Looking back to move forward

      HIGH SPRINGS – Economic development was the hot topic for High Springs City Commissioners at a workshop last week.

      City Manager Ed Booth and City Attorney Scott Walker looked at the fiscal accomplishments of last year as a guide on how to move forward.

      Walker pointed to the work the city manager did last year, including his study of impact fees in the city. Impact fees are imposed by a local government to pay for the costs of providing public services to a new development. Booth’s study, which was reviewed by Mittaurer and Associates, the city engineer, saved the city $20,000, he said. The study reduced impact fees by 65 percent. The revenues from the fees are earmarked to expand the sewer system as the economy grows, said Walker.

      A potential barrier to economic development last year came in the form of two lawsuits the city became involved in. They were settled by the city’s insurance company, however, at no cost to High Springs, Walker said. The city reduced its liability insurance by $100,000 by switching to a plan from the Florida League of Cities, after the organization was persuaded by Walker and Booth that continued lawsuits were not likely to occur.

      Booth worked with Clay Electric to secure previously uncollected franchise fees and a new 10-year franchise fee agreement, which currently provides an additional $70,000 for the city. A franchise fee is a tax a utility business pays to operate in a certain area since it puts extra stress on the infrastructure.

      High Springs’ records management and storage have been made more efficient, Walker said.

      Walker also pointed to Booth’s continued work with North Central Florida Regional Planning Council to tailor the city’s land development codes. Recommendations soon to be proposed to the commission are expected to simplify the codes and fine tune them to more accurately reflect the city’s size and the types of real-life development issues facing developers.

      The changes made last year help provide a better foundation for attracting new business opportunities to High Springs, Booth said, but it is time to get the word out and let people know about the changes and what the city has to offer. He mentioned that existing Community Redevelopment Agency funds could be used to help spread the word.

      Mayor Byran Williams and Booth scheduled a meeting with Visit Gainesville, a county-wide funding source, for Tuesday, Jan. 21, in order to request assistance in producing billboards on Interstate 75 and welcome center flyers advertising the scenic beauty and recreational activities in High Springs. Although the organization’s name might appear to focus on Gainesville, the organization’s funding is provided in part by the bed tax collected throughout the county and provides assistance county-wide.  

      “We are going to try to direct some of their focus towards our town,” Booth said.

      Williams and Booth are also planning a trip, which they say is at no cost to the city, to West Point, Ga., to explore their successfully run economic development program, they said in a later interview.

      Additional cooperative efforts directed by Walker and Booth include helping to craft an agreement between the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Priest Theater for upgrades, developing guidelines for the commissioners to reduce the likelihood of lawsuits and setting up a trust fund for money seized by the police.

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