Lakeland Electric Fuel Charge Drops Next Month
Aided by falling natural gas prices and warm weather, Lakeland Electric will reduce the fuel charge it passes along to customers to its lowest rate in 17 years for April through June. More
City Hall
Revenue Ideas Rile Supporters of Golf Course, Theater
Supporters of the Cleveland Heights Golf Course and Lakeland Community Theater took to Facebook recently to rally public sentiment behind the two long-time institutions. They were spurred to action by comments made Jan 17 to the City Commission by Steve Scruggs, head of the Lakeland Economic Development Council; he floated several wide-ranging ideas to increase city revenue, including selling the golf course and land around Lake Mirror (where LCT is housed) for development. The city insists no such plans are under consideration, and Scruggs says he’s disappointed his suggestions caused distress.
LINKS: Ledger article | Scruggs’ presentation and video | Save the Heights 27 Facebook group | LCT ending its petition drive | City statement re the golf course and theater building
Summit Downtown Headquarters Gets Design Approval
New angles on a design for Summit Consulting’s planned downtown headquarters didn’t change commissioners’ positive feelings for the lakeside office building, which received a 5-0 vote of approval Monday. More
City Eyes Selling Surplus Lots for Affordable Housing
An affordable housing program passed its first hurdle last week. On Feb. 17, the Lakeland City Commission will be asked to proceed with a project to offer roughly 80 city-owned lots for sale at 120% of assessed value to developers to build houses or apartments aimed at buyers and tenants whose family income is up to 120% of the city’s median. Non-utility impact fees would be waived once houses are sold to qualifying families.
City Adjusts Lake Mirror Dog Park Plans, Weighs Parking Concerns
A City Commission review of plans for a downtown dog park turned into a discussion about parking in the fast-developing area north of Lake Mirror and what walkability means in an increasingly urbanized city core. More
On Broadband, Lakeland to Request Buffet of Choices
Absent a clear vision for their broadband ambitions and eager to capitalize on recent prodding for information by communications technology companies, commissioners agreed Friday to issue an open-ended request for proposals to firms willing to create a partnership with the city. More
Palmer Davis Appointed City Attorney
Three months after naming Palmer Davis interim city attorney, city commissioners are poised to remove the “interim” from his title Tuesday. UPDATE: Commissioners voted unanimously to promote Davis to city attorney. More
Couple Wants to Bring Electric Scooter Rentals to Lakeland
Is Lakeland ready for rental electric scooters? With one exception, city commissioners don’t think we’re there yet, but they’re willing to listen to a young couple who would like to bring 45 scooters here as a pilot project. More
City Homelessness Efforts Evolve in Second Year
In its first year, the city’s rapid re-housing program found permanent housing for 114 Lakelanders who if not already homeless were on the verge of eviction, Mayor Bill Mutz said.
Now the city needs to sign off on paperwork to provide the promised $103,000 so the program administrator, Tri-County Human Services, qualifies for additional grant funding to continue the program for another year. More
Troller: Use Formal Process for Broadband Proposals
As city officials entertain new proposals from companies interested in providing broadband services, they should use a formal “request for proposal” process to ensure the city’s needs are met, Commissioner Justin Troller said Friday. Public records requests by reporter Sara-Megan Walsh revealed that the companies the city is dealing with include Grain Management, which recently acquired Orlando’s Summit Broadband, and MetroNet of Evansville, Ind.