Local

L-R: GFWC High Springs New Century Woman’s Club Executive Board Members Historian Vickie Cox and Trustee Carole Tate deliver 76 “Snack Packs” in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and an assortment of beautifully-decorated valentines for Ronald McDonald House to distribute to families of sick children staying in their facility while their child is being treated at Shands Hospital.

HIGH SPRINGS — GFWC High Springs New Century Woman’s Club members have been hard at work again.

This time they have taken the time to assembled 76 “Snack Packs,” which they took to the Ronald McDonald House in Gainesville. The packs were in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday earlier this month.

The bags were given to family members to take with them while visiting their children at Shands Hospital. Additional bags will be placed in the family visiting room at the hospital.

While they were at it, the group also created hand-made Valentine cards, which will be given to the Ronald McDonald House residents on Valentine’s Day.

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ALACHUA – Alachua residents will soon stand to benefit from the City’s new call center. On Aug. 6, 2019, the City solicited formal bids for companies to partner with the City to establish a Customer Service Call Receipt and Response Services (Call Center). Services would include call answering, alarm monitoring, and utility dispatching support services. The call center will also allow for development of a database of residents’ phone numbers and emails. Among other benefits, this new capability will allow the City to notify utility customers in case of power disruption.

At the Feb. 10, 2020 Alachua City Commission meeting, the City accepted and authorized a bid from Interactive Utility Communications at an approximate cost of $24,000 that will be drawn from the City's Electric Fund. The awarded bid will include a contract effective through Sept. 30, 2020. The contract will automatically renew on Oct. 1, 2020 for one of four successive years, unless the automatic renewal is canceled by either party.

The Commission also took action on an Interlocal Agreement with the City of High Springs for Building Official Services. Currently the City of High Springs does not have a building official, and had requested to utilize the services of Alachua's building official. This agreement would provide a qualified building official to handle building permitting and inspections for High Springs.

Those services would include building inspection services for permitted construction activity related to building construction, repair, remodeling, demolition, or alteration projects that are subject to the Florida Building Code. It would also provide all permit holders a record of the inspection results as required by state statute. The City of Alachua will charge High Springs $55 for each inspection as well as for other services. Although the Alachua City Commission approved the proposal, final approval is to be considered by the City of High Springs City Commission during its Feb. 13, 2020 meeting.

The Commission also approved the $155,600 purchase of an underground cable puller for the city's public services department electric division. The Hydraulic Duct Dawg is the only manufacturer of an underground cable puller., which has unique safety features including an articulated three-axis boom, which keeps the user from having to move the boom manually, and a fully wireless remote control, which keeps the operators safe from potential electrical touch during equipment operation.

The Commission also approved entering into a contract with D & M Mowing, Inc. to provide services for the Annual Powerline Tree and Vegetation Maintenance Services. While the actual cost will not be known until the work is completed, the contract states it is not to exceed $100,000.

In other business, the Commission approved a revision to the FY 2020 Compensation Plan for the position of Human Resources Manager. During the initial approval on Dec. 9, 2019, the range for the position was listed at a minimum of $69,000 and a maximum of $103,500. The correct amount should been a minimum of $59,000 and a maximum of $85,550.

One ordinance was considered for rezoning property within the McGinley Industrial Park from Alachua County Planned Unit Development (PUD) to City of Alachua Industrial General (IG). McGinley Industrial Park is located north of County Road 25A (Northwest 120^th Lane) and the CSX railroad and to the south of Northwest 128^th Lane. The developed portion of the park is comprised of 17 lots ranging in size from approximately one acre to approximately two acres, with most lots approximately one acre in size.

Under the current PUD designation, no development, redevelopment, or expansion can occur until a City Future Land Use Map (FLUM) Designation and zoning are applied to a property. Several property owners within McGinley Industrial Park have jointly submitted this application to rezone the properties to place a zoning designation on the property that is consistent with the underlying FLUM Designation. The Commission approved this ordinance on the first reading with second and final approval to be considered at the Feb. 24, 2020 commission meeting.

