26th board meeting, if you would stand with me. We will have Chaplain Murphy Hanley to do the prayer and pledge. Good morning. I would invite you all to pray with me. Heavenly Father, this week we paused and gave thanks for 250 years of freedom. We celebrate those who've made that freedom possible, and as we assemble here today to exercise that freedom, help us to be as bold and brave as they have been. Remind us to live aware, to redeem the time, to listen to your words, and to be willing to make a difference in this community and in this land. And I ask this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. At this time, we have no presentations or recognition. Any public comments, Ms. Amber, for the agenda items? We have no comments for the agenda items. No, ma'am. Okay, thank you. Mrs. Butterfield, it's up to you now. All right. Good morning. We have for you to approve and ratify payroll checks. Number 04680 through 04749 in the amount of $91,257.06. We have 3,158 direct deposits in the amount of $4,857,135.72. Those are dated June 26, 2026. We have wire and electronic fund transfers of $53,630,599.05, dated June 16th through July 6th of 2026. We have invoice checks numbered 507-297 through 508-620, totaling $24,381,259.44, dated June 16th through July 6th, 2026 for you to approve and ratify, please. Madam Chair, motion for approval. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. We also request the approval of the minutes of your regular board meeting that was held on June the 16th of 2026. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Motion. Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Anything else, Ms. Butterfield? No. That's all. Thank you. Okay. Well, thank you very much. We will now move on to the approved consent agenda. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion. County attorney, anything? Thank you. And now we move to the county manager, Bill Beasley. Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the board, members of the viewing audience. The manager's office will have four items for board consideration this morning. For the first item, could I ask Ms. Tori Bateman and her family to come to the podium on my right, your left, Tori? Item G1 is an honor and a privilege, Madam Chair. Item G1 is to request the board to confirm the appointment of Ms. Allison Victoria Bateman, Tori, to serve as Polk's next director of the Human Resources Division. The Polk County Charter specifies that the county manager's appointment of executive service employees is subject to confirmation by the board of county commissioners. After a lengthy public solicitation process, I have appointed Ms. Allison Bateman to the position of director of the Polk County Human Resources Division, effective today, July 7, 2026. Ms. Bateman is an experienced human resources executive with extensive leadership experience in strategic people operations, workplace compliance, workforce development, organizational infrastructure, and executive leadership. Most recently, she served as the as the as executive director of the human resources for the one child or the one more child organization, where she established and led the organization's centralized people operations functions, overseeing employee relations, talent acquisition, benefits administration, performance management, payroll operations, and workforce strategy. Throughout her career, Ms. Bateman has demonstrated success in developing organizational strategy, implementing performance management frameworks, modernizing HR systems and processes, improving operational efficiencies, and strengthening employee engagement and retention. Prior to her executive HR leadership roles, she held progressively related responsible leadership positions with public supermarkets incorporated, including senior employment law investigator, strategic project manager, and manager of HR, legal and employment law. Ms. Bateman holds both a Bachelor of Science in psychology and a Master's of Business Administration in strategic leadership from Florida Southern College, and she maintains the senior certified professional designation through the Society of Human Resources Management. She is also active in community leadership and professional development initiatives throughout Polk County. The Human Resources Division director position is an authorized position in the current adopted by the current adopted budget, and the existing appropriations are sufficient to cover the negotiated base salary of $151,000 and employment benefits of approximately $42,370. So, Madam Chair, members of the board, I think considering the organizational importance of a human resources director, I would request that the board confirm my recommended appointment of Ms. Tori Bateman to serve as Polk County's next human resources division director, effective today, July 7th, 2026. Tori, take it away. Thank you. Thank you for my addition here, too, that wants to see everybody, apparently. I just wanted to thank the commissioners, thank Mr. Beasley, thank Mr. Taylor for the process, the hiring process. I'm very excited to come in and to serve Polk County and the community, and today, starting today. Madam Chair, I put that in form of a recommendation to the board. Move for approval. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion on the appointment? Madam Chair, if I may. Well, let's do the, if it's, if it's to talk about how, let's do it after. Okay. On the motion, any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Congratulations. Thank you, Tori. Good luck. Yep. Just, just wanted to say, I really do appreciate, I think, the ambition that you're coming into this position with. It is certainly a very large position to fill. A lot of, you know, employees that are great stewards of Polk County's ways, you know, there's a lot of great talent that's going to be out there, but there's a lot to manage. And so, I definitely appreciate the enthusiasm. I look forward to you maintaining that throughout your tenure, and congratulations. Thank you. Anybody else would want to say? I just want to say welcome. We're glad, we're very glad to see you. And if there's anything that any one of us can do, we are more than willing to work. But you're coming to work with a wonderful staff, so I know you'll be well taken care of. So, welcome, and welcome to all your beautiful girls. I love that. Three weddings in the near future. Wow. So, anyway, thanks. Thank