POLK COUNTY, Fla. — After Hurricane Irma, Polk County applied for a FEMA grant that would provide permanent standby power at lift stations. They were approved, so FEMA sent out a 250-gallon gas generator. But the current lift station that the generator is set to be placed by is right in front of someone’s home.
“This is my children’s bus stop and there’s going to be over 200 gallons of fuel in this thing. It’s a safety issue,” said Charlie Neighbors, a Lakeland resident. “There are several small children that live here. The corner is already obstructed. It’s difficult to see when you’re coming out of the cul-de-sac.”
Neighbors joined several others in asking Polk County Utilities to find another place for the generator.
“I mean, not only is this a safety issue, the property values around here are going to drop,” said Chris Granzow. “The last thing you want is a massive generator waking you up in the middle of the night because it’s outside your window.“
Granzow owns several properties in the south Lakeland community where that the generator is set to go, and he says this all started because of an issue on the county’s end.
“The only reason why there was flooding here in the first place is because a failure on the county’s part before the last hurricane,” said Granzow. “There was an issue where they installed a drain pipe that they didn’t open it before the hurricane. People in the community had to bust that pipe open to allow the water to drain out.”
Granzow and his father, Jim, listed several reasons why a generator of that size shouldn’t be placed so close to residents.
“They want to put a generator that’s 13 feet high in front of my house,” said Steve Labate. “It’s already hard enough to see when you’re coming out of this cul-de-sac because of the lift station on our corner. Now they want to put this?”
Labate said he was shocked to learn that the generator would be placed less than 50 feet from his front door, adding that he has been in contact with Polk County Utilities for months, asking for a different solution.
“It’s like they don’t care about our safety,” said Labate. “This was our dream home. We saved for this and now less than 6 months later, we find out they’re putting this generator in front of our home. I still haven’t heard back from my homeowners insurance about if they will renew our policy.”
Polk County Utilities described the placement and need for the generator in this community.
“This lift station receives flow from another lift station,” said Polk County Utilities Director Tamara Richardson. “There’s over 1,000 homes that put raw sewage into this lift station. It has overflowed in the past and when it does, it enters somebody’s home. It is our core mission to keep wastewater away from the public. Wastewater has bacteria, feces — we have to protect the public’s safety.”
Richardson also said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection requires that lift station receiving flows from other lift stations must have on-site, permanent emergency power.
“This lift station was built in the 70s. It’s an older design. In a newer subdivision, this would have never been placed where it is, but it was back before the standards we do now. The generator has to be close to the lift station for operating reasons. The lift station and future home of the generator are in the right of way,” she said.
This south Lakeland community has started a petition that has just over 100 signatures so far to stop the county from placing the generator in their neighborhood.
“I’m telling you, if someone so much as sprains an ankle over this generator or lack of visibility on that corner, I’m holding every elected official accountable. I’m going to hold Polk Utilities accountable, because everyone was warned of the danger of placing this here,” said Labate.