Local

• Affordable Housing Advisory Committee – Two vacancies, including one member actively engaged as a not-for-profit provider of affordable housing and one member who represents employers within the County.
• Alachua County Housing Authority Board – Two vacancies, including one alternate and one tenant alternate.
• Arts Council of Alachua County – One citizen at large vacancy.
• Citizen Climate Advisory Committee – Four citizen at large vacancies.
• Citizens Disability Advisory Committee – Four citizens at large and one alternate vacancy.
• Economic Development Advisory Committee – Three vacancies, including one member actively engaged with economic development organizations, one School Board representative, and one Santa Fe College representative.
• Health Care Advisory Board – One alternate vacancy.
• Historical Commission – One citizen at large and one alternate vacancy.
• Housing Finance Authority – Three citizens at large vacancies, with one being knowledgeable in labor, finance, or commerce.
• Human Rights Board – Four vacancies, including one citizen at large, one alternate, one lending institution representative, and one residential rental manager.
• Infrastructure Surtax Oversight Board – Three vacancies, including one Alachua County resident, one alternate, and small cities (alternate) member (not Gainesville).
• Local Planning Agency – One citizen at large vacancy.
• Recreation & Open Space Advisory Committee – One citizen at large vacancy.
• Regional Transit System Advisory Board – Three vacancies, including one citizen who is one (or more) of the following: Chamber of Commerce Representative, member of the environmental community, member of the MTPO Citizen's Advisory Committee; one citizen who is one (or more) of the following: major employer in the local area, senior citizen, person with a disability; and one citizen who is one (or more) of the following: regular user of transit system, UF student, SFC student, member of a neighborhood and/or homeowners association.
• Rural Concerns Advisory Committee – Three vacancies, including one actively involved in agriculture or silviculture, one representative of the Alachua County Extension Office, and one resident residing in the Unincorporated Area Outside Urban Cluster designated in the Alachua County Comprehensive Plan.
• Tourist Development Council – One hotel owner or operator vacancy.
• Value Adjustment Board – One School Board representative vacancy.
• Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center Advisory Council – Two citizens at large vacancies.

ALACHUA ‒ The City of Alachua at its June 26 meeting unanimously approved a solar power purchase agreement paving the way for a solar farm sited in Alachua. NovaSol will design, permit, procure all materials, construction, and provide service from the solar plant at no cost to the City of Alachua. In turn, the City will purchase the output of the solar plant at a specified price and provide the interconnection between the solar plant and City distribution lines. The solar plant will be sited on City property.

City staff recommended that the Commission approve the agreement, saying that the measure will also provide three sources of savings in bulk power supply costs from the solar facility. The agreement will diversify the City's energy portfolio with solar energy as a new component, providing additional shielding to rate payers in the event natural gas or other traditional energy markets spike.

Energy costs from the bulk power supplier are related to natural gas prices, making estimates of savings in energy costs uncertain, but gas prices are expected to continue to rise as resources are limited. Additionally, it is expected that natural gas prices will increase over the 30-year life of the facility.

As demand costs are projected to increase over time as population and development continues, savings in demand costs represent a significant portion of the total savings from the solar plant. Energy costs from the solar plant are fixed, leading to savings in the latter years.

If the plant produces excess energy, it can be sold to other communities as Sale of Renewable Energy Credits. Renewable Energy Credits or RECs represent the energy generated by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind facilities. Although the rate varies annually, it is projected to add funds back into City coffers and help keep energy costs down for Alachua electric utility customers.

In other business, the Commission approved on final reading amending the City’s Land Development Regulations (LDRs) that regulate development within Alachua’s city limits. The adopted measure amends current rules relating to the use of a recreational vehicle (RV) or travel trailer and allows an RV or travel trailer as a temporary residence on a property zoned for residential use.

Also included in the approved amendment is the requirement for access to temporary power when an RV or travel trailer is being used as a temporary residence in an AG zoning district while a residential dwelling is being constructed. Additionally, the length of time that an RV or travel trailer can be used as a temporary residence during construction of a residential dwelling was increased from six months to 12 months, and also allows two extensions instead of one, for a total of 24 months.

The amendment also addressed off-street parking standards, to include designated outdoor seating areas to coincide with the minimum off-street parking required for restaurants with outdoor seating and to establish minimum parking standards for microbreweries.

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BY JENNIFER CABRERA/Alachua Chronicle

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the June 27 Alachua County Commission meeting, Commissioners Ken Cornell and Chuck Chestnut indicated that they will likely vote to stop the proposed Newberry meat processing plant at the next opportunity.

Although discussion of the plant was not on the agenda, it came up at multiple times during the meeting, including right at the beginning, during the adoption of the agenda.