you. Yeah. Boy, Guy. Thank you so much. Okay. Thank you. Madam Chair, the next item on the agenda, item number G2, is to request the board to approve amendment number six to the existing master purchase agreement with the Motorola Solutions, Incorporated Organization, Incorporated Organization, in support of Polk County's public safety radio system. Board action today will cover a six-year agreement at a total term expense not to exceed $5,135,075.74. In December of 2014, the board approved a master purchase agreement with Motorola for radio communications products, accessories, and related services. Subsequent amendments were executed by the board in 2016, two amendments, 2019, 2022, and 2025, for related system maintenance and equipment purchases. A proposed sixth amendment is now recommended in order to execute a system upgrade agreement, what we call version two, for a six-year term, effective October 1, 2026, concluding September 30, 2032. The first-year annual expense totals $793,669.85 and will increase annually by approximately 3%. The current system upgrade agreement began in October of 2016 and will expire in September of 2026. The system upgrade agreement version two provides software, hardware, and implementation services required to ensure the public safety radio system is kept secure, operational, expandable, and up-to-date. Updates to software and hardware components ensure ongoing availability of repair services support, system expansion, and the latest cybersecurity protection. Funds are budgeted in the radio communication fund for the upcoming fiscal year and will be budgeted in subsequent fiscal years consistent with the outlined negotiated annual expenses. So, Madam Chair, members of the board, I think in keeping with the board's priority commitments to public safety across all of Polk County, especially the public safety communication system, I would request the board approve the Sixth Amendment to an existing Master Purchase Agreement No. 15-09 with Motorola Solutions Incorporated to reflect a six-year term, effective October 1, 2026, concluding September 30, 2032, for a total expense not to exceed $5,135,075.74. Motion for approval. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Madam Chair, members of the board, item number G3 is to request the board to approve a consultant services authorization with the Jacobs Engineering Group in connection with professional design and engineering services for proposed improvements to the Kathleen Road at West Campbell Road intersection. Board action today will address needed professional services at an expense not to exceed $273,004.60. The proposed consultant services authorization will provide professional engineering services to perform roadway design, utility coordination, geotechnical investigation, subsurface utility engineering, and for preparation of construction plans for intersection improvements, including an interim signalization solution to Kathleen Road at the West Campbell Road intersection. This intersection currently meets signalization warrants, and the signalization aspect is characterized as an interim signal based upon a new signal being installed upon the future widening of Kathleen Road along this roadway segment. Interim turn lane configurations will also be analyzed as part of the short-term interim improvements. The Kathleen Road at West Campbell Road intersection improvement project is included in the FY25-26 adopted community investment program, and funds are budgeted and available in the Transportation Trust Fund to cover these expenses. During the FY26-27 community investment program process, this project will be adjusted to fully fund the total project-anticipated cost, including all related construction efforts and any potential right-of-way acquisition expenses. So, Madam Chair, members of the Board, I think given the growing concerns and congestion along the Kathleen Road corridor, I would request the Board to approve consultant services authorization number 22-089-05 with the Jacobs Engineering Group at a not-to-exceed fee totaling $273,004.16, all in connection with the Kathleen Road at West Campbell Road proposed intersection improvements project. So moved. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Madam Chair? Yes. Just to bring up the point, I mean, from a safety aspect, this intersection definitely needs a signalization. We recognize that as a county, and as the county manager stated, this is an interim measure. So this isn't the end-all, be-all, but it's something better than the current stop sign set up that has led to several issues there safety-wise. So I'm glad to see us moving forward with it, and this will be hopefully an expeditious project to get that implemented. So thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. I have a motion and a second, and no further discussion or questions. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Final item from the manager's office this morning, Madam Chair. Item number G4 is to request the Board to approve a construction manager at risk guaranteed maximum price addendum with Strickland Construction Incorporated in connection with the Eagle Lake Roads and Drainage Maintenance Facility. Board action today will reflect a facility construction agreement not to exceed $6,381,337.57. Several years ago, a site study was conducted to evaluate the condition and functionality of the county's existing Mulberry Roadway Maintenance Unit facilities and identified those site facilities as requiring replacement due to age, deteriorated condition, and the inability to adequately support operational needs. The study concluded that the existing buildings have exceeded their useful service lives. The Mulberry Maintenance Unit would be replaced by a new maintenance campus to be designated as the Eagle Lake Maintenance Unit that will provide a modern campus capable of supporting current and future operational needs to be sited on county-owned property along the western end of Sheffield Road. This project will construct a new roadway maintenance facility consisting of an approximate 3,900-square-foot office building, 5,400-square-foot maintenance building, a 7,600-square-foot vehicle storage building, and a 5,000-square-foot equipment storage building to include all associated site development and supporting infrastructure necessary to meet current and future operational requirements. In January of 2026, the board entered