Local

NEWBERRY – Members of the City’s Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) met on Feb. 7 to consider an amendment to the Land Development Regulations to allow electronic message signage at City Hall.  Principal Planner Wendy Kinser-Maxwell presented Ordinance 2022-19/LDR 22-02 and explained how electronic signage would provide a public service through increased communication with the public about upcoming city events, meetings and emergency or safety alerts.

In her presentation, Kinser-Maxwell explained that the electronic sign, which in this case will be in the historic district, must still maintain the character of the district or structure.  Signs, electronic or otherwise, would have to be of a size and shape characteristic of the historic period of the district or property.  Graphics, fonts, colors and materials must also be characteristic of the historic period of the district or property.  

She also pointed out that signs “shall be sympathetic to the overall design of the main building.”  The frame of the sign must match the exterior building color and be similar in size, scale, mass and character of the exterior building elements.  Lighting of signs must be incandescent, unless encapsulated by a frame and plastic light panels.  Neon, animated and strobe lights are not acceptable and landscaping is required around the base of all freestanding signs.

Following discussion, HARB members unanimously agreed to recommend consideration of the proposed amendment of the text of the Land Development Regulations to the Planning and Zoning Board for their consideration.

The HARB members unanimously voted to table rescheduling the meeting that would normally fall on the July 4th holiday until such time as all the members could be in attendance to determine a date whereby all could attend.  Chair Naim Erched and Vice-Chair Gavin Johnson were not in attendance at this meeting.

In other business, planner Alayna Jackson presented examples of mid-century cultural resources within the City of Newberry.  Mid-century is usually considered to be buildings built between 1940 – 1960.  She also presented a map showing where 12 contributing mid-century structures are located in the local historic district.

Jackson said it is necessary to inventory structure in the city and determine what condition they are in.  “Newberry’s Historic Resources Survey Project is expected to receive funding from a state small matching grant,” said Jackson.  “There is potential for another local historic district with post-war period of significance.”.

The survey, when it is completed, will update the City’s information about where the historic district is actually located and what it encompasses.  

Mayor Jordan Marlowe announced a public workshop on Thursday, Feb. 10 on the Overlay District and Urban Service Area.  He said there would be large maps available and people would be able to move around the room to consider aesthetic design standards for development along the City’s two primary corridors, SR 26 and SR 45.  The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at City Hall and everyone is invited to participate.

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Cont: Workshop on Overlay District/Urban Service Area

LAKE CITY. – Repairs on the I-75 north bridge over U.S. 441 will begin Monday morning, Feb. 7 and are expected to last 30 days, weather and unforeseen circumstances permitting.

FDOT determined repairs are necessary after inspecting damaged sustained when an over height vehicle struck the bridge.

Repairs will consist of removing and replacing two exterior beams and making minor repairs to the two interior beams. Traffic will be maintained in accordance with FDOT standards.

Drivers on I-75 north can expect a continuous single-lane closure of the outside lane, and U.S. 441 north and south drivers can expect continuous, single-lane closures of the inside lanes throughout the duration of the repairs.

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ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ The Alachua County Community Remembrance Project in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative of Montgomery, Alabama, is offering three Racial Justice Essay Contests.  

Each contest is open to all students in grades ninth to twelfth at the following Alachua County High Schools:   Santa Fe High School (cosponsored by the Alachua/Newnansville Remembrance Subcommittee, the High Springs Remembrance Subcommittee, and the Monteocha-Gordon-LaCrosse Remembrance Subcommittee), Hawthorne High School (cosponsored by the Hawthorne/Waldo/Campville Remembrance Subcommittee and the Micanopy/Rochelle Subcommittee) and Newberry High School (cosponsored by the Concerned Citizens of Newberry and the Concerned Citizens of Archer).  

It is also open to home schooled students zoned for any of these schools as well as students who live in these communities but attend a school in Gainesville.

The deadline for contest submissions is Friday, April 8, at 11:59 p.m. EST.  

There will be five winners from each high school.  The first place winner will receive$2,500 in scholarship prize money.  The other winners will also receive scholarship prizes.  The total amount of prize money awarded will be $5,000 to each high school.

The purpose of these contests is to encourage students to learn the history of lynching and racial terrorism in Alachua County, and in the United States, and how that terrorism has left a legacy of racial disparities.

Students are encouraged to use local historical events and/or examples of current injustices in their essays.  They will be judged and prizes awarded by Equal Justice Initiative.  They are judged on content, not grammar.

The Alachua County Library will offer writing hours virtually to assist students in using library resources for their research and provide time to write in an organized, virtual setting.  There will be three writing sessions offered in February, March and early April.  

