Alachua County Commission moves toward purchasing Chamber of Commerce building, hears update on South Pointe trees

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At its March 10 meeting, the Alachua County Commission moved toward purchasing the Chamber of Commerce building, heard an update on the South Pointe trees, and discussed meeting more often with the City Commission to discuss GCRA projects.

Chamber of Commerce building added to project list for revenue bond

After adopting the Safe Streets and Roads For All action plan, the board considered an amended project list for the 2020C Capital Improvement Revenue Bond, adding the new Animal Services complex and the purchase of the Chamber of Commerce building.

Assistant County Manager Tommy Crosby said the County has about $2.6 million in excess borrowed funds that have an interest rate under 1.5%, “so we’re asking to amend the project list to be able to use those funds, and the quicker we can use the funds, the better that will be, from an arbitrage situation.”

Commissioner Anna Prizzia: “I don’t think we need to own any more property downtown. I don’t think we need to take any more property off the tax rolls.”

Commissioner Anna Prizzia said she was all for using the money, “but I am not in favor of us purchasing the Chamber building property. I don’t think we need to own any more property downtown. I don’t think we need to take any more property off the tax rolls.” She said she was told the building would be used by the Office of Management and Budget, and “you guys primarily work from home, as far as I know… Kincaid Loop needs some money to make that project go.”

Commissioner Mary Alford: “I think this is an excellent investment, and… just because we buy property downtown doesn’t mean we have to keep it forever.”

Commissioner Mary Alford said she disagreed: “I think this is an excellent investment, and… just because we buy property downtown doesn’t mean we have to keep it forever.” She asked whether the money could be used to install more ceiling fans at the Agriculture and Equestrian Center, and Crosby said there is a plan to address that situation.

Todd Hutchison, Finance Director for the Clerk’s Office, said it had been his idea to purchase the building, and his proposal was to move the Clerk’s Finance and Accounting staff to the Chamber building, freeing up their current space for Fiscal Services, County management, and possibly MTPO staff. Hutchison said, “The main goal today is [to make the list as broad as you want], to make sure we can spend the money this fiscal year.” He said the County is in “the very early stages” of negotiating to buy the Chamber building, and the actual purchase would come back to the Commission for a vote if a deal is negotiated. Hutchison said the money has to be spent on capital projects. 

Chair Ken Cornell: “When an opportunity arises downtown for Type A space at under $200 a square foot and it fills a huge need for a constitutional officer, I am in favor of that, and it gives us more flexibility… I think it’s good for the Chamber, good for downtown, and certainly good for our Clerk.“

Chair Ken Cornell said the Clerk has been looking to relocate for a number of years, and now that employees are coming back into the office after COVID, there is a need for more space. He continued, “When an opportunity arises downtown for Type A space at under $200 a square foot and it fills a huge need for a constitutional officer, I am in favor of that, and it gives us more flexibility. So I actually like that coming forward.” He said he would be fine with adding the Kincaid Loop or other projects to the list “to make sure that we handle the bond issue,… but I also support the purchase. I think it’s good for the Chamber, good for downtown, and certainly good for our Clerk… I think it’s a really good real estate transaction. If we decide in five years that we don’t need that space anymore, I think… we will be able to sell it for more than we buy it for.”

Prizzia said the County is in the middle of a plan to consolidate their office space, “so it just seems really odd to me… at this juncture.”

Crosby clarified that Commissioners can add projects to the list, but they need to spend the money quickly to avoid IRS penalties. 

Motion

Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler made a motion to amend the list of projects to include the Animal Service Complex and the purchase of the Chamber building, and Alford seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-1, with Prizzia in dissent.

South Pointe trees

During Commission Comment, Wheeler brought up the South Pointe residents’ concerns about the trees being removed to build the Parker Road extension, and County Manager Michele Lieberman said, “Unfortunately, we couldn’t adjust where the road is being placed, because there is a GRU easement that took us many, many, many years to work out. So, unfortunately, the placement is the placement. But I believe we’ve met with some property owners out there and tried to explain the situation and work with them.”

Residents of South Pointe have continued to send emails to County Commissioners, so Assistant County Manager Missy Daniels sent a longer response today to Commissioners and County staff. In her email, she said the planning for the extension has been underway since South Pointe was originally approved in 2001, with each subsequent phase of the development dedicating right-of-way to the road project. She wrote, “These areas have always been designated as right-of-way and were never included in open space or tree preservation areas within the development. The County’s Comprehensive Plan has identified the NW 122nd Street Extension as a Major Collector Road since at least 2005. This roadway is essential for creating a connected transportation network that supports vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians, and for providing parallel corridors to the State arterial system. Completing this collector grid within the Urban Cluster has long been a central goal of the County’s transportation planning.”

In the email, Daniels describes the constraints imposed by GRU’s existing transmission poles and writes that the right-of-way is only 80 feet, while the required roadway features require a minimum of 54 feet of hard surface. She wrote, “This leaves only 13 feet on each side to transition to existing grades. Given these constraints, clearing the right-of-way is necessary to safely and effectively construct the roadway and its associated features. Even if one of the multi-use paths were eliminated, the location of the roadway would not allow the trees to remain.”

Cornell said he hoped County staff would engage with the residents when trees are replanted; he added, “That’s one of those where I hate it, but we’ll mitigate it as best we can.”

National Good Neighbor Day

Prizzia said, “National Good Neighbor Day is on September 28, and I wanted to move that we refer to staff to explore how we might celebrate National Good Neighbor Day. There’s really great information about how other communities do it… Given how much divisiveness and challenging situations, I feel like highlighting neighborliness and the resources that we have to support being a good neighbor would be really great for that.” There were two seconds, and the motion passed unanimously. Cornell said, “It’s unanimous that we want to be good neighbors, we want to celebrate it, and we want to refer that to staff. So thank you for that.”

More frequent meetings about GCRA projects

After Alford asked Cornell to speak to Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward about adding a general public comment agenda item to their joint meetings, Prizzia said that, given the length of the March 9 meeting, she wondered whether the two Commissions should meet more often, perhaps in single-topic workshops. She also wanted to have a joint workshop on the Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area (GCRA), “not about the future, but… there’s a lot of remaining money that’s still there, and it’s put in the buckets for 8th & Waldo and for Cornerstone, but… there is a lot to still be determined about how that money gets spent in those specific areas. And I think we’ve expressed that we wish that they would include us in those conversations more.” She asked the other Commissioners to think about it and said she would probably bring ideas to their next meeting. 

Commissioner Charles Chestnut said, “When we gave that 70-something million dollars to the City, that money was supposed to be spent on the eastern portion of the county and the city. And I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t seen much. Somebody help me.”

Prizzia responded, “I think they’re getting there. I really do.”

Chestnut said, “It’s always presentations, presentations, no action. And then people are frustrated in that area because nothing is happening. I know government is slow, but my gosh, does it take that long? We’re almost at our 10 years, and nothing has happened.” Prizzia said area-specific workshops would help them all understand what projects are planned.