Local

Avoids Charter review board

HIGH SPRINGS – Several High Spring commissioners challenged the City Manager form of government during Thursday’s meeting, and discussed possible Charter changes to be placed on the November ballot.

By State law, Charter amendments must be approved by the electorate.  But this year, because of limited space on the ballot, the City is limited to two Charter amendments.

The commission intends to select what they view as the most important of commissioner-suggested changes, and those changes will then be voted on by the general public during the election.

Vice-Mayor Bob Barnas suggested a workshop on Monday, July 9, to solidify the changes suggested during the Thursday meeting.

Mayor Dean Davis said the Charter had been changed several times over the years, and High Springs is now bound by laws designed for much larger cities.

“We need to come back through the commission with everything,” Davis said. “We need a little more oversight.”

Davis, Barnas and Gestrin detailed the sections of the current Charter he or she felt were the weakest, citing Charter Section 3.04 as the crux of the issues surrounding High Springs. Commissioners Sue Weller and Scott Jamison did not recommend changes to the Charter.

“There’s been much said in e-mails, in writing, in the paper about we, the gang of three, want to change the Charter and take over power,” Barnas said. “I don’t have any desire to completely change the Charter back to the other way. What I think we’ve found is that the city manager style of government, while it works for some commissioners, absolutely fails for others because of one clause in the Charter.”

Instead of rewriting the entire Charter, Barnas said all the problems fell on one sentence in Section 3.04 about the duties of the city manager, which states the manager must keep the commission fully advised of activities related to the City, financial conditions of the City, future needs of the City and make recommendations to the commission concerning the affairs as he or she deems desirable.

While former High Springs City Attorney Thomas Depeter said the “deems desirable” refers only to the last section of the sentence, Barnas said the wording creates a loophole that allows to city manager to update commissioners only when she sees fit. Jamison suggested changing the word to “necessary.”

Barnas also suggested removing Section 2.06 concerning commission-employee relations, which states the commission is not allowed to dictate the appointment or removal of a City employee except Charter officers. It also states the commission is not allowed to directly give orders to City employees. However, after Davis expressed concerns about the deletion allowing for conflicting directions to City staff, Barnas said Section 2.06 was not as important as 3.04.

“I think what we’ve experienced – a lot of the misinformation, no information – and I think it’s from the structure of what we’ve built,” Gestrin said. “What I would want is a rewriting of the powers and the duties between the city manager and the commission. All the decisions are made, and the commission is removed from that decision.”

When the taxpayer no longer has a say in what goes on, Gestrin said, the City has lost its representation. She backs creating a stronger commission by rewriting Section 3.04 of the Charter, the section outlining the duties of the city manager.

She said the city operated with a stronger commission in the past, and everyone worked together for the good of the City.

Jamison agrees with the city manager form of government, saying he had no changes to make to the Charter –– as long as it was followed correctly.

“We’re the oversight,” Jamison said. “I think the way the system is now, the citizens have more input than they know because they elect us. It is our job to hold the city manager accountable.”

Davis recommends that each commissioner act as a liaison between the departments and the city commission, as well as approve any transaction over $1,000. He also suggested the commission be allowed to approve the hiring of City employees.

Several High Springs’ residents voiced their anger at the commission for ignoring the current Charter and skipping over a Charter requirement that changes would pass through a citizen Charter Review Board.

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Dean Davis says allegations are unjustified

In a Friday, June 22, memo to High Springs Police Department (HSPD) Chief Steve Holley, Sergeant Antoine Sheppard stated that Mayor Dean Davis commented to another High Springs employee regarding Sheppard’s vocal opposition to the changes with dispatch.

“Mayor Davis stated that I should be careful and eventually I would get in trouble if I did not shut my mouth up about the police dispatch debate,” Sheppard said in his complaint.

“If we had a different Chief of Police here, Antoine would not have a job,” continued Sheppard’s letter, recounting the suspected comments by the High Springs mayor. “Mayor Dean Davis allegedly stated that I was an embarrassment to the Chief and the City for speaking out against the city’s decision to reclaim dispatch and I had no business speaking out anyways.”

The letter continued by stating that Davis said Sheppard would be unable to find employment anywhere else as a result of the City’s actions.

During a May 15 Town Hall Meeting, two HSPD police officers expressed concerns about the safety of a city-operated dispatch. Sergeant Antoine Sheppard and Officer Dustyn Shenk felt that, after working under both the CCC and the previous High Springs dispatch service, the City should remain with the CCC.

In response to the letter by Sheppard, Davis stated in an e-mail, “This is inter-office communication. I see no reason for any action on our part. It is not a formal complaint against the mayor; it is an IOC based on hearsay.”

When questioned about the complaint, Davis said the comments were unjustified, and that Sheppard does not speak for the majority of the police officers.

