Newberry Tees Up Meat Processing Facility for Discussion

NEWBERRY ‒ The Newberry City Commission met Monday, June 12, to consider a number of issues including rezoning of a small parcel, a replat to cure encroachment, the City’s waste collection contract, the upcoming joint City/County meeting and renovation of Newberry’s historic electric generating plant.

The City’s contract for waste collection services with WastePro USA is expiring this month. The Commission authorized City Manager Mike New to negotiate a five-year contract extension with the firm and bring the proposed extension agreement back to the Commission for consideration by Sept. 1.

The City’s current contract for solid waste collection services is through an exclusive franchise agreement and contract with WastePro USA, which was initiated on July 1, 2017, has been amended twice and extends to June 30, 2024.

The contract allows for two five-year extensions beyond the initial term and for a 95-day negotiation period to consider an extension. This allows 270 days for the City to solicit bids from vendors should negotiations fail or the City Commission decides not to extend the contract and allow it to expire.

In other City business, the Commission approved rezoning three properties of 0.9 +/- acres at the southwest corner of State Road 26/West Newberry Road and Southwest 257^th Street from Commercial, General (CG) to Commercial, Central Business District (C-CBD). The application for rezoning was made by Norfleet Construction Group, LLC on behalf of Bounds Properties, LLC, owner.

“At this time, no development is proposed in the petition, and a Site and Development Plan is required for new development of the site,” said Newberry Principal Planner Jean-Paul Perez.

Also approved was a replat of Lot 1 of the Bartley Lane Subdivision. The encroachment was due to the relocation of the house foundation during construction and the house now encroaches into the front yard setback. Approval of the replat will now provide the developers with a clear title so the property can be sold.

In other business, Newberry is preparing for its annual Newberry City Commission and Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) joint meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, July 10 at the Easton Newberry Archery Center.

New offered items for discussion during the joint meeting for Commission consideration. Teed up are discussions about several projects including the Newberry Environmental Park. Commissioners agreed to discuss the proposed Alachua County meat processing facility, the proposed Alachua County Rural Collection Center/Small Quantity Hazardous Materials Collection Center, the proposed Alachua County/Newberry Fire Training Facility and County Road 337 improvements.

Other areas of discussion will be a Newberry projects/initiatives update, which includes the Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion/Regional Treatment Facility, Advanced Metering Infrastructure Deployment (AMI), State Road 26 road improvements, impact fees, transportation projects, City Hall, Urban Services Area, Comprehensive Plan update, Champions Park and Veterans Memorial Park.

In other business, the City has recently submitted a grant application to the U.S. Department of State to help fund repairs and upgrades to the City’s historic electric generating plant. Costs for those renovations are estimated to be close to $700,000. Grant terms require a 1:1 match with the City footing $350,000. New offered there is still some $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds available.

Various uses for the restored building could include citizens’ use for meetings, a conference center, and a museum. New said there have been inquiries about using the building as a restaurant or brewery. The Commission suggested that if someone wanted to turn the building into a business, they may be willing to come up with the $350,000 matching funds for the grant and to also possibly consider a minimal to no rent agreement for the use of the building.

The next Newberry City Commission meeting is scheduled for June 26 at 7 p.m.

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