CITY COMMISSIONERS APPROVE REVISIONS TO AGREEMENT WITH COUNTY.
At one time, Plant City High School stood on W. Herring Street between N. Evers Street and N. Collins St. Built in 1914, the 42,066 square foot building had three stories. The Georgian Revival brick exterior has two white-columned porticoes, one each on its east and west sides. The building served as the high school until 1955. In 1975, the Hillsborough County School Board gave it to the City of Plant City.
Part of the 1991 movie “My Girl” was filmed at the former school. In 1981, the National Register of Historic Places added the building to their list. In 2023, The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation added the structure to Florida’s “11 to Save,” a list of the most threatened historic places in the state. The East Hillsborough Historical Society (EHHS) currently operates in the building.
The building is leaking and needs renovation. Funding in the amount of $1.5 million was approved in the 2022-2023 Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners budget. However, the devil is in the details. Since June 2023, the City of Plant City has been working on a standard interlocal funding agreement with Hillsborough County. Hillsborough County has come back to the city with revisions to the agreement. City Manager Bill McDaniel submitted the agreement to the City Commissioners, and asked for their consideration to approve.
The revisions specified that the agreement would be between the City of Plant City and the county only—so the funds will go directly to the city government. This will give the city the ability to directly manage the renovations to the building. Also, Hillsborough County added language specifying the maximum they would contribute is the $1.5 million, and anything over that would be the responsibility of Plant City. The county also inserted a paragraph directing that the money would not be used for non-capital construction costs, such as furniture, fixtures, and exhibits, and it can’t be used for food, beverages, or entertainment costs.
The needed work is planned to be handled in three phases. Phase 1 is roof replacement and related repairs, repairing rainwater drainage and scuppers that compromise the structure, and repairing the exterior brickwork. “We need to seal the exterior of the building, the roof, and the brickwork because water is going through the brick,” said McDaniel. “Those are two very important parts of what needs to be done. And, of course, if we don’t improve the drainage, we are just adding to the problems that already exist.” This $1.5 million is expected to cover all of the Phase 1 costs.
City Commissioner Bill Dodson said, in the past, he negotiated with former County Commissioners about increasing the amount, and queried McDaniel about whether the $1.5 million is the total of all of the commitments from the county. McDaniel confirmed the original amount pledged by Hillsborough County was $1 million and the amount had grown to $1.5 million. “Better than going the other way,” Dodson commented. The City Commission approved 4-0 the revisions to the agreement.
The next step is to take the agreement to the Board of County Commissioners for their approval. Then the money will be forwarded to the city, so it can move forward with engaging contractors to commence the work. “We will stretch the money as far as we can, because we always do,” Mayor Kilton added.
