During this holiday season, the Mayor, City Commission and Administration want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. As we close out 2018, we are thankful for the opportunity to serve you as we continue to move Haines City Forward. During 2019, we look forward to expanding our community offerings, providing exceptional services and managing the growth happening in Polk County’s fastest growing community. Haines City is truly the heartbeat of Florida and we want you and your family to continue calling this the desired destination to live, work, learn and raise a family.
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Deric C. Feacher
City Manager
863-421-3600
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Jeffrey Brown
Deputy City Manager
863-421-3600
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Stephanie Snively
Communications and Marketing Manager
863-421-9951
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Margie Wells
Senior Executive Assistant
863-421-5560
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2018 Great American Teach-In - Bethune Academy
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Parks & Recreation Director Terrell Griffin with Bethune Academy students
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"Slider", our Public Works mascot, entertained and educated Bethune Academy students
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K-9 Officer Green and his partner "Tundra" give a demonstration to students
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Parks & Recreation Director Griffin and Parks staff detailing the work they do throughout the City.
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Linda Bourgeois
City Clerk
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Cemetery Clean-Up Notice
Please review the Public Notices (English and Spanish) about Haines City Cemeteries in the attached documents below.
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Community Information and Events
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Stay Informed On What's Going on
in the Business Community
The Haines City Area Chamber of Commerce is an excellent way to promote your business and showcase your services. Click on the link below to keep up-to-date on all the wonderful things your Chamber is doing to promote businesses in and around Haines City and contact them to become a member!
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Attention Business Owners and Developers
Become a Part of Haines City!
The Haines City Economic Development Council is here to assist you with any of your business and development needs. Contact Cyndi Jantomaso, President, to set-up an appointment to review any of your upcoming projects or business transactions/acquisitions. Click on the link below for additional information.
The Haines City Economic Development Council (EDC) is always excited to share news and developments in and around Haines City. Click
HERE
to read the EDC's Newsletter.
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Central Florida’s Visitor Information Center (CFVIC) in Davenport will host a weekly Farmers Market beginning Thursday, Nov. 29 running through April 25, 2019
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This will be the fifth year for the seasonal market, which will take place on Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A variety of vendors are signed on to participate, offering fresh local produce, handmade crafts and more. Click
HERE
for more information
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St. Ann Ensemble Choir and Orchestra Presents
A Christmas Concert
Sunday, December 16, 2018
3:00 p.m. at St. Ann Community Church
1311 Robinson Drive - Haines City
Tickets $10
For More Information, or information En Español,
call 863-422-4370
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Farmers Market
Our Farmer's Market is new and improved! Visit the market at Railroad Park in downtown Haines City. The Farmer's Market takes place every Wednesday from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
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Special Events, Athletics, Library, Recreation, Parks
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Terrell Griffin
Parks & Recreation Director
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Click on this link to see the
Aquatics Information:
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Click on this link to see the
Parks & Recreation Athletics Information:
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Recreation, Seniors, Wellness
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Click on this link (and scroll down to "City Calendar) to review the
entire calendar of events for Recreation, Wellness and Senior Events:
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Click on this link (and scroll down to "City Calendar) to review Other Upcoming
Special Events:
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Haines City Public Library
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In addition to the multitude of books the Haines City Public Library provides, it also offers age-specific opportunities of discovery and fun with programs like the Needlework Group, Scrabble Club, Story Times, Teen Programs, and movies every month in English and Español. Come find your heartbeat at the Haines City Public Library!
Operating Hours
Monday:
10:00 AM-7:00 PM Tuesday: 10:00 AM-8:00 PM
Wednesday:
10:00 AM-6:00 PM Thursday: 10:00 AM-6:00 PM
Friday:
10:00 AM-5:00 PM Saturday: 10:00 AM-3:00 PM
Sunday:
CLOSED
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Internet Information and Citizen Assistance
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Lynda.com a leading online learning platform with over 7,000 courses that can assist anyone with learning the following: business, software, technology, and creative skills to achieve personal and professional through video-based, self-paced courses available 24/7.
Through individual, corporate, academic and government subscriptions, members have access to the Lynda.com video library of engaging, top-quality courses taught by recognized industry experts.
