Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Although most Lake Wales residents aren't even aware of it, Lake Wales is famous for thousands as the site of the largest group of landscape designs ever created by the legendary firm of Frederick Law Olmsted. So how did it come to be that the firm responsible for creating New York City's Central Park and for designing the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. played such a vital role in the planning – and now future – of Lake Wales? Our destiny as a "City in a Gar...
Six candidates have qualified for election to two open seats in the City of Lake Wales government in the April 5 municipal elections. Voters will have an opportunity to choose a new mayor and a District 4 city commissioner. Qualifying opened at noon Monday and closes at the same hour on Friday. Three candidates for mayor of Lake Wales include former Commissioner Curtis Gibson, current Commissioner Jack Hilligoss, and political newcomer Tammy James, a downtown investor and...
A well-attended reception Thursday evening offered the Lake Wales community its first opportunity to meet the four remaining candidates for superintendent of the Lake Wales Charter Schools system. More than 100 interested residents attended, taking the opportunity to become personally acquainted with the finalists. The candidates, including Emilean Clemons, Andy Oguntola, Wayne V. Rodolfich, and Anuj Saran, were introduced one at a time, giving them an essentially private...
The Lake Wales Charter School Board of Trustees is expected to choose a new superintendent of schools Tuesday to run seven local schools and maintain the standard of excellence achieved by former Superintendent Jesse Jackson. Jackson, who built an award-winning program with the help of principals and staff members, resigned in February, leaving the trustees to find a replacement. The fraught selection process continues to generate community concern. A nationwide search for...
A small but vocal group has been a significant influence on the process of selecting a new superintendent for the Lake Wales Charter School system, a simple reading of documents reveals. (See Related Story Here) The Polk County chapter of the Ohio-based County Citizens Defending Freedom has been involved in the process at numerous points and has consistently acted to promote the selection of Andy Oguntola. Two speakers who sought to end the national search in Lake Wales in...
Following the collapse of negotiations Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency is proceeding with a lawsuit against the Dixie Walesbilt LLC. That action is expected to filed by Monday. The 96-year-old building has been the subject of an ambitious redevelopment proposal that would bring a luxury hotel chain to the building while redeveloping the adjacent properties. Negotiations have taken place during the past three weeks, but failed to reach an agreement which would...
A multi-faceted project to transform Lake Wales' central districts will officially begin within weeks after the City Commission approved an agreement with Cobb Site Development, Inc. to perform the construction of the city's new Park Avenue Connector Trail with a $1.4 million contract on Tuesday evening. The "Park Avenue Connector Trail" will actually utilize a portion of that right-of-way to connect the popular Lake Wailes Trail to the Library Park Trail segment, via Crystal...
Four of the six expected candidates wasted no time in filing their paperwork for city elections after the qualifying period opened at noon Monday. They will each be a candidate for one of two open seats in Lake Wales government. Both the mayor and a city commission position will be on the April 5 ballot. Tammy James, a candidate for mayor, was first to arrive at the office of City Clerk Jennifer Nanek. Her two opponents, Jack Hilligoss and Curtis Gibson, arrived during the...
An April 30 event at Lake Wailes Park is more than a local celebration, it's part of a much broader celebration of a famous father-son duo who changed the face of North America. April 26, 2022, marks 200 years since the birth of American landscape architect and social reformer Frederick Law Olmsted, who championed the idea of public parks in the United States. Lake Wales Heritage is among more than 120 organizations nationwide have banded together as "Olmsted 200: Parks for...
A festive February evening and pleasant weather drew hundreds of pedestrians to fill the sidewalks of downtown for the Lake Wales Mainstreet Winedown event. Some two dozen businesses opened their doors to the after-dark social event, offering complementary hors d'oeuvres and beverages to guests who purchased the $20 tickets. Patrons and supporters of Main Street enjoyed a wide range of tasty delights, including shrimp cocktails, pasta dishes, chocolates, a wide variety of...
The Lake Wales History Museum is "immediately" launching a nationwide search for a new executive director after Jennifer D'hollander announced that will be leaving the organization on March 5. D'hollander recently led the conversion of the museum from a city owned facility to a non-profit organizational structure within a secure City of Lake Wales-Museum partnership. The board of directors of the museum issued a statement praising her "inspiring leadership," and wishing her...
A plan to rezone and redevelop the existing Green Gables Inn site to create as many as 225 apartments on the 8.84 acres was reviewed at the City Commission workshop Wednesday. No objections were raised during discussion, and the proposal is expected to be approved at a formal meeting on Tuesday. The proposal changes the current zoning of Limited Commercial-Industrial to high-density residential, allowing up to 25 units per acre. "They're gonna have to go up," said Deputy Mayor...
