Resident tells Polk commissioners toll-road routing threatens family property, demands alternatives

Sharon Garrett, a long-time resident of Indian Lake Estates-area property, told the Polk County Board that toll-road route options under consideration by the state toll authority could take a portion of her family’s roughly 300-acre property and that she wants alternatives explored.

“Money doesn’t make me whole,” Garrett said. “It’s heritage and love of the land,” adding later that “my husband says he’s not moving, and he says he’ll commit suicide before he’ll leave that property.” She described the property as a long rectangular parcel with lakes and creeks and said the toll authority has identified her area as a potential corridor route B and C after an earlier plan favored route A.

Garrett said maps she reviewed showed the toll authority had walked portions of the site in late 2023, and she disputed public-notice timing for parcels held in trust. She suggested a route that would connect to SR‑538 and Poinciana Parkway as an alternative alignment that would use existing road corridors rather than run through her land.

Commissioners and staff responded that route selection and right-of-way acquisition are controlled by the state toll authority and Department of Transportation, not the county. Commissioner responses in the record acknowledged Garrett’s concerns and said the county will “hear you” and proceed as developments and state planning advance.

The board did not take action on the toll-road routing at the meeting; Garrett’s comments were made during the public-comment portion of the agenda and were recorded for the public record.