WAFC Local News – October 06, 2026, 8:06 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. The five candidates for three commission seats include and appeared at a forum hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. They were asked about growth, city spending, capital projects, utility costs, parks and recreation and other issues important to the city. The candidates this year are incumbents Barbara Edmond, Hillary Hyslop and Molly Gardner. The challengers, Jennifer Evans and Derek Hughes. Hyslop says she wants to support the CRA and improve downtown. And I, for one, you know, I’m very excited about it. So my belief is that when a business invests in Clewiston, Clewiston should be investing in that business. The CRA is the tool to do just that. Derek Hughes supports responsible spending. I believe government should take care of the necessities before spending taxpayers money on extras. I want Clewiston to grow, but that growth needs to be responsible. We need infrastructure capable of supporting it without continually putting additional financial pressure on the people who live here. Barbara Edmond wants to work on the lakefront and amenities. You know, the gateway to Clewiston, we have Lake Okeechobee. It’s a gigantic asset. We need to use it and we need to invite people there. And the way we do that is making the gateway more pleasable. Jennifer Edwards wants to prioritize needs over wants. I would delay capital projects if revenues becomes higher. I would first look at delaying or phasing capital projects that are not urgent. I want to protect essential services for our residents, depend on every day and avoid additional financial burdens on families whenever possible. Miley Gardner says the city needs more input from the community. I believe a survey of the residents and our business owners would be the first thing to do, because we want to hear what is it that’s most important to you? What is it you really believe that before we start cutting? What are some of the things that you say, no, you know, don’t cut that. It’s important to note the forum occurred before the state attorney came out with a letter criticizing the city officials for a lack of oversight. The Belgrade City Commission finalizing budget for this year to raise taxes by seven and a quarter percent. Property values in the city increased by nine percent. Employees will get a 3 percent raise. Commissioner Joaquin Almazan defended the budget. I think we have two priorities. One is taking our staff and the other one is taking care of our residents with the public safety and just improving the city all across. I mean, a lot of people don’t see the changes, but changes. Government are slow. It’s not like we can go with your own money and do what you can overnight. It included two hundred and eleven thousand for demolition of old dilapidated buildings. Amazon says that work is making a lot of difference. LaBelle Fire Chief Brent Stevens provided details on the recent marina fire. They’re working a code enforcement case with Henry County on that facility. Two boats were destroyed. Two boats damaged. No one was injured. Steven says he appreciated the response from volunteers. It was about one hundred and one. We had some exhausted people. We only fortunately had we lost two boats and had damaged two. Commissioner Bobby Spratt also praised the work by firemen. I want to thank you and the department for your efforts at the marina. Yes, ma’am. And keeping it as contained as you did to be applauded for that. LaBelle received a $60,000 grant from the state to update their land development codes that were last updated nearly 50 years ago. I’m Charles Murphy. WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).