Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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A new bicycle and pedestrian trail will connect the Lake Wailes Trail and the Lake Wales Trailway paths with Bok Tower Gardens as a result of a newly-awarded $282,380 grant. Plans for the development of the new multiuse trail along Tower Boulevard include the construction of a 12-foot-wide surface to connect Lake Wales Park Trail to Bok Tower Gardens. Five park benches, trash receptacles, bike racks and directional signage will complement the trail. Lake Wales was one of four...
Art teacher Brannan Lawson of Hillcrest Elementary School in Lake Wales has been named the 2024 Arts & Cultural Educator of the Year by the Polk Arts and Cultural Alliance. In partnership with the Lake Wales Arts Council, Lawson spearheaded the Creative Kids Market that creates opportunities for children to combine lessons in art making and entrepreneurship. "Brannan has been a fantastic arts educator in Lake Wales for ten years," Tommy Frank, executive director of the Lake...
The City of Lake Wales is inviting you to learn to explore the underwater world with SCUBA. The entire certification course will be compressed into a single week and include instructions from certified instructors. SCUBA stands for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus," an invention that has enabled humans to explore what had, throughout history, hidden and unavailable. Now Lake Wales Parks and Recreation is offering area residents a chance to engage in the sport....
Keeping fit and active is important for thousands of Lake Wales residents, so the City of Lake Wales is now making an extra effort to see that the sports facilities they use are in top shape. J.C. White is now in charge of making the town's many sports fields look their very best. White is Lake Wales' new Athletic Turf Superintendent, which places him in charge of bringing the athletic fields 'up to snuff,' where they deserve to be. With 16 baseball and softball fields and sev...
Lake Wales City Manager James Slaton is on a short list of finalists under consideration to serve as city manager of New Smyrna Beach. Two Lake Wales city commissioners reached by Lake Wales News were unaware, and withheld comment. Slaton, 46, has managed the city for almost four years after the prior city manager, Ken Fields, was forced to resign by unhappy commissioners. Slaton was offered the job in October 2020 after having served as an interim manager for over five months...
Three challengers seeking two seat on the Lake Wales City Commission held the stage at a Monday evening candidates forum after both incumbents failed to show up for the 90-minute event. The election is four weeks away, slated for Tuesday, April 2. Carol Gillespie, seeking seat 4 on the five-person commission, along with Brandon Alvarado and Crystal Higbee, both seeking seat 2, shared their ideas and responded to questions from the audience at the forum sponsored by the...
Improvements to the Lake Wales Northwest Recreation Complex on Florida Avenue are on the way after the city received a $50,000 recreation grant from the state. The sports facility is the home of Frasier Field and hosts a variety of other recreational activities along with picnic facilities. The grant from the Florida Recreational Development Assistance Program, known as FRDAP, will pay for improvements to basketball and tennis courts, two new picnic tables, and fencing at the...
The realization of a "Big Green Network" of environmental lands that will forever form limits to the potential urbanization of the Lake Wales area drew a step closer this week. Lifelong Lake Wales resident and member of a pioneer family, Edwin Friedlander has offered his 749-acre ranch property for acquisition through the Polk Forever program, approved by voters in 2022. The property was assessed by a "technical advisory team" before being approved by the Conservation Lands...
In the high-energy future facing Lake Wales there's little doubt that high-energy management is required to keep up. As Lake Wales faces a wave of growth, with about 15,000 new residences planned to be built here in the next several years, Assistant City Manager Deena Drumgo may be the ideal person to help the city face the challenges ahead. Drumgo, the former city manager of Dundee, came to Lake Wales from Winter Haven, where she oversaw that city's community redevelopment ag...
A series of free downtown street concerts will enliven evenings downtown over the coming months, thanks to an alliance between the Lake Wales main Street, Lake Wales Arts Council, and the City of Lake Wales. The shows kick-off with the Outta Hand Band on Friday, November 10. "Lake Wales Live" will offer residents good reason to visit the downtown area, and perhaps get a sneak peek at the ongoing transformation of the area as the Lake Wales Connected plan proceeds, according to...
As the City of Lake Wales prepares to begin a major tree-planting effort as part of the Lake Wales Connected effort, a long-vacant horticulturist spot has been filled by a long-time Lakeland gardening expert. Kevin Polk, a certified horticulturist who spent several years supervising the landscape at the City of Lakeland's Hollis Gardens, will take the reins overseeing plans to revive the landscapes in the city's historic core. After spending years reviving the 1928 landscape...
The first ad valorum tax rate increase in nearly a decade was approved by the Lake Wales city commission on first reading Wednesday. The new property tax hike of 16.34 percent will contribute to the city's $99.5 million budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, which begins October 1. For many years in a row, Lake Wales commissions have simply adopted the "roll-back" rate, which was the rate which would generate the same revenue year after year, while the rate fell. That steady...