For 20 years, Lynda.com has helped students, leaders, IT and design pros, project managers—anyone in any role—develop software, creative, and business skills. Now part of Linkedin, Lynda.com serves more than 10,000 organizations. With tutorials in five languages, Lynda.com is a global platform for success. Access to
Lynda.com
is free with a Haines City Public Library card.
Ancestry.com® is a website that brings together science and self-discovery to help anyone find their story.
Bringing together science and self-discovery,
Ancestry.com
helps everyone, everywhere discover the story of what led to them. Our sophisticated engineering and technology harnesses family history and consumer genomics, combining billions of rich historical records, millions of family trees, and samples more than 7 million people in the AncestryDNA database to provide people with deeply meaningful insights about who they are and where they come from.
Access to Ancestry.com is available to our patrons through the computers at the Haines City Public Library.
ProQuest® African American Heritage is a groundbreaking digital resource exclusively devoted to African American family history research.
ProQuest
is committed to empowering researchers and librarians around the world. Its innovative information content and technologies increase the productivity of students, scholars, professionals and the libraries that serve them. Through partnerships with content holders, ProQuest preserves rich, vast and varied information – whether historical archives or today’s scientific breakthroughs – and packages it with digital technologies that enhance its discovery, sharing and management. For academic, corporate, government, school and public libraries, as well as professional researchers, ProQuest provides services that enable strategic acquisition, management and discovery of information collections.
ProQuest is available to our patrons through the computers at the Haines City Public Library.
The
Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program (EHEAP)
assists low-income households, with at least one person age 60 and older, when the households are experiencing a home energy emergency.
A home energy emergency may result from a delinquent utility bill, lack of fuel or wood, or the receipt of a shut off notice. Payments are for home heating or cooling and other emergency energy-related costs during the heating (October-March) and cooling (April-September) seasons. Eligible households may be provided one benefit per season, up to $600 per season. Payments are made directly to the vendor or by a two-party check to the vendor and client for electricity, natural gas, propane, fuel oil, kerosene, or wood.
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Stay Connected With All Our Upcoming Library Events!
Want to know what is going on at the Haines City Public Library? Check out our
Facebook page and get the scoop. You can also see what's going on at the Library by viewing our calendar for adults and children!
Click on this link to review the
entire calendar of events for the Library:
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Richard Greenwood
Development Services Director
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City Continues To Issue Record-Breaking
Number of Permits
For the month of November 2018, the Development Services Department issued 32 single-family residential permits. While this amount is slightly below the yearly average of 41 permits a month, this now brings up the total number of permits issued for 2018 up to 452. Even without accounting for the month of December, this total exceeds the number of permits issued since 2005, when 521 permits were issued. In addition to these high permit numbers, Development Services staff is tracking 36 potential and existing projects, comprising a total of 6,897 single-family and 2,501 multi-family units. This activity shows that there is a strong interest in Haines City, based on Haines City being a great place to live, work, play, and learn! These numbers also mean that there will be more business opportunities for both new and existing residents in the future from the increased population.
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Thomas Murphy
Interim Fire Chief
tmurphy@hainescity.com
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Memorial for Fire Dog Ember
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On November 16
th, the Haines City Fire Department said their final goodbye to Ember, the fire dog. She was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. Ember was rescued seven (7) years ago, and quickly became the heartbeat of the department. It didn’t take long for our community to see just how special she was. Ember made friends everywhere she went. Many times visitors would come by the station just to see her, and she loved it. Ember has left a paw print on all of our hearts and she will always be remembered.
A memorial is being held for Ember Friday, December 21st at 10:00 a.m. at the Fire Station located at 138 N. 11th Street.
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Santa At the Station
Santa will visit the Haines City Fire Department Saturday, December 22 from 5:00 pm-8:00 pm. Please bring your cameras for pictures! Hot chocolate & cookies will be served, and our station will be open for tours.
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Auburn Taylor
Human Resources Director
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Would you like to be part of the City of Haines City Team? Apply today! All interested applicants are required to submit an employment application, unless otherwise instructed on the City's website position announcement page.
Employment Applications and copies of complete position announcements can be accessed on the City of Haines City's website at
www.hainescity.com
.
Positions are considered "Open Until Filled," unless otherwise denoted. Corresponding pay grade ranges are included to represent earning potential and shall not be an assumption of potential starting wage, which will most likely be at the minimum rate of pay. If a conditional offer of employment is made, please note everything included during the application process will be verified.
