Haines City

Later this year Haines City will officially open its new city hall and public library, which the city hopes to leverage as the foundation to a revitalized downtown for the east Polk municipality.

Main Street, a nonprofit downtown development organization, and city officials are working to redevelop the "Civic Block" located on Main Street between North Sixth and Seventh streets.

A local consulting firm recommended has creating an on-street parking coordination plan including designing intersections to channel pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle traffic toward new restaurants, shops and other businesses the city hopes to draw.

City officials have not decided what to do with the current City Hall building once they move into the new one. The commission has discussed converting it for the fire department.

The city hall/library project comes on top of a $28 million renovation and expansion of Lake Eva Park south of the downtown area.

The 28-acre park reopened July 4, 2009, after 15 months of construction. It became one of the largest public parks in Polk County and includes an aquatic center and tennis and basketball courts, two playgrounds, a banquet facility, and biking and walking paths throughout. It also has an aquatic park, fishing pier and boat ramp on the lake.

Incorporated: 1914

Size: 20 square miles

Population: 20,535

Government: City Commission has five members. The city manager is appointed. The commission is elected to four-year terms on a rotating basis. It picks a mayor and vice mayor from among members in May after the April municipal election. Commissioners are paid $6,000 a year and the mayor $7,200. The commission meets at 7 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of the month.

City Commission: Mayor Roy Tyler, 863-422-4407; Vice Mayor Adam Burgess, 863-521-2291; Commissioners Joanna Wilkinson, 863-422-5635, Horace West, 863-419-1836 and Don Mason, 863-422-5118.

Budget: $41.1 million

Property tax rate: $6.99 per $1,000 of taxable value.

City Manager: Ann Toney-Deal, 863-421-3650

City Hall: 502 E. Hinson Ave., 863-421-3600, ci.haines-city.fl.us

Police Department: Chief Rick Sloan, 863-421-3636, ext. 224, www.hainescitypd.com

Fire Department: Chief Lon Cheney, 863-421-3612

Public Works: Director Mike Stripling, 863-421-3777

Water and sewer: 863-421-3600

Electricity: Florida Power, 800-700-8744

Parks Department: Director Kelly Callihan, 863-421-3700

Haines City Public Library: 303 Ledwith Ave., 863-421-3633

Recreation Department: 863-421-3700

Dolphus Howard Complex: 863-421-3720

Recreation: Haines City Community Center, the Dolphus Howard Complex, Lake Eva Park, Clay Cut Centre, the Bethune Neighborhood Center, Cook Field, Larry Parrish Complex and East Park. The city has two swimming pools.

Public schools: Alta Vista, Eastside and Sandhill elementary schools and Bethune Academy; Boone Middle School and Daniel Jenkins Academy; and Haines City and Ridge Community high schools.

Chamber of Commerce: Executive Director Jane Patton, 35610 U.S. 27, 863-422-3751 or www.hainescity.com