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HIGH SPRINGS – A workshop on Thursday, March 6, scheduled as the first of two on the reorganizational needs of the High Springs Police Department (HSPD) got off to a rocky start as audience members and some commissioners expressed concern over the continued absence of High Springs Police Chief Steve Holley.

According to earlier comments from City Manager Ed Booth, Holley had vacation time coming to him and requested 30 days leave, which he was granted on Monday, Jan. 27. Although those 30 days have passed, Holley has not returned to active duty. Antoine Sheppard remains acting police chief until either Holley returns to his position or a new chief of police is named.

While speculation as to his continued absence is rampant, city staff are tight-lipped about the details. City Attorney Scott Walker said Holley's attorney had contacted him. Although he did not reveal their conversation, Walker did say he had assured Holley's attorney that his client was not the topic of the workshop. He stressed several times during the workshop, as questions kept cropping up about Holley, that it was not fair to Holley to discuss his position, which he termed a “personnel issue,” without Holley or his attorney being present.

Booth said he had not spoken with Holley or his attorney so had nothing to add, but redirected the topic to the needs of the police department. Pointing to this workshop as one of several leading up to the budgeting process in a few months, Booth said he wanted to make the commissioners aware of the city's needs prior to asking them to make decisions about next year's budget.

Booth said when he was hired that he would see how the departments worked, but would make no substantive changes to the running of the departments until he had been with the city for at least a year. Having recently passed the one-year point, and consulting with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and others on the structure of police departments in other cities of the same size, he recommended the addition of a detective and lieutenant.

He said he wanted to share his findings with the commission prior to the budgeting process. The cost of adding the two positions would be approximately $150,000. An increase in the millage rate from 6.15 to 6.85 would be required to make up those salaries, he said.

Pointing to too much work on the police officers because they were having to take on the detective duties in addition to their regular duties, Booth said officers are not able to complete their reports in a timely manner and morale is not as good as it could be.

The addition of a lieutenant's position would provide some added structure and support to younger officers, especially on the night shift, he said.

The installation of emergency dispatch services returning to High Springs cost the city $300,000, Booth said. He compared that with $85,000, the cost of having the Alachua County Communications Center handle all 911 calls. “I am just presenting the facts,” he said. Although it is up to the commissioners as to how they want to proceed, he indicated he wanted them to be aware of the facts and figures when they make their decisions.

A few audience members and Commissioners Bob Barnas and Linda Gestrin expressed concern, saying that they had never heard there was any problem with the way the police department was being run. Commissioner Barnas said the money, if it was budgeted, would probably end up in the sewer fund instead.

Walker said he would be happy to meet with the commissioners on a one-to-one basis to discuss the situation further, but reiterated that it was not fair to Holley to discuss issues associated with his position in an open meeting.

Another workshop discussing the needs of the police department will be held on Thursday, March 20.

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HIGH SPRINGS – American Legion Riders Post 16 traveled from Gainesville to High Springs on Saturday, March 8 as part of a motorcycle day trip. The purpose of their visit was to see the memorial in honor of fallen military and police service dogs, located in front of the High Springs Fire Station.

Leda Carrero, the person who spearheaded the campaign to raise funding for the memorial, met with the group to thank them for their generous donation. The High Springs memorial was placed in front of the city's fire station and unveiled Nov. 11, 2013, after Carrero and other volunteers collected $1,200 in donations.

Ten members of the 30-member American Legion group wanted to see the finished memorial.

“They are in the process of preparing a memorial of their own in Gainesville,” said Paul Slag, a member of the Gainesville American Legion and High Springs resident. “Their memorial will be totally different in design and will be placed at Kanapaha Gardens in Gainesville,” he said.

Another memorial was also the topic of discussion. The memorial honors those who have served their country in time of war. Known as the War Memorial, it was erected on Oct. 11, 1980 by American Legion Post 97. The current location of the memorial is on the grounds of St. Bartholomew's Church. The church will soon be building on that site. As Post 97 is no longer in place, the group discussed the possible relocation of the memorial. Carrero is in the process of determining costs and has vowed to assist in fund-raising any way she can if the group wishes to move the memorial.

One suggested new site may be between the Sept. 11 Memorial and the memorial to the fallen Police and Military Service Dogs. If the American Legion decides to relocate the War Memorial, the city will likely be contacted for permission to relocate to that site.

