by Matt Wright
Last evening, November 12, 2020 was the last Board of Commissioners meeting for Vice Mayor Josh Roman. He did not seek re-election for the upcoming term. This wrapped up nearly 15 years serving in Lakeland from volunteer economic roles to an elected official.
Ultimately, Josh’s lasting legacy is simple. He participated in a meeting one Sunday afternoon in the summer of 2012 to discuss a “vote yes” campaign to create a school system for Lakeland. Looking back, that meeting of 5 individuals consisting of Mr. Roman, Mr. Kevin Floyd (current school board chairman), Mrs. Laura Harrison (current school board member) Mrs. Kelly Hale (former school board member), Mrs. Melissa Richarde (Josh’s sister and a teacher at Lakeland Prep) and myself (former school board member and commissioner) changed the future of Lakeland forever.
“I remember that day very well,” said Mr. Roman, talking about meeting in Mrs. Harrison’s Planation Hills home. He continued saying “Hardly any of us knew each other, other than my sister and I, but we all knew if our city was going to thrive, schools would be the reason why. And that’s proved to be true.” The single measure committee formed that afternoon lead to a successful vote to create Lakeland School System.
That meeting also led to some tempestuous times in Lakeland. In what will eventually show as a major crossroad in our history, Lakeland evolved, sometimes painfully, from a one time retirement community to the growing, exciting place it’s become.
As former Mayor Wyatt Bunker put it, “Vice Mayor Roman provided stability and vison at a time when the city of Lakeland desperately needed both. We are indebted to his service.”
While the creation and the completion of the entire school system was critical, Vice Mayor Roman played a part in several key aspects to Lakeland’s growth. “Obviously the High School was important, but Lakeland Town Square and sealing the Aldi’s grocery store deal were also accomplishments I’m proud of. Aldi’s was unique because it required us to get creative to win them from Memphis and Bartlett. I thought the votes were there to buy the land for them so, I reached out with that offer and they took it. This will prove to be an important get over time as Aldi’s plays a very different role than any other grocery store around” said Vice Mayor Roman.
Mr. Roman does see challenges ahead for Lakeland. Specifically politics and growth. “We need to cool the politics down. For a small town basically run by volunteers, there should be a greater level of respect paid to the desire to serve. We should battle ideas not people” Mr. Roman said. As for growth he commented, “We need to cool down on residential growth. With our low tax rate, great schools and coming amenities, more and more builders are finding us attractive so we need to pump the brakes a little. We also need to lower the temperature on commercial growth. We have two great developments that need our support in The Lake District and Lakeland Town Square. Both of these can be game changers as it relates to sales tax revenue, property tax revenue and city amenities so, we need to focus to see them through before taking on something new.”
Now that his free time will increase dramatically what will Mr. Roman do? He assured us he will stay busy. “I own two Allstate Insurance agencies and I need to get back to work. The last 5 years have been an awesome challenge but when your mind is constantly looking at every angle to get progress it is a distraction. I’m looking forward to just making a basic sales call or helping a family with a claim. My brother Jeff has pretty much ran the agencies for the last few years and I’m sure he’ll be glad to have some help!”
What will the future hold for Josh Roman? Hard to know but for now he is simply thankful. He made a point to say, “I want to thank my wife Ursula, and my children Baylor and Mallory for the incredible encouragement you give me everyday! Also, thank you Lakeland for allowing me and my family to serve!”
When you see Josh around, make sure and thank him for his service.
