Conflict Resolution Public Meeting Reminder

In case you forgot to mark your calendar, the Conflict Resolution Public Meeting between Polk City and Polk County is scheduled for Monday, February 7, 2011, at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the City of Lakeland Commissioners Chambers at
 228 S. Massachusetts Ave., Lakeland  (Lakeland City Hall).  This will be a public meeting between the governing bodies, the County Commission and the Polk City City Council.  No public comments will be allowed at this meeting.

This is the next step in a state-mandated mediation process to resolve the dispute between the city and county over the Mount Olive water and sewer utilities and payment of the delinquent $531,199 in impact fees due to the county.  Polk County alleges Polk City violated the 2008 agreement made in October, 2009, to take over the Mt. Olive utilities, previously owned by the county.  The 2008 agreement included a provision that the city would not raise rates on Mt. Olive customers living outside city limits for at least three years. 

Under Florida Statutes, Chapter 164, "Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act," disputing local or regional governmental jurisdictions must follow a three-step procedure to resolve the matter before filing a lawsuit.  The first step involved a meeting between top administrative officials in each jurisdiction.  This meeting was held on December 17, 2010 at the Lakeland City Attorney's offices.  Representing the county were County Attorney, Michael Craig and then Interim-County Manager, Jim Freeman.  Polk City was represented by Acting City Manager, Trudy Block, also a city commissioner, Acting City Attorney, Tom Cloud, and the city's Utility Consultant, Gerald Hartman.  The public was able to attend but no public comments were allowed.  This meeting lasted approximately 10 minutes, and ended in an impasse.

In the event that this second step is not successful in resolving the dispute, the final step is for both sides to agree on an outside mediator.  One side can sue in state court for resolution only if the mediator declares an impasse.