lot uh we're proposing for that throughout the county

county for the pickleball we are retrofitting maybe a few of our tennis courts to allow pickleball also to be played on but you're right that's a question that comes up quite a bit on the pickleball and we're aware of it it's just trying to meet all the needs got my back yeah i got your back on

all right thank you all right no other questions next up will be the solid waste division mr dale

henderson mr happy yes and now for some world-class projects good morning commissioners i am dale henderson your director of solid waste today we will present our cip summary for fiscal year 2025 and 2026 with your recent support north central landfill tipping fees increasing beginning october 1 2025 will work hard to fund our exciting cip projects we believe that this solid waste division cip represents not only the direction but also the forward-looking vision of the board following our cip presentation

i will stand for any questions thank you thank you for joining the solid waste team for this cip update we'll guide you through five important projects two that are completed one currently underway and two planned for the near future each project plays a critical role in enhancing the efficiency safety and sustainability of solid waste operations in polk county our first completed project update focuses on the renewable natural gas facility constructed in partnership with opal fuels which has been generating revenue for the county since november 2024 totaling 178 000 to date this beneficial use project converts landfill gas into compressed natural gas which can be sold as pipeline quality fuel or used for other energy projects the project team secured an easement with people's gas system incorporated for underground pipeline construction and gas transmission that was completed in june 2025 the pipeline was strategically routed east of the landfill property to avoid residential areas the total county budget for this project was 2.1 million dollars but the private partner invested more than 63 million dollars in design permitting and construction of the rng facility this project was completed by fiscal year 2024 2025 it's a great public partnership another completed project is the constructed wetlands leachate treatment facility although some updates are planned for this project the facility is up and running currently the system has significantly reduced and will ultimately eliminate the county's dependence on outside companies for leachate management marking a major step towards vertical integration previously third-party vendors hauled all site-generated leachate to external treatment facilities at a cost of approximately 2.5 million dollars annually in-house leachate treatment not only saves money but also reduces carbon emissions from transport vehicles since operations began in february 2025 we've diverted almost 1 million gallons of leachate to the on-site treatment facility saving more than 220 000 in third-party transportation and treatment expenses to enhance the system's performance and accessibility several upgrades are planned a boardwalk and public education storyboards will be added to provide better access for tours and county personnel while educating the public about the process supervisory control and data acquisition integration and fiber optic installation will enable remote monitoring enhanced system control and improve reliability through a backup communication network the total budget for this project was 14.4 million dollars our project that is underway is the north central landfill transfer station site improvement project which features a comprehensive redesign including a new customer drop-off area scale house outbound scale and fire hydrant system these improvements will enhance safety operational efficiency and the customer experience wider entry lanes and improved traffic flow will expedite customer trip times and provide an alternative route to avoid heavy equipment cross traffic the drive up freestanding system will operate more efficiently with fewer resources and personnel currently we're conducting preliminary design and geotechnical work additional planned upgrades to improve accessibility and safety include rehabilitating and enhancing the site fire protection system and improving the access roads and stormwater management system the total budget for this project is about 6.8 million dollars with completion targeted for fiscal year 2026-2027. the phase three partial landfill closure project now in the planning phase will install a final cover system on the east slope of phase three covering approximately 11 acres of landfill waste due to pulk parkway location limitations further expansion of phase three is not possible the closure includes a geosynthetic barrier layer and stormwater drainage features to ensure environmental compliance and enhance site safety key benefits of this closure include reduced leachate generation lowering treatment needs lower maintenance costs and improved landfill gas quality for better environmental outcomes and reduced county landfill liability this 9.6 million dollar project is funded through the landfill closure fund and is scheduled for completion in fiscal year 2027-2028 the second project in the planning phase is the phase four landfill expansion project the phase four expansion project will cover up to 87 acres and will provide an expected life of 15 years construction will take place in stages to ensure uninterrupted disposal capacity for polk county residents the design and permitting phase is expected to be complete by late 2026 the total budget for this project is 113 million dollars with completion targeted for fiscal year 2029-2030 each of these projects represents a step forward in creating a more resilient efficient and environmentally responsible solid waste operation from treating our own leachate to upgrading our customer experience to responsibly allocating landfill resources polk county solid waste is committed to smart forward-thinking infrastructure investments that serve both the community and the environment the total fiscal year 2025-2026 cip budget for solid waste is 69 million 497 thousand nine hundred and thirty nine dollars any