Unless adequate funding is provided, the city-operated dispatch would put the lives of the officers and High Springs residents in jeopardy, Sheppard said during the Town Hall Meeting. If the City funds the project properly, he said he would welcome a local dispatch.

With a local dispatch, the police department would lose the ability to "ping" phones, automatically track a caller’s location and instantly request back-up from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. On May 22, the commission voted to bring the dispatch back to High Springs without information about how much the dispatch would cost or if it would be properly funded.

“When the lives of my fellow officers and citizens are placed in jeopardy, I will NOT remain silent, even if that causes me to lose my employment with the City of High Springs,” Sheppard’s letter stated. “I am 100 percent sure that these comments were made by Mayor Davis.”

On Tuesday, Davis said the comments were taken out of context and became a matter of “he said, she said.”

“I couldn’t fire him if I wanted to,” Davis said. “I’m not against the Police Department. Antoine is a good policeman.”

One reason commissioners were in favor of the local dispatch is that the City would not have to change street names to meet CCC regulations. Commissioner Linda Gestrin said she advocated bringing the dispatch back to the City to create autonomy, and it is a drawing point to people searching for a future hometown that High Springs has its own police department and fire department.

While the commission had approved withdrawing from the CCC and instead operating the dispatch locally, it may not be a done deal. Commissioner Scott Jamison said at a June 19 special commission meeting that he will be placing an item on the upcoming June 28 agenda to rescind the previous decision and discuss staying with the CCC.

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The celebration will be held Wednesday from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex and is expected to draw around 15,000 people.  The fireworks display will begin at 9:30 p.m. and run for about a half hour.

Adam Boukari, Alachua assistant city manager, said this year’s $20,000 budget for the celebration is the largest in the 13-year history of the event, consisting of approximately $15,000 from donations and $5,000 from vendors paying to set up booths at the event.

Boukari said that residents may park at Legacy Field at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex as they do every year, and that this year special measures will be taken to aid in a smoother flow of traffic.

Attendees will now enter Legacy Field from Peggy Road/ County Road 2054. After the event, eastbound traffic on Peggy Road will be suspended until the traffic clears, providing attendees with two full lanes of westbound traffic leaving the event.  Alachua Police Department officers will be manually operating traffic signasl to further ease the flow of traffic.

The celebration will feature four live musical acts running from 4 p.m.-9 p.m. and a free Kid’s Corner station from 3 p.m.-7 p.m.  Approximately 60 vendors will have booths at the event, with most of them offering samplings of the local fare.

The Alachua Police Department will temporarily move its command center to the basketball courts at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex to quell any disturbances and assist attendees in finding lost children.

Additional information about the event and “The Largest Small Town Fireworks Display in America” is available at the City of Alachua’s Web site at www.cityofalachua.com.

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High Springs Vice Mayor Bob Barnas reported that he tripped over the car-shaped bike rack in front of the Chamber of Commerce, calling it a hazard.

The latest move comes despite an agreement that the racks could remain on private property as long as the property owners released the city from any potential injury-related liability.

The Community Development Committee (CDC), whose volunteers installed the bike racks, refused to provide the names of volunteers, stating Barnas had no possible reason to request such information.

According to the CDC, the committee owns all of the artistic bike racks, and it would be responsible for removing the racks if the City deemed it necessary. Crafted in the likeness of Santa Fe River animals by local artist Ted Brock, the racks were purchased using a grant approved by the Community Redevelopment Agency.

CDC volunteers installed all six of Brock’s racks around town in spots determined by the High Springs’ former city planner, Christian Popoli. A seventh rack was donated to the CDC by a High Springs business, and with City approval, placed outside of the Chamber of Commerce.

It took approximately 25 residents two weeks to finish the project, just in time for Bike Florida in March 2011, an event which draws more than 700 visitors into the High Springs area. None of the bike racks were placed on the sidewalk, said Tom Hewlett, president of the Yellow-bellied Sliders Bicycle Society, during an interview in May.

In a May 17 email, Barnas claimed he was injured April 14 as a result of one of the bike racks.

“As a private citizen, I tripped over the bike rack at the Chamber building, which is on city property. I hurt my knee and wrist. It happened on April 14, just as it was getting dark,” he said in the email directed to City Manager Jeri Langman and Finance Service Director Helen McIver.

But in a March 29 email, two weeks before the injury reportedly occurred, Barnas warned the city manager that the rack was dangerous.

Just three days before the purported injury, Barnas sent another email on the matter.  He said in the April 11 email, “I think we need to refocus on things that we started, but need to finish. Bike rack in front of city hall. One gone, none replaced. Bike rack at city-owned property chamber office. I believe it is a hazard. Please consider removing it and giving back to CDC or put it in storage.”

