L-R Sisters Danielle, 8, Deania, 13 and Devin, 11 of Gainesville are enjoying another Fourth of July in Alachua, playing games while waiting for the big show.

With temperatures sizzling, the City of Alachua’s 13^th Annual July 4 Celebration at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex was the perfect place for youngsters to play games and cool off Wednesday afternoon.  After working up a healthy appetite, festivalgoers supported area sports teams and enjoyed samplings of the local fare.

No Fourth of July celebration would be complete without a splendid fireworks display – and that it was.  With the largest ever budget for the annual celebration, the Detonators pyrotechnic group, led by Fred Hilton, lit up the night sky with fireworks.  Synchronized to patriotic songs, the Detonators provided a spectacular show of flashes and booms for more than a half-hour.

 HIGH SPRINGS – Following a discussion on June 28 about potential Charter amendments, with criticism leveled at the City’s current city manager form of government, the High Springs Commission decided to move forward with a special meeting to consider terminating current city manager Jeri Langman.

Just two weeks earlier during a June 14 meeting, Vice-Mayor Bob Barnas asked if commissioners were unhappy with the city manager, and no one spoke up. The agenda item, which concerned the city manager as well as the city clerk and city attorney, was dismissed.

Yet at the June 28 meeting, the issue was raised again.

“Obviously, we put a city manager in place as an interim city manager and then as a permanent city manager. Did we make a mistake? Yes or no, it will be debated forever and ever. Barnas said.  “But, the question now becomes, as another commissioner put it, Mr. Mayor, is it working for us?

“Do we start a process now and look for a city manager or do we wait until after the election? It’s my contention that we start a process now.”

The commission scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday, July 10, to discuss the hiring process for a new city manager, and Barnas directed City Attorney Raymond Ivey to draft a resolution terminating current city manager Langman.

If the resolution does not pass, Barnas said “everything can go back to normal.”  However, he said his fellow commissioners should consider that the City is looking at Charter amendments because of the actions the city manager has taken.

Earlier in the June 28 meeting, several commissioners suggested rewriting Section 3.04 of the City Charter, which outlines city manager duties. Mayor Dean Davis and Commissioner Linda Gestrin pushed for a stronger commission, with the power to act as a liaison between departments and City officials.

During the June 14 meeting, a similar discussion took place, with Weller and Jamison stating that the city manager enforces policies based on the decisions made by the commission. The commission authorizes the budget, decides whether to raise fees and decides where the money goes, Jamison said.

“If we’re going to blame someone, we need to look in the mirror,” he said at the time.

If the commission moves forward with terminating Langman and searching for a new city manager, the commission will be looking for a candidate with a strong financial background, as well as experience in city administration work. Commissioner Sue Weller said she would not be in favor of hiring a new city manager unless the person came from outside of High Springs.

“It seems like you’re putting the cart ahead of the horse,” Commissioner Scott Jamison said. “I’ve never been in a place where you actually kept [an employee] and went out, hired somebody, did the whole bid and then came back and say, ‘Okay, see you later.’”

Gestrin said that when the commission hired Langman as the city manager, they placed a deadline of November. She also said that the City cannot wait until the last minute to begin searching for a replacement.  She added that Langman would be welcome to reapply for the job.

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According to a presentation conducted by High Springs Police Chief Steve Holley on Monday, July 2, the City estimates cost of local operations will be $90,267 this budget year through Sept. 30.  On an annualized basis, the cost will be $235,075, compared to $84,075 currently spent with the CCC, an increase of more than $150,000 annually.

During the special Monday meeting, Commissioner Scott Jamison attempted to convince his fellow commissioners to rescind the previous motion that cancelled services with the CCC.

The motion failed to pass, even though Jamison and Weller advocated against a city-operated dispatch due to budgetary concerns. Davis said the letter stating the City’s intent to separate from the CCC had already been hand-delivered by Holley prior to the meeting to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO).

However, Holley said ACSO would have no problem letting the City back into the CCC agreement in the future, if the City should decide to return.

“With the economic times that we are in right now, it is paramount that we plan, not spend,” Jamison said. “I’m concerned with the haste by which we are trying to do this. This is the first we’ve had numbers that show what it was going to cost this year.”

