BY SUZETTE COOK/Today Editor

ALACHUA – The Alachua City Commission agreed on Aug. 10 to replace Alachua County Sheriff Office deputies with Alachua Police Department officers in a unanimous vote to insure continued staffing of the School Resource Officer Program.

In a contract prepared as an agreement between the School Board of Alachua County and the city of Alachua, the SBAC agrees to pay the city $82,805.12 for the 2015-2016 school year. The funds will be used to place an SRO at Santa Fe High School, Mebane Middle School, Alachua Elementary School and Irby Elementary School.

APD Chief Chad Scott, a former resource officer, addressed the commission about creating three part-time positions to continue to serve local schools.

“I believe that with these additional positions to the police department, we will be able to implement a school resource program and still accommodate staffing needs and patrol functions,” Scott said.

“I feel this is a huge opportunity for the Alachua Police Department to continue to build a positive relationship with our community."

Scott said he served as an SRO at Lake Forest Elementary, Fort Clarke Middle School, Oakview Middle School and Newberry High School.

“I still hold close relationships with students,” he said.  “As the Chief of Police, I look forward to keeping the public schools in the city of Alachua safe.”

Santa Fe High School Principal Dr. Beth LeClear said she looks forward to working with the APD.

“I am very excited,” LeClear said. “Chief Scott and I have already met. His priority is the safety of the children of Alachua.  I am very happy to work with Chief Scott and his team. We have previously hired City of Alachua [officers] and they are always professional, positive and great role models for the students of Santa Fe.  I am looking forward to a great year.”

 According to the contract, the city of Alachua “reserves control in determining staffing levels for the SROP in each of the four schools.”

 Commissioner Gary Hardacre said he is happy to have that control in the city’s hands.

“I’m glad we’re taking this away from the sheriff. I think it’s in the best interest of our citizens that our police chief, with the help of the city manager, makes these decisions. That way, our citizens really have a voice. If we have a problem in our community, I feel a lot more confident it will be handled the way it should be [having] direct control over that.”

Vice Mayor Ben Boukari, Jr. said he has fond memories of the resources officers from schools he attended.

“I think this is actually fantastic,” he said. “When I was in elementary school, I remember 'officer friendly.'  I remember her talking to us about stop signs and how important they were. That sounds so small, but it’s huge to a little kid learning.”

Commissioner Robert Wilford said his sister was an educator for 30 years, and he believes in the SROP. “The idea of children seeing a police officer in a positive light,” Wilford said. “I am very exciting with us taking the lead and cutting out the middle man.

Commissioner Shirley Green Brown is a retired educator.

“Just to see the partnership between the school board and our city police department,” she said. “What a wonderful relationship you will have with the students in this community. Thank you to the city, thank you to the staff.”

Mayor Gib Coerper congratulated the city on “making this happen before the school year starts.”

“All of us have been involved with the school,” Coerper said. “I see what a difference it makes. You will also be the recipient of the third grade letters this year,” he reminded Chief Scott of the tradition of having elementary students write letters to the mayor and police chief each year.

SBAC Public Information Officer Jackie Johnson is also excited about the agreement.

“We're glad of the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the city of Alachua and the Alachua Police Department through this contract,” she said.

“Having the city's own law enforcement officers working with the students, families and staff in their community will certainly be a benefit.”

Photo SUZETTE COOK/Alachua County Today

HIGH SPRINGS – The High Springs Playhouse has a fresh coat of exterior paint and a fresh set of events listed on the marquee out front.

According to President of High Springs Playhouse Linda Burleson, the fresh coat of Windy Blue, Bracing and Quicksilver colors have people taking a second look at the 1950s structure that is currently featuring the youth production of “The Jungle Book.”

 Robert Karl owner of Karl’s Painting and Home Repair out of Gainesville put some finishing touches on the theater Friday. “It was an old brown and they picked out the new colors,” Karl said. “It’s brightened up and everybody really loves the new colors.”

Burleson said the renovations come from “generous sponsors and donations.”

“It desperately needed it,” Burleson said. “I think we’ve gotten the right reactions. It’s catching people’s eye as they go by. It’s refreshing.”

On the porch of the theater sits a giant bench that once served as a prop from a production of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.”

“We replaced this ramp,” Burleson said about the access ramp that leads up to the porch. “Our plan is for it to last forever.”

“This took a lot of money,” she said. “Donations came from the High Springs CRA and from the community. People really stepped up.”

The recent production “The Jungle Book” took the stage on Aug. 7 with a sold out crowd.

Set designer Daniel Palmer helped with the stage,” Burleson said.

He crafted the hut from the jungle and “Made it wonderful,” she added. “Best set we’ve had all year.”

 One major interior upgrade are the arches over the decorative windows, said Burleson.

The next project the playhouse is working on solving is leaky air conditioner.

“A few weeks ago, they brought in an air conditioning service that cleaned out the air conditioner,” Burleson said. “We have a bad Freon leak and are Band-Aiding it every weekend getting a recharge of Freon.

“We are scrambling to raise money,” she said. Quotes for a new system are coming in at $7,000 to $13,000.

 Upcoming events include the production of “Harvey” and on Aug. 29, Burleson said “Directors are being invited to come see the playhouse.

