News

LAKELAND, FL (April 10, 2020) | A series of existing sewer manholes in the Lakeland downtown area are no longer serviceable for maintenance or rehabilitation, and they will be replaced starting on April 20^th. City crews will begin the manhole replacement on Massachusetts Avenue (adjacent to City Hall) on April 20^th. At this location, traffic will be rerouted around the work zone and one lane of travel will be open in each direction. 

LAKELAND, FL (April 9, 2020) | Commissioner Scott Franklin was recently contacted by one of his insurance clients who wanted to donate personal protective equipment to first responders and public health agencies. Franklin, acting as a conduit, contacted organizations within the Lakeland community to secure the PPE. Tampa Bay Fisheries, Inc.​, a local food manufacturing company with locations in Dover and Plant City was able to secure 40,000 surgical masks and 75,000 nitrile gloves that they have donated to local city and county front-line employees.

LAKELAND, FL (April 8, 2020) | Doctor Joy Jackson, the Director for the Florida Department of Health in Polk and Hardee Counties will be addressing the Lakeland City Commission on Thursday, April 9^th in a workshop dedicated to COVID-19 at 3 p.m. Dr. Jackson will provide an update and current state of impact for COVID-19 as positive cases are on the rise in Florida and Polk County. The workshop will be done virtually using the latest in remote meeting technology. The dedicated COVID-19 workshop will be streamed live on LakelandGov.net/TV and broadcast on Spectrum 643 and FiOS 43. The workshop will also be available on YouTube.com/LakelandGov for those with digital media players like Roku, Firestick and Apple TV.

LAKELAND, FL (April 7, 2020) | The Lakeland City Commission voted yesterday to lower the electric fuel charge for Lakeland Electric customers for May and June.

LAKELAND, FL (April 7, 2020) | The City of Lakeland’s Utility Committee unanimously approved an advisory vote today on Lakeland Electric’s plan for replacement power generation. 

LAKELAND, FL (April 2, 2020) | The Agenda at a Glance includes highlights for the upcoming April 6^th City Commission Meeting Agenda.  The agenda and backup materials are available to view and download at LakelandGov.net/Agendas. The Lakeland City Commission will discuss agenda items in detail at the Agenda Study session on Friday, April 3^rd starting at 8:30 a.m. The public can watch Agenda Study Sessions, City Commission Meetings as well as Committee Meetings live on Spectrum 643, FiOS 43 and streamed on lakelandgov.net. For a full live meeting broadcast schedule, visit www.lakelandgov.net/tv. 

LAKELAND, FL (April 2, 2020) | The City of Lakeland Solid Waste Division will make changes to yard waste services, effective April 6^th due to the coronavirus outbreak.  The division uses a great deal of temporary staff in the rear loader trucks as part of their collection services for alley routes, junk routes and yard waste routes.  Yard waste routes will be reduced from once per week to every other week. The change in collection is necessary as an effort to reduce in-cab contact from three people down to two. 

LAKELAND, FL (April 1, 2020) | During a Special-Called City Commission Meeting that took place today, the Lakeland City Commission voted 6-1 to close all parks following the release of the Governor’s Executive Order.   Governor DeSantis issued a statewide safer-at-home order this afternoon as federal and local pressure mounted for him to abandon the county-by-county approach he had been implementing. 

LAKELAND, FL (April 1, 2020) | Due to the latest data on confirmed cases from the Florida Department of Health (DOH) along with the input received from the citizens of Lakeland, the City Commission is meeting today at 3 p.m. to revisit their decision to open additional park amenities.

LAKELAND (April 1, 2020) - On April 1, 2020, at approximately 12:24 a.m., officers responded to a traffic crash involving two vehicles near Holly Road and East Memorial Boulevard. According to reports, a 2002 Honda Accord was traveling eastbound in the inside lane of US 92, locally known as East Memorial Boulevard. A the same time, a 2017 Jeep Compass was traveling westbound in ...

LAKELAND, FL (March 31, 2020) | The Lakeland City Commission voted to reopen trails, tennis courts, boat ramps, and dog parks during a March 30^th Specially-Called City Commission Meeting.  These and other park amenities were originally closed on March 24^th as a way to enforce social distancing to help curb the spread of COVID-19.  The City Commission after much discussion passed the motion to reopen some park spaces to potentially alleviate overcrowding in other public locations. The Parks & Recreation Department met to evaluate venues and determine which park spaces could be opened based on Commission recommendations. Even with the opening of additional amenities, it is important to note the decision will be monitored going forward and visitors must practice social distancing, proper hygiene and disinfect any contact surfaces. The following City of Lakeland Parks & Recreation spaces will reopen the morning of Thursday, April 2^nd. Ongoing decisions regarding public restrictions will be evaluated weekly based on the impacts of COVID-19.