Lakeland OKs FDOT MOU for South Florida Avenue and $1.85 million design contract

The Lakeland City Commission approved a memorandum of understanding with the Florida Department of Transportation for reconstruction of South Florida Avenue (Ariana Street to Lime Street) and separately authorized a professional-services agreement with Patel Green and Associates to complete the city's portion of the project design.

Under the MOU, the city will manage and pay for design work while FDOT will fund construction for the state road project; the city will pay for ornamental upgrades such as landscaping and decorative lighting. The commission approved the FDOT MOU by roll call during the meeting.

City staff negotiated a design contract with Patel Green and Associates for roadway design, initially capped at $1,542,405.44. Lakeland Water Utilities requested additional design services to replace water mains within the project limits; that request increased the not-to-exceed fee by $308,315.62 and set the total design not-to-exceed amount at $1,850,721.06. Funding for the roadway design comes from the Downtown and Dixieland 2025 trust funds, and Lakeland Water Utilities allocated $308,315.62 for its portion of the design.

Public-work staff and commissioners discussed the timetable and utility coordination. Public Works Engineering Manager Ryan Lazenby described the utility-notification process: "We will do a ticket and notify all utilities ... and they will have an opportunity throughout the design to identify where their facilities are," he said, adding that the team uses subsurface utility exploration and develops a conflict matrix to minimize construction impacts.

Staff said DOT tentatively programs construction funding in 2030 but is working to advance construction to 2027; design and right-of-way steps, NEPA requirements and utility relocations make the timeline dependent on multiple approvals. The commission approved the professional-services agreement and related appropriations by voice vote.