The regular Lakeland City Commission meeting held on January 4, 2021, involved three main agenda items. The first agenda involved reports from the transportation and real estate committee that sat on January 4, 2021. The report entailed amendments on the lease agreements, transfer of Vermont Avenue and drainage easement agreement. Afterward, the second agenda was consent agenda approval with little discussion on the items. The last agenda was the approval of the minutes of a committee held on December 18 to 21, 2020. The section was the most discussed since it involved many separate items. It included requests from the general public, public and equalization hearings, and community development agency (City of Lakeland, 2021). The roles of city managers, city attorneys, finance director, mayors and city commission members were also evaluated.
All the agenda items discussed in the meeting required approval votes from the Lakeland city commission members. All the members approved committee reports and other items. Similarly, approval of consent agenda and minutes were voted in by all the seven members. The members also approved separate entities under minutes’ approval, including public and equalization hearings, community development, roles of city commission professions and requests for the general public. Only the proposed items on the city attorney’s roles required no action. However, the resolutions set under the agenda item were approved by all committee members.
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The only contentious issue existed on the first agenda of the meeting. The committee on real estate and transportation meeting held on January 4, 2021, focused on the Lease Agreement with Black and Coffee House Bistro II at the City Main Library. Members argued that City Main Library would undergo construction to substitute the HVAC systems and develop a cultural center housed in the library. Therefore, the delay in library operations, expected to take 12 months, would affect the coffee house’s business due to limited traffic in the region. Thus, some members argued that Black and Brew Coffee should use the existing lease to operate rent-free for one year during the library construction. Commissioner Philip Walker eventually approved the proposal after prolonged arguments, seconded by Mayor Bill Mutz (City of Lakeland, 2021). The approval gained unanimous support from other committee members.
The commission also gave special interest to the electricity rates within the city. Under the agenda item, “public hearings”, the commission proposed an ordinance 20-049, a need for changing regulation 5736, to amend the miscellaneous electricity charges (City of Lakeland, 2021). The City Commission was interested in establishing electricity rates that meet the customers’ needs and the City of Lakeland. Their desire to operate an economically sustainable electricity system is vital in providing the best services for the ratepayers. Similarly, Lakeland Electric is likely to benefit from the new charges due to increased customers.
Approval of the proposed ordinance 20-046 was a liberal act from the commission members. The rule related to allowing Federal Bar Lakeland to use the property at 124 S. Tennessee Avenue. Although the approval could affect the city Planning and Zoning Board provisions, the commission granted a conditional use with specific conditions. The Bar was expected to operate by the site plan, permitted uses, and the service was required to benefit the Bar alone. Besides, the commission could revoke the use in case of any violation of the conditions. As per Haarstad (2016), the commission’s unanimous approval indicates that they intended to benefit the Bar and conserve the public interest due to the established conditions.
The primary community service addressed in the meeting was the cleaning and clearing of properties around Lakeland City. A City Commission has to ensure that the public and property owners within the city vicinity clean and clear their properties of debris, accumulation, and unsanitary growth (Haarstad, 2016). Lakeland City Commission pulled a similar move to grant convenience, safety and comfort in the city properties. During the equalization hearing, the commission members also decided that the cleaning, cleaning and assessment costs for the properties shall be paid for each evaluation. In doing so, the commission dedicated a total of $18,682.75 as assessment costs for the cleaning and clearing services (City of Lakeland, 2021). Such financial support indicates that the commission aimed at granting better community service through cleanliness and safety of city properties.
The resolutions made after the city commission meeting indicates that there was limited influence from the political minority. All the members unanimously approved all the agenda items presented during the meeting. For example, the committee reports and consent agendas items were approved by 7 to 0 members. The same voting occurred when establishing the resolutions on the city attorney roles. Unanimous poll and approval indicate that the majority played a substantial role in the meeting. Similarly, there was little political influence in the meeting, given that all the agenda items were development-oriented.
The meeting was very relevant and successful in depicting the role of a commission within an urban city. The agenda items, approvals and resolutions made during the meeting correlates with the personal expectations from the meeting. Besides, there were orderly debates and little political influence, depicting that the commission aims at developing Lakeland City regardless of the political grounds. Given a chance to vote or approve the proposals, it would be necessary to take the same positions taken by the commission members due to the benefits they grant to the public and the City of Lakeland.
References
City of Lakeland. (2021). City Commission Meeting Agenda. January 4, 2021. City Hall - Commission Chamber. Lakeland. http://www.lakelandgov.net/Portals/CityClerk/City%20Commission/Agendas/2021/01-04-21/01-04-21%20Agenda.pdf
Haarstad, H. (2016). Constructing the sustainable city: Examining the role of sustainability in the ‘smart city’ discourse. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning , 19(4), 423-437. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908x.2016.1245610