into a master service agreement with Strickland Construction to provide construction manager at risk services when the cost of construction is estimated not to exceed $7.5 million. In March of 2026, the county authorized Strickland to provide pre-construction services for the Eagle Lake Roads and Drainage Maintenance Facility Project in an amount of $37,818.05. Those pre-construction services are now complete, and Strickland has provided a guaranteed maximum price to construct the project, and in accordance with Resolution No. 13066, $250,000 is included in the guaranteed maximum price total to address allowance and contingency work conditions. Total construction time for this project has been set at 395 calendar days. The Eagle Lake Roads and Drainage Maintenance Facility is an approved project in the board's adopted community investment program. Funding is budgeted in the Transportation Millage Fund, and during the FY26-27 Community Investment Program budget process, the project account will be fully adjusted to account for all related project costs. So, Madam Chair, I think in keeping with the board's adopted strategy to upgrade and optimize roadway maintenance facilities where reasonable and appropriate, I would request that the board approve Construction Manager at Risk No. 2026-013-01, a guaranteed maximum price addendum with Strickland Construction, incorporated in connection with the Eagle Lake Roads and Drainage Maintenance Facility in an amount not to exceed $6,381,337.57. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. That's it, Madam Chair, from the Manager's Office. We'll go now to Commissioners. Commissioner Troutman. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have two appointments this morning. Both of them are for the Polk County Planning Commission, and I just want to say, you know, this, having served on this for six years, I think it is the second most important board in this county, so I am thankful for the people that volunteer their time to serve on this board. First, I have Mr. Mike Hickman to be serving his second term starting September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2029. I have a motion and a second. Any questions, discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Opposed? Motion carries for Mike Hickman. Awesome. And then I have Ms. Tracy Mouncey, who I do believe I saw her here today, so thank you for coming. But to appoint Tracy Mouncey as an alternate member for seat B of the Polk County Planning Commission for the remainder of the three-year term ending September 18, 2027. I have a motion and a second. Any questions, discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. And I think I did see Ms. Mouncey come in. Oh, there she is. Thank you for wanting to serve. Appreciate that. Okay. Anything else, Commissioner of Chairman? No, ma'am. All right. Commissioner Wilson? Yes, ma'am. I also have an appointment of Kevin Updike as a member of seat three on the Polk County Planning Commission for a three-year term starting September 1st of 2026 through August 31st, 2029. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries for Kevin Updike. And I don't have anything else, ma'am. Thank you. And going on to Commissioner Braswell. Yeah, I move to appoint Chad Barron as the alternate member seat A on the Polk County Planning Commission for the three-year term, July 2nd, 2026 through July 1st, 2029. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries for Chad Barron. That's all I have. Thank you. And Commissioner Scott? Yes, Madam Chair. I'd like to move to appoint Shane E. Babylacqua as a member of the Polk County Planning Commission for a three-year term September 1st, 2026 through August 31st, 2029. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries for Shane, and I'm just going to leave it like that. All right. I practiced it. I hope I got it close. I was practicing. I'm not even going to try to attempt the other one. Anything else, Commissioner? Just a quick update, Madam Chair, that I did complete my field visits to both Hillsboro and Pasco County Animal Control Shelters last month and took some notes, made some interesting observations. I will say as far as comparing them to Polk County, I mean, Polk County has got a lot of good things going on, and there are some notes certainly for us to leverage, but I think all counties are faced with a similar challenge, and all of us really have to approach it in a way that's responsible for the community, and there's more things to come. I appreciate it. Thank you. Okay. Then, moving on, we're going to go ahead and go into the expedited hearing. Thank you, Madam Chair. Before we go into the expedited hearings, I will go over the public hearing general procedures. First, I'd like to remind everyone, if you wish to speak on any of the public hearing items, you need to fill out a speaker card in the back and give the card to a member of the communication staff. We ask that you please turn off your cell phones or 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. Individuals speaking during the public comment section of a matter will be strictly limited three minutes. The Board is experiencing these matters and able to discern what is legally relevant to an issue and what is not. Information that is relevant or repetitive only serves to frustrate and necessarily prolong the day's business. The Commission inspects civility at all times during all public hearings. Speaking out of turn, shouting out from the audience, disrespectful sounds or utterances while another is speaking are unacceptable and you will be asked to leave the chambers for the remainder of the day. If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the Board with respect to any matter considered here today, you will need a record of the proceedings and that for such purpose you may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based, which you must gather at your own expense. Anyone in the audience who wishes to speak and 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 and raise your right hand and answer out loud to the following questions. These are for land use cases and public hearing cases. Do you swear or affirm the testimony or evidence you provide to the Commission today is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Thank you. At this time, Madam Chair, I will go over the expedited hearing procedures. Expedited hearings are held pursuant