PLANT CITY TIMES &
Observer
July is National Parks & Rec month. SEE PAGE 12.
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 5, NO. 2
FREE
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FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017
RESURFACING BEGINS The City Commission recently awarded a $1.3 million contract to C.W. Roberts Contracting for nearly eight miles of road repairs. SEE PAGE 3
Daniel Figueroa IV
Bill McDaniel said the work being done on Vermont Street (pictured) is a smaller project, but is indicative of the breadth and intricacies of work being implemented elsewhere throughout the City.
HAVING A BALL
YOUR TOWN
Summer Youth Program keeps kids rolling through the heat. SEE PAGE 3
Breanne Williams
Mayor honors pageant winners Mayor Rick Lott officially recognized the members of the Little Miss Plant City Court Monday at a City Commission meeting. Queen J’Zell Gilbertsen, First Maid Annistyn Griffin and court members Addison Griffin, Brooke Browning and Kacie Culbreth received a proclamation and congratulation from the Mayor as they represent Plant City in various parades and events throughout the upcoming year.
File photo
Campers at the Planteen Recreation Center play a game called “Gaga Ball,” a blend of dodgeball and soccer.
Breanne Williams
Search for city manager begins The City Commission voted to hire a recruitment firm to begin the search for City Manager. BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
The search for a new city manager has begun. The city commission unanimously voted in favor of hiring Strategic Government Resources, an
executive recruitment firm, to assist in the process. Interim City Manager Kim D. Leinbach was directed on June 26 to research firms to aid the city in its search. Two weeks later, he recommended SGR. The firm is no stranger to Plant City, as it was used in 2016 to find and hire Lynn Spivey, director of utilities. “I know we used this firm for another position, one of our department heads, the utilities director, and I know we were very happy with them there,” Mayor Rick Lott said.
SGR has a 15-week process, which could be as short as 45 days, to find suitable candidates for the city. “They do guarantee their results and will repeat the entire process if we’re not satisfied with the selection and if any candidates who are vetted by SGR, resigns or is terminated in the first 18 months of hire, they will repeat the process with no expense to the city,” Leinbach said. SGR’s services will cost an estimated $23,000 based on its proposal, Courtesy photo
SEE MANAGER PAGE 7
Kim Leinbach.
Reserved parking for 40 years of service Candace Greene, an employee at South Florida Baptist Hospital, received a reserved parking spot on July 6 for dedicating over 40 years of service to the hospital. The hospital has honored others with similar dedications and every year a banquet is held to praise all team members who have reached a service milestone in the past year. The honorees are also given a book from which they choose which gift they would prefer to receive based on their years of service.