questions no questions no questions there you're good with that thank you all right all right moving on mr chair next up will be the utilities division and miss tamra richardson good morning commissioners

it's uh my pleasure to present our um capital budget presentation for fiscal year 2526 the utilities industry in general has overgone great many changes over the past decade locally um pressures on the upper aquifer aquifer aquifer uh have required us to seek and develop alternative water supplies statewide the efforts of the state to minimize the number the the amount of nutrients going into the environment has completely changed the way we we um look at uh reclaimed water and biosolids disposal nationally the epa has been looking at uh additional uh parameters additional contaminants in water that need to be treated so these all of these pressures have come together and really look change the way that we do business it's made our permits more restrictive and it's incro it's required additional programs and additional um uh requirements for how how we are treating water and wastewater luckily for us our staff our staff your utility staff are very uh technically savvy are very professional and very enthusiastic about what they do so what we are going to do today is present to you uh just it's just just a sample of some of more than 90 projects that utilities division has going on at any one time um so these are some of our project highlights um that occupy our days i wanted to take this opportunity on behalf of port county to port county utilities to thank the board for their continuing support without your support none of these projects would be possible so i'll hear i'll be here afterward for um for any questions after the presentation um i hope you enjoy it i find it i anytime they show utilities pictures i get very excited so i hope you enjoy them and get the same goosebumps that i get thank you welcome to the

community investment program update from the polk county utilities division this presentation highlights projects that demonstrate leadership's commitment not only to innovative strategies that will create sustainable accessible drinking water but also to ensuring wastewater treatment capacity for current and future generations the state's water management districts have determined that the upper floridan water supplies are not sustainable beyond 2025. polk county utilities is considering many forms of alternative water sources to serve the current and future needs of residents and businesses let's begin with the recently completed direct potable reuse pilot facility located at the cherry hill water production facility this project takes highly treated wastewater called reclaimed water from the northwest wastewater treatment plant and pipes it to the pilot facility where it is treated beyond current drinking water standards the pilot facility looks to treat compounds that are not yet regulated such as pfaz the forever chemical and pharmaceuticals the pilot which was funded in part by the southwest florida water management district tests the feasibility of direct potable reuse as an alternative water supply source for polk county utilities customers in the northwest and southwest regional service areas construction began in 2021 and was completed in july 2023 the cost of the project was 2.5 million testing has been ongoing since august 2023 polk county utilities is a leader in regional organizations developing alternative water supply projects these innovative solutions will provide the water needed to supplement polk's drinking water supply beyond 2025 currently under construction is the southeast wellfield and water production facility which is owned and managed by the polk regional water cooperative the cooperative's membership is comprised of polk county utilities and 14 cities with their own water supply and distribution systems within the county the project includes 66 miles of pipeline that will deliver the treated water from the southeast portion of the county to the northeast regional potable water service area at a receiving and blending facility the project includes pipelines to the cities providing utilities along the way the project is funded in part by the southwest florida water management district state grants federal loans and each local government's prorated annual payments construction of phase one of the project began in late 2024 and is expected to be completed in late 2028 the total cost of phase one is estimated to be 470 million dollars of which polk county's expected investment is 98 million dollars similarly the cypress lake wellfield located in osceola county is a lower floridan aquifer water treatment facility owned and managed by the water cooperative of central florida of which polk county is also a member the finished water will be delivered to the county's expanding east and northeast service areas to meet the growing demand for services construction began in 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2029 the estimated cost of the project is about 505.5 million dollars of which polk county's investment is 70 million dollars both the southeast wellfield and cypress lake wellfield projects will allow polk county to access brackish water from the lower floridan aquifer and treat it to drinking water standards through reverse osmosis construction for the expansion of the northeast regional wastewater treatment facility began in early 2025 when completed this project will expand the capacity of this wastewater treatment plant from six million gallons a day to nine million gallons per day the northeast regional wastewater treatment facility as with all other regional facilities produces reclaimed water used for irrigation completion of the expansion is expected in 2029 the cost of the project is 220 million dollars construction has begun on the septage receiving and leachate treatment facility plan for the north central landfill property when completed this project will offer a solution for commercial haulers by accepting and treating up to 200 000 gallons per day of septage and treating it to reclaimed water standards equipment for the facility has been purchased by the county and is in various stages of construction and delivery to expedite the construction schedule the project is expected to be completed by spring of 2026 and will cost 30 million dollars meeting the future water needs of polk county will not be accomplished by a single project or single alternative water source polk county utilities is exploring multiple projects that will be part of the total solution to this challenge one such project is a permanent direct potable reuse facility upon approval by the board of county commissioners a full-scale dpr facility may be designed as soon as 2026 with completion of construction by 2029 with the completion of the direct potable reuse pilot facility and after months of testing and data recorded the direct potable reuse process has proved to be a sustainable and viable alternative water supply option if the board agrees and takes formal action construction on a full-scale facility at the cherry hill water production property could begin in 2027 and come online in 2029 the full-scale facility which would house processes that would further treat wastewater beyond current drinking water standards could produce as much as one million gallons per day alleviating some of the strain placed on the aquifer and other natural water resources as the project becomes better defined a total budget can be determined the proposed cip budget for this project is 10 million dollars the utilities division continues to be a leader in water resource management by harnessing the power of technology to protect public health and safety as well as the environment the division is committed to seeking innovative strategies that create sustainable service for current and future generations of polk county residents the total fiscal year 2025 2026 cip budget for utilities is 171 million 590 thousand 547 dollars