Cornell said he had intended to bring up the issue during the discussion of a budget amendment for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that was moved from the consent agenda to the regular agenda as part of the motion to adopt the agenda. 

Plant is on July 10 and July 11 agendas

After the agenda passed, County Manager Michele Lieberman said that the meat processing facility is scheduled to be discussed in a joint meeting with the City of Newberry on July 10; the County Commission also has a discussion planned for their July 11 meeting. 

Chestnut said he didn’t want to wait until July 10 to get an update on the meat processing facility: “We should have an opportunity as a board to discuss what is our next move? What is going on with this? And where do we stand in terms of the funding? I think that’s important… I don’t want people to think we’re trying to hide something or do something behind the scenes. Let’s do it upfront and just get an update… Where do we go from here since the Governor vetoed the funding?”

Chair Anna Prizzia said an update is fine, “but we did already let the public know that we would be talking about this on July 10 and 11, so I think that if we really, actually want to hear from all the public that have wanted to weigh in on this, they’re expecting that we’re going to talk about this on July 10 and 11 and did not know that it was going to be brought up at this meeting. So I feel like it actually feels a little sneakier… to do this today and have an in-depth conversation on it today, when it wasn’t on an agenda.”

Chestnut said he didn’t want to vote on it; he just wanted an update. The agenda was adopted, and the meeting moved on to the General Public Comment period, during which several speakers advocated for canceling the project.

County Manager: State funds can be requested for future phases

During the agenda item on the ARPA funds, Lieberman told the Board that the Governor had vetoed the appropriation of $1.75 million in State funds for the meat processing plant and said, “Staff will pursue USDA sources of funds allocated for small-scale facilities… The Board will be considering the Draft Work Scope for soliciting a Developer/Operation P3 [Public Private Partnership] partnership; that is what is on the agenda for July 11… As I said earlier, the joint meeting with Newberry… will be on July 10 and will include the overall agreement for the Environmental Park.” Lieberman said staff hoped to have proposals back to the board in the fall and that State funding could again be requested for future phases of the project, which could include expanding refrigeration, meat hanging space, additional services to small ranchers, workforce training, and food entrepreneurs.

Cornell said he wanted to have a discussion about the facility: “Let me first say, Chair Prizzia, that you have carried this project, I think, and you have done it in, what I’m gonna say, in a very brave fashion. I appreciated your op-ed that you wrote, I didn’t necessarily agree with it all, but I know this has been a project of yours, and I know that the veto was probably a disappointment, and I know that you would like to continue this project. I heard that loud and clear.”

Cornell said he thought it was an “off-ramp” when the State budget included only $1.75 million instead of the full amount needed. When the $1.75 million allocation was vetoed, he said, “I thought to myself, this is definitely an off-ramp.” He said that the current direction to staff is to move forward with the project, and he wanted to change that direction. He read from a list of “community needs… from east Gainesville to homeless assistance to what’s going on across the street [at the City of Gainesville] to housing to re-entry to Animal Services, the GrowHub.” He said ARPA funds could also be used for the City of Gainesville’s proposed Cultural Arts Center. 

No second for Cornell’s motion to discontinue planning for the facility

Cornell made a two-part motion to approve the budget amendment that was in the original agenda item and direct staff to discontinue working on the meat processing plant, cancel the agenda item for the joint meeting with the City of Newberry on July 10 – “just this item” – and ask staff to bring back recommendations for alternative uses for the previously-allocated $2.5 million in County ARPA funds.

Prizzia agreed that she had worked on the project a long time and that she thought she and the citizens who had spoken earlier in the meeting have “a lot of the same goals in common. Working towards local meat processing is actually really critical to a lot of the issues that we’re talking about: animal cruelty, social justice, and opportunities for good workforce development, and issues around climate change and the environment.”

Prizzia said she has been accused of being underhanded, but she’s passionate about the work she does: “That’s part of what being a commissioner is, is representing the voices and the work that you believe is good and right for the community and that you were elected to do, and I ran on local food.” She described the industrial meat production system and said, “We are complicit in that system, a broken system. Just like we have a broken system of incarceration… So if we want to contribute and change the way that we are contributing to the broken system, the first step in that is having local control.”

Prizzia accused Cornell of “putting words in the mouth” of the other county commissioners, who have voted for the plant every time it has come up for a vote.

“So you keep putting words in their mouth that they want off-ramps, and maybe they do, but I think they cautiously understand that this is an important issue.” She said there is a small number of vocal community members who are against the facility and “there’s been a national vegan organization organizing against it, [but] that does not tell me that the citizens of Alachua County don’t want this.”

Prizzia said she was “frustrated” that Cornell was trying to stop the plant “at a meeting when it’s not on the agenda… just because you don’t think it’s something that we should do.”

