LAKELAND, Fla. — The city of Lakeland is moving forward with plans to remake its popular downtown park.
Munn Park dates back some 150 years. It’s also a popular place for people experiencing homelessness.
At a pair of public forums this week, the city unveiled preliminary plans to develop a family-friendly space in Munn Park with games, attractions, music and more.
But advocates are concerned there’s been little discussion about what would become of the homeless.
“We are concerned,” said Erin Martinez with Talbot House Ministries. The group has been working with Polk County’s homeless for more than 40 years.
“We want to make sure that everyone who comes to Munn Park has the voice hard, especially with these new changes coming along,” Martinez said.
Some experiencing homelessness are worried the changes are a way for the city to force them out.
“My concern is where are the homeless going to go? Some of us don’t bother people. We just sit here,” Tina Cafarelli said.
The city says this is all preliminary, and this week reached out to Talbot House to engage them, as well.
“We do have some really great social services partners,” said Lakeland spokesman Kevin Cook. “As we start to develop the park and we look at ways to assist those homeless, we are going to work with those agencies.”
The city of Lakeland says it has not budgeted any money yet toward re-developing Munn Park. One possibility is to leave it the way it is.
People who might have missed this week’s public forums can still share their input by visiting the city’s website at Lakelandgov.net/munnpark