Local

BY JENNIFER CABRERA/Alachua Chronicle

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dance Alive National Ballet hopes to purchase a 5.5-acre parcel of land in northwest Gainesville that will eventually be the home of a new building with three dance studios, three music studios, an art gallery, a black box theater for rehearsals and rentals, and all the other miscellaneous spaces needed by a performing arts group.

Dance Alive, which makes its home in Gainesville, is the only professional ballet company in North Central Florida and has been a fixture in the world of performing arts for over 50 years. The Company has been sharing space with Pofahl Studios but has outgrown the space, and they will soon be raising money and applying for grants to build a 22,000-square-foot facility that will add to the cultural landscape of North Central Florida.

Dance Alive comprises an international roster of award-winning professional dancers who have full-time contracts and live in the local community; these dancers perform locally, nationally, and internationally and also teach at the resident school. The Company has toured 17 states, Costa Rica, Brazil, Cuba, and Russia, and it is the only arts organization in Florida to be on the State Touring Roster for 40 consecutive years. Dance Alive presents four annual mainstage productions at the Curtis M. Phillips Center, including The Nutcracker. The Company also has an outreach program for students in Alachua and Marion counties and programs to benefit veterans and persons with disabilities.

The proposed new building will include spaces for dance instruction, music instruction, rehearsals, and performances; it will also feature a physical therapy room, a kitchen, a laundry room, storage rooms, dressing rooms, and administrative offices. A large green space behind the building will be available for plein air painting, yoga and meditation classes, and other outdoor events.

Dance Alive National Ballet co-founders Kim Tuttle and Judy Skinner will continue to serve as Artistic and Administrative Directors during the transition to the new facility. Tuttle told Alachua Chronicle, “The arts are in us from childhood and as we grow, they make us better people, filled with humanity. A home for the arts celebrates this, with strength and love.”

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ALACHUA - Annually, schools throughout Alachua County select a "Teacher of the Year" to represent their respective schools.  At the May 22 Alachua City Commission meeting, the Commission honored four teachers from Alachua schools as Mayor Gib Coerper presented certificates of appreciation to Jazzlyn Harrell of Alachua Elementary School, Kimberly Young of W.W. Irby Elementary School, Natalie Watkins of A.L. Mebane Middle School, and Ellen Frattino of Santa Fe High School.  These are teachers who inspire students of all backgrounds, and who have the respect and admiration of parents and colleagues alike.

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Senator Keith Perry looks on as Governor DeSantis signs the bill | Photo courtesy Office of Governor DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on May 30 signed Senate Bill (SB) 478, sponsored by Senator Keith Perry, to convert the Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program into a permanent program available to school districts across the state. The Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Program provides assistance to school districts in implementing comprehensive music education programs in kindergarten through second grade.

“Music education has been shown to help children with language development, brain development, and fine motor skills,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Florida has nation-leading early childhood and early literacy programs, and this bill will further help schools build a strong learning foundation for our youngest students.”

The Department of Education will be responsible for administering the program. Eligible schools will receive $150 per student enrolled in a comprehensive music education program. Schools must meet the following criteria to be program eligible:

• Includes all students enrolled at the school in kindergarten through second grade.
• Is staffed by certified music educators.
• Provides music instruction for at least 30 consecutive minutes two days a week.
• Complies with class size requirements under the law.
• Complies with the Department of Education’s standards for early childhood music education programs for students in kindergarten through second grade.

The Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program was established in 2017 to assist certain school districts in implementing comprehensive music education programs in kindergarten through second grade. Pilot program schools were selected based on their proximity to the University of Florida and Florida International University. The universities were required to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program.

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NEWBERRY ‒ The City of Newberry is moving closer to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection-required Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion and development of the remaining land for an environmental park.

At the May 22 City Commission meeting, the Commission approved a large-scale Future Land Use Map Amendment that changes from Agriculture to Public 93+/- acres located on the east side of County Road 336/Southwest 266^th Street, between Southwest 18^th Road and Southwest 30^th Avenue. The development will include the municipal wastewater treatment facility expansion, an educational wetland exhibit and retention area, an Alachua County rural collection center and potential composting and small-farm meat processing facility.

The Newberry Planning and Zoning Board considered this petition on March 6 and unanimously voted to recommend approved of the petition to the Commission at that time. At the March 13 regular meeting of the City Commission, a public hearing was held to consider the request. After receiving a presentation and deliberations, the Commission approved the petition on first reading and authorized staff to transmit the petition to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity for review. The reviewing agencies responded and found no objection to the request.

The City also requested to rezone the existing cemetery, wastewater treatment facility and future environmental park from Agricultural (A) and Residential, Single-Family (RSF-2) to Public Facilities (PF) on 217 +/- acres.

The property is located on the east side of County Road 337/Southwest 266th Street, between Southwest 15th Avenue and Southwest 30th Avenue. This request aligns the existing and proposed uses of the site with the appropriate zoning districts and includes the 93 acres listed above.

The Planning and Zoning Board also considered this petition on March 6 and unanimously voted to recommend approved of the petition to the Commission at that time.

Environmental Park Master Plan

Commissioners authorized the City Manager to execute a Task Order with CHW Professional Consultants for the Newberry Environmental Park Master Plan for $220,000. Based on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Administrative Order issued in May of 2021, the Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) design is underway. The new facility is to be constructed and operational by March 1, 2026.

The new facility required the purchase of additional adjacent property for plant expansion and wastewater effluent disposal. The City purchased 96 acres adjacent to the existing wastewater plant in 2022. Any acreage not needed for the WWTP expansion is being considered for other City uses such as the relocation of the City Public Works Facility, a proposed privately-operated composting facility, which will accept vegetative waste and the biosolids from the City of Newberry.