to Resolution No. 2022-089. Expedited hearings are used when no opposition was present at the Planning Commission hearing. The applicant agrees to the expedited hearing, and the recommendation of the Development and Review Committee is for approval. Expedited procedures are the following. After staff briefly introduces the case, the hearing will be open for public comment. If anyone speaks during public comment, the applicant will be given the opportunity to respond. After public comment, the Board will consider the land use case. At any time, a full presentation of staff can be requested from a Commissioner, the applicant, or a member of the public. All documents attached to the agenda item are deemed part of the record of the land use case. Unless removed from the list of experts by motion, the Board of all individuals on the list of experts attached to the agenda are deemed experts for the purpose of the land use case. At this time, I will turn it over to Mr. Ziskell to present the expedited hearings. Thank you, Mr. Mink. Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the audience. My name is Ben Ziskell, Land Development Director for Polk County. There are three items on today's expedited public hearing portion of the agenda. Item number N1 is an expedited public hearing for case LDCT 2026-14 Polk City Spa LCC text amendment to consider an amendment to the Land Development Code, which will remove a limitation on expansion of linear commercial corridor districts within the Polk City special protection area. As you can see on the screen here, the properties along Highway 98 include a substantial portion that is a linear commercial corridor, and there is one parcel on the northeast intersection of Socrumb Loop Road that is within that special protection area. So that particular district is prohibited from expanding, while there is no prohibition on linear commercial corridor expanding anywhere else in the county. So this amendment would simply remove that asterisk that prevents this one parcel or this one district from expanding either to the north or to the east. This text amendment appeared before the Planning Commission and received a unanimous recommendation of approval. This is an adoption hearing today, so following any questions or comments, staff recommends adoption. Any questions or comments for staff? Okay, hearing none, we'll open it up for public hearing. Member, do we have anyone for this one? No, ma'am, we do not. Okay, thank you. We'll close the public hearing and bring it back to the board. Motion for approval. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. Madam Chair, item number N2 is an expedited public hearing for case LDCT 2026-5, Shimmering Drive, LDC, LCC text amendment to consider an amendment to the Land Development Code providing for an activity center plan with an anticipated expansion of a community activity center. This is a companion item to a land use request that you will see in two weeks. State law requires text amendments to the Land Development Code to appear before you twice, where small-scale comprehensive plan amendments only appear before you once. So we are bringing this to you on its first reading. This amendment would provide specifications regarding access to this two-acre site, providing that they would allow one access off of Shimmering Drive from the north and then utilizing an existing easement on the western property line for an access on the western side. Again, this is related to a land use amendment case that will be brought before you in two weeks. This amendment is before you today on first reading, so no action is required. Any questions for staff? Hearing none, we'll open it up for public hearing. Anyone signed up, Amber? No, ma'am, there is not. Thank you. I will close the public hearing, and since this is first reading, we will look at this again in two weeks. Yes, ma'am. And finally, for me, item N3 is an expedited public hearing for case LDCT 2026-7, Grayline X-LDC text amendment. This is a very similar item. It is an amendment proposed to the Land Development Code to specifically reduce development, restrict development potential for a site that is going to be before you in two weeks. The subject site is on State Road 60, just to the west of the Willow Oak community. The specifics of this request would be that it would prohibit certain uses on the site, which would include salvage yards, anything to do with construction aggregate or auto repair. The intent is to develop this site, and they have a user in mind, so they are voluntarily restricting other uses as they seek this change. This item also will be before you in two weeks as a companion item, and it is before you today on first reading. So, following any questions or comments, no action is required. Any questions for staff? Yes, ma'am. Yes, Commissioner? Just to confirm, as far as the existing RS that's on it now, it looks like from the aerial of the property around it, it would be similar. Is there any concerns as far as not from, I know nobody commented about it, but I guess in general planning, any concerns that this would allow more RS to convert to industrial moving, you know, left on the map? So, that is one of the things that we reviewed, and it is in our analysis for the land use amendment. There are existing non-residential uses in the area, but it's not feasible to develop under the RS standards. It is only a three-acre site, so it doesn't meet the size requirements for RS, and also the current regulations would require a single-family home to be built on State Road 60, which there's no market or interest to build large-lot single-family homes directly accessing State Road 60. So, that analysis and that thought and the planning theology behind that was part of our recommendation for the land use change. Thank you. Yes, sir. Any other questions? Kaylee? I'll open it for public hearing. Anybody for this one? No, ma'am. We do not. Thank you. We closed the public hearing, and since this is first reading, we will revisit this in two weeks. Yes, ma'am. And that concludes the expedited portion of today's agenda. Moving on to public hearings now. Good morning. For the record, Scott Lowry, Real Estate Services Support Manager. I have one item today, which is a petition from Jim Schultz to vacate a portion of platted, unopened, and unmaintained right-of-way shown as Roosevelt Street on the platter Bevington Manor. The platter filed in 1926 