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ALACHUA COUNTY – Inspired by the actions a county in South Carolina took in the late 1990s, Alachua County is looking to put an initiative on the ballot in November which would give communities a way to fund their priority road-improvement and transportation projects.

The idea is for each community to make a list ranking the priority of various transportation projects and submit it to the county. The highest priority project would have to be completed before the next one could be tackled. It is based on a similar course of action taken by York County, S.C. in the 1990s.

The last action the Alachua County Commission took was to decide on a length of term for the one-cent sales tax that would pay for the projects. At a Feb. 18 meeting between the county and the Alachua League of Cities, the County Commission decided the sales tax would last for eight years, said Mark Sexton, county spokesman.

By adopting an eight year term for the tax, the county can gain the citizens’ trust, said High Springs Vice-Mayor Sue Weller.

“The citizens don't trust the County Commission,” she said. The eight-year term for the tax will give the county a chance to show it will stick to the projects the cities want done. Distrust of the county was a major theme when the issue was discussed at a Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce meeting in September of last year. Citizens were skeptical the county would stick to the list.

The initiative could give smaller communities a bigger voice in determining which roadway improvements are pursued, said Kamal Latham, vice president of public policy for the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce in an interview with Alachua County Today last September.

“We need to find a way to get money to repair our roads,” Vice-Mayor Weller said. “I think the small cities recognize that there is an issue.”

Every city would have to submit the list of road projects, and the money would have to be used on the list items that were approved, she said. High Springs, for instance, would get about $900,000 each year to pave roads.

Under the proposal, Alachua County would get 43 percent of the money from the sales tax, the City of Gainesville would get 43 percent, and the rest of the money would be divided up among the smaller cities. Alachua would get 3.74 percent, Newberry would get 3.67 percent and High Springs would get 3.31 percent, for example, said Jeff Hayes, from the Alachua County Department of Growth Management.

There will be another meeting on March 18, where the county staff will present the county's project list. They will also send out directions to municipalities to prepare their lists.

In order for the transportation tax initiative to come to fruition, two things need to happen, Hayes said. First, the cities need to present finalized project lists, and second, the county would have to approve the ordinance to put the initiative on the ballot as a referendum for the November election.

“It has to go to voters for the final decision,” Hayes said. The County Commission is looking to pass the ordinance to put it on the ballot sometime in the summer, he said.

Most of the cities have turned in preliminary lists, Hayes said. The county is hoping to finish up the process and get the finalized lists and the ordinance passed within the next two months, he said.

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HIGH SPRINGS – Anyone with time on their hands can find plenty to do by volunteering at the High Springs Historical Museum.

“We can use all the help we can get,” said Museum President Bob Watson. The list of projects being tackled by the small organization is amazing and volunteers are needed for all different types of work, he said.

The museum cannot charge for any of the items or events they are planning, but a minimum donation would be greatly appreciated, Watson said.  

The organization is spearheading the creation of a book about the area called “Images of America: High Springs.” 

The book will consist of 180-240 black-and-white photos of High Springs through the years. Volunteers are needed to help identify some of the locations and people in the photos, write descriptions of what each photo depicts and help organize the book for publication.

In addition to the book, the organization also offers carriage tours.

The carriage rides will begin later this month or early in April, depending on weather conditions. Volunteers have built a hitching post in front of the High Springs Elementary School and Community Center, the building in which the museum occupies a couple of rooms, to accommodate the horse and carriage. Visitors can either just take a carriage ride or they can opt to tour some of the historic buildings and homes in High Springs.

If helping write a book or operate a carriage tour doesn’t rev up a potential volunteer’s engine, there is another project that might.

A 1924 Brockway LaFrance fire truck has been turned over to the Museum by the High Springs Fire Department. Volunteers to help restore the truck are needed. Mechanics and someone to do minor repairs would be helpful, along with volunteers to wash and wax the vehicle, Watson said. The city paid $6,000 for the truck in 1924. It is the first fire truck purchased by High Springs and it has been housed at the fire station until recently.

The group is also looking for a building in which to store the fire truck so visitors can see it, but where it will still be protected from the elements. Anyone having the ability to help locate or build an appropriate structure could be put to good use, Watson said.

For people looking to volunteer with a smaller project, a diorama of the town in the 1900s is being created. Volunteers are needed to help with wiring and hooking up the diorama for display.

Volunteers will be needed during Pioneer Days to help visitors as they tour museum displays.