Students will be able to register for any or all of the times to attend a writing hour session.  

To learn more, visit EJI Racial Justice Essay Contest or truth.alachuacounty.us/EssayContest.

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LAKE CITY – Feb. 5, 2022 – It wasn’t a question “if” Tyler Nicely would win a Feature during DIRTcar UMP Modified Speedweeks, so much as it was a matter of “when.”

After some struggles at East Bay Raceway Park last week in the kickoff to the Speedweeks points championship, the 2020 Speedweeks champion and his crew regrouped earlier this week and didn’t have to wait long to see Victory Lane. Nicely pulled off a clean sweep of Saturday night at North Florida Speedway, setting fast time in Qualifying, winning his Heat Race and holding off the field on a green-and-white, checkered finish to score the win.

“I feel like we should’ve had one over there at East Bay,” said Nicely, of Owensboro, KY. “Definitely should’ve been on the podium every night I feel like, so it feels good to get the first one off our back.”

He won the race, but didn’t actually get the lead until the final laps. Outside polesitter Jason Garver swiped the lead from Nicely when the green dropped and held tight to it until Lucas Lee bested him on a Lap 7 restart. With Lee now in command of the field, Garver began to slip back into the clutches of Nicely.

The two swapped the second and third spots around a few times over the next 15 laps – Nicely using his excellent acceleration out of Turn 2 to pass Garver back after he would drive around him on the top. Several caution periods littered the second half of the race, which eventually benefitted Nicely and his choice of Hoosier Racing Tire in the end.

“We went with a little harder tire, and I feel like I got beat by that down at East Bay, so I didn’t want to try and go softer,” Nicely said. “I just needed about three laps to get going.”

Then came a turning-point restart on Lap 17, when Nicely fired-off well and maintained pace with leader Lee. With Nicely inching Lee in every lap, Lee decided to stay about a half-groove higher than the very bottom of the track, where Nicely was running. Nicely saw this and took his shot with three-to-go, getting under him out of Turn 2, drawing even with Lee’s #12 into Turn 3 and prying the spot away from him at the exit of Turn 4.

“On those restarts I’d get shuffled back, and finally we got a couple laps run and I was able to get underneath Lucas, and it was a good, clean race,” Nicely said.

“I thought as long as I could keep my speed up, [I’d be fine],” Lee said. “I didn’t think he was coming. My [signal] guy gave me a lead, and then it closed-up, and I knew I was a sitting duck.”

 But that wasn’t the end of it. Christopher Rutherford spun in Turns 3-4 just as the leaders were coming for the checkers and the caution flag was thrown. This set up an intense green-and-white, checkered finish.

“I was actually worried more about Lucas,” Nicely said of his thoughts under the yellow. “I just wanted to make sure I hung my car out enough just so he couldn’t get a run in the middle going into Turn 1 on the last lap.”

 But Nicely never flinched. He mashed the throttle on the start and sped away, opening a big gap behind him and securing the victory the next time by.

 Crossing in second was Jupiter, FL-driver Clay Harris. Sporting a brand-new Longhorn by Loenbro chassis in his first competitive night on the car, Harris put together an amazing drive from 14th to second in 25 laps.

 Before the final caution was thrown, Harris had been riding in third behind Lee. But that final restart gave him one last opportunity to pick up another spot, which he didn’t waste.

“He messed-up a little bit coming out of Turn 2 and Turn 4 on the same lap,” Harris said. “I thought I was going to pass him, and then the white flag came out, and I wasn’t even gonna try him. Then, they threw the caution, and I knew it was game time.”

New Speedweeks points leader Lucas Lee finished third after leading most of the race. Though he only lost ten points to Nicely in the standings, he said his tire choice cost him in the end.

 “It was a gamble anyway,” Lee said. “I think I found the rubber before they did, and my tire wasn’t going to be there at the end. When my [stick signals] closed-up, I knew [Nicely] had a [harder compound] on. I figured he was coming.”

 The DIRTcar UMP Modified Winternationals action continues at North Florida Speedway on Sunday, Feb. 6. Follow along on the DIRTcar Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages for all the latest updates and content.