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HIGH SPRINGS — High Springs City Commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance on final reading to change language in the Land Development Code which would allow mobile food vendors to temporarily conduct business in allowable non-residential zoning districts.

There was a slight modification made from first to second reading of the ordinance to allow state permitted toilets to be used where flushable toilets may not be available.

Although time was allotted for a public hearing to allow for citizen comments, no one addressed the issue prior to the commission vote. The item has generated considerable controversy during previous meetings so the absence of input may have been unexpected.

One of the owners of the High Springs Brewing Company, a proponent of the change to the Land Development Code, addressed commissioners following their vote and thanked them for working together to resolve this issue.

Persons wishing to set up mobile food trucks must meet all other Land Development Code requirements and would be required to submit a site plan prior to setting up.

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NEWBERRY – The City of Newberry has gone through a lengthy process of grant applications in an attempt to obtain funding from the State to repair one of their iconic historic structures…the Little Red Schoolhouse. The structure, which was built in 1909, now serves as a museum and administrative offices for the City’s Building, Planning and Code Enforcement offices.

The building is currently suffering from structural failure due in part to the bricks having not been fired to a high enough temperature and also due to masonry and mortar wear through the years. In 2015, an architectural assessment of the interior and exterior of the building was performed. One of the findings from the assessment was that the brick and mortar joints on the exterior of the building had deteriorated to the point that water was collecting and migrating into the interior of the wall.

The City’s Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan calls for remodeling the interior and repair of the exterior. Originally, the City sought help from the State and submitted grant applications for assistance. Although the last grant application appeared to bear fruit, half of the state funding dollars that were awarded went to the Florida Panhandle to help with hurricane disaster remediation.

After three grant application attempts, the Newberry City Commission opted to have the City make the repairs and this year budgeted approximately $100,000 toward that goal. Approximately $70,000 of that money was earmarked for masonry repairs.

At the Jan. 27 City Commission meeting, City Manager Mike New reported that the City put the project out to bid as directed by the Commission and received three bids to perform the work. The low bidder was the Rose Group LLC with a bid of $38,000.

“The City has checked their references thoroughly and had received excellent reports about their work,” said New.

In addition, All Pro Masonry, a company acting as a subcontractor to the Rose Group, had also been vetted as they will be performing approximately $14,000 of the work. In a meeting with staff earlier on Jan. 27, both companies assured the City that they understood the project and were ready and able to complete it.

Although the bid amount is for $38,000, New asked for and received authorization for a not-to-exceed amount of 20 percent for overages. Due to the nature of the work, it can be difficult to assess the potential for additional brick and/or mortar damage. “We really don’t know what we’re going to find until we get into this project, and the usual 10 percent change order process may not be adequate in this case,” he said.

“Work should begin on the Little Red Schoolhouse repairs within the next 30 days and be completed in the next four months,” said New.

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ALACHUA – City of Alachua elections for mayoral and city commission seats are held on the second Tuesday in April. This year, Election Day will be on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. In the event no candidate receives a majority of votes, there will be a runoff election held on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. 

In 2019, incumbent Robert Wilford retained his Seat 2 commission seat while Mayor Gib Coerpor won his re-election in a runoff. This year, Seat 3, currently held by Dayna Miller, will be up for election. She first came to the commission on an interim basis to replace Ben Boukari, Jr., who had resigned. Subsequently, Miller won the seat in the 2017 election, garnering a three-year term, which ends this year. 

The Commission also proclaimed Jan. 27, 2020 as Alachua Lions Club Day to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Alachua chapter of the Lions Club. The Lions Club is a not for profit service organization that raises funds for five global issues and also works in the community to help those in need. The local Alachua chapter has been involved in the community for over 80 years although they were officially recognized by the organization in 1940. In recognition of their service and the upcoming anniversary, Mayor Gib Coerper read the proclamation into the record.

