Residents address the High Springs City Commission during a Jan. 20, 2015 workshop to discuss the future of the town's emergency dispatch services.

HIGH SPRINGS – Local versus county dispatch of High Springs Police Department (HSPD) emergency calls was the topic of the Jan. 20 High Springs City Commission workshop. This issue has been a hot-button topic for a number of years and in 2012 High Springs brought back dispatch duties to the HSPD from Alachua County.

A panel of county representatives was on hand to answer questions and explain how the transition might benefit the safety of citizens and HSPD officers, should the commission decide to contract with Alachua County for dispatch services.

Alachua County Director for the Office of E911/Communications Keith Godwin, Alachua County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) Technical Services Division Manager Jim Lanier and ACSO Chief Deputy Col. David Huckstep made up the panel. Lanier is responsible for 911 communications at ACSO.

High Springs City Manager Ed Booth said the workshop was scheduled because commissioners had asked for it and also because some police officers had expressed concerns. “The system that is in place right now is not safe for them,” he said. One reason is that with only one dispatcher on duty, “that person could be taking a citizen's call when an officer needs assistance. If the City decides to keep dispatch local,” he said, “at least two dispatchers need to be on duty at a time.” That requirement would mean the City of High Springs will have to hire three more dispatchers to provide adequate coverage for both the citizens and the officers.

Booth said the city's fire department, which is dispatched by the county, leaves the fire department before the police dispatcher is able to dispatch police officers to the same call. “You can hear it,” he said. “First you hear the fire engine's siren, then a little bit later you hear the police siren. There is lag time between the two calls,” he said.

He explained the process by which each of those calls is received and explained that the police officers should be able to be dispatched at least at the same time as the fire fighters.

“We are building the best police department any small town could have,” said Booth. “I need a second dispatcher per shift.”

Finance Director Jennifer Stull presented information showing that the cost to the City of High Springs with the addition of three dispatchers would be $389,995. She compared that with the cost of Alachua County handling dispatching at $183,182.

Based on the number of calls received by HSPD dispatchers that would have gone to Alachua County, had they dispatched the calls, the cost would have been $105,096, calculated at 7,164 calls at $14.67 per call. Stull pointed out that when the county had the city's dispatching duties, about three years ago, the cost was about $75,000, but she was erring on the side of caution to calculate the highest amount the City could have been billed.

Booth said if the city commissioners chose to let the county handle dispatching duties, he had spoken with Sheriff Darnell and she said she would hire any qualified dispatcher the city had on staff.

One area of confusion seemed to be around the issue of re-addressing the streets to accommodate the county's E-911 grid system. Huckstep said the Sheriff would require that the City readdress the streets by September 2015. He said the City was asked to do that previously, but no effort was made by theCity to accomplish that.

Godwin explained the city didn't have to change street addressing if they chose not to go with county dispatch. But he pointed out that going to the E-911 grid system would lessen confusion for everyone. “There are three cities in the county named 'Main Street.' It has been confusing often for dispatchers to know which Main Street a caller is calling about.” He suggested the City call their Main Street “High Springs Main Street” to improve communication in emergencies.

High Springs Fire Chief Bruce Gillingham said the City was going to be required to change their street signs to reflective signs within the next two years. Godwin said he thought the county would pay for those signs if the city re-addresses their streets to conform to E-911 addressing.

One of the benefits of having the county dispatch for HSPD is that the county 911 system has 14-16 trained dispatchers on duty for every shift.   Another benefit is that calls are dispatched to a computer, which each officer has in his car. Officers can see the calls as they come in so there is less lag time than with the current system. Everyone is hooked into the same system and can hear if an officer is having a problem or needs assistance and proceed accordingly.

Godwin explained that the county's state-of-the-art system was recently updated to keep up with technological advances. He pointed out that the high cost of keeping up with advancing technology becomes cost prohibitive for smaller cities.

