Osprey Nest Moved; Electric Generator Restarts

Mar 28, 2017 at 6:47 am

Lakeland Electric’s Unit 5 was back online on schedule last week after an osprey nest was moved out of danger, the utility’s director said. “It’s nice to see the water vapor meaning our natural gas unit is back up and running. It was running as of last Wednesday, on schedule in spite of an osprey nesting during the outage period 🙄,” Joel Ivy said in a post visible to his Facebook friends. “Natural gas prices are still very favorable and we will leverage that benefit as we should.” News reports last week said danger to the ospreys could delay the generator’s restart after an unplanned outage.

City Hall

City Commission Takes Step to Put Strong Mayor on Ballot

Mar 20, 2017 at 4:27 pm

In a decision that represents a mile marker in the marathon of deciding if Lakeland will adopt a strong mayor form of government, city commissioners this afternoon voted 7-0 to proceed toward placing the issue on an election ballot.More

City Hall

Step-by-Step Approach to Mayor Vote Churns Along

Mar 17, 2017 at 11:54 am

City commissioners are continuing to follow a cautious, step-by-step approach in dealing with a request to put the strong mayor issue to a public vote.More

City Hall

Group Forms to Oppose Strong Mayor Initiative

Mar 17, 2017 at 6:31 am The Ledger

The organization, No Boss Mayor, wants to preserve the city of Lakeland’s council-manager form of government. Organizers include two former city commissioners, Larry Durrence and Frank O’Reilly, former City Manager Gene Strickland and Cindy Petterson, a member of the committee suggesting updates to the city charter.

City Hall/ Politics

Candidate Mutz Says He Wants to Be a Strong Leader, Not a ‘Strong Mayor’

Mar 8, 2017 at 7:30 am

It sounds counterintuitive, but Bill Mutz says he’s running for mayor to demonstrate that you don’t have to have a strong mayor to have strong leadership at City Hall.More

City Hall/ Public Safety

Video Shows Restoration of 1938 Fire Vehicle

Mar 6, 2017 at 12:14 pm Facebook: Lakeland Fire Department

A video documenting the restoration of the 1938 fire engine Leaping Lena was shown to city commissioners today as they honored Jonathan Beale and Matthew Warner, the Fire Department employees who restored the vehicle.

City Hall/ Public Safety

LPD Communications Workers Take First Step to Unionize

Mar 1, 2017 at 8:56 pm The Ledger

City Hall/ Schools

Troller Snapchat Investigation Ends With No Charges

Mar 1, 2017 at 1:21 pm ABC Action News

Justin Troller, a city commissioner and Lakeland High School athletic director, lied to his principal and did not cooperate with investigators looking into his Snapchat communications with a student, according to a report from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Prosecutors decided not to file charges, saying there’s insufficient evidence of improper communication.
ALSO: Ledger coverage

City Hall/ Politics

Three Business Executives File to Run for City Offices

Feb 15, 2017 at 9:51 pm The Ledger

Bill Mutz, former owner of Lakeland Automall, is running for may0r. C. Scott Franklin, president and CEO of Lanier Upshaw insurance is running for the City Commission southeast district. And Michael Dunn, owner of Vet’s Surplus, is running for City Commission southwest district.

Business/ City Hall

City Strives to Streamline Development Review

Feb 13, 2017 at 7:30 am

My Office and More owner Kate Lake said a partnership approach with the city helped move her project along.

When Tony Delgado became Lakeland city manager last January, he knew there was a notion among some that it’s hard to do business with the city, that uncaring bureaucrats at City Hall enforce regulations to the letter, often halting or delaying new businesses or construction projects.

It’s a notion that doesn’t fit with Delgado’s drive to create a “customer-centric” culture that solves problems and figures out how to get to yes as often as possible.More