High Springs Commission Hears Support, Opposition to Murals

 HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Confusion surrounded the Jan. 27 High Springs City Commission meeting as the subject of murals was discussed. Vice President of the Heart of High Springs Olivia Medina requested the Commission consider allowing a mural of former principal Tom “Pop” Diedeman on the wall of the old school building.  A barrage of citizen comments in opposition to the request followed.

Citizen objections were not against honoring Diedeman, but instead were focused on the placement of murals on buildings in general.  Many of the speakers seemed to confuse this request with items not on the agenda or with a different agenda item, which was a special event permit application for a proposed public forum to be held on March 12 – 19 to receive public input on future murals.  

Some residents also held that the “Gateway to the Springs” mural, which they said they did not like, had been painted by the Walldogs group.  As it turned out, the Springs Institute had obtained funding from the City of High Springs and the Alachua County Tourist Development Council for the mural.  Later in the meeting it was pointed out that a local artist and the Institute were responsible for the mural’s design.

In addition to the negative reaction to painting the sides of buildings, the question arose regarding a conflict of interest on the part of Commissioner Ross Ambrose as he is a member of the board of directors of the Heart of High Springs non-profit organization.  City Attorney Andrea True Parker weighed in on the subject and pointed out that there was no benefit, financial or otherwise, to Ambrose and thus, no need for him to abstain from voting on the issue.  

Commissioner Linda Jones said that it might not be illegal, but she believed it was not “morally correct” for him to vote.  Ambrose responded, “If an issue was brought up on a commission agenda regarding the Chamber of Commerce, of which some commissioners are a member, it would not be considered a conflict of interest and I don’t see the difference.”

Comments against murals centered on several concerns, one of which was that the paintings would destroy the red brick building façade and thus the historic significance of the structure.  However, it was later pointed out that any building that had already been painted would not be adversely impacted historically by a mural or other painting.  

Other comments included an emphasis on patronizing local artists instead of bringing in outside artists, the possible destruction of the quaint atmosphere of the city, belief that 10-12 murals would be overwhelming and concern that increased economic development would bring in more traffic, which would be unmanageable.  

Speakers in favor of the request pointed out that local artists would be used to help paint the murals, but that every artist is not skilled in large-scale mural painting and some do not want to do that type of work.  Also mentioned was that there are already about 10 murals in High Springs and most people don’t even realize it so it wouldn’t be overwhelming to add to them.  

After lengthy discussion, the Commission voted to continue the item to a future meeting.

In other business, the Commission considered a request for a special event permit for a Walldogs launch in High Springs on March 12-19.  Heart of High Springs member Sharon Yeago made a presentation explaining that this would be a week-long event in which the public could participate, share their ideas and vote on what concepts and locations might be appropriate for a mural. 

Local artist Tina Corbett addressed concerns that the public had not had an opportunity to participate in the process by pointing out that two public meetings had been called prior to COVID-19 with little participation from the public.  Because of COVID, the group continued to work on the issue, but didn’t have the opportunity to include public meetings.  “The purpose of the special event is to seek input from the public,” Yeago said.

The proposed week-long program will include public events to include an introduction of the Walldogs mentoring mural program and voting for project concepts, a self-guided tour of murals already in place in the city, review by the public of the various project concepts and public voting on the mural suggestions.  The murals will have historic significance, said Yeago.

Jones said she believes the Walldogs is a distraction and that the organization will come up short financially and will ask the City for additional financing, which the City cannot afford.  

Commissioner Katherine Weitz said she would prefer a workshop to discuss the matter further.  Ambrose seconded that motion, which was unanimously approved.  A date was not set for the workshop during this meeting.

In other City Business, Parks and Recreation Director Damon Messina asked for and unanimously received approval for an addendum to the operating agreement with Anderson’s Outdoor Adventures to extend the agreement.  The original agreement was to last until Jan. 31, 2022.  The extension is the only change to the agreement and extends it until March 24, 2022, unless mutually agreed to end it sooner.  The extension will allow more time to finalize the details of the contract for Anderson’s to continue managing the Santa Fe Canoe Outpost for the City on an interim basis.

Forty-foot residential lots may be a thing of the past in High Springs. Following concern expressed by Mayor Byran Williams regarding 40-foot residential lot sizes, Commissioners asked that a higher standard be included in the Land Development Code to prevent property owners from building homes on such small lots in the future.

The City Attorney was asked to look into the issue with the City’s Land Development regulations.

A request by Commissioner Jones to amend the Rules of Procedure to add a section for commissioner response after Citizen Requests and Comments was discussed.  Commissioners voted unanimously to ask the City Attorney to bring back a resolution addressing the issue for Commission consideration.  

Assistant City Manager Bruce Gillingham said the Suwannee River Water Management District had sent funds approaching $7 million to the City for the sewer project.  He also reported that the CDBG playground project should be completed by Jan. 31.  A presentation on Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) will occur on Feb. 10 and a second presentation by a second qualified company will take place on Feb. 24, at which time he will ask the Commission to make a decision as to which company the City wants to hire.

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