 Winternationals Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 25-Tyler Nicely[1]; 2. 21J-Clay Harris[14]; 3. 12-Lucas Lee[3]; 4. 27-Jason Garver[2]; 5. 72-Todd Neiheiser[8]; 6. 27R-Steve Rex[17]; 7. 57-Fletcher Mason[4]; 8. 51-Brandon Green[13]; 9. 242-Brandon Bollinger[15]; 10. 91-Jamie Green[6]; 11. 117-Clinton Gillen[12]; 12. 7S-Ronnie Chance[18]; 13. 2J-Troy Johnson[9]; 14. 18-Christopher Rutherford[20]; 15. 62E-Deece Schwartz[11]; 16. S21-Seth Daniels[5]; 17. 3D-Makayla Tyrrell[16]; 18. 141-Justin Galbreath[7]; 19. 16C-John Clippinger[10]; 20. 21D-Danny Schwartz[21]; 21. 711B-Jerry Bland Jr[22]; 22. 05-Dave Wietholder[25]; 23. I 70-Kim Edington[19]; 24. 60-James McKeown[24]; 25. 12D-Wesley Duboise[23]; 26. 49-Billy Green[26]

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NEWBERRY – On a cold Feb. 7 afternoon under overcast skies, Alachua County Public school leaders, Newberry commissioners and 150 Oak View Middle School fifth graders gathered behind the school on an empty lot, The purpose was to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new 24,000-square-foot building that will include 16 classrooms and a multipurpose collaborative learning center.

The construction is among the first major projects paid for with revenues from the “Half-Cent for Schools” voter initiative that was approved by voters in 2018. The local sales tax was increased to 7 cents, which is estimated to generate $22 million annually that can be used for school infrastructure projects for 12 years. 

With the rapid growth in population as well as the aging public school buildings, the school district is expanding school facilities and updating current buildings to meet increasing need.  The initiative has already funded the new Terwilliger Elementary School and the revitalized Metcalfe Elementary, Idylwild Elementary and Howard Bishop Middle School campuses. The Terwilliger, Metcalfe and Bishop projects have already been completed, and Idylwild is nearing completion. The new building at Oak View will cost the school district an estimated $9 million.

The groundbreaking ceremony was kicked off with remarks by Oak View Principal Kelly Armstrong. She said the new building is needed because of growth occurring in Newberry and Alachua County. When she served as assistant principal at Oak View Middle School there were approximately 550 students enrolled in the school. Now the middle school has about 900. 

“The new building will help reduce overcrowding and replace some of the portable classrooms currently in use,” said. Armstrong.  “We're looking at 12 to 13 portables right now that we currently have that are full and being used every day.”

Also on hand at the groundbreaking was District Superintendent Carlee Simon who discussed the safety changes that the COVID pandemic has placed on schools and that the sales tax will also help pay for updating the school's HVAC system.

School Board member Robert Hyatt directly addressed students at the groundbreaking. “The people of Alachua County, including the people in your communities, work and continue to pay taxes to have the best facilities we can,” said Hyatt.  “Not for us, but for you, because you are worth every effort and every penny. You are our future.”

Domenic Scorpio, CEO and president of the Scorpio Corporation, discussed construction of the building that his company is overseeing.  “This is really an exciting time for us. Scorpio is a community-centered, purpose-driven construction company,” said Scorpio.  “And it's with tremendous gratitude that we're offered the opportunity to partner with the Alachua County school district to build your new home.”  Scorpio anticipates that the project will be completed by the end of November 2022.

Each of the fifth grade classes were given an opportunity to insert something from their class into a time capsule that will be buried during construction.  The time capsule is scheduled to be re-opened around the time the current students reach their mid-30s. 

A student spokesperson for each class addressed the audience and described what they were putting in the capsule. The items included a class photos, a set of multiplication tables and a pencil, a facemask with signatures, a favorite fidget, and a collage of their favorite activities including logos representing Instagram, TikTok and Minecraft. 

As time for the groundbreaking arrived, speakers were joined by school board members Mildred Russell and Leanetta McNealy as well as Dorothy Thomas, president of the Newberry PTO.  Also joining in were Newberry City Commissioners Rick Coleman, Mark Clark and Tony Mazon, along with construction supervisors. Each grabbed a shovel by a large pile of sand and turned the dirt, officially kicking off construction to the cheers and applause of the students.

“These little highlights, these little days, these little moments really are special. I enjoy it,” said Oak View Principal Armstrong.  “But the key thing is for us to always say, it's not about us, it's about the kids ... that's why we're here.”

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 HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Confusion surrounded the Jan. 27 High Springs City Commission meeting as the subject of murals was discussed. Vice President of the Heart of High Springs Olivia Medina requested the Commission consider allowing a mural of former principal Tom “Pop” Diedeman on the wall of the old school building.  A barrage of citizen comments in opposition to the request followed.