“We’re inviting experienced directors who were here, but haven’t seen the building in a while. Others have directed here before we got these seats,” she added.

“Now we have professional lighting, sound, and want to get people back in here to see the changes.”

ALACHUA COUNTY – The days of Alachua County’s Clerk of the Court and Comptroller J.K. “Buddy” Irby and his staff standing in the lobby of the courthouse near the elevators auctioning off foreclosed properties are numbered.

As of Sept. 1, 2015, Realauction.com will take over the auction process holding them online at www.alachua.realforeclose.com.

The Fort Lauderdale-based company already represents 28 counties in Florida, and hopes to help increase auction revenue for Alachua County by increasing the number of bidders who can take part in the purchase of foreclosed properties, said RealAuction.com CEO Lloyd McClendon.

“We provide this service for many clerks around the state,” McClendon said. “Buyers can avoid parking and other hassles, and do this from the comfort of their home or office.”

Registration is free, McClendon said, and placing a bid is free. “But you need a deposit in order to win,” he added. “You’ll need 5 percent of the amount you intend to win with.”

With no buyer’s premium, McClendon does the math.

“You’re able to win 20 times your deposit. So if you put down $1,000 deposit, the maximum amount of property you can purchase is $20,000.”

According to McClendon, Realauction.com charges the county a $49 transaction fee for every home it sells for counties using its online software and services.

“We’ve done foreclosures in Florida since 2008, using the online foreclosure system with 700,000 cases auctioned so far,” he said.

According to Irby, the idea is that auction participation will be available to everyone throughout the country. And the more bidders in the mix, the higher the selling price could go.

The online auction service will go live on Monday, Aug. 17.

Bidders who want to take a class to learn the software can attend a live training course at the Alachua County Courthouse Center, 201 W. University Ave. at 2 p.m. on Aug. 17.

Realauction is conducting the class and space can be reserved by calling 877-361-7325.

According to Irby, the bank holding the mortgage often ends up being the high bidder.

“They usually bid up to the amount they held the mortgage on it,” Irby said.

“They just want to get their money back. They don’t really want the property.”

“How high the bank will bid so they don’t lose money,” is up to each bank, Irby said.

“Some settle for getting 75 percent of their money back. But nobody knows that but the bank.”

Irby describes the process of what a normal auction goes like.

“We stand at the courthouse,” he said. “My staff or myself goes out and announces the property. It’s been properly advertised.

“It usually starts off at $100, and the next bid may be $10,000 and then we go from there. We really don’t know what’s going to happen.”

This procedure will play out the old-fashioned way until Sept. 1, Irby said. “And we’ll have lots of them,” he added Those interested in searching the database can visit www.Alachuaclerk.org and  click on Foreclosures, “And it list all the foreclosures we have coming up,” Irby said.

“Every now and then, people have gotten a really good bargain. It just depends on who shows up.”

 To close the bid under the current system, Irby said the winning bidder has to deposit 5 percent of the bid with the county.

“They have until the end of business next day to pay. If you don’t have the money, we don’t close the bid and somebody else does the bidding. If they don’t show back up, the money is kept by the court.”

Switching to the new online system has been in the planning stages for about six months,” Irby said. He advises potential bidders to research the properties thoroughly before they bid.

“We tell people ‘buyer beware.’ They want to do their research. What it is, if there are liens or other loans against the property. Research before you start jumping in and bidding.”

McClendon echoes the warning of buyer beware.

“There’s no guarantee,” McClendon said.

“You have to obtain a title search. It’s best if you have an attorney, a real estate professional to help. You really need to do your research, since there’s no guarantees from the clerk’s office. All lot of times, bidders get excited and speed through the warnings.”

The online process does help prevent bidders from fixing the rate on a property, McClendon said.

“Online saves the public time, money, and the clerk’s office resources,” he said. “It prevents collusion. No longer can people get together and ‘fix the deal.’ ”

At the Aug. 11 auction held in the courthouse lobby, four bidders took part in the foreclosure auction process.

One local property investor picked up a 4-bedroom house for $38,000. He said he will miss going to auctions in person because he said he got to know who the other bidders are, and once the process goes online, you won't know who your competition will be, or how high they'll be willing to go.

Each year, the Gainesville Sun with the Alachua County School Board, Partners for a Better Community, and the local Kiwanis join together to sponsor the Citizen of the Month program in our elementary schools.

Using the criteria of scholastic standing, attitude, conduct, and community service through clubs and extracurricular activities, a winner of the Citizen of the Month is chosen by their teachers and peers in each of the County's elementary schools. At the end of the year, each school chooses its Citizen of the Year from amongst the award winners of Citizen of the Month.

Sharing the pride and appreciation of his family, teachers, and peers, the City Commission on behalf of the City of Alachua wish to congratulate Alachua Elementary's Citizen of the Year, Jackson Bryan. Honoring his academic and civic achievements, the City presented young Mr. Bryan with a Certificate of Appreciation to recognize him as his award as Citizen of the Year at the July 13 City Commission meeting. He also received a laptop bag, complete with solar-battery charger, donated to the City by SunState Federal Credit Union through the Youth Advisory Council.