The Commission also authorized the city manager, chief of police and city attorney to renew the Mutual Aid Agreement with the City of Gainesville Police Department (GPD). This agreement allows each organization to provide support to the other when needed. The existing agreement between the two cities expired June 18, 2019. GPD provided Alachua with a new agreement, which the City accepted. The new agreement will continue through Jan. 2, 2023.
City staff also requested the Commission to allow updates the City of Alachua Comprehensive Plan for the Period 2019-2035. Proposed amendments to the plan include revisions to certain goals, policies and definitions. These changes would be for administration, Future Land Use, Housing, Community Facilities and Natural Groundwater Aquifer Recharge Conservation and Open Space, Recreation, Intergovernmental Coordination, Capital Improvements and Public School Facilities. These changes comply with changes in Florida Statutes since the last Evaluation and Appraisal Report-based amendments were adopted in 2013. The Commission authorized city staff to transmit the proposed Comprehensive Plan Text Amendments to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and reviewing agencies under the State Coordinated Review Process.

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ALACHUA – Students from the Bhaktivedanta Academy recently had an opportunity to show off original artwork they created as part of a two-month long project. At the Feb. 10, 2020 Alachua City Commission meeting, Mayor Gib Coerper presented certificates to 15 students at Bhaktivedanta Academy for their photographic project entitled "My Family, Friends and Me – Creative Portraits,” which is currently on display in City Hall.

Bhaktivedanta Academy is a Montessori school, which also emphasizes spiritual traditions and culture of ancient India among the Hare Krishna community. The seventh through tenth graders at Bhaktivedanta Academy study in the International Baccalaureate (IB) system, which is a worldwide program with the goal providing students with the opportunity to receive an education fit for a globalizing world.

The art project was an exploration of students finding creative ways to express themselves through photography. The students took hundreds of pictures in different genres, including landscape, still and "forced perspective" photos, and created photo essays about topics they felt strongly about. They then focused on unique ways to photograph their family, friends or self.

The creative project was a perfect match for IB schools that specifically educate students to be risk-takers and good communicators, as well as creative thinkers.

As part of the school’s visual arts program, instructor Kristina Danka developed the idea of creating unusual portrait concepts for the students to explore. The assignment was to show new ways of viewing people they knew, themselves or to create portraits of the student’s idols, mirroring other photography or art over the centuries. Other than these basic guidelines, it was up to the individual student to decide how to accomplish this.

If the student was to show a portrait of family, friends or self, they were to create a triptych of three photos showing head, hand and feet in ways that reflect the person’s personality. If it was recreating an image of an artwork or famous person, they could emulate it or create a portrait that reflected their view of the subject.

“I have found that this ‘freedom within boundaries’ methodology works very well for this age group, they get just enough guidance so that they know what they are doing and don't feel lost, but to execute the tasks they need to take their own initiative, explore new territories, and dive into creative challenges,” Danka said. “We have found that these photography exercises gave our students a great opportunity to tap into their own, often unexplored well of creative energy.

“This project was a way to get them to focus on composition, self-expression, and exploring the power of observation that enables us to find uniqueness in ordinary objects, or people we see every day instead of simply taking pictures,” said Danka.

Danka began teaching at the Bhaktivedanta Academy four years ago. She is a European-born filmmaker and academic who moved from New York to Alachua with her husband who was a screenwriting professor at NYU, and also works in Hollywood as a story analysis. She has produced over 30 award winning documentaries and videos and is the author of three books.

Most of her documentaries have been about socially conscious issues, humanitarian causes and the environment. “The first time we visited Alachua County was in 2015, when we were working on a documentary job. We immediately fell in love with the people and the climate here, and were especially impressed by the wonderful atmosphere of the Bhaktivedanta Academy in Alachua,” said Danka. She went on to explain that the next year when their daughter turned six, they decided to move to the area and enroll her in the school.

“This was supposed to be a one-year experiment for us due to concerns about being distant from family, the Florida environment and weather and moving to a rural area after years in the big city,” said Danka. “It has been four years now, and although we still do a lot of back and forth traveling between New York and Florida, we feel settled and happy here.”

Danka had taught adults at college level for over 10 years, and said she was concerned about entering a classroom full of teenagers. “But I must say, these kids are truly amazing, we get along very well,” Danka said. “Day by day, I am inspired by them and feel very privileged to be able to facilitate them opening new doors of self-discovery and witness their creativity.”

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