The City is also working with Alachua County on locating a County meat processing facility, County communications tower, a joint City/County fire training facility, County solid waste rural collections center and household hazardous waste collections center.

The environmental park design effort must occur in parallel with the WWTP expansion design process to prevent delays on that project.

Funding for this project is identified in the already adopted budget and as a part of the WWTP expansion project. A portion of the funding is eligible for future grant reimbursement. Additionally, the Newberry Environmental Park Master Plan is a required element of the City land development regulations, as well as for future grant and other funding mechanisms.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Good News Arts held its 2^nd annual Paint the Night Gala fundraiser at Rustic Oaks Ranch on Saturday evening, May 20. The event helps raise funds for gallery operation, classes and children’s activities the Gallery sponsors.

Because the gallery is heavily invested in the local community and is a nonprofit venture, fundraising events help cover expenses, and the community has shown their support. The signature event is the Paint the Night Gala. The sponsors, businesses and community volunteers are what makes it a success according to gallery founder and artist Jessica Caldas.

Tickets to attend were $40 in in advance and $50 at the door and over 150 people attended. For that price, attendees were treated to dinner, an open bar and several activities and entertainment including a live DJ, violin quartet, a fire dancer, live poetry readings and a live painting exhibit. There were also gift basket giveaways and a 50-50 raffle.

Most of the activities, food and venue were donations to the event to keep cost down and add more money to the fund raiser. There was also a silent auction of work donated from over 30 artists.

The Rustic Oaks Ranch and venue provided the location free of charge, The Great Outdoors was a sponsor and provided meals free, and Mi Apa served food at cost. Golden Group's Consultants paid for the bar with additional donations from Dorn Liquors and the High Springs Brewery. Porta Serve and The Barber Group also provided funding for the event.

Good News Arts is a registered 501c3 charitable organization that serves arts and culture to the High Springs and Alachua County community in the form of exhibitions and arts programming for all ages. “The gallery is designed to be a community arts space and gallery that collaborates with artists and the community to provide contemporary arts and education that is affordable, accessible, and equitable,” Caldas said. “We want to provide a space for local, regional, and national artists to show challenging and engaging work tied to relevant contemporary issues.”

Caldas says that artists are chosen by the power of their practice and message, rather than the commercial viability of their work. The organization does not take a commission from the artists, but instead allowing the artists to keep all their sales, and also provides honorariums and stipends when possible.

Caldas said, “Outside of curated exhibitions, Good News Arts is an open space for community members to present work including musical performances, spoken word, events, and whatever else serves the community’s needs.”

The gallery partners with local schools, libraries, nonprofits, and other community organizations to broaden their impact and serve the community as thoroughly as possible. This includes classes in the various arts, many geared toward children, and after school care and summer camp focused on the arts.

“We charge a nominal fee on classes and school programs to cover costs,” said Caldas. “But none of it's for profit—it’s all about engaging the community and promoting arts.”

Helping make the 2^nd annual Paint the Night Gala fundraiser a reality, community volunteers provided staffing and the artist and musicians provided their talents as well. Gainesville Event DJ's provided music throughout the event. A high school violin quartet, Joey's Wings, named in memoriam for a fellow student who died of cancer, played classical music. The group performs to raise funds for children's cancer research.

Artist Pam Valcante performed a live painting demonstration and several people gave live poetry readings. Concluding the event, a fire dancer called 1 Girl Fire performed for the crowd.

“It was a wonderful evening with a lot of support for the gallery's mission from the community,” Caldas said. “Everyone had a fun time and we raised more than $6,000 for our programs.”

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The City of High Springs sponsored a workshop on Thursday, May 18, to ask citizens, farmers and vendors for input on the High Springs Farmers Market, 23517 N.W. 185^th Road. Approximately 35 people attended the meeting to share their ideas on ways in which the farmers market might best address the needs of the community.

Sharon Yeago, the originator of the market, was on hand along with the City’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Manager Amy Bohannon and City Manager Ashley Stathatos.

Yeago addressed ways in which farmers markets work throughout Florida and asked for input from attendees, which were then listed on various large paper sheets displayed around the room for review. Ultimately, workshop attendees identified some items they believed were important to the City and the market.

Items identified included a restriction to limit only produce grown by local farmers and gift items that were handmade exclusively by local craftspeople. Participants also requested additional advertising and signage and recruitment of more local farmers to participate in the market.

Yeago said a survey would be designed to obtain more information from the public. Surveys will be online and also in print and will be available during June and July. “We are hoping our citizens will tell us exactly what they want in their farmers market so we can make sure that the market is meeting their needs,” said Yeago. “We will be seeking out community groups, churches and organizations to let them know what we are doing and to get their input.”

A variety of ideas were suggested and every aspect of the market will be reviewed to standardize rules, requirements, hours of operation, and ways in which the Farmers Market pavilion can be used in addition to the market. Some suggestions have included featuring other types of markets, a venue for musical entertainment and a Christmas market to name a few.

Part of the challenge is finding people who used to go to market and don’t any longer. Also, locating farmers who used to be part of the market but are no longer involved would be helpful.

Yeago pointed out that the previous week there were 19 vendors at the market, but only eight were farmers. In 2005, the market was generating $250,000 in sales for its vendors, which at that time, was a growers’ only market. “One of the things we hope to determine is the amount being generated currently,” Yeago said.

The City plans to hold another public meeting in August after they have received the survey responses from the community. The results of the research, including the workshops and surveys, will then be presented to the City Commission in September.

“Any changes that the City decides to make to the Farmers Market will take effect in October, at the beginning of the next fiscal year,” Yeago said.

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