Growth and Growth Management are important topics to the residents of Polk County. How well we plan for future growth will affect our quality of life in the future.
There are positive and negative aspects to every opportunity. “How we grow” is not immune to the pluses and minuses.
How many would want their home or property value rolled back to levels of 10 years past? How many want a stagnant economy with no job growth, no opportunity … and worst of all no place for our children to return to make their living and raise their family.
On the other hand growth places demands on our education, transportation, environmental systems and our patience … among other things.
What then is the answer? How do we maintain a healthy economy, grow responsibly and protect the charm that brought us here in the first place?
Polk County in conjunction with Polk Vision will hold a series of public forums where you can participate in discussions on how our home is grown.
The Polk County Long Range Planning Division and Polk Vision invite you to a series of community workshops to discuss growth and related issues in Polk County.
The workshops are scheduled as follows:
- Tuesday, January 23, 2007 6-8pm – Lake Region High School, Eagle Lake
- Thursday, January 25, 2007 6-8 pm – Ridge Community High School, Haines City
- Tuesday, January 30, 2007 6-8 pm – Lake Gibson High School, North Lakeland
The Greater Winter Haven Chamber is a partner in both Winter Haven Visioning and Polk Visioning efforts. We encourage your attendance.
What are your thoughts on “how we grow?”
There are more factors than conjestion to consider. We are not in control of our water. Miami( South Florida water management) and Tampa ( Southwest Florida Water Management District) are in total control of what happens to our supply. They will control its availability and thus our growth. We won’t have a say in the matter. Chosing is not one of our options. We need to plan for both scenarios. More than likily it will reduced growth.
In the 8 years I have lived in Polk County, the county commissioners and City of Winter Haven commissioners have done little to improve quality of life for the citizens of the county and city respectively. Developers have been given carte blanche to do as they wish. Citizens who have appeared before the commissions to argue for intelligent and sustainable growth have been ignored to the point of contempt – I speak from personal experience. Is it any surprise that there is tremendous hostility to developers and the commissioners who presided during these times! I hope that Jean Reed will have a positive effect on future county decisions. At last someone who cares has been elected.