Local

At the request of Florida Northern Rail Road, this railroad crossing at NW 2^nd Avenue in Newberry is being considered for closure.

At the Newberry City Commission meeting on Sept. 24, the safety manager for the rail company, Matt Schwerin, laid out some troubling statistics. Last year, Florida was 15^th in the nation for highway and rail-grade crossing collisions, and 12^th in the nation for fatal collisions.

Because the trains that pass through this area move at just 10 miles per hour, the concern is that motorists overestimate the safety of the situation and race to beat the slow-moving train. And because NW 2^nd is known as a “passive crossing,” where no lights, gates or bells exist and most train collisions occur around 30 miles per hour, the railroad views the NW 2^nd crossing as serious threat.

From the perspective of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the main concerns are safety, the ability to use the alternate routes in a timely fashion and the impact on emergency rescue, said Janice Bordelon, rail specialist with the department.  The application from the railroad company showed an average of 186 trips per day on NW 2^nd Avenue. An FDOT timing study found that with the proposed closure, shifting that traffic to the NW 1^st Avenue crossing still produces a suitable timeframe for motorists to cross the tracks.

FDOT officials say they are still in the information gathering process and will continue communicating with local law enforcement and city fire services to assess the impacts of the closure.  Those findings are to be incorporated into a final analysis for the commission.

The FDOT will also supply pictures of other closed railroad crossings that have been improved with aesthetic landscaping, which includes trees and bushes to camouflage the industrial rail line and appropriate signage.

The road improvements projects that are taking place in Newberry influenced the proposal to close the railroad crossing in conjunction with other rail crossing improvements and a large-scale sidewalk project.  Still, the proposal to close the NW 2^nd Avenue railroad crossing brought confusion and concern among some Newberry commissioners.

They were specifically concerned with whether or not the emergency services were accurately informed, as well as the impact on the school buses and churchgoers who may use NW 2^nd Avenue and will have to deal with the uptick in traffic at NW 1^st Avenue.

The discussions about the NW 2^nd Avenue crossing sparked major concern among some commissioners about habits of some motorists to go around the crossing gate on SW 15^th Avenue. Although illegal, motorists apparently do so because the crossing gates at that location reportedly stay down for several minutes, even after the train passes through.  Additionally, children being released from the nearby schools often go around the crossing gates, and cars follow suit, Newberry commissioners say. Rail company officials at the meeting were alarmed to hear about the practice and promised future action to curtail it.

FDOT and Florida Northern Railroad will be back in front of the commission to propose alternatives and improvements for Newberry’s railroad crossings in greater detail, said City Manager Keith Ashby.

The City will advertise about future hearings to alert residents who may wish to address the issues surrounding the proposed closure of the NW 2^nd Avenue crossing.

The City expects to hear about the traffic impacts in greater detail as well as changes to church and school routes, said Lowell Garrett, city planner. Also expected is an analysis on the impact of the additional traffic on NW 1^st Avenue and whether there are further improvements needed at that crossing as a result of the additional traffic that is likely.

The other crossing improvements underway may include additional safety features, but they will have no immediate cost to the City.  The City may, however, be required to take on maintenance of the improvements in the future.

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cgrinstead@alachuatoday.com

ALACHUA – Motorists who travel Interstate 75 between Alachua and Gainesville may want to make alternate plans next week, as a portion of Interstate 75 will be closed Tuesday.

According to Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) spokeswoman Gina Busscher, the Alachua/High Springs off-ramp, Exit 399, will be closed because a crew will be working in the area.

A sinkhole that was recently discovered near the exit has been sealed, but there is additional work to be done.

Busscher said survey crews will be drilling to investigate how far down the sinkhole goes. Officials aren’t sure how long the drilling will take, and Busscher said it depends on what is found.

“They’ll push a hole through the ground and see how far they go before they hit rock,” she said. “That tells where the void around the ground fills.”

Busscher estimated the exit would be closed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

She said if traffic starts to back up, officials will do what they can to release the traffic.

Busscher recommends that residents who usually use Exit 399 take Exit 404 at County Road 236, which is five miles north, or Exit 390 at 39th Avenue to US Highway 441.

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Due to lack of agreement among commissioners and input from residents, the wording changed often enough that Mayor Dean Davis called for four 10- to 15-minute breaks to allow City Attorney Ray Ivey to change the wording and bring the updated resolution back to the commission for review.

This was done despite the fact that Ivey, who was scheduled to resign from his post the following day, brought with him three different versions of Resolution 2012-R(A)1, which he said he wrote based on comments from different commissioners as to their reasons for Langman’s termination.

Confusion ensued as commissioners sorted out the three separate resolutions, with Ivey’s help, trying to decide which was the most appropriate.

