The Citrus Tea News Recap for Friday, August 7, 2026
From the Editor: It's our official 2-month anniversary here at The Citrus Tea News! We launched on June 7, 2026. at the First Saturday Downtown Auburndale Farmer's Market, with a big vision to bring independent, real local news back to Polk County. After attending more city meetings and events than we can count, we are starting to see that vision unfold. We have met so many amazing individuals (you), and we are so grateful for the overwhelming response from residents of this great county we call home. We are going to keep working hard to be the authority for local news right here in Polk County. - Becky McLachlan, Founder & Editor The Citrus Tea News. Truly Local News. Truly Polk County. 🍊
Now for your Friday recap of real local news.
A historic schoolhouse is saved from demolition. Our water and electric bills are going up, early voting opens tomorrow morning, and a Polk County sheriff’s K9 named Ace is in critical condition at an animal hospital in Manatee County. Grab your cup. Let’s get through it together on The Citrus Tea News. Truly Local News. Truly Polk County.
Eagle Lake’s Red Brick Schoolhouse is saved
Eagle Lake city commissioners voted Monday night to rescind the demolition bids they approved on June 1, leaving the 1926 Red Brick Schoolhouse standing. The building, formally the Linda E. Weldon Activity Center on East Eagle Avenue, has been the center of a months-long preservation campaign by residents who grew up in its classrooms. Demolition had been on the table since 2023 as part of the city’s plan for a new city hall complex. On Monday, that plan gave way to the people who kept showing up to commission meetings and asking the city to wait. Read the full story here.
The city also voted to extend the hours for alcohol sales from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., 7 days a week.
Reclaimed Water Rates Climb 50% This October
The Polk County Board of County Commissioners approved changes to the county’s utility rate structure, the county announced Friday. The changes follow a rate sufficiency study completed earlier this year.
Reclaimed water rates rise in phases. Beginning Oct. 1, the current rate goes up 50%. On April 1, 2027, it rises another 33%. Starting Oct. 1, 2027, the rate will be indexed 6% each Oct. 1 through 2030.
Utilities Director Tamara Richardson said the county now considers reclaimed water “just as valuable of a resource as potable water,” a shift from treating it primarily as a disposal issue.
Connection fees also increase. Those are the one-time charges paid when a property first ties into the system. For single-family detached homes, the water connection fee goes from $3,038 to $3,989, and the wastewater connection fee goes from $6,169 to $7,460.
Commissioners set a new septage processing fee of 15 cents per gallon for residential haulers using the Septage Receiving Leachate Treatment Facility, which is expected to open this fall.
The surcharge on water usage that funds alternative water supply projects goes up 25 cents per 1,000 gallons every year through October 2030. Potable water and wastewater rates continue indexing at 6% each Oct. 1 through 2030, a two-year extension of the plan the board first approved in 2024.
Municipalities are in the midst of budget planning for the 2027 budget year. Check your city commission meeting calendar and agenda for more information. City website can be found at: https://www.polkfl.gov/government/elected-officials-and-cities/
Early Voting Opens Saturday Morning
Early voting for the Aug. 18 primary runs Saturday, Aug. 8, through Saturday, Aug. 15, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 10 locations countywide. During early voting, you can cast a ballot at any site. On Election Day, you are limited to your assigned precinct, and polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Florida is a closed primary state. Registered Democrats vote in Democratic races, and registered Republicans vote in Republican races. Voters with no party affiliation or a minor party affiliation can still vote in nonpartisan and universal primary contests. School board races are nonpartisan and decided by countywide vote.
The Citrus Tea News covered the School Board Candidates, and two Republicans running for the same District 2 seat facing off.
Mail ballots must be in the hands of the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Postmarks do not count. Voted mail ballots can be dropped off at any early voting site during voting hours, or at Election Headquarters in Bartow or the Election Operations Center in Winter Haven on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information on voting, sample ballots, and your closest polling location, visit the Polk County Supervisor of Elections website.
K9 Ace Took Rounds So Deputies Did Not Have To
A Polk County Sheriff’s Office K9 named Ace was shot in the leg Thursday night while deputies served a warrant in a wooded area near Rushing Road in Lakeland.
Sheriff Grady Judd said a bail bondsman searching for 27-year-old Angel Bowers called deputies for help after finding Bowers in a tent. As two deputies and Ace approached, Judd said, Bowers began shooting. Ace was hit. Deputies returned fire, and Bowers was killed. No deputies were injured.
Ace underwent surgery and was airlifted to a specialized veterinary facility in Manatee County under a state law that allows deputy K-9s the same level of emergency care as human deputies. Judd said Ace needed two units of blood and remains in critical condition with a serious leg injury.
