August. Hurricane Frances came right on the heels of Charley but mostly just dumped a lot of rain. Hurricane Jeanne soon followed packing a punch not quite as strong as Charley but longer lasting. The city has since recovered. Four years after Charley, Haines City got struck again this time by a weaker storm named Tropical Storm Fay. This storm caused little damage, but schools closed on the second day of the school year (Tuesday, August 19) due to it; the original plan had been to close schools Tuesday and Wednesday, but the lack of danger it showed on Tuesday caused the change in agenda. Park renovations A new park on Lake Eva, replacing a previous park on the site, was completed in 2009. The city has also built a new park, called "8-Acre Park", and auditorium in the Oakland area, on the northern side of the city. Brush fire Haines City was the site of a brush fire on March 25, 2009. It was a scare to the residents of dozens of houses in a housing complex named Randa Ridge. Legoland Haines City is responding to the arrival of Legoland Florida in Winter Haven. Legoland's expected tourist influx is leading Haines City to search for ways to advertise and bring more people to the historic downtown area, specifically motorists coming down U.S. 27 from Interstate 4. City officials Haines City operates on a council-manager system, with five City Commissioners elected at large who appoint a City Manager and other officials in the city administration. Geography and climate Haines City is located within the Central Florida Highlands area of the Atlantic coastal plain, part of the Lake Wales Ridge, a sandy terrain consisting of a low ridge of gently rolling hills rising from the coastal flatlands. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , 7.27% of the total, is water. Haines City is located in the humid subtropical zone as designated by (Köppen climate classification: Cfa). The porous white sands and open terrain create the often hot and dry climate that parts of interior Florida near the Lakes Wales sand ridge is known for. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 13,174 people, 4,749 households, and 3,409 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 6,283 housing units at an average