Speaking to the public, she added, “While I know that we don’t agree on this individual project, I hope you know that we agree 100 percent on the way that our animals are treated in the animal industry and the fact that we need to eat less meat, and we need to eat better meat, and we need to be working on regenerative agriculture… I have never tried to hide anything… This project is a passion of mine, it is something that I care deeply about because it is a large part of our local food system.”

Commissioner Mary Alford wanted to wait until July 10 and “hear from the public, give the public a chance to comment… But I can’t support the motion, which I don’t believe was seconded, because I do believe that we need to give the public a chance to comment.”

Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler also did not want to make a decision before meeting with the Newberry City Commission.

Chestnut said he was with Cornell “to some degree, but I think it’s important to hear from the City of Newberry, in terms of their reactions to the veto of the funding from the Governor.”

Cornell said he had no problem waiting until July 10 but added, “I preliminarily moved forward in December; I regret that now because I think we could have spent some more time looking at other things. But I did that, so now I’m doing everything I can to change that… Hopefully we can change direction on July 10 or 11.”

Cornell made a motion to approve staff’s recommendation for the ARPA funds budget amendment, which was to move funds that had been allocated to broadband projects into the general fund; the funds will still be “cordoned off” for broadband projects, which will be discussed in July.

The motion passed unanimously.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ An outcry from several area residents about a rezoning request garnered the most citizen attention at the June 19 High Springs Plan Board meeting. Joe E. Tillman requested to rezone one acre of vacant land from Planned Development (PD) to Residential (R-1). The proposed change will permit Tillman to place a home on the property that encompasses the east 30 feet of the right-of-way of Northwest 222^nd Street.

Several area residents lodged their adamant objections to the placement of a mobile home on the site. High Springs Planning Technician Kristyn Adkins clarified that the request was for a zoning change and not for a special use permit, which would be required for a mobile home to be placed on the site.

Under High Springs codes, a special use permit is handled administratively and would not be considered by the Plan Board. If a special use permit is requested, it would be considered by the High Springs City Manager.

City Commissioner Katheryn Weitz spoke out asking if there was any way that the Plan Board could hear the request instead of the City Manager. Adkins explained that it was not possible, that it had to be approved or denied by administrative action.

Other citizens complained that a large paved driveway had already been built on the property, dirt had been moved and the area had already had sod laid. Neighbors complained that the large amount of rainfall the previous week washed dirt into the roadway and caused flooding because of the driveway project. In addition, neighbors complained that trees had been removed without a permit.

Adkins will check if permits were obtained for the driveway construction and tree removal. Adkins said the City Manager will receive minutes of the meeting and she would relay to her the objections to placing a mobile home on the property and any permit issues. Plan Board members said they felt penalties should be imposed if permits were not applied for prior to construction and tree removal.

In a unanimous vote, the Board ultimately approved the rezoning change.

In other business, the Board considered an application for approval of a Preliminary Plat for Hidden Springs Villas. The property consists of 5.6 +/- acres and is located at 22771 Railroad Avenue.

The development will include 11 two-story buildings with four attached homes in each building for a total of 44 residences. Single-car garages are planned for each residence with end residences possibly incorporating double-car garages. A retention pond is planned to be located behind the development. Kim Fischer, P.E., Cycorp Engineering, Inc., agent for Steven Fehr of PR Corporate Holdings, LLC, said the façade and landscaping will vary so the buildings won’t just look like “slabs.”  

The Board questioned if the development would be considered affordable housing units, to which Fischer responded, saying not in the technical sense but would be considered “more attainable” housing. Plan Board members voted unanimously to approve the application in roll call vote.

In other business, Board members considered a minor site plan for a pole barn to be located at Sweet Meats Butcher Shop, 18172 U.S. Highway 441. The property, which is currently under construction, consists of 1.8 +/- acres and is owned by Robert Gay, President, BCE Supply Chain Enterprises, Inc.

Gay was on hand and explained that the pole barn would be located behind the building and would be used for barbecue classes, competition, special events and a wild game dinner later this year. The site plan was unanimously approved.

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HIGH SPRINGS – The iconic Priest Theatre appears to have been saved from the chopping block as the City of High has been allocated $1,040,450 in state funding from the 2023 Legislative Session. City Manager Ashley Stathatos at the June 22 High Springs City Commission meeting announced that the City is in line to receive funding from the Division of Historical Resources through a legislative local funding initiative request. The application was submitted by the City in March of this year and the funds are earmarked for the acquisition, restoration and preservation of the historic Priest Theatre.

Although there are a number of steps in the process before the City receives the funding, the City is poised to map out plans to bring the landmark 1910-era building up to code so the structure can be used as a community asset for educational, arts and cultural functions.

