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C.M. Walker/Alachua County Today

Newberry City Manager Mike New addresses the joint county-city meeting held at Newberry City Hall.

NEWBERRY – A resolution supporting Alachua County's priority project list for SUNTrail funding for projects impacting the City of Newberry was approved at a joint city/county meeting June 13.

The Shared Use Non-Motorized Trail (SUNTrail) program was approved by the Florida Legislature in 2015. The program, which is overseen by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), provides for funding of trails through Florida and is paid for through the re-distribution of automobile tag sales.

The legislature allocated $25 million annually to the program, which is slated to begin during the 2016/2017 fiscal year.

Chris Dawson, Alachua County Senior Transportation Planner, presented a draft list of priorities for the Newberry City Commission to review. Programs presented in the resolution included projects in priority order, three of which would involve the City of Newberry, and are expected to run from 2017 – 2022, if approved by the State.

Priority 1: Gainesville to Newberry Trail – Northwest 43^rd Street to Newberry Lane (5.9 miles)

According to the report, “This section of trail is proposed to run within the State Road 26 right-of-way. As envisioned, the trail would be located on the north side of the roadway at the edge of the right-of-way…This section may be the easiest of the sections to implement as no right-of-way needs to be acquired.”

The cost to design this project is estimated to be $356,250. Construction would begin in 2019 and is anticipated to cost $2.375 million with another $240,000 for construction engineering and inspection.

Priority 2: Hawthorne to Palatka Trail – Grade-separated Crossing at U.S. Hwy. 301

This project was previously approved and funded for construction in 2016, and will bring riders of the Gainesville – Hawthorne Trail from the current trailhead through downtown Hawthorne to the U.S. Hwy. 301 – State Road 20 intersection. There is no bicycle or pedestrian phase at this intersection, raising safety concerns. This project would provide for a grade-separated 12-ft.-wide crossing of U.S. Hwy. 301 south of the existing State Road 20 bridge. The bridge would also allow children living in subdivisions east of U.S. Hwy. 301 along State Road 20 to walk or bike to the schools on the west side of U.S. Hwy. 301.”

The cost to design is estimated to be $243,000. Construction would begin in 2020 and is anticipated to cost $1.620 million with an additional $240,000 for construction engineering and inspection.

Priority 3: Nature Coast Trail Extension – Newberry Rail Exchange to County Line (2.75 miles)

This section has previously been acquired by the State from Trenton to the Alachua County Line and this project proposes acquisition of the portion of the rail corridor from the County Line into the rail exchange in Newberry, either through fee simple acquisition or utilizing the rail-banking provisions of the federal statute. Additionally, the project would include construction of a 12-ft.-wide asphalt trail. This corridor would connect to other regional trails that the County is working on, including the Hawthorne-to-Newberry Rail Trail.”

Obtaining rights-of-way is expected to cost $1 million. Design is estimated to be $165,000, and construction would begin in 2022, anticipated at $1.1 million. Construction engineering and inspection is estimated at $110,000.

Priority 4: Archer to Bronson Trail – U.S. 27/41 to Levy County (2.8 miles)

“This project is essentially an extension of the Archer Braid Trail from its current terminus at the Archer water tower along State Road 24 to the County Line. The project…would be a 10 – 12 ft. wide multi-use path within the existing State Road 24 right-of-way. This project will need to…identify a connection from the water tower back to State Road 24.”

Design is estimated at $170,500. Construction beginning in 2022 and is expected to be $1.15 million. Construction engineering and inspection is estimated at $114,250.

Priority 5: Newberry to Gainesville Trail – Northwest 260^th Street to Newberry Lane (1.6 miles)

“This project would connect the Nature Coast Trail to the Newberry to Gainesville Trail through downtown along the State Road 26 corridor. The exact alignment of the corridor will require some planning and coordination. FDOT is currently undertaking a Planning, Development and Environmental (PD&E) study for State Road 26 through downtown Newberry…This section of the trail would be a mix of in-street and off-street facilities. As proposed, project timing will be dependent upon the implementation of improvements to the State Road 26 corridor.”

Project design is estimated to be $105,000 and construction $700,000, while construction engineering and inspection would be $70,000.

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Therapy horses Magic and Catherine traveled to Orlando at the request of shooting victims' families.

HIGH SPRINGS – Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses were invited to Orlando by a representative for several of the families who had lost loved ones in the June 12 shooting at Pulse nightclub.

Therapy horses Catherine and Magic, along with their caretakers, Debbie and Jorge Garcia-Bengochea, visited with individual family members, first responders and volunteers on Wednesday and Thursday following the incident. The couple and their horses returned home each night, so accommodations were not an issue. Volunteers and the American Red Cross provided water and other needed items for the horses each day.

