Meet your Fort Meade City Commissioners
Fort Meade is the oldest city in Polk County, with roots reaching back to 1849, when it was established as a military outpost along a new road from Tampa to Fort Pierce following the Second Seminole War. The city took its name from George Meade, then an Army lieutenant who later commanded Union forces at the Battle of Gettysburg. Union troops burned the town in 1864, and it rebuilt over the following decades into a cattle, citrus and phosphate center.
Today Fort Meade is home to roughly 5,300 residents and more than 300 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, a small, history-forward community that now finds itself weighing one of the largest developments in its history.
That development is the Stonebridge data center, and on April 14 the five members of the Fort Meade City Commission voted unanimously to approve a 20-year development agreement for it. The Maryland company plans to build a hyperscale facility on a 1,300-acre former phosphate mine in northern Fort Meade, on a site that could eventually span 4.4 million square feet and rank among the largest projects of its kind in Florida. The vote followed more than two hours of public comment, nearly all of it from residents opposed to the project. For the many residents now exploring a recall effort and continuing to press their concerns, the first practical question is a simple one: who sits on the commission, and how do you reach them.
Every commissioner present voted yes during the April 14, 2026 City Meeting. The agreement, which the city made conditional on Stonebridge securing a special water permit from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, includes a $10 million advance payment on property taxes that the city may direct toward a new fire station, library improvements, future water supplies or other uses. Vice Mayor Petrina McCutchen described the decision as a leap of faith. Commissioner Matthew Taylor characterized some opposition as a NIMBY* approach during the meeting. Mayor Jaret Landon Williams opened the meeting by asking residents to refrain from applause, citing earlier disruptions and what he described as intimidating statements made on social media.
*NIMBY, or “Not In My Back Yard,” is a term used to describe residents who object to a project mainly because of its location near their homes, and not necessarily to the project itself.
The vote also lands as the city confronts the condition of its own water and wastewater systems. At a June 9 commission meeting, city staff warned that decades of deferred maintenance have pushed Fort Meade’s infrastructure past its useful life, with the combined cost of replacing the water and wastewater systems estimated at roughly $40 million. The water distribution system, built largely in the 1950s and 1960s, includes 54 miles of pipe well past its average 60-year lifespan, and a 2021 study found that more than a third of the city’s wastewater pipe needed replacement. City Manager Troy Bell told commissioners that without replacement, the city would continue to see leaks and poor treatment on both the water and sewer sides.
A lawsuit has since been filed to target what residents say lacked procedural transparency and lawful review, challenging the data center approval. The Watchdogs of Fort Meade have also launched a recall petition targeting three city officials, alleging mismanagement of funds, malfeasance and conflicts of interest tied to the project.
Concerned residents may contact Fort Meade City Commission via email or by mail at P.O. Box 856, Fort Meade, FL 33841-0856. The five members, their seats and terms are as follows.
Matthew Taylor holds Seat 1, Precinct 516, term expiring January 2028.
Petrina McCutchen serves as Vice Mayor in Seat 2, Precinct 517, term expiring January 2028.
James Watts holds Seat 3, Precinct 518, term expiring January 2026.
Jaret Landon Williams serves as Mayor in Seat 4, At Large, term expiring January 2028.
Candice Lott holds Seat 5, At Large, term expiring January 2030.
The data center still faces hurdles before construction. Developers need several permits, including approval from SWFWMD’s full governing board at a public meeting, after the water district informed the city that its current permit cannot supply the facility’s requested 50,000 gallons of water per day. \
The Citrus Tea is continuing to follow the project and the response from Fort Meade residents.
Sources: Bay News 9, “Fort Meade data center approved, despite residents’ concerns,” April 15, 2026; Lakeland Ledger via AOL, “Fort Meade’s approval still leaves hurdles ahead for data center,” April 16, 2026; WMNF 88.5 FM, “Fort Meade commissioners vote unanimously for hyperscale data center,” April 15, 2026; FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Carla Bayron, “Grassroots group launches Fort Meade recall petition targeting 3 city officials over AI data center project”; Fort Meade Historical Society, fortmeadeflmuseum.com; Florida Department of State, dos.fl.gov; Fort Meade City Commission contact information, cityoffortmeade.org.
