Boards and Commitees
Get Involved
How to get involved
Public transportation affects everyone in Polk County, not just those who use the bus system. It is true that without transit many of our seniors, low-income, and disabled would not be able to get around on their own, but transit also plays an important role in all of our lives. Transit provides access to jobs and education, promotes economic development, and plays a vital role in hurricane readiness. Transit also extends the life of our roadways by mitigating congestion, thus making the money spent on roadways go a lot further.
For all of those reasons and more, active public involvement is a major part of the transportation planning process. Your opinion about public transportation is important. Please share your ideas, comments and questions with us. We are eager to help you learn more about transit and we will always listen to your suggestions. The following sections provide a few suggestions for how to get involved.
Attend Meetings and Workshops
- All Board of Director, Committee, and Public Workshop meetings are open to the general public and the news media.
The following Polk Transit (PT) Board of Directors and Polk Transit Citizens’ Transit Advisory Committee all provide a forum for discussing public transportation issues in Polk County. Click on the following links below to view a calendar of upcoming meetings.
- Polk Transit
- Citizens’ Transit Advisory Committee
- Lakeland Area Mass Transit District d/b/a Citrus Connection
- Winter Haven Area Transit
- Polk Transportation Planning Organization
Board Members
Polk Transit Board of Directors
The Polk Transit Board of Directors consists of nine members and one non-voting member.
| Current Members | Term |
| City of Bartow * – Commissioner James Clements | 2012-2014 |
| City of Haines City ** – Commissioner Adam P. Burgess | 2012-2014 |
| City of Lakeland – Mayor Gow Fields | 2012-2014 |
| City of Lakeland – Commissioner Don Selvage | 2012-2014 |
| City of Mulberry *** - Commissioner Collins Smith | 2012-2014 |
| City of Winter Haven – Commissioner Jamie Beckett | 2012-2014 |
| Polk County Commissioner – Todd Dantzler | 2012-2014 |
| Polk County Commissioner – Bob English | 2011-2013 |
| Polk County Commissioner – Edwin Smith | 2011-2013 |
| FDOT District One – Non-voting | Consistent |
*This Board member position is rotated between the City of Bartow and the City of Auburndale.
**This Board member position is rotated between the City of Haines City and the City of Lake Wales. ***This Board member position is rotated among the following cities, determined by population size in descending order: Fort Meade, Lake Alfred, Mulberry, Dundee, Frostproof, Eagle Lake, Davenport, Polk City, Lake Hamilton
Citizens’ Transit Advisory Committee
The Citizens’ Transit Advisory Committee consists of 23 members. There is a position for a representative from each municipality in Polk County, four at-large representatives, a wheel-chair representative, and a sight-impaired representative.
Current Members
City of Winter Haven Rachel Besso
Town of Polk City Trudy Block
Polk County Bob Fick
City of Eagle Lake Peter Gardner – Vice-Chairman
City of Davenport Douglas McIntyre
City of Fort Meade Marcella Nelson
City of Bartow Emmitt Purvis
City of Winter Haven Leviticus Reed – Chairman
Polk County Ralph Riera
Polk County Ronald Rowe
Polk County Venita Saunders
City of Haines City Paul Senft
City of Auburndale Dennis Shulz
Town of Lake Hamilton Marlene Wagner
Polk County Denise Watts
Town of Hillcrest Heights Albert Welch
Strategic Planning Committee
Current Members
The Polk Transportation Planning Organization’s Technical Advisory Committee acts as this committee.
| City of Davenport Amy Arrington | City of Eagle Lake Dawn Bailey |
| City of Lakeland Chuck Barmby | City of Lake Wales Kathy Bangley |
| City of Haines City Mark Bennett | City of Winter Haven Sean Byers |
| City of Polk City Cory Carrier | City of Haines City Ann Toney Deal |
| City of Lakeland Celeste Deardorff | Polk County Planning Thomas Deardorff |
| City of Winter Haven David Dickey | City of Auburndale Bobby Green |
| Town of Frostproof Hetty Harmon | Polk County School Board Larry Helton |
| City of Fort Meade Fred Hilliard | City of Mulberry Lynn Kersetter |
| Polk Transportation Engineering Wendy Kluge | LAMTD Bill Knieriem |
| Town of Lake Hamilton Doug Lenard | City of Lakeland Richard Lilyquist |
| City of Polk City Pam Peterson | CFRPC Helen Sears |
| City of Auburndale Shawn Sherrouse | PCTS Paul Simmons |
| Polk Transportation Engineering Bill Skelton | City of Winter Haven Dale Smith |
| CFRPC Patricia Steed | City of Dundee Andy Stewart |
| Town of Lake Hamilton Marline Wagner | City of Lake Alfred Valerie Way |
| City of Bartow Bob Wiegers |
Meeting Minutes and Agendas
Coming Soon