Magic traveled to Orlando both days while Catherine made the trip once. Both visited the main memorial at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the place where President Obama spoke last week, and were greeted by dozens of people who were there to mourn the loss of friends and relatives or show support to the families of the 49 people slain by the gunman, Omar Mateen.

“We visited privately with the families of those slain,” said Debbie Garcia-Bengochea. “We never allow photos of those meetings to be published.” But other public appearances, like the visit to the memorial site, are allowed, she said.

“We are there to help support grieving family members and first responders...not for publicity,” she said.

Catherine was named in honor of Catherine Hubbard who was lost in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Catherine has visited Sandy Hook/Newtown, Connecticut several times.

Magic is known as the Little Hero Horse. He was named by TIME Magazine as one of “History's Ten Most Courageous Animals.” AARP named him the “Most Heroic Pet in America,” and he was named “A Reader's Digest/Americantowns Power of One Hero.”

Magic is also a Deputy with the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and will soon be featured in an upcoming book by National Geographic Kids called “The Book of Heroes.”

The organization has been requested by tragedy-stricken towns all over the United States to help survivors heal after experiencing loss of life or serious injuries. The horses also have been trained to be around hospital equipment and often visit children’s hospitals to provide love and therapy to those in need.

For more information about Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity, readers can visit www.Horse-Therapy.org, www.facebook.com/TherapyHorses or call 352-226-9009.

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HIGH SPRINGS – A review of the High Springs Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) audits revealed that the City owes the CRA almost $200,000.

As part of the High Springs CRA request for an extension, several items were submitted to the Alachua County Economic Development Coordinator, Edgar Campa-Palafox, including the CRA's financial audits for previous years.

It was determined that the City inadvertently neglected to put in matching funds into the CRA account from 2002 to 2006. During those four years, the amount that should have been paid into the CRA fund from the City's coffers amounts to more than $199,000, according to CRA Director Amanda Rodriguez.

Normally, both the County and City contribute tax revenues paid by property owners within the district to fund the CRA.

“It [the payment] was apparently overlooked,” said Rodriguez. “We have been unable to locate any documentation that took place during those four years to explain the omission any other way.”

“The City came to us after realizing the problem and brought with them a 10-year payback plan,” explained Campa-Palafox. “The County attorney said the cleanest way to resolve the issue is for the City to make payment in full to the City's CRA fund prior to the County signing an interlocal agreement to extend the CRA. Since that would put a burden on the City to do that, I suggested a five-year payback period as a compromise. Now it's up to the County Commission to decide what they want to do.”

The item will be reviewed at the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 5.

If the CRA is extended, the County will commit to contributing to the fund at the same millage rate as the City.

Rodriguez also emphasized that the BOCC has the final word on how this will all work out, but Campa-Palafox's proposed resolution of the problem appears to be what the City is hoping will be acceptable.

The High Springs CRA, which is scheduled to sunset in December of this year, is requesting an extension for an additional 15 years with the opportunity to reevaluate their progress and possibly continue for another 15 years.

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ALACHUA COUNTY – The local branch of the NAACP, religious leaders from local black churches and concerned citizens expressed their support for Alachua County Superintendent of Schools Owen Roberts at a five-hour long meeting Tuesday night at Kirby-Smith Center in downtown Gainesville.

Despite the overwhelming support of approximately 35 speakers, the school board voted to accept the evaluation conducted earlier by board members and voted to accept Roberts’ resignation, which had been tendered earlier in the day.

Supporters became enraged by the Board's decision and threatened to take action at the ballot box. “Racism” was charged by audience members including the president of the local NAACP branch, Evelyn Foxx.

Poor teacher morale, student disciplinary issues associated with recent budget cuts and pressures associated with high-stakes standardized testing have been cited by critics, as well as charges of plagiarism in a self-published book. Supporters say Roberts was working to lower school dropout rates and reduce racial disparity.

Although Roberts was present at the meeting, when things became heated between audience and school board members, he left.

A severance package of 20 weeks pay and accrued leave will be paid to Roberts. The total severance package amounts to $133,000, according to the Assistant Superintendent of Finance, Alex Rella. The motion to accept the less-than-favorable evaluation of Roberts’ performance was made by April Griffin and seconded by Rob Hyatt and was unanimously approved.

The motion to accept Roberts’ resignation was made by Gunnar Paulson and seconded by April Griffin and received a 3-2 vote with Leanetta McNealy and Rob Hyatt dissenting.

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HIGH SPRINGS – High Springs residents, some with children in tow, attended a recent city commission meeting voicing concerns about the need for additional funding for the City's Parks and Recreation Department budget.

“The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board began last November to look at the maintenance and staffing needs for our city,” said Ross Ambrose, the Board’s chair. “We also were tasked with becoming the Tree Board last year.”

Listing issues of concern, Ambrose also provided a five-year vision plan to address the items of most concern. Ambrose then followed up with suggestions from the Tree Board.