Vintage toy cars, trucks and other trinkets are sought after to create an additional exhibit in the school building.

The group is planning to make a replica of the old elementary school classroom in one of the rooms. Blackboards, tables and chairs from the school or in the era when the school was serving the children of High Springs are being sought and a teacher's brass school bell has been donated by second grade school teacher, Mrs. Everett, to add a little bit more authenticity to the school setting. The school, which was built in 1928, was closed sometime in the mid-1960s, but has now been restored.

Volunteers are also being sought after to help establish a garden area in front of the old school building. Plants, mulch, seeds and people to help are all that are needed, Watson said. Some plants are already on site and more have been promised.

The organization is still looking for the 14 missing bricks that were removed from the old railroad yard. Volunteers prepared an area in front of the building in which to place the bricks and all 277 of the recovered bricks have now been placed. However, more work in that area needs to be done. Volunteers still have to plant a couple of trees on each end of the walkway and a seating area under each tree needs to be created. Soon, a River of Remembrance sign, currently being made by volunteer Larry Behnke, will be ready to be placed near the walkway.

The group is also looking for photos of all of the area springs. A map of the springs' locations is also being sought, if one exists, or it could be created by knowledgeable volunteers. Older residents who have lived in the area for some time could help to identify locations and names of the different springs. Some of the springs may not have been formally named, but an older volunteer might know what they were commonly called, Watson said.

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HIGH SPRINGS – Although it appears the railroad line between High Springs and Newberry may soon be formally abandoned by CSX Transportation, Inc., another company appears to be stepping up to the plate to continue service on that short line.

Seaside Holdings, Inc., of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., has formally expressed its intent to file an offer of financial assistance by purchasing the 11.62-mile section of rail line.

CSX and Florida Northern Railroad Company, Inc., the company that has been running the line between the two cities since 2005, have jointly filed a request with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in Washington, D.C. to abandon the line and discontinue service.

“Abandonment is the last step railroad companies must go through when they have exhausted all other means of making the line profitable, “said Jo Ann Burroughs, manager of network services for CSX. Last August, CSX began writing letters to a number of different government and local entities after Florida Northern embargoed the line in 2011.

“In the abandonment/discontinuation of service process, someone else can make an offer of financial assistance to purchase the line under consideration,” Burroughs said. The Surface Transportation Board investigates the company making the offer and determines whether they are financially responsible. Seaside Holdings had to pay a filing fee, typically a couple of thousand dollars, to submit a notice of intent to file an offer of financial assistance with the Surface Transportation Board.

CSX is in the process of gathering information to help them determine the value of the property. If CSX submits an amount that the purchaser doesn't agree to, they can negotiate. If they cannot come to terms, the STB can determine the value, Burroughs said.

CSX's attorney, Louis Gitomer, will present the estimated value to the STB in Washington on or near March 17.

Although CSX is unaware of how Seaside Holdings intends to use the line exactly, the STB's regulations indicate that the intent is to run that portion of the line as a railroad. If the line is successfully transferred, STB's regulations stipulate that the purchaser cannot transfer the line or discontinue service for two years. If they want to sell it to someone other than CSX, they will have to wait five years to do so.

The STB's process required CSX to send letters of their intention to abandon that portion of the line to the Florida Department of Transportation, Alachua County, the State of Florida Historic Preservation Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Newberry City Hall, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the High Springs Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, the National Geodetic Survey, Alachua County Office of Management and Budget and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Coastal and Environmental Clearing House.

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MARK LONG/Photo special to Alachua County Today

Families gather at Ginnie Springs near High Springs for some relaxation in the water. Researchers looked at the economic impact of several public and private springs to measure how much money they bring into the area.

ALACHUA COUNTY – Every summer for seven years, she would drive her daughters from Clearwater to High Springs.

It was the 90s, and Camp Kulaqua in High Springs was a beautiful place for Barbara Ferguson and her kids to spend their summer.

She recalls that there used to be docks all the way around, rope swings, and a huge inner tube fit for two people in the spring. There was even a diving board.

“The kids used to jump off the diving board and onto the tube, catapulting the other person off the other side,” she said.

The camp was surrounded by the Hornsby Springs, one of the gorgeous local flowing springs.

“I was the parent in the springs,” she said.

In the last 10 years, Ferguson said that one day the spring just stopped flowing. Camp Kulaqua is now a camp without a spring.

