Compared to a typical BOC (Board of Commissioners) meeting two years ago, tonight’s meeting might seem tame and uneventful. The low attendance is not quite what it once was, with a full room of residents opposing or supporting an item, but it’s been like that for about a year or more. Nevertheless, there were some topics of note that are of interest most Lakeland residents:
- The modification of Kensington Manor Planned Development – this one will be fleshed out in a separate article.
- The unanimous appointment of Carl Helton to the Lakeland PULSE Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee. Carl has previously served on the MPC and has a background that lends himself perfectly to that role.
- Josh Thompson, head of IT operations at Lakeland City Hall, brought up the renewal of SeeClickFix by CivicPlus. SeeClickFix, better known as the app “Lakeland Connect”, was launched in May of this year and has about 600 downloads so far. Commissioner Wright asked if the performance from reports to execution had improved since there has been complaints of lag time or lack of response back by residents. Mr. Thompson said he believes staff has improved and refined the implementation process. Commissioner Atkinson asked if staff could present a quarterly report for the app. CLICK HERE for information about the app.
- Members of the SCSO (Shelby County Sherriff’s Office) were present and introduced the staff that would oversee operations in the Lakeland area. Lieutenant Valentine was there to go over the September crime report. There was an alarming number of thefts from motor vehicles last month and 3 vehicle thefts which is far above the norm, as there was only one in the entire year of 2021. Commissioner Wright said he has heard Kia was a brand being targeted and Lt. Valentine confirmed that Kias and Hyundais have been hit the most because of the easy access to start the vehicle. Most are stolen and simply left on the side of the road.
