Lake Wales CRA Board Votes 4-1 Against Purchasing Lake Alta for $565K
by James Coulter
A proposal to purchase a 1.44-acre parcel near Lake Alta for $565,000 was shot down by the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board, who voted against it 4-1.
At their meeting on Tuesday, Lake Wales CRA board members considered a proposal for a land contract, which would have purchased a plot of land near Lake Alta from J. Walter Homes, Inc. for $565,000.
The proposed land contract failed to pass, as board members voted overwhelmingly against it with a 1-4 roll call vote. Commissioner Robin Gibson offered the only vote in favor of it.
Located east of 3rd Street North and west of Lake Alta, the property consists of a small lake with overgrowth.
The Lake Wales CRA has considered buying the property and selling it to a private developer, which would have used the land to construct to construct 24 cottage-style homes.
The Lake Wales City Commissioner had previously considered several ordinances that would have transferred the property to the CRA; however, every time, these ordinances failed to receive a passing vote.
These ordinances also received controversy and backlash from residents, especially those living near the area, as many of them argued that the proposed development would have created problems with existing infrastructure and traffic.
Commissioner Robin Gibson voted in favor of the proposal, claiming that the city needed to start development to help facilitate new residents moving into the city.
“Our charge is to try and keep down urban sprawl in a collar around our town,” Gibson said. “The way to do that is to increase the density inside the town and in a market economy, make those business opportunities more attractive to the private market than the urban sprawl outside.”
He also claimed acquiring the land for the CRA was necessary, as it would allow the CRA to use its own money without siphoning from other CRAs or the city.
“I do not want to take CRA money from one neighborhood to clean up another neighborhood,” he argued. “I am not proposing that we develop it. I am proposing that we show better judgment and demonstrate a plan. If it is a good plan, we do it. If it is a bad plan, we don’t.”
Several residents addressed the proposal during public comments. Juanita Zwaryczuk, speaking on behalf of another resident, Catherine Price, mentioned how the board was simply trying to push a proposal that the commission and the public had already rejected.
“The community has repeatedly said ‘no’ to this project,” she said. “The project initially brought to city commission placed to blow up house son postage stamp lots so small that there was no room for trees…It was an urban planning nightmare destined to destroy a traditional neighborhood.”
Furthermore, Juanita insisted that the funds being expended by the CRA amounted to little more than “funny money,” claiming: “It is being taken from our tax coffers and placed into CRA where it is being spent with little to no budgetary oversight on poor thought out projects that often do not benefit the people of Lake Wales.”
During the actual board discussion of the proposal, several audience members voiced their frustrations over the matter.
“I don’t want to keep coming back over and over again,” one person yelled. “This is ridiculous, frustrating.”
“These things [proposals] are just words that create confusion. “We sat here for an hour listening to you confused,” another person exclaimed, eliciting applause from the audience.