An opportunity to produce fresh fruits and vegetables in the heart of a "food desert" has motivated a team of volunteers to plan the city's second community garden on a plot of land next to the James P. Austin Center. Funded primarily through a grant arranged by Congressman Darren Soto, the garden will be managed by a non-profit corporation, Lake Wales Grove Garden LLC, guided by a local board of directors. The need for the garden was established through a walking survey of...
Citizens accustomed to using the Lake Wales YMCA facility can breathe a bit easier after Lake Wales City Manager James Slaton announced plans for the city to assume operations of the facility at 1001 Burns Avenue, which will become the city's "Family Recreation Center." "We're running out of time if we're going to keep the doors open," Slaton sold commissioners. "Our goal is to create a fresh, modern space for families to engage in health and wellness activities," Slaton...
Lake Wales area parks and recreational facilities may stand to get a funding boost as a result of a grant received by the state of Florida. The Department of the Interior announced the distribution of $14,323,172 to the state of Florida today as part of the $295,582,830 granted this year from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. The funds from this year's distribution will be available until fiscal year...
A free "Bad Art Night" of creativity, designed for 'tweens 8-15 years old will take place at the Mary Norma Campbell Resource Center in Highland Park Manor on Friday April 21. The event is sponsored by Polk County Parks and Recreation. Aspiring and terrible artists alike are invited to come out and create their own disaster-level piece of artwork from scratch. Prizes in multiple categories will be awarded based on the most creatively awful original works. Kids are invited to...
A major effort to develop a master plan to govern the future development of seven parks in the city of Lake Wales is the goal of a new contract Catalyst Design Group. The project was recently approved by the city commission. The planning effort will cover Lake Wailes Park, Kiwanis Park and Crystal Lake Park, which form the core of the city's park system. It will also include the city's soccer complex on Hunt Brothers Road, the Northwest Complex/Frasier Field park, the Little...
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future livability of Lake Wales begins Monday at Bok Tower Gardens as a high-powered team of planners bring their national reputations. talents, and insights to bear on the city. The project, designated "Lake Wales Envisioned," will consider the future of a large area around the city and include topics ranging from parks, recreation, and conservation to future sites for commercial, residential, and industrial uses. Transportation...
A host of proposed housing developments that could more than double the population of Lake Wales have created worries that the once-quiet community will be overrun by sprawling growth. In response, citizens are being encouraged to join in a process to help prevent bad outcomes. A March 20 afternoon "symposium" at Bok Tower Gardens will be a key part of a months-long project called "Lake Wales Envisioned." "Olmsted's City 10, 25, and 50 years" is a tagline for the process, and...
The public is being invited to learn and comment on a new trail segment being proposed to continue expanding the bicycle and pedestrian links around Lake Wales. The segment would connect the Lake Wailes Trail with the Rails-to-Trails track. A trail design concept created by city consultant Hale Innovation of Maitland envisions the new trail linking the existing at three points while looping around Kiwanis Park. A Federal Recreational Trails Program grant application to help...
Communications and information about City of Lake Wales activities and services should be easier to find, as a result of the hiring of Marketing and Communications Director Eric Marshall, who started his orientation in mid-December. Marshall, 48, is a graduate of the University of South Florida, where he studied mass communications, multimedia, and communications law. He comes to Lake Wales after a stint at Polk County Parks and Recreation. That was preceded by 13 years in...
Major improvements to a wide variety of city facilities are included in the new Five Year Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) being considered for adoption by the Lake Wales City Commission. The plan includes total expenditures of $117,518,667, of which about $17 million is anticipated to come from state and federal grants. A large portion of the remainder will be provided by Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds, some of which are being used to obtain about $18 million in...
Faced with a expected wave of new development after approving more than a dozen new housing projects in less than a year, the Lake Wales City Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a new "Mobility" impact fee that will add $2,055.33 to the cost of new home in the city. Funds raised by the fee may be used for a wide variety of improvements, including sidewalks, trails, lighting, and street trees in addition to the standard road funding. Prepared by consultants NUE Urban...
Whether working on large projects like the Park Avenue Connector Trail or coordinating the usage of the city's recreation facilities, Stephanie Edwards is the one the city can count on. Edwards has also been tasked with overseeing the city's acquisition and rehabilitation of the YMCA, including setting up free swim access for residents. Edwards serves as the busy Support Services and Recreation Manager for the City of Lake Wales Parks and Recreation Department, so she meets...
Lake Wales is getting ready to ask its residents how they think the city is performing. The city plans to conduct a "Community Conditions Survey" in order to assess the current level of service being provided. The project will be headed by ETC Institute, a firm the city has successfully engaged with recently to facilitate the Northwest Neighborhood Community Conditions Survey and again as a sub-consultant to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan team. City Manager James Slaton...
