It seems Polk officials will have to wait a bit longer to get state funding for some environmental related projects that were approved by the Florida Legislature, but never approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis, The Ledger reports.
Two projects were affected.
One was a $950,000 appropriation to advance the long-sought educational center at Se7en Wetlands, a 1,640-acre environmental park and wetlands treatment area at the headwaters of the Alafia River that is adjacent to Loyce Harpe Park and Lakeland Highlands Scrub and is managed by Lakeland officials.
It opened in 2018 as a system of trails, but city officials have been interested in improving the site by adding an environmental education center.
The city has been attempting to get state funding since at least 2020, when the governor vetoed a $400,000 appropriation to design the center.
The other environmentally related Polk project that the governor’s inaction doomed for this year involved $500,000 to improve stormwater treatment to preserve a public beach on Lake Clinch in Frostproof, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian.