
By Capers Gay
On the May 11, 2025 Lake Wales City Commission meeting, renovations for the city’s public library made it onto the consent agenda. Arrangements between the city and the selected company, Qualis General Contractors were already made by the end of March, as Qualis had won the bid for renovations with its contract price at $249,864 with additional permit fees of $1,850, totaling out to $251,714.
These renovations appear to go deep as the scope-of-work includes structural steel installation, drywall installation, furniture replacement, HVAC relocation, a new paint job, and other renovations.
The job is expected to take 120 days after commencement, and the Library Impact fee for the fiscal year of 2024-2025 is estimated to be $500,000. The approval of this agreement would allow the city manager to execute documents necessary to facilitate the project’s commencement. Like other items on this meeting’s consent agenda, the agreement passed without controversy.