While no decision was made about changing dispatch service from HSPD to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, it is expected the High Springs City Commission will take up the questions of re-addressing and changes to HSPD's dispatch methods at a formal city commission meeting in February.

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The High Springs community came together Monday, uniting in their commitment to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

HIGH SPRINGS – The High Springs Community Development Association (CDA), in conjunction with the City of High Springs and McDonalds in Alachua, sponsored a Commemorative March in celebration of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on Mon., Jan. 19. The march began at City Hall and culminated at Catherine L. Taylor Park.

Master of Ceremonies at the park location was Rev. Byran Williams, CDA President. Speakers included Rev. Morris and Gloria Kelly. Music and singing were also part of the celebration. Refreshments were provided to help celebrate the event.

“We have been conducting events around MLK's birthday for at least 15 years,” according to Rev. Williams. “We have a weekend of events to celebrate each year.”

In addition to the march, which attracted about 75 people, an open service was held on Thursday, Jan. 15, King's actual birthday, at Allen Chapel AME Church, 10 S.E. MLK Blvd., and a 4 p.m., Sunday worship service was held on Jan. 18 at Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, 948 S.E. Railroad Avenue.

Church service offerings, donations and proceeds from the weekend events are donated to the High Springs Child Care MLK Center, 125 S.E. Douglas Street.

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Tenth Anniversary Celebration

‘Dr. King was a true prophet who spoke to the true consciousness of this nation’

--Pastor Natron Curtis

‘Recognize all we have accomplished together’

-- Alachua City Manager Traci Cain

‘Create a dream that you have’

-- Master of Ceremony Wilma Rogers

‘We are living the dream’

--Chief of Police Joel DeCoursey, Jr.

‘Everybody can be great - everybody can serve’

--Pastor Natron Curtis

Dr. Owen Roberts takes educational pulse of community

Alachua County Superintendent of Schools Owen Roberts responds to community members attending the Alachua school forum and explains his vision of achieving excellence in education

ALACHUA – Alachua County Superintendent of Schools Owen Roberts has been front and center listening to communities voice their thoughts about the local school system. High Springs held the first forum in Alachua County on Oct. 16 and since then Roberts has been on the circuit throughout the county conducting listening sessions. The latest such session was held in Alachua on Thursday, Jan. 15.

A crowd of parents, teachers, administrators and community members turned out at the Alachua Woman’s Club to participate in the forum that centered on local schools Irby Elementary, Alachua Elementary, Mebane Middle School and Santa Fe High School.

Participants were divided into working groups that tackled a series of questions posed by Jackie Johnson, Public Information Officer for the school board. Johnson transcribed comments onto oversized yellow paper that was mounted on easels for group discussion. Roberts told meeting participants that he would listen to their input and he was prepared to consider every recommendation or suggestion made.

Issues raised included the existing economic disparity in the area as compared to Gainesville, the potential for crime due to ease of access from I-75, excessive school testing and that a school’s grade could be detrimental to future local economic development.

Many comments were in a positive vein and spoke about the strong faith-based aspect of the community, the importance of agriculture, the educational pipeline starting with elementary school through high school and then to college, referencing the Santa Fe College Perry Center for Emerging Technologies located across U.S. Highway 441 from the Progress Park and the Sid Martin Biotech Center. A number of participants agreed the area is a tight-knit community where there is a sense of familiarity amongst the residents and community leaders are involved in the schools. Hailed as areas of excellence were the recreation program, the public library and the community’s population diversity.

Suggestions to improve educational opportunities included additional tutoring programs for students, increased parental involvement, additional partnering with local businesses, conducting school activities on Saturdays and encouraging schools to have school-wide activities and celebrations rather than restricted to a single grade or classroom.

In closing the session, Roberts referenced districtwide strategies including a renewed focus on language development. “A child’s achievement is tied to their ability to use language, and that is critical,” Roberts said. He also noted that while schools are a vital catalyst for positive change, it takes commitment from all parts of the community to make transformative changes in schools.

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