and we need to come up martha has one so in reference to the portable reuse pilot one of my favorites i'm not going to taste that water when it's through but give me a timeline where i know you said that we're testing is is continuing so where is that taking us we are completed with the testing

and we're developing the report and once the report is complete i'll bring it to the board of the presentation and let you guys see what how what the success has been it has been a successful project we're just waiting for a few more tests to come back from some labs so that's when you're going to

want one of us to taste the water i recommend the chair at that time when will that be it'll be this year i suspect by fall i'll delegate before november right he's gonna taste it yeah we just got to make sure uh just remind me 14 cities are in the polk regional water corporate who is not um

who's cross proof eagle lake uh mulberry lake wales

uh they're they're they're members they may not be participating yeah in a project person not paying

right they're not participating in the project they're like um still they still keep their fingers in it but they're not participating in the project they're not going to be getting water from the

first phase okay all right thank you all right uh anyone else have a question for all right next all

right last but not least it'll be the facilities division and mr keith tate good morning commissioners keith

tape facilities management director first of all i would like to thank our communications division for producing our video that you will see this morning waldo amber and the entire team they did a fantastic job facilities management cip video directly highlights the board's commitment to public safety emergency preparedness the courts and community services after your review of the video if if you'd like i'll stand for any questions that you may have welcome to the community investment

