March 16th City Commission Meeting | Agenda at-a-Glance

LAKELAND, FL (March 12, 2020) | The Agenda at-a-Glance includes highlights for the upcoming March 16^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, March 13^th 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 TV. For a full live meeting broadcast schedule, visit LakelandGov.net/TV.

There will be a Real Estate & Transportation Committee meeting at 8:15 a.m. just before the Agenda Study Session on Friday, March 13^th.

Public Hearings – Ordinances for 2^nd Reading

This is when the public is invited to share opinions and concerns about agenda items. Second Reading of an ordinance includes a chance for public testimony and requires a vote. There are three ordinances for second reading on the March 16^th City Commission Agenda.

Item One is a small-scale amendment to the Future Land Use Map to change land use from Residential Medium to Community Activity Center to allow a self-storage facility on approximately 2.8 acres at 3500 Lakeland Highlands Road. The Planning and Zoning Board approved and recommended the change at their February 18^th meeting.
Item Two is in regard to the same-self storage unit at 3500 Lakeland Highlands Road that changes the zoning to allow the facility.
Item Three is an amendment to the City Code regarding art in public spaces. There are language changes to the current code that created a public art fund. The public art fund will be funded by contributing 1% of construction costs from municipal building projects, up to a maximum of $100,000 per fiscal year for all municipal building projects.

City Manager

There are two agenda items under the City Manager’s portion of the agenda:

Item One is a recommendation for a Change Order with Aviation Construction and Electric LLC. Lakeland Linder International Airport received grants from the Florida Department of Transportation to upgrade the Instrument Landing System. The Airport is required to have the Category II system completed by June 1, 2020, while the upgrade to a Category III must be completed no later than November 1, 2021, based on its contract with Amazon. The Change Order requires an additional $83,039.32 of work. It is recommended that the City Commission authorize the City to enter into the Change Order with Aviation Construction and Electric LLC in the amount of $83,039.32 that increases their contract to $1,949,809.32 subject to approvals from the Florida Department of Transportation.
Item Two is an award of a bid to Waller Construction, Inc. for New Building Additions and Alterations for Glendale Lab Water Utilities Waste-Water Treatment facility. The City issued a request for construction improvements to the Waste-Water Treatment Offices at 1825 Glendale Street. The project includes adding a covered structure, sidewalks, and landscaping to the parking area, updating bathrooms, remodeling interior offices, adding a conference room and adding an additional masonry building on the north side of the existing building. Purchasing received five bid proposals for the project and staff, together with the City’s architect reviewed the bids and determined Waller Construction to be the lowest and most responsive bidder.
- Waller Construction Inc., Lakeland, FL | $509,374
- Henkelman Construction, Inc., Lakeland, FL | $509,400
- Design & Const. Innovations LLC., Land O’ Lakes, FL | $520,000
- SEMCO Construction Inc., Bartow, FL | $526,345
- PeakCM, Orlando, FL | $545,000

City Attorney – Ordinances 1^st Reading

This portion of the agenda includes items for first reading. This is the initial introduction of an ordinance to the City Commission. Ordinances must be read once during a City Commission meeting before the meeting at which the ordinances will be voted on. During the first reading of an ordinance, there is no testimony and no votes are taken. There is one item for first reading:

Item One is a proposed amendment that clarifies the Fire Code Requirements for Automatic Sprinkler Systems. This is necessary to meet the newly established requirements set forth by the State Fire Marshall and the updated Florida Fire Prevention Code.

Resolutions

Resolutions do not require a first and second reading. Resolutions are typically voted on when they are brought before the City Commission. There are two resolutions on the March 16^th City Commission Agenda:

Item One is a recommendation that Project Lightning be approved as a qualified applicant for the State of Florida’s target industry tax refund. This economic development incentive is recommended because Project Lightning plans to create 12 new high wage jobs in the City of Lakeland that pay more than 115% of Polk County’s average annual wage. If approved, $3,600 will be appropriated payable over four years.
Item Two is a proposal to amend the resolution regarding membership of the Mayor’s Council on the Arts. Notable changes include additional at large members to be determined and appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Commission with representatives that include landscape architect, architect, urban planner, and one active professional artist.

Miscellaneous Reports

There are two on the agenda:

Item One is an agreement with the Florida Department of Opportunity that extends the deadline for filing an Annual Certification Report. The City of Lakeland is certified by the Department of Economic Opportunity for purposes of State review of comprehensive plan amendments adopted by the City. Certification by the State recognizes planning excellence and exempts most comprehensive plan amendments adopted by the City from State review. As a part of its certification agreement with the State, the City is required to file an annual report by March 15^th of each year. Staff has requested an extension of the reporting deadline to May 31^st and the State has agreed to the extension.
Item Two is the Recyclable Materials Processing Agreement with Republic Services of Florida. The Solid Waste and Recycling Division issued a Request for Proposals for recycled materials processing. Republic Services was the sole respondent. Through lengthy negotiations with Republic Services, staff was able to come to an acceptable processing agreement with Republic in a difficult recycling market for both parties. Republic’s scope of work under the attached Agreement includes:
- Accepting all collected program recyclables for processing
- Processing, cleaning and bailing recyclables
- Selling recyclables on the secondary markets
- Disposing of program residue
- Providing recycled material reports

Funding for these services in the estimated amount of $545,000 is provided in the FY 2020 Solid Waste Budget.

Reminders

During the March 13^th Agenda Study session, the City Commission will discuss each agenda item in detail for the upcoming Monday, March 16^th City Commission Meeting. This public meeting takes place in the City Commission Conference Room located on the third floor of City Hall (228 South Massachusetts Avenue) starting at 8:30 a.m. There is a Real Estate & Transportation Committee Meeting at 8:15 a.m. that will take place just before the Agenda Study Session where the Commission will discuss donating property at 709 North Vermont Avenue for a Lakeland Habitat for Humanity project.

Contact

Kevin Cook

Director of Communications
City of Lakeland
863.834.6264
kevin.cook@lakelandgov.net

About Lakeland

The City of Lakeland was incorporated in January 1885 and has grown to become one of the largest inland communities in Florida. With a current population of over 100,000, Lakeland continues to grow. It has been designated a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area by the US Census Bureau for over 30 years. With tourist attractions and gulf beaches only an hour away, Lakeland continues to capitalize on its ideal central Florida location along the I-4 corridor. The City owns and operates Lakeland Electric, the third-largest publicly owned utility in Florida and it was one of the first to offer power in the Sunshine State over 110 years ago.