Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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The final public workshop to help create the city's Recreation Master Plan is planned for Tuesday, May 11. Engineering and planning consulting firm S&ME was hired by the city to put together the master plan. The firm has been working with city staff and meeting with various recreation-related groups and is now ready for the public input phase. The May 11 workshop will be online only via ZOOM from 6-8 p.m. Earlier workshops April 22 and April 29 were in-person and via ZOOM....
The public is invited to help create the city's Recreation Master Plan by attending one of three public workshops in the coming weeks. Engineering and planning consulting firm S&ME was hired by the city to put together the master plan. The firm has been working with city staff and meeting with various recreation-related groups and is now ready for the public input phase. The first workshop will be in-person from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, April 22 at the James P. Austin Community...
City leaders are continuing to cast an eye towards improving the quality of life by approving the creation of a master plan for parks, trails and open spaces in Lake Wales. Commissioners have approved the hiring of S&ME to come up with the plan, a process that will involve a number of public workshops and meetings, and should take around 10 months to complete, according to the Orlando-based firm. "A master plan will serve as a guiding tool in order to elevate the current...
Lake Wales City Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday, Oct. 20 to appoint James Slaton as the next city manager. Slaton has been serving as interim city manager since June 2, when Ken Fields agreed to take an early retirement. Slaton has worked for the city for more than 17 years, most recently as deputy city manager in charge of nine departments. Commissioners considered other options for a search and decided Slaton had proven himself during his more than four and a half mo...
For the first time in almost a decade, Lake Wales is proposing a small increase in its development impact fees. City commissioners have approved a first reading of a new fee structure, which not only includes an overall impact fee increase of just over $95 per new residential household, but also significantly reallocates in which category those fees will be collected. That's important because those funds can only be spent on projects for which they are specifically...
Lake Wales City Manager Ken Fields and the city commission agreed Tuesday June 2 to part ways in something akin to an "amicable divorce" but it took a lengthy discussion to reach agreement on the terms for the split. "I hope I am viewed as someone who has made Lake Wales a better city," Fields said, noting leaving two years before his contract expired wasn't his choice but he was resigned that it was time to go. Fields' departure was effective immediately, but everyone made...
Lake Wales city officials are asking commissioners to green light a study to determine the feasibility of building a sports and recreation complex that might attract tournaments and other special events. The study would be one element of an overall recreation master plan that would be funded with recreation impact fees. At their May 19 meeting commissioners will be asked to approve a contract with Clearwater-based Sports Facilities Advisory (SFA) for $42,500 plus travel...
City leaders are starting to take at look at plans to reopen Lake Wales facilities including city hall, recreation areas, parks and the library. But before anything is opened, they have made clear that they will follow guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control in deciding on a timeline for such action. City manager Ken Fields said some facilities could start to reopen around May 18, but that for now that date is just a goal, pending additional data regarding rates...
The City of Lake Wales continues to be under a declared State of Emergency by Mayor Fultz. There is no curfew at this time. As Covid-19 updates for Florida's residents continue daily, many City of Lake Wales staff have begun working from home, while others continue to work within the City of Lake Wales Municipal Administration Building, 201 West Central Avenue and other facilities. The Lake Wales Municipal Administration Building remains closed to residents and customers until...
The City of Lake Wales will close, or restrict, many of its services to the public beginning Tuesday, March 17. Recognizing the diverse populations that city departments serve, the closures are undertaken to protect all ages, most critically, those in high risk categories. The city's staff will continue to work; however entry to the City's Municipal Administration Building, 201 West Central Avenue, will not be available to residents and customers. Phone calls and email...
The early settlers of what is now Lake Wales were hearty, adventuresome people, real Pioneers, descendants of their ancestors who traveled via oxen-driven covered wagons and were true to their code of "Ten Tandra Via Est" meaning "The way remains to be tried". Such people included Nellie and her husband, Nile E. Stewart. In October 1912, after a long and difficult, sometimes dangerous trip through swamp, overcoming their fears of possible snakes and alligators, they travelled...
Scott Blackburn said he and his wife Carrie are tired of carting their four children to other communities because Lake Wales doesn't have enough recreation and sports facilities. Blackburn expressed his frustration to Lake Wales city commissioners at a recreation workshop Tuesday, June 25. Commissioners were reviewing the latest plans for expansion of the Crystal Lake Park complex between the city library and Lake Wailes Park. "We travel to other cities because we don't have...
Candidates for Lake Wales mayor and city commission shared common beliefs about the need for more citizen involvement and transparency in city government at a forum Thursday, March 14 sponsored by the Lake Wales Chapter of the American Association of University Women. Only about 25 people came out to the James P. Austin Community Center to listen and ask questions. Incumbent Mayor Eugene Fultz did not attend, but sent some prepared comments. He is on the Board of the Ridge...
The City of Lake Wales Parks & Recreation Department will be hosting Lake Night Cinema Friday, March 22 on the shores of Lake Wailes. Activities will begin at 5 p.m. and the Disney movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet, will begin at dusk. This family friendly evening is free to the public. The movie is the second in the "Wreck-it Ralph" series. It is about video game bad guy Ralph and fellow misfit Vanellope von Schweetz must risk it all by traveling to the World Wide Web in...
The second Lake Wales Live event drew about 100 people for music, food and lovely evening weather March 15. Sponsored by the City of Lake Wales Parks and Recreation Department, Friday's event featured music by Warner University's Beyond Belief Jazz Ensemble and singer and acoustic guitar player Cory Greenway of Frostproof. Recreation Coordinator Stephanie Edwards said she was pleased with the crowd, which was larger than the group that attended the first Lake Wales Live event...
The City of Lake Wales is planning to add a new library branch and recreational facility on Chalet Suzanne Road on the northern edge of the city near the Eagle Ridge Mall. The new recreational facility would include playground equipment, picnic tables, a basketball court and bathroom facilities. The new branch would occupy an existing unused garage located on city property where the current northern Lake Wales Fire Department is located. The cost of the project, according to...
