Moratorium on new subdivisions considered in High Springs

HIGH SPRINGS – Commissioners have several workshops coming up to help resolve a number of issues facing the city in the near future.

“We need to do more with less,” said City Manager Ed Booth. “The city has a lot of challenges to address. Commissioners and citizens need to be involved in deciding how the city will address these issues,” he said.

One possible outcome of workshops on the sewer system, currently scheduled to begin on Thursday, Feb. 20, could be a moratorium on new subdivisions that require sewer hookup. The city currently has numerous subdivisions and planned unit developments in the pipeline which will provide 700 to 800 new homes. Builders are averaging 50 residential buildings per year at this point.

“We don’t currently have the ability to serve any more subdivisions than those already approved,” he said.

This first workshop will focus on what Booth said is the most serious city sewer system issue, the failure of 10-year-old grinder pumps and their replacement costs. The workshop will be held at the High Springs Elementary School and Community Center to allow input from a larger group of city residents than usually are able to be accommodated at City Hall.

“We have 500 110-volt grinder pumps that are 10 years old,” Booth said. The cost to replace them is $2,500 each, not including installation.

The second workshop will focus on the city’s police department. The commission will look at how the department is organized and compare it to other departments in cities of a similar size, Booth said.

Officers are trying to investigate crimes and accidents at the same time. “We also need to look at dispatch to determine its effectiveness,” he said. Currently, 911 calls for fire services are routed through the county directly to the High Springs Fire Department. However, 911 calls for police services are received by the 911 center in Gainesville and the information is taken and sent to the High Springs Police Department. The only way to get direct city police services in High Springs is to dial their number directly.

The third area to be addressed is the city’s personnel manual. Issues concerning personal time off versus vacation and sick leave need to be addressed, Booth said. The city’s new employee union has made several recommendations, and the city attorney is in the process of reviewing the personnel manual. Recommendations for changes will be the subject of another workshop.

Booth also plans to talk with commissioners about the city’s land-use plan. North Central Florida Regional Planning Council is currently reviewing the plan for suggestions. “The plan was developed years ago for a different city and does not really reflect the issues we face in High Springs,” Booth said. “We want to create a plan that deals with the issues we actually face here,” he said.

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