City of Lake Wales

Looking for a unique lunch spot? On this edition of Hot Spot to Shop, we feature Melanie’s Seafood Company. It’s a family owned restaurant located on Park Avenue in the downtown historic district. They offer a wide variety of seafood plates, chicken plates and tasty burgers – deserts too. Chef Steve Manwell has won awards for grilling some of the best burgers. Visit the historic core to check out the progress being made on Park Avenue, while enjoying some unique homemade meals. For more information about Melanie’s Seafood Company, visit: https://lnkd.in/ecX9zbnS

Lean how the City of Lake Wales Horticulturist and team properly prepares the ground before installing landscape vegetation. Good soil preparation and new irrigation techniques help new plants thrive, helping to cultivate our “City in a Garden” initiative.

The City of Lake Wales is proud to introduce Kelly Geniott as the newest member of the City's Communications and Engagement Department.   "The City is working on a lot of important initiatives," she said. "I am here to help communicate the progress."   Kelly will be overseeing at least four major communications campaigns. In one, she’s working with Lake Wales Main Street to bring attention to downtown businesses through a video series called "Hot Spot to Shop," hosted by Ronni Wood and Ken Suarez. She will also be working to get the word out about the multimillion-dollar improvements at the airport, along with promoting the City in a Garden initiative and the Lake Wales History Museum. Other responsibilities include writing feature articles, facilitating social media and hosting various news segments on video.   In addition, Kelly is developing new graphics you'll see around town, like one with a citrus theme that will show up on a water tower near you very soon.   Every project is going to be undertaken with an important idea in mind: "Making sure that we are connecting to our heritage with a forward-thinking vision," Kelly explained.   Each campaign will incorporate the vision set forth by the city's greatest, such as internationally acclaimed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., who laid out the plans for Lake Wales to become a City in a Garden, and Edward Bok, who developed Mountain Lake Estates and donated the property for Bok Tower Gardens.   Kelly is well prepared to take on the challenge. For more than two decades, she has raised her family here and been an integral part of the community.   You may have seen her in Kathryn's Christian Books in Downtown Lake Wales where she was the store manager until she was hired by the city.   As a lifelong athlete, she enjoys running, participating in local races such as the Lake Wales Care Center's "Run Like You Care 10K." You'll also find her at the Lake Wales Recreation Center where she teaches Les Mills RPM, a group-cycling class.   Kelly earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Design from what is now known as Jefferson University and studied further at Moore College of Art, both located in Philadelphia. Right out of college, she worked doing display design at the first IKEA store in the United States, located in Plymouth Meeting, PA. She relocated to Florida after being recruited by Home Shopping Network for a position doing set design.   Kelly came to Lake Wales when her husband got an IT job at Florida Natural over 20 years ago. She and her husband, have two sons, ages 22 and 18. The younger just graduated from Lake Wales High school.

Check out the work City of Lake Wales Horticulturalist Kevin Polk and his team are doing to the median strips on Central Avenue in front of City Hall. Soil preparation and irrigation around the city help new plants thrive throughout Lake Wales to cultivate our “City in a Garden” – the Central Avenue traffic islands being one of the target points. As it takes a few weeks to clear out, the team has been preparing the ground by weed managing the Nutsedge on the medians. Some of the new plants being grown are the Pink Shower Trees, the Maui Yellow, Caranday Palms and Coontie Cycads. Follow along for more updates about the long term horticultural projects being brought to the city.

Homeowner Charles Boswell was celebrated by community members and city leaders for the enhancements made to his house facilitated by Legacy Housing - a Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) program. The upgrades include new windows, new kitchen cabinets, new kitchen countertops, new kitchen sink and faucet, new tile back splash for kitchen, fresh paint of window trims and new interior doors and locks. Seniors living in a CRA area, who are interested in qualifying for the Legacy Housing Program are encouraged to contact CRA Specialist Cheryl Baksh at (863) 678-4182 Ext. 1337. For more information, visit: https://lnkd.in/gw-tgYQE

The Lake Wale Municipal Airport secured a fuel truck which will make it easier for bigger planes and jets to refuel right here in Lake Wales rather than having to go elsewhere. The new truck will be able to bring the fuel directly to planes. This solves a logistics problem: jets have a massive wingspan. Many could not get close enough to the old holding tanks to get fuel, so they would have to fly to another airport that was more accommodating. Lake Wales will no longer lose those fuel sales. This also encourages airport patrons to stay in the area and to spend their money locally. "The airport is definitely making strides to compete with all the other airports around here," said Airport Director Amanda Lomneck. The improvements could have a far reaching economic impact on the area. As the facility becomes more sophisticated, it becomes more attractive to larger companies to eventually open an operation here. That would mean new jobs for residents and more tax money coming into city coffers. So the new fuel farm and new fuel truck are a great investments in the area's future. And it didn't cost the city one red cent. The Florida Department of Transportation paid the 1.1 million dollar bill.

Commissioner Carol Gillespie was awarded a Certificate of Completion for attending the Florida League of Cities Institute of Elected Municipal Officials (IEMO). This training provides elected municipal officials with the skills and knowledge to govern their municipalities effectively. Florida League of Cities serves the needs of Florida’s cities and promotes local self-government.

City of Lake Wales Horticulturist Kevin Polk and his crew are adding a new and improved irrigation system to Downtown Linear Park by the library. These improvements will sustain new plants, flowers and plant sculptures that are planned for the park. Kevin says, “Planning and preparation of the soil are vital with projects like this, so the plants thrive long-term.” Stay tuned for more updates as we grow our “City in a Garden!”

Chick-fil-A, Chipotle & Starbucks are looking to set up shop in Lake Wales. Starbucks just received site plan approval by the City’s Growth Management Department. Chick-fil-A and Chipotle are in the predevelopment stage, gathering information, locating land and drafting up conceptual designs. Chick-fil-A, known for its crispy and grilled chicken sandwiches, nuggets, waffle fries and milkshakes is exploring land on HWY 27 next to WaWa. Chipotle, famous for its bowls, tacos and mission burritos is exploring property on HWY 27, south of the new Slim Chickens restaurant next to Hampton Inn & Suites. Starbucks is targeting a corner lot across from the entrance to Eagle Ridge Mall in between the DyerChevy car dealership and Slim Chickens restaurant.

Community members got the chance to see the draft conceptual plans for future City parks, trails and recreation facilities. The public meeting was geared to capture feedback from citizens. Staff in the Parks & Recreation department and consultants with Catalyst Design Group presented draft designs of Lake Wailes Waterfront Park, Crystal Lake Park, Kiwanis Park, Lake Wales Northwest Park, Olmsted Heritage Park, Lake Wales Soccer Complex and the Lake Wales Family Recreation Center.