Board of County Commissioners · June 2, 2026
Meeting date: June 2, 2026Summarized 2026-09-01 17:28
# Polk County BoCC — Regular Meeting, June 2, 2026
**Attendance:** All five commissioners present (Troutman, Wilson, Braswell, Santiago, Scott). Chair Santiago presiding. Adjourned 1:26 p.m.
## Routine approvals (all 5-0)
- **Disbursements** — moved Wilson, seconded Braswell.
- **Minutes of May 19, 2026** — moved Braswell, seconded Scott.
- **Consent Agenda (D.1)** — moved Braswell, seconded Troutman. Approved as a block with no items pulled per the minutes.
## County Manager items — all approved 5-0
| Item | Vendor/Purpose | Amount | Mover/Second |
|---|---|---|---|
| G.1 | Register Construction & Engineering — new Inspection & Testing Building | $2,680,650.00 one-time | Troutman / Wilson |
| G.2 | CPH Consulting, LLC — Amend. No. 1, Agmt. 2025-008, Phase II A&E, NERUSA Operations Support Facility | $705,648.50 one-time | Troutman / Wilson |
| G.3 | Kamminga & Roodvoets — Combee Academy Safe Routes to School sidewalk/lighting/drainage | $800,231.40 one-time | Wilson / Braswell |
| G.4 | HDR, Inc. — CSA 2022-087-03, design for Carter Rd. at Eaglebrook Blvd. intersection | $393,548.40 one-time | Troutman / Braswell |
On G.3, Roads and Drainage Director Jay Jarvis said the project changed to aluminum wiring and hardened pole boxes "to try to keep people out."
## Notable consent-agenda dollar items (approved without separate discussion)
- **R.5** — A Land Remembered Film Project marketing partnership, **$250,000** one-time.
- **R.31** — Right-of-Way Agreement with Wawa, Inc. for the Deen Still Road Project, **$1,812,000** one-time expense.
- **R.39** — Change Order No. 2, Crisdel Group, Fort Fraser Trail Extension (Holloway Family Trail), **$781,306.24**.
- **R.40** — Kisinger Campo & Associates CSA 22-091-06, Rockridge Rd. Bridge No. 164144 replacement design, **$184,698.00**.
- **R.46** — FDEP short-form consent agreement (OGC File 26-0462) resolving a **County self-reported sanitary sewer overflow**, **$56,773.50** not-to-exceed.
- **R.49** — SET HEARING (June 16) on amending the Procurement Ordinance to **raise the County Manager's no-Board-approval contracting authority to $200,000**.
- **R.50 / R.51** — Resolutions approving Industrial Development Authority revenue bond plans of finance: **up to $22,500,000** (Berkley Accelerated Middle School) and **up to $30,000,000** (Schools of McKeel Academy / McKeel Academy Mulberry).
- **R.4** — Resolution dividing proceeds of the six-cent Local Option Gas Tax beginning Sept. 1, 2026.
- **R.1 / R.2** — Comptroller audits: Report 2026-08 Real Estate Services; Report 2026-06 Utilities Warehouse Controls.
- Multiple Fox Branch Ranch surety releases/acceptances, including release of a **$3,350,165.18** performance bond (R.19), **$2,367,755.54** (R.25), and **$1,330,111.94** (R.22).
## Land use hearings
- **N.1 Avenue Q Autobody Sub-District** (BPC-1 → BPC-2, ~1 acre) — **approved 5-0** (Troutman/Braswell). No public speakers.
- **N.2 Main Street Commercial Corridor text** (transmittal) — **approved 5-0** (Braswell/Wilson).
- **N.3 Recreational Use Easements** (firearms range access) — first reading, no action. County Attorney Mink noted a typo in the staff report; correct BoCC hearing date is June 2, 2026.
- **N.4 ATMs & Vending Machines** — first reading, no action.
- **O.1 Shadow Wood Unit 2 easement vacation** — **approved 5-0** (Troutman/Scott).
- **O.2 Leisure Shores / Lake View ROW vacation + drainage easement from Joann Bissett Knapek** — **approved 5-0** (Wilson/Braswell) over objections from three speakers (Jack Seclet, Keith McDowell) who said the area was intended for community lake access.
### O.3 Highlands Street MHP — DENIED 5-0
De novo appeal of the Planning Commission's 7-0 denial. Request: conditional use for a 19-unit mobile home park on 4.93 acres. **Staff recommended approval; the Board denied** (moved Scott, seconded Braswell, all ayes). Neighbors testified to chest- and waist-deep flooding. Scott stated there are no other adjacent mobile home parks and "this is not compatible." Jarvis said the county holds no permanent drainage easements on the system and does not "piecemeal easements."
### O.4 Thomas Fish Camp — APPROVED 5-0 (reversing PC denial)
De novo appeal of the Planning Commission's **4:3 denial**. Request: expand a legally non-conforming recreational camping use from 20 to 40 RV/cabin sites plus one residence and accessory building. Staff recommended approval. Moved Troutman, seconded Wilson; approved 5-0. Ex parte disclosed: Troutman, Braswell and Scott with both sides; Wilson and Santiago with the applicant.
### O.5 Old Dixie Highway SPD — DENIED 3-2 (split vote)
De novo appeal of the Planning Commission's **6:1 approval** of a Suburban Planned Development, 31 single-family lots on ~20.29 acres. Staff recommended approval. **Motion to deny by Scott, seconded Braswell. AYE: Wilson, Braswell, Scott. NAY: Troutman, Santiago — motion carried, case denied.** Troutman and Santiago both said on the record they would not support denial; Santiago noted "at least 60 foot lots and higher... are being approved." Opposition was represented by Jon Leonard on behalf of "over 40 adjacent residents."
## Other business
- **PACE program:** Troutman raised whether the county should participate. Consensus was no. County Attorney Mink: "our response will be that our Board is not interested in this." Braswell: "if you cannot afford to borrow money you should not borrow money."
- **Hurricane preparation deadline:** Mink said if the disposal/preparation deadline was June 1, he will place an item on the next agenda to extend it to July 1.
- **Public comment:** Ashley Schilling asked the Board to support a proposed "Blues Law" requiring mandatory blood draws at fatal crash scenes, following her son's death; Beasley said staff will raise it with the Legislative Delegation as a legislative priority. Speakers also addressed Animal Control conditions and a feline panleukopenia outbreak, and several spoke in opposition to a proposed Lakeland data center ("Project Swan"); Troutman said the county has no jurisdiction over it.
**Agenda sections with no business:** E (elected official requests), F (County Attorney), M (lay board appointments), and Q (work session) produced no items in the minutes.