program update from the polk county government facilities division this presentation highlights the progress of critical infrastructure projects across the county that support public safety emergency preparedness justice and community services these capital investments are transforming how we serve our residents today tomorrow and into the future let's begin with projects that have been recently completed in the area of public safety infrastructure the following fire rescue stations have been finalized and are now operational improving emergency response across our communities kathleen fire rescue station winston creek fire rescue station frost proof fire rescue station loffman fire rescue station eaton park fire rescue station or road fire rescue station masterpiece road fire these completed stations represent polk county's commitment to ensuring faster and more effective fire rescue services in both urban and rural communities in addition to fire rescue advancements we are proud to announce the completion of the burnham mccall polk county sheriff's office training center and the emergency management special needs warehouse these projects significantly enhance our ability to respond to countywide emergencies and improve logistics support in addition to public safety facilities a new roadway maintenance unit was constructed in frost proof and completed in june the facility will improve the efficiency of our roads and drainage crews response with roadway needs in this area of the county together these completed projects represent a major step forward in the county's infrastructure strategy focused on safety resilience and readiness several key projects are currently under construction which will soon join the list of completed milestones under the american rescue plan two major initiatives for the polk county sheriff's office are in progress ridge district command at point sienna sheriff's office facilities are under development to expand law enforcement presence and response in high growth areas a new matt williams and dog canine training center facility is also underway helping to improve specialized police training and ensure safety across operations demolition and construction has also begun on the lawrence w crow jr transport station this addition will streamline detainee transport increase safety and modernize correctional support operations the polk county tourism and sports marketing division building is currently being expanded to better serve polk's growing recreational and tourism sectors enhancing our county's profile as a destination for sports and special events finally the fire rescue training center is under construction this state-of-the-art facility will allow our first responders to train in a modern and realistic environment supporting their ongoing education and readiness each of these under construction projects is a key part of our county's long-term strategic planning supporting essential services and a safer future for all polk county residents looking ahead several transformative projects are in the programming and design phases we are in the progress of programming and designing the new courts and county annex building which will help meet the growing judicial needs of our population the agricultural center which will serve as a hub for community education and outreach an expansion to the county jail the medical examiner's office ensuring adequate capacity and facilities that meet our growing needs and the installation of a new courthouse generator which will improve power resiliency for our justice infrastructure in addition to these core facilities the following fire rescue and ems stations represented by the red locator pins are in the design stage note the completed stations are represented by green dots on the map smith lane joint use fire rescue station eagle lake fire rescue station bradley fire rescue station calusa lake fire rescue station now crest fire rescue station willow oak fire rescue station polk city fire rescue station lakeland hills ems station and christina ems station each of these facilities is being planned with the latest technology compliance with modern standards and community needs in mind when completed they will significantly improve response times staff readiness and public access to emergency services thank you for taking the time to learn more about polk county government's community investment program our facilities division is committed to building a safer stronger and more prepared polk county from planning and design to construction and delivery we are proud to serve our residents with excellence transparency and accountability together we are shaping the future of polk county one project at a time the total fiscal year 2025-2026 cip budget for facilities is 100 million 683 105 dollars very good very good job anybody got any questions for keith you do

i went by yesterday to see in the poinciana area and i went by the district command station it looks really really really good what's your completion date for that it will be done by the end of this year

somewhere in the october to november range good that's december much needed in that area trust me

yeah good it is the fastest growing area it is sorry any other questions just just a comment not to steal

uh dale's world-class cliche term but i mean the amount of support that we're offering and bolstering up in the county for fire rescue i think is a testament to our commitment to our residents but also to our staff and becoming that world-class uh fire and ems department as well not just in the state but in the country so i think hats off to everyone involved but certainly to your team for facilitating that and

actually executing a plan to get them in place and operational i've been evaluating floor plans from around the state and our stations are are designed as well as as anyone in the country as as far as uh carcinogen prevention so the commitment that the board made some time ago to allow us to do that is commendable so thank you absolutely yeah i seen something on the other night about hillsborough

county i believe it was they were i mean it's great they were really putting a big deal on the news about some of their new fire stations that they are just now getting designed and built you know so and we're way ahead of them so great job all right where are we at now mr chair i just say a

couple quick closing comments about it's it's a large community investment program i think it's an appropriate community investment program and i think it's a testament again to the to to the men and women who who work in these facilities who provide that frontline service and again it doesn't happen without the board's ability to commit funding and a vote of confidence in the staff's ability to execute and uh you look at those fire stations we've done eight and we've got nine that are in design and ready to go in addition to a training facility and the board is now approach the board's commitment was you get those frontline facilities in place and we'll start talking about a command a new command center for the headquarters and the board agreed to do the incremental funding on that in next year's budget so uh just collectively you look at all what's going on in this county today there's no one can look me in the well and say we're not doing enough we'd like to do more but that's good point left earlier i believe left earlier yeah but it's just it it is uh it is amazing at what gets done despite some of the bureaucracy that we have to deal with in the public policy issues that we have to deal with the men and women here are absolutely amazing who work for us well i agree i mean we have a great

i mean it's this is a good county i've all i mean a great county i shouldn't say good i put it up against any county and basically in the united states with the people that we have here what we do

and uh very proud to be part of it less serious note we can uh nominate miles to participate in trivia for polk county because i think he will know the moment after narrating all the videos all right i

i think that's it so we're adjourned