Lake Alfred magistrate certifies fines, grants reductions in two code-enforcement cases

Special Magistrate Joe Mawhinney certified supplemental fines and administrative costs and granted reductions in multiple City of Lake Alfred code-enforcement cases during a hearing July 16.

The magistrate certified fines in case CE202400010, involving a property listed as US Highway/County Road 557, after staff presented compliance evidence and a floodplain manager's report showing the property was compliant as of June 26, 2026. Magistrate Mawhinney said he would certify the fines before considering any reduction request, and later ordered a reduction of daily fines to zero while assessing an additional $32 in administrative cost for that hearing. He set a total payable administrative/certification amount to be paid within 30 days and said daily fines would resume at the full rate if the payment was not made.

Why it matters: The magistrate's certifications convert prior findings of violation into enforceable certified fines and costs; reductions ease immediate financial pressure on respondents but typically come with conditions and deadlines that, if unmet, restore the original fines.

Staff presentation and reasoning
Staff presenting the cases said compliance photos and a floodplain manager's report supported the compliance findings. For CE202400010 the staff report referenced compliance photos dated June 26, 2026, and recommended certifying supplemental fines and associated administrative costs. The staff representative also told the magistrate that city management and legal staff had worked with the respondent and supported a substantial reduction in the assessed fines.

Reduction rulings and amounts ordered
In CE202400010, after hearing the city’s presentation and noting staff support for a reduction, the magistrate certified the supplemental fines and then reduced the daily fines to zero; he also assessed an additional $32 in administrative cost for the hearing and stated the total administrative/certification amount would be payable within 30 days, after which daily fines would resume if unpaid.

In CE202500049 (570 Lake George Road), staff reported compliance as of June 18, 2026, and recommended certifying supplemental fines (staff stated a supplemental figure of $7,700 and noted a larger total certified fine figure in the record). The respondent for the reduction hearing, Daisy Becker Davis, who identified herself as the daughter of the property owner, described family efforts to remove the person responsible for prior violations and to make the property marketable again. The magistrate reduced daily fines to $240 and set the total due, including administrative cost for the hearing, at $377.38 payable within 30 days; he warned that daily fines would resume if that payment was not made.

Other business and corrections
Magistrate Mawhinney struck case CE202100015 (Westview of L.P., property listed at 1120 Frost) from the agenda after staff reported the property had new owners as of July 7, 2026, and no reduction request had been filed by the new owner. The magistrate also granted non-substantive amendments to prior orders and supporting documents to correct scrivener’s errors for cases identified on the record, noting these changes did not alter the substantive terms of the orders.

What the orders require next
Magistrate Mawhinney’s orders require the respondents to pay the amounts specified within 30 days to obtain the benefit of the reductions; if the payments are not made, the original daily fines will be reinstated. Copies of the magistrate’s written orders will be provided to parties of record.

Reported on the record: Magistrate Joe Mawhinney administered the hearing, staff presented compliance evidence including floodplain manager reports and dated photographs, and respondents including Daisy Becker Davis addressed the magistrate. The hearing record contains the certified orders and the magistrate’s reduction rulings.