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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Alachua County Public Schools Communications and Community Initiatives Director Jackie Johnson will be addressing High Springs Commissioners and citizens on Oct. 8 to advocate for the passage of the One Mill Tax.

“This,” said Johnson,” is not the half-cent for existing aging schools and new construction, which was approved by voters.” The one mill tax was approved originally in 2008, but must be approved every four years by voters. In 2008, the country went through a serious depression which resulted in massive budget cuts for school. Johnson said the schools had to make some painful cuts in programs and people.

Art and music programs and media professionals had to be cut at that time. Johnson said that school budgets never recovered from the recession. Money for school programs have traditionally been low in Florida. The one mill property tax costs the average property owner less than $7 per month according to Johnson. The funds go to pay for fulltime art and music programs at the elementary level, school counselors, media specialists, career technology teachers and academic magnet programs.

The voters approved the one mill tax again in 2012, which allowed the schools to add band and chorus teachers for middle and high schools.

Johnson says this tax is the sole source for classroom technology, which includes computers, projectors, 7,000 laptops and 1,000 hotspots that the schools have given out since the pandemic started.

“The last thing it does is to pay for one nurse in every school for the next four years,” Johnson said. “Because this is a renewal of an existing tax, it won’t increase property taxes because it is not a new tax.”

“The legislature, not the school board, determines the rates provided for schools each year,” Johnson said. “For the last five years and for nine out of the last 10 years, the legislature has reduced school property taxes. Historically, the legislature has provided very low student funding in Florida.”

“The one mill tax brought in $11 - $12 million in 2008. Last year the tax brought in about $17 million. Depending on the economy, we are still projecting somewhere in the $17 million range.”

Johnson said that just last year, between salaries and technology at the High Springs Community School and Santa Fe High School, the cost was $814,000.

Currently, Johnson said the one mill tax funded salaries for 15 teachers in those two schools and funded a total of more than 220 laptops and hotspots given out to children at those two schools. It also helped pay for other technology as well like classroom computers and signal boosters.

In Alachua County alone, legislators are predicting $16 million in cuts to school funding. A number of students haven’t come back to school. Some Florida school districts have laid people off. Johnson said this hasn’t happened here yet, but these cuts are coming when schools are having to pay for unusual items like PPEs, certain cleaning supplies and equipment, additional custodial firms who can provide deep cleaning.

She summarized by saying, “Good quality schools bring in businesses to help provide for economic development. We want our children to be well-educated future pharmacists, teachers and doctors and to be contributing adults. A good education fosters those goals.”

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NEWBERRY ‒ On Sept. 23, the City of Newberry Planning and Zoning Board heard a request for a Special Permit for a Temporary Use (STUP) to allow a one-time outdoor concert. Subsequently, they unanimously recommended approval.

The STUP, which is allowed by the City’s Land Development Regulations, was heard again in a quasi-judicial public hearing on Sept. 28, by the City Commission and, once again, received unanimous approval.

The presentation was made by Planning and Economic Development Director Bryan Thomas. However, Phil Benito, the concert promoter, was on hand to answer questions.

Billed as The Sister Hazel Drive-In Concert Series, the event is scheduled for Oct. 23, on property approximately 216 acres in size, which is owned by Pat Post. However, the concert and parking will take place on only nine acres of that property, which is located near the Alachua County/Gilchrist County line at 28957 W Newberry Rd., Newberry.

Benito said he anticipates parking 500 cars on the property with no more than six people in each vehicle. Each ticket is for four people in one vehicle. Security will check pre-paid tickets for the fifth or sixth additional person. Anyone under 18 years of age with a parent or guardian can attend. Parking of cars is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with the concert beginning at 7:30 and ending by 10:30 p.m., which should pose little problem with noise.

Social distancing will be observed and each vehicle will have three spaces; one to park on, one to sit on with their own chairs, and a third one for distance between people. Benito said two local food trucks will provide food and drinks, but alcohol will not be sold at the event. In addition, no fires or overnight camping will be allowed. However, coolers will be allowed.

