City of Lake Wales

Eleven roadways were treated through the city’s pavement management program. These treatments extend the life of the roadways for many years. Some of the roads that received treatments were: Sunset Drive Campbell Avenue Circle Drive Marietta Street South 12th Street Carlton Avenue Triangle Drive Westend Boulevard 11th Street Polk Avenue Additional roadways will be treated by the end of the year. Based on the assessment of each roadway, prescribed treatment methods may vary which include capeseal, double-micro slurry or milling. More details will be shared in October and November.

City Horticulturist Kevin Polk and his team are continuing progress in building a pollinator garden. While strolling along the new cement path lined with a tall Podocarpus hedge, you will encounter various types of pollinator plants. The plants Kevin has planned for this path will attract pollinators, such as butterflies and hummingbirds. Soon, art sculptures will be featured at the park. Each of the pavilion shelters will have a different landscape theme. Crews also planted a barrier of elegant ribbon palms between Cypress Gardens Lane and the parking area. The first Lake Wales Live event of the season is happening Friday, October 25th in the evening. Come downtown to enjoy live music and also to check out all of the great enhancements to the park. Funding for these improvements came from two sources. The city was awarded nearly $49,000 through the T-Mobile Mobile Hometown Grant program. Another $100,000 was donated by Oakley Park Transport Inc. to help fund the enhancements to the pollinator garden.

The finishing touches are being added to the streetscape in the historic downtown core. New street lamps were installed on Park Avenue this week. The street lamps are not only beautiful, but they are functional as well. The street lamp posts have a special internal irrigation system to water the hanging plants during non-rainy seasons. The new lamps are part of the “Lake Wales Connected” plan, geared to create a hospitable environment for citizens to easily navigate to area establishments in a botanical-rich environment.

The City of Lake Wales was featured at a state conference facilitated by The Florida Redevelopment Association. City leaders and Rob Quam, executive director of the Lake Wales Care Center were guest speakers. Mark Bennett, senior planner with the Polk County Board of County Commissioners moderated the session, titled "The Little City that Could." Participants got the chance to learn about the rich history of Lake Wales. Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson spoke about the City’s plans to revitalize the downtown historic district. He announced the $22.9 million RAISE grant the City was awarded by the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. Assistant City Manager Deena Drumgo shared the details of the City’s two award-winning long-range plans, Lake Wales Connected and Lake Wales Envisioned. Skip Alford, executive director of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce gave insight into the City’s economic development strategy, and Rob Quam highlighted the services and programs available to citizens. 

Check out the new enhancements taking place at the park across from the Lake Wales Public Library. City Horticulturist Kevin Polk shares his vision for the new pollinator garden with Commissioner Carol Gillespie. Art sculptures will be featured at the park with walking paths surrounded by various types of pollinator plants and landscape-themed pavilions. Funding for the enhancements to the park came from two sources. The City was awarded nearly $49,000 through the T-Mobile Mobile Hometown Grant program. Another $100,000 was donated by Oakley Transport Inc. to help fund the enhancements to the pollinator garden.

The Lake Wales History Museum is getting an upgrade. The work is being overseen by the museum’s new director Angela Rosado. She is upgrading and expanding existing exhibits as well as creating new ones. There will be permanent exhibits that reflect our city’s history. She also plans to have exhibits rotate frequently so that each visit to the museum is a fresh experience. Angela is also supervising infrastructure enhancements taking place in the building. One of Angela’s goals is to be utilize the museum for a series of downtown events. She intends to partner with other Lake Wales non-profit groups like the Lake Wales Arts Council and the Lake Wales Little Theater to collaborate on events using the museum space. Angela plans to offer the freight room in the back of the museum as a public event space. The grand re-opening of the museum will coincide with the 48th annual Pioneer Days on October 26th and 27th. The festivities will begin with a great new event called Beers with Pioneers on Friday, October 25th. Tickets for this event are available at https://lnkd.in/esGC-YGV. Angela became familiar with Lake Wales by running the Third Thursday Market held at the beautiful orange mural at the corner of Scenic Highway and Stuart Avenue while she was working for Destroyer Media in Winter Haven. Originally from Jacksonville, a city so big she felt like just a number, she was quickly drawn to the small-town spirit in Lake Wales. Through a series of networking introductions, she became connected with the Lake Wales Historical Society Board. When she first arrived at the museum property, she recognized all the future possibilities for these spaces. Angela realized she had a passion for making the Lake Wales History Museum into a destination. Eagerly stepping into the director role, she hit the ground running. She is committed to making the History Museum a ‘must-visit’ attraction in Central Florida. As a mother of two young boys, she is able to see the Lake Wales History Museum exhibit spaces through her boys’ curious eyes. That helps stir her passion for this project. She wants the museum to be a shared family experience. She desires to get the younger generation involved and excited about their local heritage—and maybe learn something along the way.

The accomplishments happening in the City’s downtown historic district caught the attention of the National Town Builders Association (NTBA). Builders and developers got a walking tour hosted by City Manager James Salton, Deputy Mayor Gibson and town planner, Victor Dover from Dover Kohl and Partners. NTBA Roundtables are designed to bring together industry specialists and town builder members twice per year for the purpose of advancing town building. Members gather to share best standards, expertise and insights generated from their town development work. 

Join an award-winning team of professionals set out to transform the historic core of Lake Wales. The City is hiring a CRA Coordinator to maintain various programs, track metrics and conduct ceremonial events. Click here to apply: https://lnkd.in/e4dNjWW4 GENERAL PURPOSE Administers programs for the Community Redevelopment Agency. Performs a variety of routine and complex administrative, technical and professional work in the preparation and implementation of the goals and objectives of the Community Redevelopment Agency. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Administers redevelopment and revitalization programs within the Community Redevelopment District. Develops and maintains positive working relationships with existing businesses to encourage business retention and expansion projects. Assists in conducting comprehensive studies of Redevelopment data. Assists Community Redevelopment Agency Board in developing short and long range plans; gathers, interprets, and prepares data for studies, reports and recommendations; coordinates activities with other departments and agencies as needed. Coordinates activities of volunteers, non-profit organizations, consultants, and governmental agencies. Prepares applications to secure funds from available state or federal grant or loan programs. Assists with the development of the annual CRA operating budget. Oversees, annually reviews, and periodically updates the CRA’s economic development incentives programs. Promotes the City as both business-friendly and sustainable community. Directs and manages business attractions and outreach marketing strategies.

The hurricane clean-up has been completed and this event is a go! The Woman’s Club of Lake Wales is hosting its Second Annual Plant & Garden Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 19th and 20th. Spend the day on the beautiful grounds of the Woman’s Club Historic clubhouse with a scenic view of Crystal Lake. This free event will have over fifty vendor booths offering hundreds of beautiful plants and garden accessories. A wide variety of food choices will be available for purchase. The event will be held rain or shine. The festival is a benefit for funding scholarship programs and community service programs through the GFWC Lake Wales Woman’s Club. Last year, the organization raised over $2,500 awarded to Lake Wales High School graduating seniors pursuing higher education. The Woman’s Club is located at 275 East Park Avenue in downtown Lake Wales. The festival hours are Saturday, Oct. 19th from 9am to 3pm and Sunday, October 20th from 9am to 2pm.

If the power goes out, there are four ways to report the outage to Duke Energy. You may go online to duke-energy.com/outages or call them at 800-228-8485. On your mobile device, text the word OUT to 57801 or download the Duke Energy mobile app and report the outage there.