“It broke my heart,” said Ferguson, who is a board member of the environmental group Save Our Suwannee.

The springs were one of the reasons Ferguson left her home in Clearwater to move to Gainesville.

“I fell in love with the springs. We would go camping. It was beautiful.”

Now, Ferguson only has one word to describe Hornsby Springs.

One word, repeated three times.

“Gone, gone, gone.”

Over the last 50 years, the increase of water permits given by legislatures to industries and farmers has resulted in the ground levels to drop at least 40 feet, which continues to reduce the flow of water into the springs, Ferguson said. We cannot continue on the course we are on, unless we don’t want to have any springs, she added.

“Subsidies need to be used more wisely, to plant the right crops in the right places,” she said.  

Ferguson said the water policy has always been in favor of developmental agriculture, which has been bad for the springs.

But, now, “it’s been bad on steroids,” she said. “The water is barely flowing, it is wimping along. There is not enough water, so there is little ground pressure underground to push through to the springs,” she said.

If the region loses its springs, the property values of homes will go down, because many people move here to be close to them

“The problem with most of our springs is over-withdrawal from the aquifers that feed them, lack of rainfall and increasing pollution from fertilizers and wastewater treatment plants,” said Annette Long, president of Save Our Suwannee.

That is why Ferguson got involved with Save Our Suwannee, a non-profit organization aiming to help raise awareness to the public and protect the water quality and quantity in the Suwannee Basin. The basin is made up of the springs that feed the Suwannee River and the Santa Fe River in North Central Florida.  Recently, the board, made up of nine members, has been in contact with two economists from the University of Florida, Allen W. Hodges and Tatiana Borisova, to create a presentation to raise awareness of the economic benefits of the springs. Because the economy has been such a pressing issue in the legislature, they want to make a presentation that will appeal to the legislators based on the economic value that the springs bring to the region.

The research that Borisova and Hodges are undertaking will not be finalized until May. This impact study will be finished in June. For now, they are going through the process to help achieve the goal of Save Our Suwannee.

“The focus of the project is to estimate the economic interest in the area,” said Borisova, an assistant professor and extension specialist specializing in water economics and policy in the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida.

She and Hodges, along with a team of researchers, are developing a presentation on the project, which focuses on the economic contribution of eight public springs as well as some private springs.

The project consists of an input and output model to help display the contribution of the springs in the region. Existing information about the visitors’ region, the new money that it is bringing into the region from the outside, the number of jobs brought into the region and the goods and products used in recreation from the springs are factors the two are analyzing, Borisova said.

“There is a concern for this treasure we have here, and for decision makers, we need to have numbers for the economy to measure the contribution of the springs to the region, and we already see that there is a connection, and the region would likely suffer without it,” Borisova said.

Borisova said that she and Hodges have interviewed businesses around the cities and the local chamber of commerce to verify their estimates. Using the data collected from that and existing studies, Borisova hopes that they will come out with a regional gross domestic product (GPD) that will help their case when presenting to legislatures.

“The regional GPD will establish a relationship to tourism and an established value from the springs recreation,” Borisova said. She hopes this will then measure the total value of the springs.

Ferguson has many memories of the springs, which she said is important for action. “You need long-term memories to have long-range visions, and the legislators have short-term visions,” she said. That is why she wants the numbers to help convince them to adjust their ways to conserve water, instead of continuing to use up all the water from the springs.

“The outside money coming in is critical to our point, because people do come from all over to see the springs,” said Annette Long, president of Save Our Suwannee.

She said the presentation created by the research from Hodges and Borisova will be presented to local officials, business leaders and the public.  

“We want to bring this info straight to them instead of them coming to us,” Long said.

Long said that the organization wants to show the legislature that, even though their goal is to create jobs and help the economy, the springs brings in money just by being there. They also flow fresh water into Cedar Key, which is essential for the oysters and the clams that are there for business.

“We are trying to make the point that the springs are essential to our way of life as well as to small businesses in the rural North Florida region,” Long said.

Save Our Suwannee is not blaming agriculture and industry, Ferguson said. She explained that the need for the springs is equally as important as the need for agriculture and industry.

“We need both,” she said. However, she said that there needs to be adjustments for a low-environmental impact in the development for the agriculture. “If my bank account is going low, I’ll turn off the cable,” Ferguson said. She wants legislatures to make adjustments so that we don’t run out of water and the springs can still flourish.

“We need to join arms and solve this together,” she said.

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