High Springs Eyes Economic Development

HIGH SPRINGS – The City of High Springs is developing a Competitive Florida Partnership Program grant submittal to the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) later this year.

If the submission is successful, the program will award High Springs a $40,000 grant to fund the creation of a strategic economic plan that promotes community design, economic diversity, economic viability and disaster resiliency. The program also offers a committed partnership with DEO to provide long-term technical assistance.

When the City originally sought the grant, funds were limited and High Springs was initially shut out. However, upon learning that additional funds had been funneled into the program, DEO representatives contacted High Springs about submitting again.

Planning, engineering, and design consulting firm Kimley-Horn has been commissioned to conduct community meetings and develop a draft and final Economic and Disaster Resiliency Plan for submission on behalf of High Springs.

During the April 23 City Commission meeting, Kimley-Horn Planner Alyssa Monaghan presented a slide deck presentation to provide an overview of the community meetings that have taken place so far, which have resulted in a draft Economic and Disaster Resiliency Plan.

The program’s goal is, “To help Florida communities find creative solutions to foster vibrant, healthy communities while protecting the functions of important State resources and facilities.”

The April 23 City Commission meeting is considered the fourth community meeting out of five that is to be conducted prior to submitting the plan. The first meeting was held Jan. 15 and focused on economic development. The second took place Feb. 20 with a focus on disaster preparedness. The third, which was held March 9, focused on community assets. Following this City Commission meeting, a fifth community meeting will be held May 14 to review the final plan and seek plan adoption by the City Commission prior to submission.

Monaghan recapped visions of the community that were developed during meeting two. “High Springs is a charming, quaint community with a unique history, and genuine people.” In addition, “High Springs strives for well planned growth, with focus on business development, employment expansion, ecotourism, affordable housing, and various educational opportunities while maintaining its one-of-a-kind identity.”

The plan that Kimley-Horn has developed is a stepping stone to actually making these things happen. The presentation listed several of the tools and actionable projects that the City and the public have to take in order to implement the plan. A summary of those projects is listed below.

The City recently submitted their Evaluation and Appraisal Report letter to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (FDEO) on April 7. The City is now required to update its Comprehensive Plan by April 7, 2021.

Once the Comprehensive Plan has been updated, the City must also update their Land Development Code (LDC) within one year. A primary focus at that time will be to update its Development Review Process.

As part of the plan, the City is expected to expand their communication efforts. Relatively low-cost ways in which that might be accomplished is by expanding the content of the City’s website, creating a City Hall Facebook page, increasing the use of Twitter and expanding knowledge of the Nixle App for citizens to receive emergency/community updates. She said these actions are a way to reach out to the community and keep them engaged in City activities, events and updates.

Another aspect of the plan is for the community to work with the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources to preserve the City’s historical buildings.

A program should be developed to provide homebuyer education and down payment assistance. Assisting residents to find affordable housing and the ability to invest in the city is an important part of the plan. The City is encouraged to create a program to educate interested citizens on home buying and ownership.

Another aspect of the plan is to compile and maintain documentation of available industrial and commercial real estate buildings and sites within High Springs. The list should be maintained on the City’s webpage for potential site selectors.

Monaghan also suggested the City build regional partnerships with North Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Alachua County, and the cities of Gainesville, Newberry and Alachua.

Kimley-Horn Engineer Amanda Lunday, E.I., addressed the Disaster Resiliency component of the plan. “Disaster recovery relies on the public’s involvement,” she said.

Recommendations include interagency, regional and local planning capacity and cooperation. That involves data-sharing, identification of and mapping areas and people at higher risk and establishing protocols for better coordination.

A good public education program should be in place and citizens and business owners should be engaged in the process. This also involves encouraging businesses to develop their own resiliency plan as part of stakeholder involvement. The City could host or encourage appropriate agencies to host public education sessions on disaster preparedness as one way to accomplish that goal. “Also, the creation of a hybrid Community Emergency Response Team might be another aspect of that,” said Lundy.

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