Time and again, when commission agreement on wording seemed to have been reached and Ivey updated the resolution, commissioners altered it again, sending Ivey back to the drawing board for further updates.

Following suggestions by audience member John Glanzer, who previously served as the mayor of the City of Newberry as well as the interim city manager of the City of Archer, that commissioners consider wording indicating Langman was removed without cause, the Commission voted to list that “the city experienced a change in direction of goals in management.”

Glanzer suggested the change in wording would allow Langman to apply for unemployment compensation, and also help heal the split that naturally occurs when residents support either the city manager’s or Commission’s point of view.

The fifth and final alteration to the resolution occurred when City Clerk Jenny Parham pointed out that the commission was amending a resolution, requiring that the resolution be referred to as Resolution 2012-R(A) instead of 2012-R(A)1.

The final resolution was passed by a 3-2 vote with Mayor Dean Davis, Vice Mayor Bob Barnas and Commissioner Linda Gestrin voting in favor and Commissioners Sue Weller and Scott Jamison dissenting.

Earlier in the meeting Weller suggested the resolution should be handled at a regular city commission meeting and not at special commission meeting scheduled for discussion of the City’s annual budget.

Jamison objected to the whole procedure stating he believed there was “enough blame to go around.”

According to Section 3.03 of the city charter, on which the resolution was based, Langman, as a charter officer, “must accept the offer of a public hearing or file a written response within ten (10) days of the adoption of the preliminary resolution or the resolution becomes final at the expiration of this ten-day period” and she is terminated on that date.

Langman has not commented publicly during the proceedings.  However, in a letter received by commissioners at a Sept. 24, 2012 special commission meeting, Langman requested a copy of any documents, “declarations or public notices of the change in goals and direction of the city of High Springs” as indicated in Resolution 2012-R(A).

Vice-Mayor Bob Barnas indicated his intention to contact Langman’s attorney personally as the letter indicated a copy of the letter had also been sent to her attorney.

No other action was taken during the meeting to address the request.

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Email Cwalker@alachuatoday.com

HIGH SPRINGS – The legality of a resolution approved Monday night, Sept. 17 by the High Springs City Commission that gave High Springs City Manager Jeri Langman 10 days notice of the commission’s intent to terminate her employment has been called into question. The termination notice was made only days after Langman was suspended with pay during the Sept. 13, 2012 special city commission meeting.

Resolution 2012-R was approved in a 3-2 vote with Commissioners Sue Weller and Scott Jamison dissenting.  Approving the measure were Mayor Dean Davis, Vice Mayor Bob Barnas and Commissioner Linda Gestrin. Jamison and Weller objected to the timing of the action, and requested that the item be voted on during a regular commission meeting instead of during the Sept. 17 meeting.

The Sept. 17 meeting agenda listed “Discuss and Consider Options Regarding the City Manager Position” and made no mention of a pre-termination resolution.  Jamison stated he didn’t think residents were properly notified of the action by the way the item was listed on the agenda.

Mayor Dean Davis disagreed citing this method as the method used with previous city manager terminations and said he had checked with City Clerk Jenny Parham prior to setting the agenda item to make sure it was properly listed. 

Also hotly discussed was Section 3.03 of the High Springs Charter which states that to remove a charter officer, “the Commission shall adopt a preliminary resolution stating reasons for the intended removal…”  No reasons were listed in the proposed resolution.

Previous High Springs City Attorney Thomas DePeter, who wrote an earlier resolution, which current City Attorney Raymond Ivey used to create Resolution 2012-R, said he had emphasized the need for reasons with an earlier commission under a particular set of circumstances, but stated that requirement may or may not apply in this situation. 

Weller requested they wait to obtain an opinion from Ivey, but Barnas read an email into the record, which he stated was from City Attorney Ivey, in which Ivey indicated the resolution was complete as written. 

Weller also suggested it would be difficult for anyone to defend themselves in a public hearing if the reasons for termination were not listed.  The resolution ultimately passed without listing reasons for Langman’s termination.

However, local attorney Linda Chapman, called the resolution into question in a telephone conversation, followed up in a Sept. 18 letter to Ivey.  In the letter Chapman stated the resolution “contains no reasons for Ms. Langman’s suspension or termination of her employment.  Therefore Ms. Langman is still the City Manager, and is on paid administrative leave, not suspension, since, once again she cannot be suspended or terminated without a proper resolution.”

Chapman cited the High Springs City Charter in her letter, which states that in order to remove a charter officer, the commission shall adopt a preliminary resolution stating reasons for the intended removal and shall offer the charter officer an opportunity for a public hearing before the commission on the matters raised by the resolution. The preliminary resolution may also suspend the charter officer from duty immediately with pay.

