departments

TOWN OF LAKE PLACID DEPARTMENTS

The Town of Lake Placid uses a strong Mayor form of government. The Mayor and Town Council are elected by voters. The Town Council and Mayor is responsible for appointment of department heads. After appointment the Mayor is responsible for supervision of each department head and each department head is responsible for supervision of their departments. This page includes an organizational chart and introductions to each department.

CLICK ON BOOKMARKS BELOW TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE DEPARTMENT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN

TOWN HALL
UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
STREETS, PARKS, SANITATION DEPARTMENT
POLICE DEPARTMENT

TOWN HALL

EMAIL TOWN CLERK ARLENE TUCK
Town Clerk Arlene Tuck supports and administers budgets for the Town of Lake Placid. The Town Clerk is responsible for planning and scheduling meetings, preparing minutes and agendas, notifications of the public, storage and administering of official town records.

UTILITIES
EMAIL UTILITIES DIRECTOR GARY FREEMAN

WATER SYSTEM

The Town of Lake Placid water service area covers a little over two square miles with 1,850 customers. Water Treatment Facilities are comprised of two different site locations. In addition, a new back up well was installed in 2004.

Magnolia WTP has a 200,000 gallon elevated storage tank built in 1999. There is a 100,000 gallon elevated storage tank located near Town Hall on the east side of the Library that was built in 1928 by the great Melvil Dewey who founded the Dewey Decimal System and changed the Town’s name from Lake Sterns to Lake Placid.

Water is pumped at both sites from the deep Floridan aquifer at 1,500 feet, with 125 and 150 horsepower motors. The water is one of the softest natural waters in the state. Both plants are on a preventative maintenance program that insures a full functioning treatment system.

The Florida Department Environmental Regulation (FDEP) has very strict laws regarding the quality of water standard that is required to be provided to domestic drinking water customers. The Town of Lake Placid follows these strict requirements. The Utilities Department produces a Consumer Confidence Report, required by the FDEP. This report is posted at the Town Hall and on the Town Website and gives details of the required water analysis.

The Utilities Department also maintains the water distribution system by flushing lines each week and exercising valves at strategic locations. This is very important and when you see a utilities team member flushing water, be confident that we are testing for your health. We also maintain over 155 fire hydrants in the system. Sometimes we flush hydrants in the early morning around 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. so we do not disturb the water while people are using it during the day.

We have a Water Master Plan that forecasts the future growth for the next 20 years. This can be observed by contacting the Director of Utilities. A Grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) funded part of this project. There is a one page overall map that can be picked up at the Utilities Office as well.

WASTEWATER SYSTEM

The wastewater collection system covers about one square mile and has 188 customers. We currently serve the public schools on Green Dragon Blvd, Serenity Village, Lakeview Street, most of the downtown area, parts US 27, some areas on CR 621 and the Public Shopping Center.

A new 249,000 gallon per day Wastewater Treatment Plant was built in June 2004. This facility, also funded by an SRF Loan, is designed to furnish future reclaimed water that is used for irrigation of landscaping, parks and even some orange groves. It has special filters and a nitrogen reduction tank that makes the nitrate as low as 0.027% of the maximum that is allowed to discharge. If you would like a tour, please call the Director of Utilities and a scheduled visit can be arranged.

REUSE

Domestic Drinking Water is produced around the world from water that is taken from either an underground aquifer, surface water such as a lake, stream or river or it can be de-salted from sea water. The production of finished water (commonly called potable – because it can be put in a pot on a table to drink), in most cases, goes through a treatment process such as lime softening or reverse osmoses, filtering, and then it is disinfected prior to being pumped out into what is called the water distribution system which delivers it to the consumers home or business.

After the consumer uses the water, most of it goes down the drain and ends up at what is called a Wastewater Treatment Plant (also called a Reclamation Facility). There are many different types of biological and chemical treatment processes but the general idea or concept is to reduce the solids as much as possible and in the end, leave the water as crystal clear or as close to what it started out to be. This can be an extremely complex undertaking using sophisticated advanced treatment with extra holding tanks and filters.

Reuse Water is treated at the Reclamation Facility to a very high standard in which the water is converted back to almost the high quality that is was when it was taken from its original source. In many locations around the world these reuse (or reclaimed) waters are used as gray water for irrigation purposes. This, in turn, is very helpful for the environment because we are using it to regenerate or recycle it back to where it came from to recharge the original water source that will eventually be used again for drinking water many years into the future.

With the many drought conditions that we are seeing around the world, this type of recycling has been found to be the most important single thing civilization can do to solve this devastating problem. There are many countries and states that are literally running out of potable water sources because of wasted use of water for irrigation purposes.

Reuse, Reclaimed or Gray Water is becoming and will become mandatory, through government regulation, in the near future. Large portions of the country that have been going through the worst times of drought in centuries, are now passing laws to begin to bring this very important life giving process into the mainstream of everyday thought.

The Town of Lake Placid has a Cooperative Funding Grant with the Southwest Florida Water Management District that is helping to fund the construction of a new reuse ground storage tank, pumps and piping. This also includes transmission line piping on US Highway 27 from the Railroad overpass South to Interlake Boulavard.

CLOSING

The Town Hall front window area has some very good water conservation booklets for the public to pick up. As you should know, we are under mandatory water irrigation restrictions as mandated by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Water & Sewer Construction Specification Standards

STREETS, PARKS, SANITATION DEPARTMENT
EMAIL DIRECTOR JIM FULTON

POLICE DEPARTMENT
EMAIL CHIEF WILLIAMS

The police department and code enforcement department is located at 8 North Oak Street on the corner of Interlake Boulevard and Oak Street. Police Chief Phil Williams supervises the department on nine full time sworn officers and three secretarial staff. The department also supervises the school crossing guard program and a reserve officer compliment.

The department operates on a community policing approach collaborating with members of the community to maintain a safe environment.

Emergencies may be reported to the police department via 911 or at 863-699-3757.

The Lake Placid Police Department has a full webpage at www.lppd.com.

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