Noting that some of the equipment, restrooms and fields at city parks could not be adequately maintained by one person, specifically noting the Civic Center playground – which has been closed for four months – Ambrose said, “The budget should be a reflection of community priorities and a vision of those leading the city.”

Ambrose said, “The City used to have two full-time people in the Parks and Recreation Department.” Now the City has one person to take care of all six parks, which he listed as the Civic Center, Sports Complex, Memorial, Walter Howard, Catherine L. Taylor and James Paul Parks.

He noted that the Advisory Board realized that other priorities had to be addressed in previous fiscal years to take care of regulatory requirements. Now the Advisory Board wants to make commissioners aware of needs that have gone unmet due to previous budget constraints and the resulting deterioration of some of the recreation facilities during the past few years.

Pointing to the City's grant efforts to obtain new playground equipment, Ambrose stated that the City must also provide for maintenance of that equipment once it has been purchased.

One item that received additional inquiry and discussion was Ambrose's comment that staff had to turn down requests to use some facilities because there was no money in his budget to operate the lights.

“I have to watch my utility budget very carefully,” said Basford. “Turning on the lights uses more electricity than running them.” He told commissioners he had to limit the length of use of the fields during the winter months due to his limited utility budget.

Referring to recreation-related items in need of repair, Ambrose said, “There is no inventory…because Robert doesn't have time to sit down and make a list.”

Ambrose noted further that there are policies that need to be addressed that could put the City in a position of liability. “Robert has identified such items as transporting children to other facilities as one of many items that there is no policy in place to address,” he said. “The City has been lucky so far that nothing has happened because of the lack of policies.”

Another item brought to the commission's attention was that in every economic development workshop the City has had over the years, “good recreational opportunities” is listed as one of the items comprising a good quality of life, one of the stepping stones to attracting families to the community.

Several audience members addressed the commission, some of whom were coaches who have subsidized equipment purchases for their teams due to lack of budgeted funds to provide for or replace defective equipment.

Commissioner Sue Weller and Mayor Byran Williams both thanked Ambrose and the citizens who had spoken and said they would take the suggestions made during the meeting into their budget workshops, the first of which begins July 12.

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BOB BROWN/Alachua County Today

Micanopy's Cholokka Boulevard offers a picturesque backdrop of moss-draped oak trees and historic buildings.

MICANOPY – Small and unassuming, but with a rich history and beautiful Spanish moss-draped live oaks, the Town of Micanopy is a Florida treasure.

The second-smallest community in the county is considered the oldest inland town in the state, claiming 1821 as its founding date.

Native American settlements predated any European or American communities by hundreds of years. A nearby important Seminole village accounted for both Micanopy’s initial American settlement and eventual name.

Moses Levy, the father of future Florida railroad magnate and U.S. Senator David Yulee, purchased thousands of acres that included the future site of Micanopy with the intent of establishing a refuge community for European Jews according to Micanopy resident Chris Monaco’s book, “Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer.”

A trading post was started primarily by Edward Wanton, an agent sent by Spanish land owner Don Fernando de la Maza Arredondo, which was eventually named after the local Seminole chief, whose title was “Micanopy,” which loosely translated as “head chief” in the native language.

In 1822, Levy and 23 Jewish settlers that had been gathered by Levy’s partner Frederick Warburg settled near Wanton’s post, completing construction of 13 houses by 1823. An additional 25 Jewish settlers arrived that year.

This initial settlement was ultimately doomed, however, by the outbreak of the Second Seminole War in 1835. Micanopy was on the very outskirts of Seminole territory, and the community was abandoned during the war while two forts were established nearby: Fort Defiance, which was likewise abandoned early in the war, followed by Fort Micanopy.

The area surrounding the Micanopy vicinity was a major theater in the war, with several battles taking place nearby. Most citizens sought refuge during the war further north in Alachua County at Newnansville near present-day Alachua.

After the war ended in 1843, Micanopy quickly became a thriving community once more. Along with Newnansville, it was the largest community in North Central Florida.

The Methodist Church established the East Florida Seminary there in 1852 (not to be confused with the East Florida State Seminary which later became part of the University of Florida), the first attempt by Methodists to establish a school in Florida, but it closed permanently with the outbreak of the Civil War. The original building’s cornerstone is kept at the Methodist’s Florida Southern College in Lakeland.

While the population of Gainesville began to drastically increase after the Civil War concluded and the City of High Springs quickly sprang into existence as the second largest community in the county in the late 1890s, Micanopy’s population has remained remarkably consistent for over 100 years, maintaining the size it reached at the turn of the 19^th Century.

Today, Micanopy is a center for antique shopping along its primary street, Cholokka Boulevard. Numerous historic buildings are preserved with care, and the Micanopy Historical Society has one of the more extensive local history museums on display, open daily from 1 p.m. – 4 pm.

Micanopy remains a small but vibrant, living and breathing time capsule from Florida’s native and earliest American past.

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