According to figures presented by Holley, future costs of the required technology break down to $52,206 for a Motobridge console, which Motorola offered to finance for the City; $39,200 for CAD software, with yearly maintenance totaling $4,200; $1,200 for cabinets to be rebuilt and $2,000 for telephone upgrades.

Within the next year, the police radios will also have to be upgraded. For 13 radios, the total cost will be $71,279. Additional smaller expenses, such as the price of training manuals and uniforms, would also have to be tallied into the cost required to start dispatch.

If all of the potential applicants require training, the City can expect to pay $44,392 for employee salaries for time spent in training, according to the budget provided by staff.

Gestrin had cited concerns that when the High Springs population trips over 6,000 residents, the CCC cost per call will increase from $14.75 to $24.26.  The City expects to trip that threshold in the next five years, but even so, the cost savings of the CCC would remain at an estimated $100,000 or more annually.  In the meantime, before High Springs trips that 6,000 population threshold, the City would expect to save between $130,000 and $145,000 annually, by remaining with the CCC.

Some estimates project that reopening the city’s emergency dispatch center will cost in excess of $600,000 more than the CCC over the next four years.

The total cost of an in-house emergency dispatch service is estimated at $1.3 million through September 2016.  On the other hand, sticking with the CCC would only cost an estimated $653,000 for the same time period, including a higher per call rate for the last of those four years.

High Springs Finance Services Director Helen McIver reported that the City is experiencing a shortfall in revenue for the current year, but it is not as large as had been previously projected. Some departments have had cost savings, but she could not say the City would definitely have the required funds.

“We’re still willing to go into an expenditure of this type with question marks,” Jamison said. “I don’t think anyone would run their home budget the way we are talking about here.”

Jamison said he wasn’t advocating never bringing the dispatch back into the City, but that it was not prudent to do it currently.

Despite safety concerns expressed by High Springs police officers regarding bringing the dispatch back locally, a split commission voted to do just that on May 22.  Davis, Barnas and Gestrin supported bringing the dispatch center back to the City and Weller and Jamison voted against the motion. Commissioners in favor of bringing the dispatch back cited various reasons, including keeping autonomy, avoiding address changes and providing local knowledge.

However, on July 2, Barnas said he would be in favor of remaining with the CCC if the sheriff’s department allowed the city to keep the same addresses and raised the cut-off number from 6,000 to 10,000 before the cost of CCC service fee increased.

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City approves four-way stop

ALACHUA – Alachua commissioners nixed plans Monday for a roundabout in lieu of a four-way stop at the intersection of NW 142^nd Terrace and 150^th Avenue near City Hall.  Citing concerns of pedestrian safety and the additional construction cost, commissioners unanimously voted to maintain the four-way stop as it is now, even after the intersection is reconstructed.

The commission also approved the intersection along with plans to renovate the surrounding areas.  The approved renovation plans, which are currently 90 percent complete, include provisions for landscaping improvements and the installation of a storm water storage facility underneath the baseball field on 142^nd Terrace.

The commission chose to forgo the construction of a roundabout only after extensive discussion and public comment.  Several commissioners and Alachua residents alike expressed concerns that the roundabout, while aesthetically pleasing, would be more dangerous to pedestrians than a four-way stop intersection.

“We want to be sure that all pedestrians are safe,” Commissioner Shirley Green Brown said.

According to the presentation by Monique Heathcock of Causseaux Hewett and Walpole (CHW), the roundabout would calm traffic more smoothly than a full-stop intersection, while also lessening the severity of any car accidents that might occurr at the intersection.  However, Heathcock noted the construction of the roundabout would cost the City an additional $75,000, while forcing drivers to acclimate themselves to a new type of intersection.

According to Heathcock’s presentation, a four-way stop is cheaper and safer for pedestrians.  However, the existing plans called for a roundabout and must now undergo a four-to-six week redesign to accommodate for the four-way stop.

Along with the four-way stop and roundabout, CHW also offered a third option, a two-way stop which would not impede northbound or southbound traffic on NW 142^nd Terrace.  The two-way stop option was largely ignored during the commission’s discussion.

The commission also voted to allow the plans to be open to bidding from construction contractors once the plans are 100 percent complete.

The plans for improvement for the area surrounding the intersection include the addition of several trees along 142^nd Terrace and the installation of a facility which would store rainwater beneath the Skinner Park baseball field, alleviating some flooding and allowing the water to percolate into the soil.

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