dedicated various rights-of-way throughout the platter to the public. The petitioner recently purchased lots 119 and 120 and discovered that the existing residence is partially located within the right-of-way shown as Roosevelt Street, which is creating an encroachment. The petitioner is requesting the vacation to eliminate the encroachment, which was created by a previous owner. Vacating the subject right-of-way will remove the public's interest in the subject area and clear any clouds on the title created by the encroachment. The owners of the properties to the east and the south of the petitioner's property have objected to the vacation. However, access is still available to their properties from the remaining portion of Roosevelt as well as other opened right-of-ways within the platter. The appropriate utilities and county divisions were notified and no objections were received. Staff recommends the board adopt a resolution to vacate a portion of the platted, unmaintained right-of-way shown on the platter Bevington Manor as more fully described in the legal description contained in the petition and the resolution. And I'll remain standing for any questions. Any questions for staff? Okay, hearing none. Do we have anyone for this? No, ma'am, not for this one. I mean, I opened it up for public hearing, so we have no one signed up for this one? No, ma'am, we do not. Then I close the public hearing and bring it back to the board. Motion for approval. I have a motion and a second. Any further questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Sorry, good morning. For the record, I'm Amy Gregory, Traffic Manager for the Roads and Drainage Division, and I have four items for you this morning. The first item before you today is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of one traffic calming device on Bay Boulevard North and Lake Wales. Bay Boulevard North is classified as a local residential road, 20 feet wide, 522 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 112 vehicles, Bay Boulevard North met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume. Staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronting Bay Boulevard North, and we received the required 80% favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes per the board's policy. On June 2nd, 2026, a hearing date of July 7th, 2026, was set by consent agenda, and staff posted on-site notices as well. Inasmuch as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices has been met, staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install one speed hump along Bay Boulevard North, and I'll stand for any questions. Any questions for staff? Hearing none, we'll open it up for public hearing. Amber, do we have anyone for this one? No, ma'am, we do not. Okay, thank you. I close the public hearing and bring it back to the board. Madam Chair, motion for approval. Second. I have a motion and a second. Questions of discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. The next item for you this morning is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of three traffic calming devices on Eastside Drive and Lakeland. Eastside Drive South is classified an urban collector road, 20 feet wide, 2,375 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 35 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 1,013 vehicles, Eastside Drive South met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume. Staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property refronting Eastside Drive South, and we received the required 80% favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes for the board's policy. On June 2nd, 2026, a hearing date of July 7th, 2026 was set by consent agenda, and staff posted on-site notices as well. Inasmuch 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 Eastside Drive, and I'll stand for any questions. Any questions for staff? Hearing none, we will open up for public hearing. Anyone? We do not have anyone for this one. We close the public hearing, bring it back to the board. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any further question, discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. The next item is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of five traffic calming devices on Pryor Road in Haines City. Pryor Road is classified as local residential road, 20 feet wide, 2,634 feet long, with a posted speed limit of 20 miles an hour. Upon receiving request for traffic calming, staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history, and with an 85th percentile speed of 32 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 150 vehicles, Pryor Road met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume. Staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronting Pryor Road, and we received the required 80% favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes for the board's policy. On June 2nd, 2026, the hearing date of July 7th, 2026, was set by consent agenda, and staff posted on-site notices as well. Inasmuch as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices has been met, staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install five speed humps along Pryor Road. Any questions for staff? Hearing none, we'll open up for public hearing. Do we have anyone? No, ma'am, we do not. Then we close the public hearing and bring it back to the board. Move for approval. Motion for approval in a second. Any further question, discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. And the last item I have for you this morning is a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution to allow the placement of three traffic calming devices on 6th Street East and Winter Haven. 