New Medical Facility Slated for High Springs

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The 25,000-square-foot Fellowship Church on U.S. Highway 441 in High Springs is slated to become medical professional offices following approval by Commissioners of an ordinance to rezone the property from R1 Residential to C3 Commercial.

An ordinance to allow the 20-acre site, located at 16916 U.S. Highway 441, to be rezoned received second and final approval by Commission at the March 10 meeting.

In February 2021, adjacent tax parcel 03040-000-000 was rezoned from R1 to C3. The change in the adjacent parcel was found to be consistent with the area.

City Manager Ashley Stathatos pointed out that the facility is already serviced by City water and sewer and has two access points along U.S. Highway 441. She also said that the proposed zoning change would be consistent with the existing land use patterns in the area. The parcel fronts a major highway, which has commercial uses up and down both the north and south sides. The current use of the property as a church and the potential future use indicated by the applicant, medical professional offices, are both consistent with the Land Development Code. Additionally, the other uses available under C3 are also compatible with the area. Approval of Ordinance 2022-02 was unanimous.

Assistant City Manager Bruce Gillingham requested the Commission adopt an updated employee compensation pay scale. He reminded Commissioners that in 2017 the City contracted with Evergreen Solutions to perform a compensation study with comparable cities to evaluate the salaries at that time. The final compensation report, which included proposed pay grades, was adopted by the Commission on September 25, 2017.

“Since its adoption,” Gillingham said, “the pay grades have not been revised or updated.” In order to keep salaries updated to be equitable and competitive, staff increased the adopted pay grades by the CPI of each year and then compared with the salaries of the cities used in the original study. The findings were that the majority were comparable with the other cities. On an overall average, High Springs’ pay scale averaged seven percent lower. When considering an employee's length of service, salary adjustments are recommended.

He pointed out that the City is losing quality employees to other employers and, although he was not requesting immediate pay increases, their approval of the proposed increases would mean that he could work on how the increases could be budgeted either during this fiscal year, or for the next fiscal year’s budget.

Commissioners expressed their desire to help the City maintain quality employees and recognized them as an important asset to the running of the City. Commissioners unanimously approved Gillingham’s request in roll call vote.

Commissioners also approved the appointment of Danny Finn to fill out the remainder of recently-resigned Candace Webb’s term on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Finn submitted his application to be on that Board at the time Webb resigned. Parks and Recreation Director Damon Messina pointed out that there were no alternates that could fill her position and that meetings sometimes had to be cancelled due to lack of a quorum.

Stathatos asked for comments and/or direction on two issues. The first was proposed amendments to the Land Development Code governing accessory uses and structures.

She explained that an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a second living unit that has a separate kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area. These units can be attached to or detached from the primary dwelling, but cannot be bought or sold separately from the primary dwelling. ADU’s are sometimes referred to as “mother-in-law suites, granny flats or backyard cottages.”

The recommended change for ADUs would allow parcels that are one acre or less to have up to two and parcels greater than one acre to have up to three ADUs. Stathatos summarized the proposed changes and requested feedback from Commissioners, who unanimously agreed to her suggested modifications to the Land Development Code. This item will next go before the Planning and Zoning Board for their recommendation before it is presented to the Commissioners again as an ordinance.

The second item Stathatos asked for input on had to do with impact fees for new construction. She explained that this would be a onetime fee on new development to help pay for the impact to the High Springs community. “People ask how the City is going to pay for the growth that is happening and this is one way newcomers can invest in the community and the impact they are having to the city’s growth,” she said.

Commissioners were presented with a table showing each of the land use categories and the proposed impacts to transportation, parks and the general government impacts. These fees would be part of the cost of obtaining building permits and would help defray the cost their project is anticipated to impact the community. She said also that the proposed fees are competitive with other cities that have impact fees.

Based on the Commissioners’ responses the city manager said she would move forward to get these fees implemented.

Under City Manager Comments Stathatos introduced the City’s new Public Works Director, Thomas Henry. He talked a little bit about his history and has had a 31-year career with Lake City. He has already begun working on obtaining grants for the City in his two weeks in High Springs and boasts that in addition to his certifications and experience for the position, he is also a barbecue pit master. Stathatos said she will put his abilities to the test the next time the Florida League of Cities meets in High Springs.

A City Commission Workshop to discuss the Comprehensive Plan and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds will be held at 6:30 p.m. on March 22 at the Civic Center, 19107 NW 240 St.

A Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting is scheduled for City Hall at 5 p.m. on March 24, just prior to the next City Commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. the same night. The public is encouraged to check out the new CRA website has recently been launched.

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