The 10th Judicial Circuit Officer-Involved Deadly Incident Task Force is investigating.
Lakeland Hits Pause on Data Centers for a Year
Lakeland city commissioners voted 4-3 on Monday, Aug. 3, to impose a 12-month moratorium on new data centers and other customers expected to draw at least 50 megawatts of electricity. The pause took effect immediately, halting acceptance and review of applications while staff develops permanent rules.
The ordinance applies both inside city limits and to projects outside the city that are served by Lakeland’s electric, water, wastewater or other utilities.
The vote followed months of public pressure over Project Swan, a roughly 600,000-square-foot data center proposed in west Lakeland by Ryan Companies. City Attorney Palmer Davis has said data centers are not listed as an allowed use in Lakeland’s development code, meaning staff already considered them prohibited, and described the moratorium as an added layer while the city writes clearer standards.
Judge Voids Lake Wales CRA Expansion
The 10th Judicial Circuit Court granted Polk County’s motion for summary judgment on July 28, finding the City of Lake Wales’ plan to expand its Community Redevelopment Agency invalid and rendering the expansion void.
The expansion would have added 2,465 acres, roughly doubling the size of the CRA. About 75% of that, or 1,841.5 acres, was undeveloped land the city had approved for 6,100 dwelling units along with 400,000 square feet of commercial space, 125,000 square feet of office space and 200,000 square feet of assisted living and public facilities space.
County Attorney Randy Mink said the county’s analysis showed that up to $155 million in county revenue could have been funneled into the CRA fund over the initial 30-year life of the expansion area. Mink credited outside counsel Jon Trohn and Assistant County Attorney Breezi Hicks with the outcome.
Roads, School Bells and a New Tourism Director
Segments of FDC Grove Road and Holly Hill Grove Road Two in Davenport remain closed until 5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, for roadway reconstruction. FDC Grove Road is closed to through traffic from Minute Maid Ramp Road One to Holly Hill Tank Road, and Holly Hill Grove Road Two is closed from FDC Grove Road to Vervain Avenue and Sedgewick Drive. Residents can still reach their homes. Detours run along Minute Maid Ramp Road One, Sandhill Road and Holly Hill Tank Road to U.S. 27. Deen Still Road West stays closed until Aug. 10 after weather delays.
Polk County Public Schools students return Tuesday, Aug. 11, under the calendar the School Board revised in February.
School zones, buses and a very different morning commute all come back with them.
The Board of County Commissioners also confirmed Neal Duncan as the new Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing director on Aug. 4.
One More Thing Before You Go
It is a heavy news week, and I know it. A dog is fighting for his life, a family somewhere is processing a death, your utility bill just got more expensive, and your kids go back to school in four days.
Do the small thing this weekend. Check on the neighbor whose yard has looked a little rough. Vote early if you can, because the line Saturday morning is shorter than the line on the 18th. And if you see me at a polling site with a camera and far too much coffee, please say hello. I am always glad to see you.
Your community. Your news. Your right to know. The Citrus Tea News.
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Sources: “Polk County Adopts Changes to Utility Rate Structure,” Polk County Government, polkfl.gov, August 7, 2026; “Secments of FDC Grove Road and Holly Hill Grove Road Two Will Remain Closed Until Aug. 28 for Roadway Reconstruction Work,” Polk County Government, polkfl.gov, August 6, 2026; “Due to Weather Delays Deen Still Road West Will Remain Closed Until Aug. 10,” Polk County Government, polkfl.gov, August 3, 2026; “Neal Duncan Appointed New Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing Director,” Polk County Government, polkfl.gov, August 4, 2026; “Court Rules for Polk County on Lake Wales CRA Expansion Case,” Polk County Government, polkfl.gov, July 29, 2026; 2026 Primary Election, Polk County Supervisor of Elections, polkelections.gov; “Polk County Sheriff’s K9 Seriously Wounded After Being Shot by Suspect,” Spectrum Bay News 9, baynews9.com, August 7, 2026; Polk County Sheriff’s Office, polksheriff.org, August 7, 2026; “Lakeland Approves One-Year Moratorium on Data Centers,” LkldNow, lkldnow.com, August 3, 2026; “Lakeland Officials Approve One-Year Data Center Moratorium,” The Ledger, theledger.com, August 2026; Proposed Ordinance No. 26-018, City of Lakeland, lakelandgov.net; 2026-2027 Instructional Calendar, Polk County Public Schools, polkschoolsfl.com