Click
here
to view the open job listings and find out how you can be part of the City of Haines City Team!
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Information Technology Department
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New City of Haines City Website
Mobile
App
The Haines City Technology Management Department would like to inform the citizens that our website,
www.hainescity.com
, is now available as a Mobile App. This free app is available for both Android and Apple iOS devices. Many features are available in the mobile app. You can find information about our Cemeteries, Report an Issue with the City of Haines City, view the Staff Directory, and much more!
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To install on an Android device, search “Haines City FL” in the Google Play store. Tap the green Install button and the app will begin downloading to your device.
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For Apple iOS devices, open the App Store and search “CivicMobile”. Tap the blue Get button to allow the app to install on your device. Open the CivicMobile app on your Home screen. When the app fully opens, search
Haines
and tap “Haines City, FL” when it appears. Alternatively tap the Find Your Location button to find our Haines City, FL app. Tap the white box with the pointed arrow to continue to the app services.
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You can choose to sign up and receive app notifications by tapping
Sign Up
at first launch. Enter your details into the New Account fields. First Name, Last Name, and an Email address is required. Read the privacy policy and scroll down and tap the check box next to “I agree to the policies;” indicating you have read the policy. Also, tap the box next to “I’m not a robot” and complete the reCaptcha verification. Tap the green Create Profile button to finish creating your profile. You will receive a validation email to create a password for your account.
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The Alert Center shows all current alerts posted by city staff. Current alert categories include Road Closures, Utility Outages, and Weather Alerts. Tapping [Done] at the bottom returns you to the main screen.
Calendar allows you to see all of our upcoming events by date. Tap a date on the calendar to view all events that occur on that specific date. Events sort by department names.
The Cemetery button opens the Cemetery Information page on our website. You will find pricing for both Forest Hill and Oakland Cemetery, along with access to our cemetery databases.
The Contractor Portal opens the iWorq website portal for searching open permits with the City of Haines City.
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The Employment icon takes you to our job listing website. From there you can view open positions and apply for a job online.
If you have a particular question about the city, you may find the answer in the FAQs section.
News Flash articles inform you of what is happening in and around our city.
If you created an account for the website, you can choose which mobile alerts you receive in the Notify Me section of the app.
The Public Meetings portal allows you to listen to past meetings and listen to live commission meetings. Tapping this icon opens your device’s web browser and displays the meeting portal page. When a meeting is live, tap the green “Listen Live” link on the page.
Recreation Registration opens the Community Pass website where you register for upcoming events held at the Community Center or around Haines City.
Report an Issue is a new service our app offers. You can contact the city when finding issues such as pot holes, graffiti, a broken light, or other concerns. You can include a photo of the incident by tapping the Take Photo button or Choose Existing Photo. Your device’s GPS location sets the location of the incident. You can also set a specific pin on the included map, or type in the address. A name and email address are required when submitting an issue. Someone from the city will contact you within a reasonable amount of time after submitting your issue.
Use the search feature within the app to find more information regarding a topic. For example, you may want to find when a facility is open. Searching “hours” provides results related to your search term.
Lastly, you can also pay your utility bill using our mobile app. Contact our Utility Billing department at 863-421-3600 and choose option 1 to speak to a customer service representative about setting up online access.
If you have any questions regarding the Mobile App, please contact the city at 863-421-3600.
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James Elensky
Chief of Police
jelensky@hainescity.com
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Police Department Commendations
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Officer Santos received a Division Commendation for his valiant effort in customer service in humility. On August 23, 2018 a family traveling from South Florida vehicle broke down. There were children in the car, and they did not have enough money for food or a hotel room.
The thankful citizen advised Officer Santos bought the entire family food, and provided them with enough money for a hotel room for the night. Officer Santos went above and beyond the call of duty by providing the family with food and shelter for the night, with his own money.
Sergeant Colon and the Alpha Shift received a Chief’s Commendation for responding to a male subject suffering from PTSD. Upon the arrival of the shift, it was advised that the subject was inside of the home armed with a small hand gun, along with two children who were afraid for their lives.
The Alpha shift was able to make contact with the children who were inside of a locked bedroom, and extract them through an open window, to a safe area. After extracting the children, they were able to set a perimeter around the home, and talk the armed subject out of the residence without further incident. It is efforts such as this that exemplifies what they can accomplish during a stress heighten event. The cohesiveness that the shift showed during this time, is something that all members of the Haines City Police Department should strive for on a daily basis.