Anyone leaving their area to go to the restroom or to the food trucks will be required to wear a mask or some type of face covering. Restrooms will be monitored. VIP tickets ($169 plus fees/taxes) and will be lined in the first few rows of parking, while general admission tickets ($149 plus fees/taxes) will be behind this area and will be parked on a first come, first served basis with parking attendants directing where vehicles can be parked. Large trucks and oversized cars will be put off to the sides/back rows so they do not block views for attendees. No RVs or party bus parking is allowed.

Tickets, a map, directions to the location and all the pertinent information regarding this event can be found at https://www.eventliveus.com/event/sister-hazel-drive-in-series-.

Thomas said that the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office will provide security and will be on hand in various locations throughout the venue.

With no public comments or questions and all Commissioners’ questions answered, the application was easily approved.

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NEWBERRY ‒ The City of Newberry has made it known that it opposes the “County Charter Amendment Establishing County Growth Management Area” and went so far as to pass a resolution on Aug. 24 regarding that opposition. On Oct. 1, The Newberry City Commission went a step further by proposing to authorize funds for litigating and advertising to educate and inform the public about Alachua County’s proposed Charter referendum and how it will impact Newberry, as well as all of the smaller communities within Alachua County.

The specific Charter Amendment of concern is referred to on the ballot as the “County Charter Amendment Establishing County Growth Management Area.” The issue centers on the concern that the amendment, if approved by the voters, will restrict the ability of municipalities to determine the appropriate uses for property within their jurisdiction after annexing property from the County into their cities.

The Florida Constitution provides for Home Rule. The governing article reads: “Municipalities shall have governmental, corporate and proprietary powers to enable them to conduct municipal government, perform municipal functions and render municipal services, and may exercise power for municipal purposes except as otherwise provided by law.”

Each city, including Newberry, considers this authority to be fundamental to all Florida municipalities and they believe that local elected officials make the best decisions about commercial, residential, recreational and conservation development within their own communities.

Newberry’s Commissioners believe that the amendment, as it has been drafted, is averse to the fundamentals of home rule and undermines their ability to govern. By adopting this ordinance, they also agree that the proposed amendment eliminates the ability of municipalities to determine land uses that allows them to chart their unique course of development and differentiate themselves from other local communities.

Further, they believe the amendment discourages businesses from moving into the community as the City will not have control over land use policies. It negatively impacts the City’s ability to attract citizens deciding where to live and raise their families based on the look and feel of the community, which is in large part a result of local land use decisions. Commissioners also believe that the proposed amendment adds an extra, unnecessary level of bureaucracy to its citizens.

The ordinance, if approved on second reading, will allow the City of Newberry to expend public funds for an electioneering communication that is limited to factual information and does not expressly advocate for an issue.

The City of Newberry opposes the passage of the proposed amendment and opposes its application within their city as they stated in a resolution previously passed by the City Commission on Aug. 24. Also, the City opposes the passage of the proposed amendment for the reasons spelled out in a suit filed by the City of Alachua, v. Alachua County, Florida, et al. in which the City of Alachua is seeking injunctive relief from the Circuit Court.

During the Oct. 1 meeting Commissioners also received information from the city attorney as to how to best communicate the pros and cons of the issue to the public. One item of note is that Commissioners are free to express their own personal opinions in person, on their own media page or in letters to the editor, etc., but are not allowed to use public funds to advocate for or against this or any other issue on the ballot.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The COVID-19 pandemic has been disastrous for the economy with multiple business restrictions and shutdowns including a six-week quarantine. It has especially been tough on small locally-owned businesses with little reserve funding. In pre-pandemic times these businesses operated on a thin profit margin and would anticipate when their slow seasonal times were and plan to make up for it with higher volume seasonal sales. Many small businesses have closed their doors permanently, while others continue to struggle to survive.