Chapman claims that due process was not observed and denying Langman proper notice and a hearing is a violation of her rights under the state and federal constitutions.

Chapman continued that according to City Charter, if the Commission wishes to move forward with Langman’s termination, the Commission would need to put it on an agenda for a regular city commission meeting and issue a new resolution stating the reasons for her suspension/removal from office.

High Springs has scheduled a special city commission meeting for Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, at 6:30 p.m.  As of Wednesday, Sept. 19, related agenda topics include discussion and consideration of city manager position duties and delegation of city manager duties.  A new resolution is not listed.

In the short term, Parham was asked to be the “go-between” between the commission and the employees until an interim city manager could be found.  She agreed to do so, but has repeatedly stated her desire not to serve as interim city manager.

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LaCrosse church celebrates 106th year

Celebrating the 106^th Anniversary of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in LaCrosse, Rev. Jerome Able spreads the good word to parishioners attending a recent Wednesday evening Bible Study.

LACROSSE – It started with a half-acre of land.

In 1903, W.S. Roberts donated a plot of land to the members of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. The church opened its doors three years later in 1906.

More than a century later, St. Paul Missionary is still thriving.

The church observed its 106^th anniversary in a celebratory service Sunday. The service theme was “Standing on the Promises of God.”

“Hallelujah” and “Thank you Jesus” echoed through the crowd as St. Paul members gave thanks for the church’s endurance. An organ played lively music that filled the building, and the church’s choir led the congregation in songs of praise.

The church spent time honoring its oldest member, Mary Dell. Dell, 94, first attended St. Paul when she was 12 years old. She’s still a member 83 years later, although she no longer attends due to health issues.

“She may not be here physically, but she is here.” church member Shirley Washington said of Dell.

Church mother Annie Madison has been a member at St. Paul since 1950. She said her parents, sons, grandchildren and brother have all attended St. Paul at some point. She estimated attendance for the anniversary service to be between 50 and 60 people.

“We were expecting a large crowd, and we think we got what we expected,” she said. “It was well attended.”

Madison said she values St. Paul because of her history there.

“When I go to church, I can look over and see where my dad used to sit and almost see him sitting there,” she said.

St. Paul also dedicated a section of the program to retelling the church’s history. Like Mary Dell and Annie Madison, many church members have attended all their lives.

The church has had 11 pastors during its 106 years, and in 1906 the church counted 32 members. During those years, dues ranged from 5 to 25 cents.

By 1945, the church had nudged its congregation up to 43 members, and the dues were 25 to 50 cents. Between 1945 and 1950, the church experienced a boom in membership, and it soon had 157 members.

Between 1950 and 1959, the growing congregation chose to build a new church. Members worked toward making renovations and improvements for the next several years.

Over the next 40 years, the church purchased new furniture, added a fellowship hall, P.A. system, new lights and replaced the roof of the fellowship hall.  For a period of several years, between 2009 and 2011, the church was without a pastor.  The Rev. Jerome Able was appointed on Sept. 16, 2011.

“He and his wife are very strong leaders,” Madison said about the Ables. “We call them godsends.”

In the past year, the church has appointed two church mothers, two Sunday School teachers and a youth minister. Madison said St. Paul currently has between 20 and 30 members.

She said the church hopes to grow again and reach the numbers it once had, but it’s harder to have large numbers in a small community.

“We want to think positive,” she said. “We’d like to see it where it is a few years ago.”

Madison said the church’s size brings everyone closer together.

“When you have a small setting, it’s more like a family,” she said. “If the pastor doesn’t see you on Sunday, you know you were missed.”

Madison said that’s something that doesn’t happen often in megachurches.

Deacon Joel Allen has been at St. Paul for nearly his entire life. He said he was baptized into the church at 8 years old. Allen has been a St. Paul deacon for 27 years.

“We’ve had pastors that have come and gone,” he said. “What draws people here is we’re all about winning souls for the Lord.”

Allen said the church’s openness is a part of the reason it’s done well.

“This church has been on a solid foundation for 106 years,” he said. “We’re open to everybody. Come on in and praise the Lord.”

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NEWBERRY – Adopting a city budget often creates political tension as elected leaders aim to shore up funding for some departments and projects while cutting others.  This year in Newberry, that debate appears to center on how the tax burden should be distributed. 

At issue seems to be a concern by some that the City of Newberry’s electric utility customers are shouldering disproportionately more of the cost of the City’s expenditures than other property owners.

Commissioner Alena Lawson, however, says ultimately everyone pays in, even if they aren’t a City of Newberry electric customer and therefore, the way the City is funded is indeed fair.