6th Street East is classified a local residential road, 20 feet wide, 1,338 feet long with a posted speed limit of 20 miles an hour. Upon receiving requests for traffic calming, staff collected speed and volume data and reviewed the crash history, and with an 85th percentile speed of 30 miles an hour and an average daily traffic of 286 vehicles, 6th Street East met the board's traffic calming policy criteria for speed and volume. Staff subsequently distributed ballots to the homeowners with property fronting 6th Street East, and we received the required 80 percent favorable response from yes votes and from non-votes for the board's policy. On June 2nd, 2026, a hearing date of July 7th, 2026 was set by consent agenda and staff posted on-site notices as well. In as much as the board's criteria for the installation of traffic calming devices has been met, staff recommends adoption of a resolution to install three speed humps along 6th Street Southeast, and I'll stand for any questions. Any questions for staff? Hearing none, we'll open it up for public hearing. Anyone? Yes, ma'am. We have four. Thank you. Thank you. We have Rosa Cabrera. Rosa, are you in the audience? If you would come up to this microphone right here, Rosa. Yes. State your name and address, and then you have three minutes. Right here. I'm Rosa Cabrera, and my address is 415 Avenue A East Juanita, and I do support the speed bumps on 6th Street, but I also think it would be a good idea to put speed bumps throughout Avenue A as down my road traffic runs really fast, and we do have children in the area next to the school because we are next to the Juanita Elementary. So I think the speed bumps on Avenue A would also be a great idea with the 6th Street bumps. Rosa, thank you for that. If you would see staff for that, and then they'll tell you basically what to do for the other speed bumps that you're requesting. Thank you. Thank you. I have Rosalinda Santilla. Hello. Good morning. My name is Rosalinda Santillan. My address is 615 Avenue A, Juanita East. I also do support the speed humps on 6th Street. There are a lot of little children always playing, and there's a lot of speeding, but hopefully in the future also we can get some on Avenue A. It's a school. It's a school zone, so I would really appreciate the speed humps. Yes. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Rosalinda. I say the same thing if you would get together with staff later on, and they can share with you the procedure to do that. I spoke to Ms. Cabrera before the meeting started, and I contacted my office. We actually did look at Avenue A a few months ago, and it did not meet the criteria, but I'll speak to them after the meeting. Absolutely. Thank you. Ernest, I think it's Oldacre, maybe. Yes, I'm Ernest Oldacre, and I live at 510 Avenue A, Juanita East Winter Haven, Florida, and I'm 50-50 on the speed bumps on Avenue A because, you know, it's going to create traffic noise, trailers and stuff. There's a lot of trailers going in and out of there, people pulling produce, but more people speed down the Avenue A versus 6th Street, so, you know what I mean? I'm, they should be more on 6th Street versus, I mean, Avenue A versus 6th Street because the school's there, and more people are speeding on that road that I see, but. Well, definitely. Staff will definitely. Yeah, but I really think they need to be on Avenue A more than anywhere right this moment, you know what I mean? I don't know why they waste money on a small street when they're going down that road 80 miles per hour for minutes versus one short, you know what I mean? So, the time they go down that road, you're screaming to slow down. They don't slow down a lot. Some days, when I rode it so fast, I'm going to throw something out in front of them, but, you know what I mean? Because a lot of times, it's the same cars repeating. It's not different people, you know what I mean? It's the same constant vehicles. Okay. But. Thank you. Thank you. We'll look, definitely look into Avenue A. And then I have Brittany Miller. Hi, I'm Brittany Miller. I live at 510 Avenue A, Juanita East, Winter Haven, Florida. I oppose it. I don't really think that we need them on 6th Street. Like you said, there's a lot of trailers. I, I'm on the one half of the road on 6th Street. We're a good halfway down. So, all three speed bumps will be right in front of my housing. And I sit on my front porch every day and watch them, like you say, going 80 miles an hour. When the kids are walking home from school, we have people that park on the sidewalk. My son's a handicapped. I used to have to walk him in his wheelchair down to school whenever he went to Juanita. And they would literally park their cars on the sidewalk. And it's an everyday thing. I've talked to the neighbors. I went and had to talk to a police officer to get someone to stop parking because I had to keep going in the road to take my son to school. But we're trying to put speed bumps instead of addressing the main issue on Avenue A. Because like you said, it goes all the way down about 12 blocks. And they fly, they race down there. I don't really feel like we need them on 6th Street. Thank you very much. Anyone else, Amber? No, ma'am. That is it. Okay. I close the hearing for 05. And I bring it back to the board. Motion for approval. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any further questions or discussion? Madam Chair, if I may. Yes, please. Just with respect to Avenue A, I think from once these speed bumps are installed on 6th, maybe that, you know, is worth re-evaluating Avenue A. Yeah, I think so too. Right. And then maybe as an interim, just get with the Sheriff's Department, you know, Sheriff's Office and have them do some speed enforcement along Avenue A. Yes, sir. Anyone else? Hearing none. Aye. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. That's it. We have Madam Chair. Now we go into the general public audience hearing or opportunity to speak. Do we have any? Yes, ma'am. We have four. Okay. Okay. For the general public and audience opportunity to speak, we have first Sue Nelson. Can I wait until they distribute them? Yeah. We'll wait until. Okay. Thank you. There's documentation in there. Okay. We're good. We're good. This way. Okay. You may begin. Thank you. Thank you. Say your name and address, please. Okay. My name is Sue Nelson. I live at 2920 Cruise Lake Drive. I'm here to set the record straight. On January 6th of 2026, this board approved Highlands Club, a 747-lot development with direct frontage onto Cruise Lake Drive. This development is adjacent to a sheep farm and a horse ranch. During the hearing, I spoke about the Cruise Lake Drive roadway safety analysis by Polk County Transportation. The project was approved based on the fact the road was to be widened to 12 feet wide lanes. I presented this Federal Highway Administration letter. The letter is self-explanatory. Based on the review of the project's 1.9-mile length, approximately one mile contains no pavement widening, and the entire length will be striped with 10-foot wide lanes, which is the same width as currently provided. The final scope of the