Despite hard times and an uncertain future, some entrepreneurs have opened new businesses or revived existing businesses. Julie's Pins & Needles and Ms. Jeanne's Hair & Co. are two entirely different business with the same goal—persevering to successfully come through the pandemic.

Julie's Pins & Needles opened for business in May 2014 on Main Street in Alachua. Owner Julie Tucker had wanted to open a quilting store in High Springs, but at the time there were no good locations. Tucker spent her career as an animal nurse caring for everything from dogs and horses to dolphins, and she had also been a quilter for years and sewing for as long as she can remember.

Quilters are a tightknit hobby society, corresponding with others throughout the country and internationally. When Tucker retired, she opened her quilting parlor to create a space for quilters to find supplies and also exchange ideas with quilters locally and visitors from throughout the world. In addition, she also taught classes for beginners and intermediate level sewers and made or repaired quilts for clients.

In December 2019 Tucker found a place closer to home and moved the shop to High Springs, opening in February after it was renovated. She didn't plan on opening a new business during a pandemic. “We were open for two weeks, with people just recognizing our business location and our regulars finding us when the state-wide shutdown occurred. In store business and visiting quilters from other areas disappeared in an instant,” Tucker said.

“We had to reinvent our way of working and survived the shutdown by making masks for individuals and hospitals and online ‘no contact’ sales, placing the orders outside for customers to pick up,” said Tucker. “We got by, but are just beginning to see business return. It’s almost like opening a new business all over again. But overall, the quilting business took a hard hit and a lot of stores have closed down including Suwannee River Quilt in Trenton,” she said.

Quilters prefer a lot of fabric choices and often visit shops when traveling, which accounted for much of Tucker’s business. Because quilters like to have a variety of fabrics to work from, they maintain a surplus selection referred to as a “stash.”

All of these factors affected her business. “Due to the pandemic, we aren't seeing any travelers, and many of our regulars are elderly and more cautious about going out in the current conditions,” said Tucker. “Many quilters are just going through their “stash” and not buying fabric or supplies.” Tucker explained that the store closing in Trenton compounded the problem since they had to liquidate a huge fabric stockpile when they closed at discount prices.

“However, we are beginning to see more business as locals use up their stashes and we are expanding our services,” said Tucker. “We haven't started classes yet but will as soon as allowed by the state.”

In addition to fabric and supplies sales, Julie's Pins and Needles offers other services. The shop is equipped with a long arm sewing machine, which is used to sew together a quilt top, quilt batting and quilt backing into a finished quilt. The longarm sewing machine frame typically ranges from 10 feet to 14 feet in length. With this machine Tucker and her staff can make quilts for clients or repair existing ones in a much shorter and less costly time.

Tucker specializes in repairing heirloom quilts and hers is the only store in a multi-state area that does work on these family heirlooms, which are typically more than 75 years old.

Tucker also works on Memory quilts. These are quilts made from cloth or items that have a special memory for the customer, often comprised of clothing from a deceased loved one. “It’s interesting to do the Memory quilts. You often get to know the personality of the person they are in memory of, based on the items,” said Tucker. “

Julies Pins and Needles is now fully open for in-store business as well as website sales and is located at 18646 Main Street, Suite 10, High Springs. They can also be contacted by phone at 904-214-6633 or email at julspinsandneedles@gmail.com

Ms. Jeanne's Hair & Co.is located next door to Julie’s Pins and Needles and is a new business that opened as the restrictions eased. Located in a small standalone building facing U.S. Highway 27, Ms. Jeanne's Hair & Co. specializes in men and boys’ haircuts.

Jeanne Hodges is a licensed cosmologist and a barber of 24 years, always working for someone else. She was a barbershop manager in Brooksville when she met her husband, a sergeant in the National Guard who worked with a black hawk helicopter unit in Brooksville.

Todd Hodges was originally from High Springs and convinced Jeanne to move with him back to his hometown when he was transferred to Cecil Field in Jacksonville.

