Polk Not Ready To Give Bartow Cigar Factory

BARTOW | County commissioners are not ready to give Bartow the old cigar factory, particularly if there’s little or nothing offered in return.

Bartow officials have requested the county give the city the building and $126,500 to mothball it until officials can figure out what to do with it.

At Friday’s agenda study session, commissioners said they want to give the city a counter offer: We’ll give you the cigar factory if you give us your public works complex on Mill Avenue within five years and clean it up.

Commissioners hope to have a response so they can decide where to go at Wednesday’s regular meeting.

The future of the building has been on hold since July of last year when people interested in preserving the historic building persuaded commissioners to hold off on planned demolition to give them time to come up with a restoration plan.

No specific restoration plan ever materialized.

County officials were reluctant to give up the building and the two acres surrounding it because the property could be needed for future expansion of county facilities, such as additional parking or expansion of county offices.

“I wouldn’t agree to swap property and not get something for it,’’ County Manager Mike Herr told commissioners.

Commissioner Jack Myers said commissioners need to look out for the taxpayers and avoid spending money without getting anything for it.

Commissioner Sam Johnson said he wasn’t sure there was any need for the building even if were restored.

Commissioner Jean Reed said it was “neat” building and said she heard the city has the potential to get grants to restore it.

Herr said another aspect of the restoration is that, unlike the efforts to restore the Ritz Theater in Winter Haven or the Ramon Theater in Frostproof, there has been no local effort and fund-raising in support of the project.

Deputy County Manager Jim Freeman said the problem is the fundamental disagreement between county officials and the city and the private interests is that the county’s evaluation shows it would cost millions of dollars to restore the building and it’s not cost-effective.

He said at one time Bartow officials have offered a swap for the public works complex, which would allow the county to expand its parking near the Neil Combee County Administration Building. But the current administration would require the county to buy the property.