Mayor Bill Conrad adamantly disagrees with Lawson’s assessment, noting that property tax is paid by all property owners and goes into the general fund to benefit all residents. Utility payments, on the other hand, go into a special account designated for the upkeep of the City’s utilities.

The point of contention for Conrad comes as the City transfers money from the utility fund into the City’s general fund to pay for services, much of which he says is unrelated to the delivery of the utility services.  With only about half of Newberry’s population connected into the City-owned electric utility, Conrad argues that not everyone is fairly contributing to the operation of the City.

What’s more, Conrad says, is that the more money transferred from the utility, the higher the rates paid by the City’s utility customers.  In 2008, the City transferred $900,000 out of utilities and into its general fund.  Annual transfers like that create higher rates for utility customers, Conrad argues, pointing out that in that year, the City-owned electric rates were 17 cents a kilowatt hour as compared to just 11 cents per kilowatt hour for an electric utility cooperative that also operates within the city limits of Newberry.

In Conrad’s view, the bottom line is that customers of the City-owned utility are strapped with higher financial burden to run the City than others whose contribution to fund the City comes only in the form of property taxes.

“The people who really get hurt by this are the low-income people who live in houses that aren’t well insulated. They burn a lot of electricity. They pay $500 to $600 a month in utility bills, and they should be paying a third less than that,” said Conrad.

He believes that if residents understood how the utilities contribute to the general fund, they would be clamoring to City Hall asking why they have to support the City.

Making matters worse, Conrad says, is that elected officials aim to keep property taxes low, all the while increasing City spending.  That increased spending ultimately has to be paid for by someone, and Conrad contends that it’s usually the City’s utility customer who is left holding the bag.

The half of property owners who don’t buy their utilities from the City are getting a free ride, he said, adding “There are a lot of people who think that is wrong, and I’m one of them.” Conrad is fine with a limited transfer from utilities into the City’s general fund.  He calls for around five percent as a reasonable number, but as to the 14 percent transfer anticipated in the coming fiscal year, he simply says, “I think that’s ridiculous.”

“Most people don’t know what’s going on. Most of the rate-payers don’t know they are getting hosed,” Conrad said.

Chemist Jim Stainfield does know what’s going on with the utility funds. “City utility rate payers are paying higher utilities and don’t understand where the funds are going. And what I find really offensive is, at this last budget meeting… [commissioners] added $150,000 worth of spending, which means they will have to take more out of the utility [fund] to cover it. It’s stupid.”

“Our millage rate would be much, much higher if the City was pulling from tax funds for all the budgetary needs, but the utility fund has been treated like a reserve to balance them out,” Stainfield said.

And because Florida utility providers may only supply service within a specified geographic region, customers on the City-owned utility don’t have the option of switching to the lower-cost cooperative, he said.  In Stainfield’s view, if the burden of the budget were properly distributed, there would be a higher, equal millage rate across the board.

Although Stainfield and Conrad share similar views on the use of utility fund transfers, not everyone agrees.  Commissioner Alena Lawson, in fact, says, “We have been very prudent in how we manage the taxpayers’ money.”

And Lawson said customers of the City-owned electric utility are not up in arms about transfers, adding that the profits of the utilities are being used to conduct the business of the City.

“I don’t have a problem with the transfer,” Lawson said. She doesn’t see the difference between paying a utility rate that go towards the entire City’s upkeep and paying taxes for unused services. She pays taxes for schools her now-grown children don’t attend. “That’s how you make things work.”

Moreover, Lawson notes that while customers of the electric co-operative don’t pay into the City’s electric fund, they do indeed pay into the City’s general fund by way of franchise fees and taxes collected and paid by their service provider. 

Lawson said she doesn’t agree with the argument that only customers of the City-owned utility are funding the City’s operation because, no matter who the utility provider is, funds from those utility bills ultimately make it into the City’s coffers.

To make her case, Lawson points out that the fire department has an unsustainable budget without a transfer of utility revenue to the City’s general fund. Some do want to get rid of the transfer that ultimately supports the fire department, she says, adding that in this case, a majority “doesn’t mind” taking the funds from the utility fund for a service it cherishes.

“We have certain standards in the City of Newberry,” Lawson said. “It relates to our response: our response is to the needs and the requests of the citizens. They expect that.”

After the string of hurricanes seven years ago, “the utility department responded admirably,” she said. “The citizens were telling us, ‘We love our utility department.’”

The millage rate – the amount per $1,000 that is used to calculate taxes on properties – has been rolled back from 3.85 to 3.8084.  “We have been good stewards,” Lawson said, “And I am proud of what we’ve accomplished in Newberry.”

Others, like Conrad and Stainfield, say that property tax reduction was only possible because of transfers from the City-owned electric utility.

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