Citizen objections were not against honoring Diedeman, but instead were focused on the placement of murals on buildings in general.  Many of the speakers seemed to confuse this request with items not on the agenda or with a different agenda item, which was a special event permit application for a proposed public forum to be held on March 12 – 19 to receive public input on future murals.  

Some residents also held that the “Gateway to the Springs” mural, which they said they did not like, had been painted by the Walldogs group.  As it turned out, the Springs Institute had obtained funding from the City of High Springs and the Alachua County Tourist Development Council for the mural.  Later in the meeting it was pointed out that a local artist and the Institute were responsible for the mural’s design.

In addition to the negative reaction to painting the sides of buildings, the question arose regarding a conflict of interest on the part of Commissioner Ross Ambrose as he is a member of the board of directors of the Heart of High Springs non-profit organization.  City Attorney Andrea True Parker weighed in on the subject and pointed out that there was no benefit, financial or otherwise, to Ambrose and thus, no need for him to abstain from voting on the issue.  

Commissioner Linda Jones said that it might not be illegal, but she believed it was not “morally correct” for him to vote.  Ambrose responded, “If an issue was brought up on a commission agenda regarding the Chamber of Commerce, of which some commissioners are a member, it would not be considered a conflict of interest and I don’t see the difference.”

Comments against murals centered on several concerns, one of which was that the paintings would destroy the red brick building façade and thus the historic significance of the structure.  However, it was later pointed out that any building that had already been painted would not be adversely impacted historically by a mural or other painting.  

Other comments included an emphasis on patronizing local artists instead of bringing in outside artists, the possible destruction of the quaint atmosphere of the city, belief that 10-12 murals would be overwhelming and concern that increased economic development would bring in more traffic, which would be unmanageable.  

Speakers in favor of the request pointed out that local artists would be used to help paint the murals, but that every artist is not skilled in large-scale mural painting and some do not want to do that type of work.  Also mentioned was that there are already about 10 murals in High Springs and most people don’t even realize it so it wouldn’t be overwhelming to add to them.  

After lengthy discussion, the Commission voted to continue the item to a future meeting.

In other business, the Commission considered a request for a special event permit for a Walldogs launch in High Springs on March 12-19.  Heart of High Springs member Sharon Yeago made a presentation explaining that this would be a week-long event in which the public could participate, share their ideas and vote on what concepts and locations might be appropriate for a mural. 

Local artist Tina Corbett addressed concerns that the public had not had an opportunity to participate in the process by pointing out that two public meetings had been called prior to COVID-19 with little participation from the public.  Because of COVID, the group continued to work on the issue, but didn’t have the opportunity to include public meetings.  “The purpose of the special event is to seek input from the public,” Yeago said.

The proposed week-long program will include public events to include an introduction of the Walldogs mentoring mural program and voting for project concepts, a self-guided tour of murals already in place in the city, review by the public of the various project concepts and public voting on the mural suggestions.  The murals will have historic significance, said Yeago.

Jones said she believes the Walldogs is a distraction and that the organization will come up short financially and will ask the City for additional financing, which the City cannot afford.  

Commissioner Katherine Weitz said she would prefer a workshop to discuss the matter further.  Ambrose seconded that motion, which was unanimously approved.  A date was not set for the workshop during this meeting.

In other City Business, Parks and Recreation Director Damon Messina asked for and unanimously received approval for an addendum to the operating agreement with Anderson’s Outdoor Adventures to extend the agreement.  The original agreement was to last until Jan. 31, 2022.  The extension is the only change to the agreement and extends it until March 24, 2022, unless mutually agreed to end it sooner.  The extension will allow more time to finalize the details of the contract for Anderson’s to continue managing the Santa Fe Canoe Outpost for the City on an interim basis.

Forty-foot residential lots may be a thing of the past in High Springs. Following concern expressed by Mayor Byran Williams regarding 40-foot residential lot sizes, Commissioners asked that a higher standard be included in the Land Development Code to prevent property owners from building homes on such small lots in the future.

The City Attorney was asked to look into the issue with the City’s Land Development regulations.

A request by Commissioner Jones to amend the Rules of Procedure to add a section for commissioner response after Citizen Requests and Comments was discussed.  Commissioners voted unanimously to ask the City Attorney to bring back a resolution addressing the issue for Commission consideration.  

Assistant City Manager Bruce Gillingham said the Suwannee River Water Management District had sent funds approaching $7 million to the City for the sewer project.  He also reported that the CDBG playground project should be completed by Jan. 31.  A presentation on Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) will occur on Feb. 10 and a second presentation by a second qualified company will take place on Feb. 24, at which time he will ask the Commission to make a decision as to which company the City wants to hire.

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