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Polk's Safari Wild Faces Lien From Electric Company

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By BAIRD HELGESON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 10, 2008

TAMPA - There's more trouble at Safari Wild.

Henriquez Electric Corp. in Tampa filed a $13,000 lien for unpaid work at the planned Polk County exotic-animal park owned by Lowry Park Zoo President Lex Salisbury.

The company did $122,400 in work on the property, including providing electrical service to the rural Polk County complex and other work, according to documents filed Dec. 4 with the Polk County Circuit Court clerk.

Salisbury and his business partner, Steve Wehrmann, want to open a 258-acre exotic-animal park north of Lakeland. Visitors will pay to take safari tours on the property to see exotic and endangered species.

This is the latest setback for the project.

Polk County planning officials issued a stop-work order on the property this year when staff discovered buildings on the property were more substantial than allowed by the permits for basic barns.

Last week, the Southwest Florida Water Management District fined Safari Wild $46,000 for doing work on the property without the needed permits.

The state Department of Community Affairs has filed a similar complaint against the project, which is located in the Green Swamp, an area of critical state concern.

Wehrmann, Salisbury and a spokesman for Henriquez Electric could not immediately be reached for comment.

Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668.

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