Despite the fact that a number of businesses no longer are in operation, for the most part downtown Lake Wales is still attractive, according to City Manager Terry Leary. However, it is the immediate surrounding streets and neighborhoods that are of concern. The situation, she said at the Tuesday, Feb. 7, city commission workshop, is not recent.

“The problems that exist in our city didn’t happen overnight,” she said, “And the fix isn’t going to happen overnight.”

Leary hammered home the importance of cleaning up the surrounding neighborhoods, showing a video produced by the city of Lakeland over how it addressed its code enforcement situation. With the assistance of Cliff Smith, a building official with the Department of Planning and Development, Leary then gave a presentation showing distressed and/or abandoned structures and properties that ring downtown Lake Wales.

Mayor Mike Carter said he believed code enforcement was lacking. Commissioner Jonathan Thornhill said that he once sat on the code enforcement board and that the greatest frustration was the board “had no teeth,” and a lack of funding was also at the heart.

Another factor, opined City Attorney Chuck Galloway, was that Lakeland and Winter Haven have measures that allow placing liens on the tax bill. In addition, according to Commissioner Betty Wojcik, there is a process to assess a lien, but no ability to collect.

Another discouraging fact was the budget. Only $10,000 had been earmarked to do cleanup, and already the city had spent $4,300, nearly half its yearly budget. Yet there was more. Commissioner Terrye Y. Howell cited the lack of staffing — a staff of one.

“If it’s only one person, I don’t know how we’re going to do much,” said Howell. She asked whether the city had the authority to list those properties in a tax lien sale. While the city cannot do so on its own initiative since it is a county function, she was told by Leary, nothing prohibits the city from taking the county advertisements and highlighting those properties within incorporated Lake Wales.

To also identify those properties not in line with code enforcement, Carter suggested the police and fire departments go out “in a blitz” of on-site inspections. Howell suggested getting residents in the neighborhoods involved. To Leary, it was not so much a matter of what approach to take.

The possibility of enacting new ordinances was shot down by Commissioner John Paul Rogers.

“Let’s start enforcing what we have in place,” Rogers said.

Commissioners consented to Leary’s request to have city staff move forward on revamping ordinances to make Lake Wales consistent with neighboring municipalities, as well as to consider adding liens to tax bills plus strengthening enforcement of current ordinances. These were positively received by Leary and Smith.

“It’s going to give us some latitude, some teeth, to do what we need to do,” said Smith.

“This is the start,” added Leary. “This is perfect.”