project does not reflect the 12-foot lane widening to address roadway departure issues as recommended in the safety study. During the hearing, Bart Allen, the applicant's attorney, read an email exchange between himself and Jay Jarvis, your Polk County Transportation Director. Bart says, Jay, I wanted to make sure you were aware of this. I could see this letter generating some conversation by the BOCC members. In his email reply, Jay Jarvis says, with regards to the letter, some of the residents did not like the impacts to the front of their property and submitted a request to have the funding removed. They succeeded, and the letter was the result. The federal safety funding wasn't removed because the residents didn't like the widening. The funding was removed because the county was supposed to widen the lanes to 12 feet, and they didn't. Period. Not only did Jay Jarvis misrepresent the letter, he signed off on the changes. An email dated May 6, 2016 from FDOT's roadway design engineer stated, the roadway cannot be brought into full compliance with nominal criteria without impacting existing utility poles and requiring right away. He wants Jay Jarvis to sign off on the design exceptions before proceeding. Jay Jarvis knows full well why the federal safety money was rescinded. Polk County has known for years about the inherent dangers of the utility poles that line Cruise Lake Drive. They were previously documented in a 2010 staff report a land use change concerning this very property by then planner John Bodie and TPO planner Ben Dunn. As you know, land use changes have to go to Tallahassee for approval. Tallahassee had concerns about Cruise Lake Drive. Ben Dunn stated Cruise Lake Drive was in the CIP and would be improved as soon as Lakeland Electric relocated their utility poles. Tallahassee accepted that response, and the land use was approved, but it obviously never happened. Ask yourselves, why was utility pole relocation along the roadway a necessity back in 2010, but now 16 years later, it doesn't seem to matter? How does the county defend this? Are you almost finished? I'm done. Okay. I'm done. Any questions? And well, we don't want, we were just listening to you. We'll look into this information that you provided us. Thank you. Next, we have, uh, Kay Bork. Good morning. I'm Kay Bork, 1133 Brook Road in Fort Meade, and today I wanted to share an update on the animal welfare improvement model that I presented to you earlier this year. The shelter and its leadership are the foundation of the model, replacing existing processes with proven innovations. The components are intended to reduce birth rates, thereby reducing shelter intake, increase placements, whether through adoptions, fosters, rescues, or transfers, and then provide resources so that responsible pet owners can keep their animals. While shelter leadership drives the initiatives, it's the community that extends the safety net of care. Volunteers and partner rescues assist the animal control team find a better outcome for innocent animals and are the key to success in a humane, life-saving shelter. So let's review the model. When I shared this with you earlier this year, we were struggling to show any progress and showed only three components with forward movement. These are highlighted in yellow-green. Well, today, we see animal control making shelter improvements, engaging with the community and rescue partners, increasing social media presence and adoption event participation, greater efforts spent in the field, and viewing the many lost and found pages in Polk County to try and reunite animals with their owners. These components are all highlighted in various shades of yellow and green, and they should be celebrated. But let's not stop there. We need to keep our foot on the gas and add the rest of the components into the mix. Support programs to help keep pets out of shelters, ordinances that limit backyard breeding and provide for community cat programs, of which TNVR is part, will reduce litters and keep animals out of shelters. This is a commitment to animals' lives, backed by data, strategy, common sense programs, and community engagements. It's about preventing shelter crises before they happen. So we're requesting the opportunity to collaborate with you and the animal control team to establish an animal welfare advisory committee. The purpose of this committee will be to provide valuable input on the gaps that currently prevent Polk County from advancing animal welfare standards. Additionally, the committee will develop and propose practical solutions to address these gaps, ensuring that Polk County can move forward effectively. Beyond identifying the challenges and proposing solutions, the advisory committee will be responsible for presenting a comprehensive plan for implementation. This approach will help clear a pathway for improving animal welfare in our community with a focus on actionable strategies and meaningful results. The committee will focus on utilizing effective methods that have demonstrated success in communities throughout the county country. By carefully evaluating these proven solutions, the committee will identify the most appropriate strategies for adoption within Polk County. This process will involve reviewing best practices, assessing local needs, and determining the optimal ways to implement these initiatives to benefit both animals and residents. The committee's objective is to ensure that Polk County can achieve meaningful improvements in animal welfare by drawing on reliable models and adapting them to meet the unique challenges of our area. Commissioner Scott, we'd love to work with you on that. Thank you, Ms. Borg. Next, we have Mrs. Debbie Hicks. Good morning. Debbie Hicks, 236 Alderman Road, Lakeland, Florida. I am so glad to be here. My thing today is vision. I remember when I came in a year ago, over a year ago, the vision was to have animal control better, well, actually a new one, better, and to have things getting better. Well, my vision is much brighter because animal control. We have new management over at Barnador's doing a fabulous job, new procedures. We, county stepped up and made it better. So, my vision is much better, and I appreciate that, and thank you, and I thank you for visiting Commissioner Scott and these other two facilities. However, we get into it. The foundation of the facility is still from 1988. The population was less than 400,000, is