ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ Just after 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20, fire departments from High Springs, LaCrosse and Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to a residential structure fire in the 15000 block of Northwest 193^rd Street between Alachua and High Springs in unincorporated Alachua County.

While en route to the fire, firefighters reported heavy black smoke visible from U.S. Highway 441. The first arriving fire engine found a single-family wood frame structure fully involved with fire. All occupants were out of the structure. The fire was contained to the building of origin which was a total loss. Several vehicles were also destroyed. There were no injuries.

Wind gusts up to 15 mph caused small spot fires to ignite on the ground and trees nearby. These small fires were quickly brought under control.

American Red Cross was contacted to assist the family. The Alachua County Fire Marshall was requested to help determine the cause.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The High Springs City Commission on Feb. 9 approved nine mural applications. At the City Commission meeting, High Springs Planning Tech Kristy Adkins explained the location of each property, location of the intended mural on each building and showed renderings of the type of art that would be included in each mural.

The Historic Preservation Board reviewed each of the applications and voted to recommend approval to the City Commission with the specification that each one was to meet the size requirements specified in the City’s ordinance.

All of the applications were approved with varying votes and added caveats. The first mural will be located at 18555 Main Street and will feature train(s).

The second mural will be located at 23560 N.W. 185^th Road, Suite 30 and will feature the old speedway, which several people were not aware had been a part of early High Springs.

The third mural will be located at 18487 Main Street and will feature diver(s). This application received unanimous approval with the caveat that the mural be painted on a panel and installed at a later time. The issue was that the City lists the property as residential, although the County Appraiser lists it as commercial. The property has been used as commercial as far back as anyone can recall and was the old post office in years gone by.

Stathatos said the City plans to correct the zoning to match the Future Land Use Map sometime this year. When that has been accomplished, the panel will be installed on the building.

The fourth mural will be located at 19064 N.W. U.S. Highway 441 and will feature the agricultural aspects of the City – primarily the tobacco crops that used to be grown by most farmers. Commissioner Byran Williams suggested the barn featured in the mural photo be changed to a tobacco barn.

Commissioner Katherine Weitz made a motion to remove the words on the mural which read, “Agricultural Roots.” The motion died for lack of a second. Another motion was made to approve the mural application which was approved 4 – 1, with Weitz casting the dissenting vote.

The fifth mural application was for property located at 18564 N.W. 238^th Street. This mural featured the Santa Fe River and was approved with the caveat that the mural be reduced in size to meet the ordinance requirements.

Mural #6 will be located at 18767 Main Street and will feature Old Bellamy Road. It was pointed out that this road is the oldest road in Florida and should be included in a mural.

The next mural will be featured on the Duke Energy building located at 23074 N.W. 186^th Avenue and will feature Florida cowboys. The mural depicted a cowboy on a horse with a whip in his hand, which was used to move cattle along. Commissioner Weitz thought the whip should be removed, but the mural was approved without that modification.

The eighth mural will be located at 18559 N.W. 237^th Street on the Prohibition Pizza building next door to the Priest Theater and will feature the theater. The owner was on hand and made a couple of suggestions for additions.

The ninth mural will be located at 18578 N.W. 237^th Street and will feature the Timucuans Indigenous People. This application garnered the most discussion. Commissioner Byran Williams said he was very disappointed that African Americans were not featured on any of the murals yet they had made major contributions to the area. “There was not enough dialogue with the African American community,” said Williams.

Heart of High Springs President Nancy Lavin said they were not able to obtain photos of Lily Springs, the location where African Americans were allowed to swim during segregation, or several other historical documents they wanted to find. She said that the group wanted to put murals of Essie Gassett and Tom Deedeman up, but the City refused to allow them to be installed on the City-owned buildings they felt would be most appropriate for them.

She said their murals were going to be painted on panels until the group could find a good location to install them. She said also that it would take some time to get permission to use the Community School building previously suggested by Weitz and, said Lavin, they were all volunteers and didn’t have enough time to get School Board permission. Commissioner Williams said that Catherine Taylor would have made a good subject for a mural.

Following discussion, the mural application was unanimously approved.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Transitioning from law enforcement to God’s work was a natural progression for Adam Joy. Working as a High Springs police officer and school resource officer was his career, but Joy’s heart was always with the church, and he diligently pursued his dream of becoming a pastor. He became a Licensed Minister in 2007 and an Ordained Elder in 2012. In April 2017, he resigned from the police force and founded the Deeper Purpose Community Church. Furthering his spiritual instruction, in December 2018 he graduated from the Church of God by Faith Theological Institute of Jacksonville.