Criminal Investigation Division received a Chief’s Commendation for responding to a homicide. During the course of the investigation, their experience and knowledge was essential in the eventual arrest of the suspect. By working together in this investigation, a successful conclusion of this homicide was with an arrest of suspect.
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Chief of Police Elensky with Officer Santos
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Chief of Police Elensky, Sergeant Colon, Officer Ramdeen and Officer Rivera
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Chief of Police Elensky, Detective-Sergeant Nobre, Detective Grant, Detective Prue, Detective Sorrentino and Lead Crime Scene Analyst Meltzer
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Holiday Shopping Safety Tips
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Haines City Police Department wants to Protect You during the Holidays!
Shopping in Stores
- Do not buy more than you can carry.
- Save all receipts together to help you verify credit card or bank statements as they arrive.
- Consider alternate options to pay for your merchandise, such as one-time use or virtual credit cards numbers, money orders or online stores.
- Wait until asked before taking out your credit card or checkbook.
- Carry your purse close to your body or your wallet inside a coat or front trouser pocket.
Parking Lot
- Do not carry large amounts of cash; use checks, credit/debit cards to make purchases.
- Use automated teller machines in highly populated areas.
- Try not to use your phone or text when walking through a parking lot.
- Beware of strangers approaching you for any reason.
- Shop during daylight hours instead of at night.
- Carry your car key fob in hand to be used as a personal alarm.
- Do not leave purchased items visible in your vehicle.
On-line
- When in doubt, throw it out. Delete links in emails, tweets, posts, and online advertising.
- Think before you act. Be wary of offers of amazing deals that sound too good to be true or implore you to act immediately.
- Make sure the site is legitimate. A closed padlock on your web browser's address bar or a Uniform Resource Locator address that begins with shttp or https. This indicates that the purchase is encrypted or secured.
- Protect your personal information. Check the website's privacy policy and how your information will be stored and used.
- Keep a paper trail. Save records of your online transactions, check your credit card statements for any unauthorized charges and report discrepancy to your bank immediately.
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Adriana Trujillo-Villa
Interim Public Works Director
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Right-of-Way Permits and Road Closures Permits
Right-of Way Permits
The application can be found on the Haines City’s Website. Once the application is completed, the approval is required to be obtained through the Public Works Department.
Road Closures Permits
Effective now, Road Closures Permits will need to be obtained through the Public Works Department. Once the application is completed, approval will be received from the Public Works Department.
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Tracy Mercer
Utilities Director
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Lawn Watering Days and Times
The District's year-round water conservation measures went into effect August 2, 2017. Lawn watering is limited to no more than twice per week.
Lawn watering days and times are as follows:
- Even addresses may water Thursdays and/or Sundays before 10:00 AM or after 4:00 PM
- Odd addresses may water Wednesdays and/or Saturdays before 10:00 AM or after 4:00 PM
- Locations without a discernible address, such as right-of-ways and common areas inside a subdivision, may water Tuesdays and/or Fridays before 10:00 AM or after 4:00 PM
- Hand watering and micro-irrigation of plants (other than lawns) can be done on any day and any time
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WOW! (Watched Outstanding Work!)
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The City of Haines City would like to thank all of our excellent, dedicated employees and volunteers who help make the City a great place to work, live and play. We would not be able to serve our community well without the dedicated, excellent employees and volunteers! Have you "Watched Outstanding Work" within the City lately? Let us know at wow@hainescity.com.
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Haines City Commission
Front row (left to right): Mayor Morris West, Commissioner Roy Tyler
Back row (left to right): Vice-Mayor Don Mason, Commissioner Anne Huffman and Commissioner Horace West
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Oakland High School 50th Reunion Proclamation
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Mayor Morris West presented the Oakland High School Class of 1968 Alumni a proclamation recognizing them as the last class from June 1968.
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City Commission Meetings
Are held every first and third Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 620 E. Main Street.
For questions or more information, please call the City Clerk at (863) 421-9921.
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Mark Your Calendars for the following City Commission Meetings
Tuesday,
December 18, 2018 - 7:00 PM
Thursday, January 3, 2019 - 7:00 PM
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City of Haines City| 863-421-3600 | www.HainesCity.com
STAY CONNECTED
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