now over 800,000. So, the amount of animals, it makes sense, would be more coming in. With the cats taking the south side, which we used to take the dogs out on on the south side, you got over 40 to 50, it was under 50, but over 40 kennels over there that we've lost, which I'm happy for the cats. They deserve their own place. But we've lost that. So, now we're down to just those two runs that I've seen that are the adoptable animals. So, that's cut down the amount of adoptable animals. So, I'm still looking for a new facility. Now, I see you, how much time I got? I see you guys opening up new property for different things. So, property is probably not a problem. You could open up something in the county to build a new facility. I also see you building new facilities because the old facilities are not good. Are those old facilities older than 1988? I don't think so. So, that means, and then I see a lot of money going into these new facilities. Is it not time? And, and, I want to end it with this. We need the committee. The vision I have is that this county, which Varnador is doing a wonderful job, is that this county will work with the rescues, work with the individuals like me and my elderly neighbor that has taken in so many dogs and cats on a retirement income. Work with us to help the community get better. Let the community help. We donate things. We'd be glad to help out with things. We could educate our kids in the schools. There's just so much, but we need that committee. We need the committee so we can talk, not three minute increments where we can't talk back and forth. We need the committee. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Mr. Abercrombie. Some paperwork I want to put up on the screen. James Abercrombie, 2737 Gibson and Galloway Road. Folks, I've told you many, many times I've been in this building for 26 years. A lot of those years, including recently, the last four or five years, I've been back in here pretty regularly. And one of my main complaints, folks, is public records. I don't understand where you people are even coming from. I've taken the time to explain every little incident that happens with me and the county attorney. I take the time to bring the paperwork into you for you to read. I bring the paperwork in because I don't think you're reading it. If you are, you're not comprehending it. So I bring it in. I read it to you, specifically word for word. I don't know what's so hard to comprehend about that. I have the right to commute to public records. As you folks sit right there, and I understand, you text between each other, you email between each other right there sitting behind them. That's all public record. Every bit of it. Anything to do with government money is public record. I had no problems at all with land development last week. When I come in and ask for the community center on Kathleen Road, the government center, I didn't have any problems. I went in and printed it right out. I walked out the door. No big deal. I go to the county attorney's office and ask for the contract. I want to see the contract now that George Linden was involved in. I want to see what went on with that. I want to know all the details to the purchase of this property. Everything. He refers to me upstairs. I says, no, I don't have to. She says, yes, you do. I was one of his attorney liaisons. I went across the floor to your office. I left a message with your secretary that he had just refused me my public rights, my public requests again. And he does this a lot. Once again, we can't walk down the hallway and I can't record it because he says it's not public record. It is public record, but it's not in writing. So therefore, it's not public record. I can't get it. When are you guys going to stand up to this guy? You are responsible for me, for the citizens of Polk County. You're supposed to be, your oath is to support the citizens of Polk County. And I'm not saying take care of me and all that other, put me in a hospital, do whatever you want to do. But you're supposed to stand up for us, not the developers, not the county attorney, not the county manager. County manager is supposed to be managing this county, including an attorney. If you want to watch the statutes, not in, not on the charter, but in the statutes, county managers next to her, the most powerful people right there, those two, not him. It has nothing to do with it. Thank you, Mr. Abercrombie. Thank you. Do we have anyone else, Ms. Amber? Sure. Just because of my understanding that he has, Mr. Abercrombie has informed many of you that I'm refusing to give public records. First and foremost, we follow the public records law. Second, the incident that Mr. Abercrombie is referring to, as I understand it, as y'all may have been aware, I was not in the office at that time. Actually, my paralegal went out and met Mr. Abercrombie, and he, in my understanding, he informed her he was there for a public records request, not a specific public records request, but just to make a public records request. As y'all are aware, in general, we try to funnel those public records requests through the records management division in order to make sure that it gets tracked. If he hadn't made a specific request, we would be happy to fulfill that and so forth. But we do try to funnel them through the records management in order so there's a record and make sure that we fully fulfill it. But that's not required. And Mr. Abercrombie, he knows the public records process, as y'all aware of, he makes several of them, and we fulfill them. He just disagrees a lot of times that and believes that we haven't fulfilled them. We fulfill them to as much as we have the records themselves. But in this incident, we did not refuse the records. My understanding, he didn't make a specific request. In addition, I was not even in office and knew about the request at the time. So, thank you. And if I understand this correctly, this is basically the procedure for public requests? Yes, ma'am. It's our general procedure. In general, we try to funnel that way to make sure it gets requests. But under law, there is other ways to process the records, and we will do that. Mr. Abercrombie, I will meet him right after this and ask him for what records he wants. We'll make sure we try to get those to him as quickly as possible. Thank you. All right. Having none other to speak, then I close the public hearing, and this meeting is adjourned.