Newberry Annexes Property, Sets Millage Rate

NEWBERRY - The Newberry City Commission on July 22, 2024, finalized annexation of three property parcels totaling in 44.61 acres. All three annexations were voluntarily requested by the owners and all three properties were located contiguous to the City of Newberry boundaries. The City Commission unanimously approved all three annexations on second and final reading.

City Ordinance 2024-16, a petition by Jamie and Steve Nelson, provided for the voluntary annexation of a parcel of land of 4.76 acres and is located at 1318 S.W. 226^th Street, Newberry.

City Ordinance 2024-17, a petition by Daniel Shore, provided for the voluntary annexation of a parcel of land consisting of 9.85 acres and is located at 17406 S.W. 46^th Avenue, Archer.

City Ordinance 2024-19, a petition by Paul and Pamela Smith, provided for the voluntary annexation of a parcel of land consisting of 30 acres and is located at 3201 N.W. 202^nd Street, Newberry.

Any future development of the smaller two land parcels will fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Newberry However, the 30-acre parcel is located in the Alachua County Growth Management District, and falls under Alachua County’s development jurisdiction.

In other City business, the City Commission set the 2023-24 preliminary millage rate at 6.0 mills, which would be an increase of $20 per year to properties worth $200,000. Setting the millage rate at 6.0 mills at this time gives flexibility to the Commission to reduce the millage rate when setting the final rate. When Alachua County sends out Truth in Millage information to Newberry’s property owners, it will be at the 6.0 millage rate. The previous year’s millage rate was set at 5.9 mills. A millage rate is one-tenth of a percent, which equates to $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in home value.

The Commission stated the possibility of a future assessment, which will include an amount for paving City roads, including the paving of Southwest 46^th Road. If the proposed assessment moves forward, the measure would be put before the electorate to vote on at the next city-wide election, which will be held in April 2025.

Turning to other matters, the Commission voted unanimously to approve an Interlocal Agreement between Alachua County and the City for Emergency Addressing Services. The agreement formalizes the switch from paper to electronic processing of address requests. The City is currently utilizing the electronic address request portal hosted by E-911 Addressing.

This Interlocal Agreement replaces an existing agreement between the City and E-911 Addressing from 1999. The agreement does not create additional responsibilities or fiscal impact for the City, but it does update the method of addressing. Approval by the City sends the agreement back to Alachua County for to finalize the agreement.

Looking toward upcoming business in August, Commissioner Tony Mazon has been named as the 2024 Florida League of Cities voting delegate to act on the City’s behalf during the Florida League of Cities Annual Conference to be held in Hollywood, Florida Aug. 15-17. “The City Budget for 2024 includes funding for elected officials to attend this conference,” said City Manager Mike New. Election of League leadership and adoption of resolutions are undertaken during the business meeting portion of the conference.

The City will hold another budget workshop on Aug. 6, 2024. City Manager New reported that Newberry will receive a $350,000 matching grant to upgrade the old electric plant. The grant matches the $350,000 previously set aside by the City for renovations on the facility. New said whoever rents the building will be responsible for making sure the equipment works inside.

New also discussed a recent downtown strategies meeting in which the City mostly listened to community input. He indicated the meeting began with a walking tour of the downtown area. “We expect a report on the workshop in seven to eight weeks,” New said.

New also said the City will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony for City Hall in August or September of this year.

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