New Polk Panel to Find Off-Road Site

July 5, 2006

By Tom Palmer
The Ledger

BARTOW -- Efforts have restarted to find a place where offroad vehicle enthusiasts can burst across the terrain and local tourism officials can bring competitive events.

Finding a site for such a park will be the task of the county's recently created Off-Highway Vehicle Park Advisory Committee.

County commissioners approved a resolution establishing the committee at their June 21 meeting.

The 15-member committee will include representatives from various public and private organizations.

The recent vote follows a discussion that occurred in May about reviving the effort first begun in 2001.

Although no location has been selected, the most likely sites will be mined phosphate lands in southwest Polk County.

One site that has been discussed is 1,511 acres at State Road 37 and County Road 674 near the Polk-Manatee county line.

Jack Terrell of Auburndale, project coordinator for the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, asked commissioners to act during the May discussion.

"We need to move forward quickly to choose and acquire a site and to reinvigorate the project," he told commissioners.

Terrell could not be reached for additional comment regarding the formation of the committee. He will be one of the members. Commissioners have not completed appointing the entire committee and no date has been set for the panel's first meeting.

Appointed so far in addition to Terrell are: County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson; Marian Ryan, president of the Friends of the Parks Foundation; Mark Osborne, an ORV enthusiast; Mark Jackson, Polk's director of tourism and sports marketing; Polk County Leisure Services Director Don Wilson; and Mike Kushner, who heads Polk's Risk Management Department.

Still to be appointed are more people from the general public and a representative from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535.

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