The ongoing issue was seemingly being put to rest on May 24 when Barnas said he would prefer to compromise on the artistic racks. Raymond Ivey, the city attorney, was directed to draft a form for business owners with bicycle racks on their property to sign. The document will release the City from any liability associated with the bicycle racks if someone were to trip over a rack and then intended to sue for injury.

“There are a lot of dangerous things out on our sidewalks that people could sue us for, and if we have to worry about all of that, why have sidewalks down our streets in the city?” Hewlett said during the May 24 meeting.

After City Engineer John Morrison released a report stating the bike racks were hazardous to the public and should be removed, Hewlett offered to meet with Morrison to find a solution to the perceived problems with the bike racks located on city property.

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Tropical Storm Debby’s soaking rain swamped NE 1^st Avenue near U.S. Highway 441 in High Springs, forcing the road’s closure on Tuesday.

Although much of northern Florida and southern Georgia have experienced long-term drought conditions, Tropical Storm Beryl, which skirted the area in May and this week’s Tropical Storm Debby have left Alachua County waterlogged.

Debby’s downpour was enough to cause localized flooding in some places and even more widespread flooding in locales such as Live Oak, Fla., where much of that city’s downtown area remained under water through Wednesday.  By the evening of Tuesday, June 26, NE 1^st Avenue near U.S. Highway 441 in High Springs was underwater and forced a road closure.  One of the entrances to the Woodland Oaks neighborhood in Alachua was closed due to flooding of a nearby creek that flows into Burnett’s Lake.

The Santa Fe River, meanwhile, has seen a significant increase in volume and flow.  That’s a far cry from where it was just one month ago when record water level lows prompted an emergency meeting by Florida water experts.

But as of Wednesday evening, the Santa Fe River was continuing to rise and measured at 35.76 feet at 6 p.m.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expects river levels to continue rising.  The agency predicts the Santa Fe River near Fort White, Fla. will crest Saturday evening at 31.4 feet, categorized as a major flood stage in that area.   The river has not reached such a level in that area since Feb. 26, 1998 when it reached 32.98 feet and Sept. 16, 1964 when it reached 36.20 feet according to NOAA historical records.  The unusually active hurricane season of 2004 caused river levels near Fort White to reach 30.42 feet on Sept 12, 2004.  NOAA did not have flood stage and historical data on the Santa Fe River near High Springs at U.S. 441.

Alachua County Environmental Protection Department (EPD) Director Chris Bird said the heavy rains have triggered numerous sinkholes throughout the county.  His office is asking the general public to report sinkholes to EPD using an online reporting system available on the County’s website.

A large portion of western Alachua County, which sits above karst underground rock formations, is susceptible to sinkhole formations, especially when conditions are dry and the water table is low.  Substantial rainfalls within a short period of time weighs down and ultimately causes the topsoil and underpinning limestone to collapse, Bird explained.

The rain is likely to help bring water levels up a bit, but Bird warns that Debby’s rain won’t cure the area’s water woes.

“No one should get any false hopes that this one rain is going to solve all of our water issues,” he said, adding that the rain came at such a high volume over such a short time that he believes only a small fraction of the water is going to make it into the aquifer because most of it will evaporate or flow down the river and out to sea.

More specifically to High Springs, Bird said that just because the Santa Fe River is rising doesn’t mean the aquifer is at the same pace.

As Debby moved off the east coast of Florida Wednesday, the slow-moving storm left a soggy north central Florida in its wake.  With river levels continuing to rise into the weekend, additional flood damage is expected.

No other tropical storms appear to be looming nearby, but the National Hurricane Center is watching a tropical wave currently moving across the tropical central Atlantic.

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Nations Park, which is located on the corner of Southwest 30^th Avenue and State Road 41, will hold its first baseball tournaments this week beginning on Saturday. The tournaments will last until Thursday or Friday, founder Lou Presutti said.

He believes the weather will hold out for this week’s events and expects a smooth “soft” opening for the expected 20 teams coming to the park.

“It should be very close to being seamless,” Presutti said.

Presutti said teams from across the country will participate in the tournaments this week, bringing in an estimated 500 to 600 people to the city.

City of Newberry Mayor Bill Conrad said area residents can expect an increase in traffic to get across town while the tournaments are going on, but he said the influx of ball players may bring in some benefit to local businesses.

Local restaurants, shops and laundromats may have an increase in business this week, Conrad said.

Though the park is hosting several tournaments this summer, construction at Nations Park is not finished. The grand opening is currently scheduled for November.

Previous events planned for Saturday included a parade and city celebration, but since the grand opening is not until later in the year, the celebration has also been postponed.

Construction of the $7 million 16-field baseball complex began last March, but gopher tortoise removal, sinkhole problems and other delays kept construction behind schedule.

The project is a the product of a partnership between the city and Presutti, who founded Cooperstown Dreams Park in New York. Cooperstown Dreams Park draws crowds from around the country for youth baseball tournaments, and the hope is that a similar result will take place in Newberry.

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