Abandoned signs are apparent in numerous locations in Lake Wales, a problem that City of Lake Wales Development Services staff are planning to address as part of the ongoing review of city codes. Although the signs are not permitted under the present regulations, many have been in place after businesses have been closed for more than a decade, detracting from the appearance of the city, and potentially serving as a disincentive to new investment. Ironically, many of the dereli...
An effort by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to increase the availability of affordable housing through public/private partnerships is producing significant results. The recently-completed Phase Two of the program's participation with the Keystone Challenge Fund added more housing to the historic Northwest Neighborhood. The City partnered with Keystone to build two additional houses on B Street, complementing the adjacent homes that were developed in the...
The fate of the storied Walesbilt Hotel has been placed in the hands of the courts after the City of Lake Wales and the Community Redevelopment Agency filed a twelve-count lawsuit in Circuit Court. The lawsuit effectively deters any immediate work to rehabilitate the structure, which has been the focus of interest by a team of developers working with current owner Ray Brown. The lawsuit alleges that Brown, through his corporation Dixie Walesbilt LLC, defrauded the City and...
A dangerous and often congested intersection of Scenic Highway and Mountain Lake Road on the near north side of Lake Wales is expected to become a bit safer after the Florida Department of Transportation completes the installation of a traffic signal. Traffic is frequently backed for left turns from northbound Scenic to westbound Mountain Lake, while left turns onto northbound Scenic are even more difficult. Protected left turns are expected to be a feature of the new signal....
Jordan Colon, a student at Victory Ridge Academy in Lake Wales got a big surprise when City of Lake Wales police officers presented him with a Kaye Dynamic Stander, a multi-positional standing aid with 360 degrees of movement. Colon has a developmental disability that affects his balance and postural control, making it difficult to walk unaided. "This is something special the Police Officers Association wanted to do for Jordan," said David Black, Deputy Police Chief. "It's...
The year just ended saw a wave of filings for growth projects in the city, with more than a dozen subdivision, townhome and apartment complex proposals now on the books. The new year has begun at the same frenetic pace, but the City of Lake Wales Development Services Director Mark J. Bennett is expanding his team to support the unprecedented amount of development. In order to meet current demand, and in anticipation of more projects being added to the growing workload,...
A "family fun event" this spring will recognize the legendary figure who created the city's original streetscapes, as well as Bok Tower Gardens and Mountain Lake. The all-day event will feature bands, food, games and contests, awards, plus plant and vendor sales. "Olmsted Day in the Park" will be held April 30 in Lake Wailes Park, part of a nationwide celebration in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed many of America's most...
The Carnival season has returned to Lake Wales, and the annual Mardi Gras event is once again expected to draw tens of thousands of spectators and participants to a zany and colorful parade, and a dynamic two day line-up of musical entertainment on the shores of Lake Wailes. After a hiatus in 2021 due to the global pandemic, Mardi Gras organizers promise a strong rebound, with floats, beads, live music, food, and spirits. A Lake Wales tradition dating back to 1984, The Mardi...
It took only a few months working in the Development Services Division at the City of Lake Wales for Autumn Cochella to realize she had found her passion and a life-long career path. After six years on the job she recently earned a coveted certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners. "This is my hometown," Cochella said. "I get it. The responsibility is more personal because I care on a different level. She stepped into the role in a bigger way recently...
Construction of the first of two new bridges designed to carry traffic on SR 60 over US 27 took a major step forward over the weekend despite a spate of inclement weather. Crews managed to lift fifteen steel I-beams weighing nearly 30 tons each, placing and securing them to massive concrete bases during a 54-hour window created by the temporary closing of US 27. Numerous police officers were on duty at traffic chokepoints. Heavy rains early Sunday, about 40 hours into the...
Congressman Darren Soto, Mayor Eugene Fultz, Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson and other elected officials were among speakers presenting Monday as Lake Wales marks the national holiday of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A rich program was offered by the Dr, Joseph A Wiltshire Scholarship Foundation to mark the day. The program began with the 10th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Legacy Breakfast. and included a showing of the landmark film "Selma" during the afternoon. The film is based...
A festive evening of colorful costumes, dance music, food and fun is in store for guests at a special Mardi Gras themed party hosted by the Lake wales Woman's Club. The party, slated for Saturday, February 19, comes exactly a week ahead of the climactic day of the Lake Wales Mardi Gras, when area "krewes" will parade through the streets of the city showing off their best costumes and floats. The party will be the first return to a long tradition of krewe costume balls that...
The ongoing transition of the Lake Wales area from broad tracts of citrus to new housing projects is taking another leap forward as two prominent citrus families have proposed voluntary annexations totaling some 266 acres. The tracts lie immediately north and south of the present city center. Annexation will make the sites eligible for municipal water and sewer services, allowing development at attractive densities. The largest of the new annexation applications covers about...
