LAKELAND (Florida) LEDGER

December 13, 2006

Farmworker Camp Plan OK'd

By Tom Palmer
The Ledger

BARTOW - Plans to turn the site of the former Spurgeon Bible College into a farmworker housing complex won unanimous approval Tuesday from the Polk County Planning Commission.

The project was proposed by Evelyn and Batista Madonia of Plant City, who own several tracts of farm property in the area and are principals in East Coast Brokers and Packers.

The camp is planned for a 30-acre parcel on State Road 60 west of Mulberry at a site formerly occupied by Spurgeon and Southern Lutheran Academy.

The camp is designed to house 250 people. It will include living quarters, a dining hall, a day care center, church and recreation area.

The camp is near agricultural areas along the State Road 60 corridor in western Polk County and eastern Hillsborough County.

There was no public opposition to the proposal at Tuesday's hearing and a number of supporters stepped forward to endorse it.

Barbara Mainster, executive director of the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, said the housing complex will provide needed safe housing for migrant farmworkers whose labor provides fresh produce.

Redlands will operate a day-care center on site, she said.

Local farmer Carl Groom said the complex would serve a real need.

"Migrant people harvesting crops have difficulty finding housing,'' he said. "These people need a place to live, farmers need people to work and society needs to understand this."

Steve Madonia, the Madonias' son, said his family has been in business for 50 years and is the "largest Hispanic employer in Polk County." He said providing housing is essential to recruiting and keeping workers.

"I'm overwhelmed,'' veteran planning commissioner Barbara Douglas said after hearing the testimony. "I've never seen anyone in favor of farmworker housing."

County planner Randy Vosburg said the Madonias had been working with adjacent landowners to resolve any potential conflicts.

The conditions include construction of a wall on the section bordering a new subdivision that is under construction on the eastern and southern sides of the planned farmworker complex.