While Jeanne Hodges had always wanted to open her own shop, the opportunity never seemed right. “After we moved up here, we were having ice cream at the shop across the street during the shutdown and noticed this vacant renovated building across the street,” she said.

That building had been known for years as the Adventure Outpost, but it had closed the year before and the landlords totally renovate it.

“I had always dreamed of opening my own shop, but didn't plan on making such a decision during the pandemic, but we decided to take a chance,” said Jeanne Hodges. “When God provides an opportunity, you don't want to waste it, so we went for it.”

As it turns out, the pandemic gave them the time to turn the building into a two-chair barbershop that was ready to open as soon as the state allowed. “The regulations for opening didn't really affect our industry as far as health and sanitation, since the industry is already heavily regulated on sanitation and disinfecting between customers,” said Jeanne Hodges. “The main restrictions for us dealt with masks and social distancing.”

Other restrictions included having only one customer in the building at a time and to have 15 minutes between each customer, meaning they would work by appointment only, with no walk-ins. “This is still in place but may change as restrictions are lifted,” Hodges said.

She also said that business has picked up and she is getting repeat customers. “I feel it’s going well and it was a good decision. I finally have my own business.”

The Hodges intend to make High Springs their permanent home, and when Todd Hodges retires from a 20-year Army career, he has another career planned—he wants to become a barber.

Ms. Jeanne's Hair & Co. is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and open until 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays. On Saturday she is open 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The shop is located in downtown High Springs next to the Women's Club at 23652 U.S. Highway 27. Appointments can be made by calling 386-454-0220.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The proposed Springfield Subdivision has received approval of its preliminary plat. The High Springs Commission voted unanimously in favor of plat approval at the Sept. 10 meeting. The item was previously approved by the Planning and Zoning Board. The subdivision is located off Poe Springs Road, just west of Cinnamon Hills Subdivision.

“Water will be provided to the subdivision,” said Fire Chief Bruce Gillingham, “but sewer will not be available,” he said. There is no service line in the general area. There are feeder lines, but no service lines according to Gillingham.

“We also have an issue with the lift station size that feeds Cinnamon Hills,” he said. “Currently, it won’t support any more homes in that area outside of Cinnamon Hills.” As the City does expansions, Gillingham says “we will need to hook this subdivision into the system once we expand the sewer system out that way.”

Gillingham said that staff recommends approving the subdivision as is.

Commissioner Scott Jamison commented that his main concern had been addressed by Gillingham. “I was trying to figure out why this subdivision was being allowed to have septic rather than requiring them to hook up to sewer,” said Jamison. “Since they are not within 200 feet of the main line, we cannot ask them to connect,” he said.

Jamison moved and Commissioner Nancy Lavin seconded the motion to approve the preliminary plat and the motion was unanimously approved.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Once the pandemic arrived the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe no longer could help children in school. Many other projects and fundraisers also had to be cancelled. But that didn’t stop the club from pursuing its primary focus: young children.

It has been proven that young children learn better when they can see their teacher’s mouth as he/she speaks. The ability to see them speak helps the children with making the correct letter and word sounds and to understand what is said to them. With teachers (and others) required to wear a mask, this was a serious problem for these younger children.

Since the club had to cancel its primary fundraiser (a Murder Mystery dinner) due to the pandemic, they were short of funds for what they wanted to do.

The club was awarded a mini grant from the Florida Kiwanis Foundation to be able to purchase the masks. The Kiwanis club immediately determined the number of teachers and aides who taught Pre-K, K, 1^st and 2^nd graders in Irby Elementary and High Springs Community School.

They ordered clear masks for each of the educators. Those masks were delivered to the schools on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Both Irby Elementary Principal Tayna Floyd and High Springs Community School Principal Lynn McNeill were excited to receive them. Each of them has visited the club’s meeting to tell just how important such masks are and about the enthusiasm of the teachers who will be using them.

Kiwanis clubs around the world know that “Kids need Kiwanis.” By providing clear masks to these educators, one such need of the children has been met.

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