The Priest Theatre is located at 18575 N.W. 237^th Street and situated in downtown High Springs adjacent to the historic Main Street District, the downtown Railway Avenue Greenway and the adjacent cluster of historic buildings of that era.

In other business, an application for a zoning change from Planned Development (PD) to Residential (R-1) on approximately one acre was requested by Joe Tillman and approved on first reading. This property is located next to Bridlewood along Northwest 222nd Street. The property was originally zoned R-1, then it became a part of the Tillman PD. Now, the property owner is requesting that the parcel go back to R-1. Staff recommended approval of the zoning change.

This matter was heard by the City’s Plan Board on June 19, with several citizens expressing concern that a mobile home should not be allowed to be placed on the property as it would be inconsistent with surrounding residential properties.

Another concern was the placement of a driveway, which resulted in flooding in the area.

At the Plan Board meeting, High Springs Planning Technician Kristyn Adkins explained that the request was for a zoning change and not for a special use permit, which would be required in order to allow a mobile home to be placed on the site.

At the City Commission meeting, Tillman responded to concerns brought up at the Plan Board meeting. He said the driveway was not his, but belonged to another family member. He also said that the mobile home would be placed on the property temporarily for a period of three to five years while a permanent home was being built. He listed a couple of other locations where mobile homes were located in the vicinity.

City Manager Stathatos said that because Tillman was a City employee (High Springs police officer), she was going to ask one of the City’s planning consultants to hear the request for a special use permit to determine whether a mobile home was appropriate for the site.

As the application was for a zoning change only, Commissioners unanimously approved the application.

Finance Director Diane Wilson requested and received permission from the Commission to surplus four pieces of equipment that are no longer useful to the City’s Public Works Department. The equipment includes a 2009 Outback Brush Cutter that does work but needs a battery, a working Miller Bobcat Welder, a 2000 Roscoe Vibrastat III Roller that doesn’t run and a working 1990 Sullair Tri-mounted Air Compressor with 6275 hours.

Staff recommended surplusing the mower and selling it through competitive bid on GovDeals.com. “These items were purchased with General Fund money and the revenue from selling them will be returned to the General Fund,” said Wilson.

In other business, Commissioner Katherine Weitz suggested that notification of property changes be extended past the current 300-foot notification boundary. Stathatos said that could be considered when changes to the Land Development Code are reviewed.

High Springs will hold their next City Commission meeting at 6:30 p.m., July 13 and a Strategic Planning Workshop at 5:30 p.m. on July 20.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The High Springs Chamber of Commerce welcomed a new business to the area June 24. On Saturday morning, Harbor Acupuncture and Natural Medicine opened its doors at 23335 N.W. County Road 236 offering acupuncture and natural medicine alternative treatments. In addition, the facility will offer Cupping Therapy, Herbal Formulas and B-12 injections. While acupuncture is mainly used to treat pain, cupping is used for a wide variety of ailments including digestion, blood pressure, nasal issues, anemia and menstrual cramps.

Acupuncture is a technique in which practitioners insert fine needles into the skin to treat health problems. The needles may be manipulated manually or stimulated with small electrical currents (electroacupuncture). Acupuncture has been in use in some form for at least 2,500 years, and according to the World Health Organization, acupuncture is used in 103 of 129 countries that reported data.

Owner of the new business and acupuncturist Aaron Stephan had a history of pain and medical issues, but found little relief or solutions from standard western medical practices. “My doctors and I tried different treatments and diagnosis, but kept reaching dead ends.” Stephan decided to try alternative treatments while attending South West Florida College.

After getting his Associates Degree, Stephan pursued a career to help others with medical issues through the same methods that had worked for him, and he enrolled in Dragon Rises College in Gainesville.

“After graduation, I began thinking of opening my own practice,” said Stephan. “After a lot of work and planning, that dream is now a reality.” Stephan now has a new goal of helping those in the community with the natural medicine treatments.

Research has shown that acupuncture may be helpful for several pain conditions, including back or neck pain, knee pain associated with osteoarthritis, and postoperative pain. It may also help relieve joint pain associated with the use of aromatase inhibitors, which are drugs used in people with breast cancer.

Vitamin B12 is not a naturally occurring nutrient in plant-based foods. Vegans and vegetarians are at an increased risk of developing deficiency disorders if they don’t complement their dietary routine with vitamin B12 supplements. This vitamin is important for synthesizing blood cells and ensuring optimal health of nerve cells and is important for DNA synthesis, creating new red blood cells, protein and fat metabolism and neurological/brain functions

Herbal medicine makes use of medicinal plants for treatment of a wide variety of ailments and chronic medical conditions. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the population of some Asian and African countries presently use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. Although associated with traditional Chinese medicine practices, use of herbal medicine dates much farther back, with written formulas at least 5,000 years and some evidence of use up to 60,000 years.

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