Joy’s goal was to create an all-inclusive church open to everyone. “Our Mission is to be a church seeking the unchurched, in a casual, friendly and non-judgmental atmosphere,” said Joy. “More than that, we want to be a community church for the entire community, not just our members.”

The church started with a congregation of families that sought to provide charitable services to the community. The congregation provided meals and conducted food and clothing drives for those in need. The church also started an annual community Easter egg hunt and an annual carnival, as well as events supporting first responders.

As the church grew, so too did its goals. Based on Joy's time as a school resource officer, the church developed youth services to help troubled teens and give them a safe environment for activities. They offered youth church services as well as creating a school for children from pre-k to high school and after-school care for children of working parents.

By 2020 the congregation had outgrown their rented facilities and they began to look for land of their own to build the Deeper Purpose Community Complex, which would house the church and a number of new programs. The complex would accommodate the Deeper Purpose Christian Academy as well as a community and outreach center, a commercial kitchen, a youth center and student ministries.

It was a big dream, and in April 2022, the church launched Part 1 of a Building Purpose Campaign asking 100 individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to donate $1,000 in 100 days. They received enough money to purchase nearly 14 acres fronting U.S. Highway 441 between High Springs and Alachua and to clear two-thirds of the property, leaving the remainder in trees for a natural recreation area.

Now the church is focusing on another fund-raising campaign, this time for a new school. “We originally planned to do it all at once,” said Joy. “We have decided that our priority and one of the greatest needs right now in our community is a new school.” Joy says the school will be Phase 1 of a continuing plan and he hopes it will be completed by 2025. In the meantime, Joy hopes to put modular portable classrooms on the property by August for the start of the new school year.

A permanent 10,000 square-foot building will house all ages of students. Joy says they also plan on a 5,000 to 7,000 square-foot pole barn for children’s activities, after schoolers, summer camp, and community events.

Part 2 of the church’s building project, is a $300,000 capital campaign, of which $90,000 Joy says has already been pledged.

“We are not putting a deadline on it at this time,” said Joy. “We are committed and dedicated to the families and children in our community here, and this will happen, but only with the support of the community.”

He said that anyone interested can contact him at 386-454-5300 or 352-474-9040, or by email at deeperpurposecc@yahoo.com.

Joy added that no donation is too small, saying “God doesn’t look at the amount, just the heart.”

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Gainesville, FL — The City of Gainesville was awarded $8 million in funds as part of The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to use for affordable housing.

"We can utilize and leverage those dollars from the federal sources to make sure we provide and build as much affordable housing as possible," Gainesville city commissioner Casey Willits said.

The City of Gainesville's Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) shared its most recent quarterly report with city commissioners at today’s meeting.

According to city leaders, during the past few months, HCD has come up with new ways to get families into places they can afford. One of these initiatives will help build five new single-family homes alongside up to ten new accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on city-owned property. The ADUs, also known as in-law or mother-in-law units, are separate, smaller structures close by or attached to the main house. They provide more options for housing older family members or younger people just entering the workforce, and contribute to housing diversity in the City.

"We can really get a picture, a snapshot of what we're doing and what kind of spaces to ensure that we have affordable housing for as many people as possible. And whether that's multi-family homes, single family homes, whether it's for people to own or to rent, whether it's about new construction or rehabilitation or just improving the general quality of our housing stock," Willits said.

The City is also partnering with Bright Community Land Trust and Habitat for Humanity to build ten additional homes that will be placed into the Trust and remain permanently affordable. The $1 million in funding comes from The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

An additional $320,000 from ARPA is helping eligible homeowners make safety and energy improvements to their properties, while another $320,000 goes toward providing low-income buyers with down payment assistance. The $7.2 million ARPA funding for the development of new affordable rental units and single-family or multi-family homes remains the biggest single item to report.

Gainesville resident and realtor Rodney Long says today's meeting was a good first start to the affordable housing conversation, but residents shared concerns about opportunities for local contractors to participate in building these affordable housing projects.

"I think the concerns that I and others have at a local, especially builders and realtors, is of the $7.2 million that are going to be put out now for request for funding, availability is a disadvantage for a lot of the smaller builders, contractors who want to build affordable housing because they don't have the upfront dollars," Long said.

Commissioner Reina Saco says the goal is to create safe and affordable housing for everyone.

"Whether you live on your own or just with a partner, that there is a housing option available to you, that what is within your means that is not going to cost burden you, and that is near everything that you need in order to be not just surviving, but thriving in our city," Saco said.

City leaders are planning townhalls later this year to get the public's input on the affordable housing projects.

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