GAINESVILLE – Alachua County’s Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization (MTPO) has raised controversy by announcing plans to include Alachua’s Turkey Creek neighborhood as an urbanized area as it plans boundaries.

The organization’s voting members are six Gainesville city commission members, Gainesville mayor Craig Lowe and five county commission members.

Because the organization is mainly made up of Gainesville officials, some worry that other Alachua County cities won’t have enough input if the MTPO oversees roads and holds sway over transportation infrastructure within another municipality.

During a Monday meeting, the organization spent about an hour discussing the boundary lines in the proposed plan. According to North Central Florida Regional Planning Council Director of Transportation Planning Marlie Sanderson, the County has to include parts of Alachua in the plan.

“State law and federal law says the MTPO area has to include, must [include], the urbanized areas that are contiguous to the city of Gainesville,” he said.

“In addition to the existing urbanized areas which you must have, they also ask you to consider including areas that are expected to become urbanized over the next 20 years,” he said.

During the meeting, City of Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper openly opposed the proposed plan.

“It seems like there’s been no phone call, no email, no conversation at all with the City of Alachua,” he said. “The only reason we know about it is because I happen to sit on this board,” he said, referring to the MTPO.

He said that the MTPO would be making decisions for Alachua roads under the proposed plan, which he said he disagrees with.

“Over the years, they bring in state and federal dollars for transportation projects,” he said in a phone interview. “They have to follow state and federal guidelines. I just disagree with the criteria.”

According to Coerper, state and federal guidelines say that an urbanized area is any area where there are 1,000 people per square mile.

“[Turkey Creek] really shouldn’t meet that broad criteria of being an urban area,” he said, noting that it’s a private community.

Coerper said he wants to emphasize there isn’t a “love-hate” relationship between Alachua and the County.

“We want to work with the MTPO,” he said. “We may not agree with the decision, but we are committed to trying to understand where they’re coming from.”

He said that members appreciate the differences between the cities.

“We all respect one another,” he said.

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Crews from the City of Alachua spent most of the afternoon on Monday, Dec. 3, repairing a water leak on Main Street. Area residents say they noticed water running down Main Street as early as Sunday afternoon. By Monday morning, the City of Alachua began fielding calls about the apparent water leak. A short time later, city crews had closed off the area and were tearing up a small section of Alachua’s Main Street between NW 148^th Place and NW 147^th Avenue. By the early evening, the 3/4-inch pipe had been repaired. The roadway has also since been repaired.

NEWBERRY – There are only nine other cities in the country that have developed a community Olympic program, and Newberry looks like it will be the tenth. The Easton Newberry Sports Complex is in the process of becoming a Community Olympic Department Center (CODC) devoted to archery. Just one other city, Springfield, Mo., has such a commitment to developing a high-quality archery program.

Three representatives from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) visited with about 60 people at a luncheon on Monday at the sports complex. The representatives evaluated the facility and assessed the value of its partnership with the national committee as part of the application process to become a designated COCD.

Easton Foundation submitted a business plan, and USA Archery, the national governing body for archery, was in support, said Alicia McConnell, chairman of the USOC. The next step is negotiation to finalize the development of the program.

“We are pleased with everything that the complex has done. We met with some of the Easton Foundation folks and reviewed the contracts, so it’s really just a matter of time. It wouldn’t take more than a couple of months,” McConnell said.

The complex has already set itself up for success by providing opportunities for all ages to become involved in a top-level archery program, and the Olympic designation will enhance its current status and bring notoriety.

“We hope to bring more kids into the pipeline of archery with the expectation of representing the U.S. at a national event or the end-all-be-all dream of representing the country at the Olympics,” McConnell said.

“With the sponsorship of the committee we can really focus on the athletes and reach out to elementary, middle and high schools,” said Mayor Bill Conrad. “The idea is to connect with thousands to reach a few with Olympic caliber.”

Becoming a Community Olympic Department Center gains the sponsorship of the USOC. As a CODC facility, the complex may have the opportunity to sell sports equipment with the Olympic rings on it and would have access to a staff liaison with the USOC to offer mentoring to coaches.

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HIGH SPRINGS – Just in time for Christmas, the High Springs Fire Department recently accepted delivery of a new fire truck. The new engine, which cost $320,000 including equipment, will expand the fire department’s capabilities and “add a plethora of improved safety and functionality features,” said High Springs Fire Chief Bruce Gillingham.

“The new truck has been financed at an excellent interest rate for 10 years,” he said. “The payments on the tanker will expire this year and the payments on the new engine will be close to the same amount as the tanker’s payments, approximately $41,000-$42,000 per year. The first payment is not due until October 2013, and are on a once a year basis,” explained Gillingham.

The new engine will replace Engine #29, manufactured in 1991, and which will now be used as a backup for the department.

“It will enable the department to now provide a third piece of apparatus at a fire scene capable of fully fighting a building fire and adding to our fleet, enhancing our level of protection to the City,” explained Gillingham.

The new truck was ordered with most of the equipment on it to allow the department to keep backup Engine #29 in reserve, complete with all existing equipment, so there is no time wasted if a call comes in while the new engine is in use elsewhere or down for maintenance, Gillingham said.

One feature of the new engine is that it will allow a crew of four to ride on a single truck. Considering that two trucks have been required to be dispatched in the past to allow four fire fighters to go to the same fire, the new engine should help free up at least one truck so it can be dispatched to a medical emergency, another fire or to the same fire, if required.

“For example,” said Gillingham, “the new truck and the tanker will both be used in the parade this weekend. If a call comes in during that time, the backup truck can be dispatched immediately.”

The engine formerly used as a backup was manufactured in 1985. “It became hard to find parts for that engine,” said Gillingham. “It might be surplused or used for parts. It hasn’t been determined yet.”

One reason for buying the new engine was that like the 1985 engine, locating parts was becoming difficult, and it was estimated to cost about $10,000 a year to keep it in service as a primary engine.  “

Currently, the High Springs Fire Department has four vehicles for emergency response, fire fighting, brush fires and a tanker.

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