Interim City Manager Jim Elensky has reached an agreement with the Polk County Sheriff's Office's "Inmate Work Program" to help clean up Haines City.

Rather than going to jail, the Inmate Work Program allows those sentenced to serve their time on the weekends by doing community service projects. Inmates began working in Haines City on Sunday, July 25 and will frequently pick up trash in the city on weekends moving forward. 

"There are great things going on in our city and we're going to prioritize making it aesthetically pleasing as well," Elensky said. "Our city has long had a great working relationship with the Polk County Sheriff's Office and I'm proud we were able to work together on this quality-of-life initiative."

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, inmates picked up about 40 bags of trash on Sunday. That was in addition to other large items such as piping and sheet metal.