Polk County Manager Mike Herr hopes to cash in on any stimulus package that Congress passes, especially if it includes dollars for infrastructure.  Herr sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist this month detailing some “shovel ready” projects in Polk that are simply waiting for funding.

Among the wish list of infrastructure improvements is a project to make two stretches of U.S. Highway 27 in eastern Polk into six lanes.  One stretch extends from I-4 to U.S. Highway 192 near the Lake County Line.  The other stretch extends from State Road 540 to State Road 542.  Herr’s “shovel ready” letter to the Governor also includes a new four lane roadway connecting the Polk Parkway with West Pipkin Road in south Lakeland, a new two lane road that would create an alternate route into Auburndale, improvements to the 22-year-old Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, and a new Winter Haven Area Transit terminal.

The entire list totals more than $209 million in infrastructure projects, and Herr says they’re all necessary.  “You know these are much needed projects. These aren’t ‘let’s just do it for the sake of doing it because we can get some dollars.’ These are much needed projects,” Herr said.

So what exactly does shovel-ready mean?  Herr describes it like this.  “The project has been designed. It means that you have permits in hand and you’re ready to go to the bidding process to receive construction bids.”  In other words, as soon as the money flows the dirt can turn.

Herr is confident Congress will pass some stimulus plan that includes dollars for infrastructure, and although no one asked him for his “shovel ready” list, he wanted to provide one to demonstrate to federal lawmakers Polk is ready.

The secretary of Florida’s Department of Citrus is making a grim prediction about the fate of the industry if something isn’t done quickly about greening disease.  Kenneth Keck says greening, which is a fast-spreading illness that sours the fruit and kills the trees, could be the death of the citrus industry within a decade.

Keck says that is a worst case scenario, but he didn’t hesitate issuing the warning to lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee this week. “Potentially, within 10 years we could have serious declines in the crops here,” Keck said.

The citrus industry has been hit hard by a trio of troublemakers. Canker disease continues to plague groves across the state. The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons decimated crops, and now there’s greening. The Florida Department of Citrus is trying to combat that threat by spending $20 million, which it normally spends on marketing, on greening research instead.

At Florida Citrus Mutual, a trade organization representing 8,000 growers, Chief Executive Officer Mike Sparks says putting an end to greening has to be a statewide priority because of the enormous effect the citrus industry has on Florida’s economy. “In total it represents $9 billion in economic activities, so there’s not a backup crop. So, really, right now we’re focused on solving this problem and looking forward to the citrus industry in the future,” Sparks said.

The Department of Citrus is hopeful that state and federal lawmakers will partner with the industry in funding greening research. Industry officials also are hopeful regulators will loosen restrictions on growers’ options for battling the disease.

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As the economy continues to struggle, one industry is benefiting from the need to pinch pennies. Cobblers are enjoying increased business as consumers turn to fixing what’s broken rather than buying something new.

Jim McFarland is a third-generation shoe repairman in Lakeland.  He says his business is up 20 percent for the year, and in the past three weeks he’s seen a spike of nearly 50 percent in volume.

McFarland thinks it’s a simple matter of dollars and cents for his customers. “Instead of going out and buying a new pair of shoes, they’re going to bring them in and get them repaired because they’re going to save. If they’ve paid $100 or $200 or more for shoes, you’re going to save a lot of money,” McFarland says.

The story is the same across the country.  In Vermont, one cobbler says he’s so busy customers have to wait four weeks instead of the typical 10 days to get a pair of shoes back.  In Washington and St. Louis, shoe repair businesses are hiring workers to help with the increase in business. 

Jim McFarland expects his business will continue to thrive as long as the economy is struggling, but he’s hopeful once the country’s financial situation turns around he’ll have an entirely new set of faithful customers.  “After all this is over, the consumer and the younger generations learn something from this. Hey, we’re here. Use us,” McFarland says.

The man tapped with conducting an internal review of the Haines City Police Department issued a five-page report to the state attorney’s office this week detailing a host of deficiencies at the agency.

Michael Pruitt, a major on loan from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, took the helm of the Haines City Police Department in late October. He was asked then to conduct an internal investigation of the department’s operations.  In his report to State Attorney Jerry Hill, Pruitt spells out significant concerns.

Pruitt says there is an “overall lack of leadership within the agency.” He also cites “insufficient systems of accountability” as well as a “lack of internal office security.” Pruitt expresses concern that there have been keys issued to a number of department personnel over the years, but those keys have never been properly accounted for.  Some of those keys provide access to sensitive locations such as property and evidence areas and supply sites as well as the armory.

Pruitt also raises red flags about some officers’ ability to write reports. “Many of the reports I have reviewed have had grammatical errors, punctuation errors, and spelling errors,” Pruitt writes in his report.

In an interview, Pruitt said the agency has to get back to basics in order to function properly.  “You have a willingness for people here to do the job. That’s not the problem. They want to do the right thing. The problem is, I don’t think they’ve been given the equipment, the tools, the knowledge to do those.”   

Pruitt says he is taking Polk County Sheriff’s Office policies and procedures and adapting them, where possible, to fit the Haines City Police Department.  He hopes to begin implementing some of those policies as soon as possible to get the troubled agency back on track.

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