City of Lakeland Fire Chief Dennis Wolf announced that he will not be moving forward with the City as chief of the Lakeland Fire Department, due to start July 1.
He has taken an opportunity to return to his former position with Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS), according to Shane A. Horn, city manager for Lakeland in a press release today (11.27.18).
“Dennis has been a great resource of information as we have explored setting up a Fire Department in Lakeland. I am appreciative of the time and effort Dennis has spent positioning us for this opportunity,” said Mr. Horn. “We certainly wish Dennis the best and look forward to continuing to work with him as our fire consultant with MTAS.”
From Chief Wolf:
“Lakeland is a dynamic city that is poised for tremendous growth and development, and I was looking forward to working with Lakeland’s outstanding staff and being a part of that. However, things change, and it is in my best interest to remain with MTAS. I will continue to support Lakeland in any way possible as their MTAS Fire Consultant”.
Lakeland Commissioner Wesley Wright said he would love to continue to pursue Lakeland having its own fire department. “We will discuss this at the next BOC meeting Dec. 6th.” That is the date that new members of the BOC will be sworn in: Mike Cunningham as mayor and Richard Gonzales Jr. and Michele Dial as commissioners. They were elected Nov. 6th.
Mayor-elect Cunningham said, “I understand and respect Mr. Wolf’s decision and I wish him the best.”
Commissioner-elect Gonzales said he concurred with Mayor-elect Cunningham noting Chief Wolf is well qualified. “I respect his decision and wish him the best,” said Mr. Gonzales.
