Polk County OKs initial contracts for long-sought Agricultural Center south of Bartow
The Polk County Agricultural Center Complex in Bartow took a giant gallop forward on June 3 when the County Commission voted to approve architectural and engineering services for phase one of the long-discussed complex.
A contract with The Lunz Group LLC was approved by the commission for $1.57 million.
'This has been a lot of work for a lot of people. I've been after this since I have become a commissioner. And it's had a lot of roads up and down, bumps, bangs,' Commission Chairman Rick Wilson said prior to the unanimous vote.
In thanking those who helped push for the project, Wilson added, 'This is Polk County; this is going to be a nice facility for generations to come.'
An equestrian-themed public facility in Bartow was first publicly discussed at a County Commission agenda review on May 20, 2024.
Phase one would include a covered arena with seating. Overall, the complex will be designed to highlight Polk County's agricultural heritage.
Bartow's City Manager Mike Herr made the pitch for the facility last year to the commissioners once another site for the complex fell through after years of planning.
The last proposed equestrian center was to be developed in Fort Meade, but the Polk County Commission rescinded its pledge of $6.5 million toward the center in July 2023.
On June 3 after the commission vote, Herr was very happy with the decision to begin the initial phase.
'We are very excited about the County Commission hiring the Lunz Group. First, they are a local firm, so circulating tax dollars to a professional firm who is qualified is important,' Herr said.
'This is a very exciting day for the south-central area of Polk County," he said. "The Equestrian Center will serve as a driver for additional agri-tourism events at this site and will attract families from all across the region. It's a very good example of putting heads in beds. Our city cannot wait for it to be open.'
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County moves forward on long-sought Agricultural Center in Bartow
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
6 hours ago
- Business Insider
Walmart to pay $10M to settle FTC charges related to wire transfer services
Walmart (WMT) will pay $10M to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it turned a blind eye to scammers who used its in-store money transfer services to take hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. consumers. The FTC's June 2022 complaint alleged that between 2013 and 2018, Walmart allowed its money transfer services to be used by scammers who defrauded consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Walmart failed to implement effective anti-fraud policies and procedures, did not properly train its employees, and failed to warn customers about potential fraud related to money transfers, according to the complaint. In June 2023, the FTC filed an amended complaint adding further details related to the company's alleged telemarketing violations. In July 2024, the district court dismissed the Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule claim for the second time, presenting a significant hurdle for the Commission to obtain monetary relief for consumers in the litigation. In November 2024, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted Walmart permission to appeal certain rulings by the district court. The stipulated order announced resolves the FTC's case against Walmart and is intended to ensure the company does not engage in similar alleged conduct in the future. In addition to imposing the $10M judgment, the order prohibits Walmart from: providing money transfer services without taking timely and appropriate action to effectively detect and prevent fraud-induced money transfers; sending or paying out any money transfer that it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, is a fraud-induced money transfer; substantially assisting or supporting any seller or telemarketer that it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, is accepting a cash-to-cash money transfer as payment for goods, services or charitable contributions sought through telemarketing and substantially assisting or supporting any telemarketer that it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, has asked a consumer to pay in advance for a loan or credit extension. The Commission vote approving the stipulated final order was 3-0.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
UniCredit likely to withdraw Banco BPM bid amid regulatory hurdles
UniCredit's chief executive Andrea Orcel in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, indicated that the bank is likely to abandon its proposed acquisition of smaller rival Banco BPM, as reported by Reuters. Orcel highlighted ongoing challenges posed by the Italian government's 'golden power' conditions and court appeals as significant barriers to the deal. "But if we don't manage to resolve (the problems), as is probable, we will withdraw," he stated. The CEO noted that UniCredit has been working to comply with the terms set by Rome, including the divestment of its Russian activities, a move also urged by the European Central Bank. "We have done more than was requested by the ECB," Orcel stated, adding that no other bank had reduced its Russian activities as extensively as UniCredit. However, finding a buyer for these assets acceptable to both Russia and Western authorities has proven difficult. Orcel also confirmed that the bank had earmarked capital to cover potential losses if the Russian assets were to be nationalised. Despite the potential setback, Orcel remained optimistic about UniCredit's prospects saying: "Our future is very bright with or without M&A." He refrained from commenting on the ongoing investigation during the interview. This comes on the heels of European Commission's approval of the proposed acquisition under the EU Merger Regulation, subject to UniCredit divesting 209 branches in areas where competition concerns were identified. However, the Italian competition authority's request to assess the merger under national competition law was denied by the Commission. The Commission's investigation concluded that at the local level, the transaction could potentially harm competition in the deposits and loans markets for retail consumers and SMEs banking services. Conversely, at the regional level, no competition concerns were raised for LCCs banking services, as the market would still feature several well-established competitors' post-transaction. Furthermore, the Commission found no evidence that the transaction would increase the risk of coordination in the Italian banking market, considering the market's fragmented nature, the low transparency in consumer pricing, and the limited monitoring of market behaviour by competitors. Earlier this month, Commission revealed that it will not initiate an in-depth investigation into the deal. "UniCredit likely to withdraw Banco BPM bid amid regulatory hurdles " was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Google offers to tweak search results to promote rivals, stave off EU antitrust fine, documents show
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google has proposed more changes to its search results to better showcase rivals in a bid to stave off a possible hefty EU antitrust fine, according to documents seen by Reuters. Google's latest proposal came three months after the European Commission charged the U.S. tech giant with favouring its own services such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels and Google Flights over rivals in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The landmark DMA sets out a list of dos and don'ts for Big Tech aimed at reining in their power and giving rivals more room to compete and consumers more choices. Under Google's new proposal a vertical search service (VSS) selected on objective and non-discriminatory criteria would get its own box at the top of the search page with the same format, information and features as Google's, the document said. The box would contain three direct links picked by the VSS, to hotels, airlines, restaurants and transport. Other VSS, which are specialised search engines within Google, would be ranked below but without a box unless users click on them. "We do not agree with the (Commission's) preliminary findings' position but, on a without prejudice basis, we want to find a workable solution to resolve the present proceedings," the documents sent by both Google and the Commission to the rivals said. The rivals will provide feedback at a July 8 meeting called by the Commission. A number of rivals, who did not want to be named ahead of the meeting, told Reuters that the changes still do not go far enough to ensure a level playing field. Inicia sesión para acceder a tu portafolio
