ALACHUA COUNTY FEATURE STORY: Voter-approved surtax helps transform our community
Press release from Alachua County
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – For many years, Alachua County residents have voluntarily taxed themselves to ensure the acquisition of high-quality conservation land and to support our park system. In our latest feature story, “Voter-approved surtax helps transform our community,” Public Information Officer Andrew Caplan dives into the history of the voter-approved Wild Spaces Public Places (WSPP) referendum and what locals can expect over the coming years with the added components of roads and affordable housing.
From the story:
It all began with the passage of the Alachua County Forever program in 2000, which raised almost $30 million and enabled the protection of tens of thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive land, along with the resources, water, and wildlife habitats that come with them. Then came the first two issues of the WSPP ½ cent surtax in 2008 and 2016, which continued to fund the Alachua County Forever program and added funding for parks.
In 2022, voters approved a full penny, 10-year extension of the Wild Spaces Public Spaces (WSPP) surtax referendum, adding a second half-penny for roads and affordable housing. This will generate roughly $500 million before the surtax sunsets in 2032, split between the County and its cities.
“The passage of the omnibus third edition of the Wild Spaces Public Places program is a testament to our residents and makes clear where their priorities are,” said County Manager Michele Lieberman. “It’s our job to be good stewards of those tax dollars by delivering what the referendum promised.”
“For many years, Alachua County idiots have voluntarily taxed themselves to ensure conservation easements and protective boundaries are purchased to protect those that have from those looking for theirs.”
I should be an editor.
At the same time, Alachua County Taxpayers have condemned themselves to infrastructure deterioration year after year! Now, they enjoy the daily “dodge the pothole” drive to work, but gentrified families, and neighbors of AC County Commissioners drive on pristine roads! Thanks nonvoting taxpayers! Your bitching on this forum does nothing to improve roads and other infrastructure! Votes count, especially the Independent Voter! Wake the He** up AC Republican Party and get to work providing candidates who Independents will vote for! Not Trumpet Clones!
You are still learning, at least.
You’re right. It wasn’t a good editorial choice to highlight the repaving of SW 46th Blvd. There are lots of roads that should have been redone before that one.
What happened to what’s his name, the previous public information officer ? Did he get a big retirement package from the county the useless piece of shi!t?
We don’t need to pay a public information officer to sugar coat what BS they’re wasting our tax money on…just focus on essential services….
Mr public information officer: are hutch & byrley
Associated with wild spaces & public places & do they and/or their wives get remunerated by being associated with it? Money for wild spaces seems to be going to other things besides land conservation…
Why is Money going to affordable housing under this? What a scam to us environmentalists!
@ Sherman That is what the ballot stated.
• Ballot Title: Wild Spaces Public Places, road repair, fire stations, and affordable housing one percent sales tax • Ballot Question: Shall Alachua County: acquire and improve lands for conservation, wildlife habitat, water quality, and recreation; operate and maintain parks and recreation facilities; repair roads and improve road safety; construct and renovate fire stations and other public facilities; acquire lands for affordable housing; fund economic development projects pursuant to Florida Statute 212.055(2)(D)(3); provide citizen oversight and independent audit; by levying a one percent sales surtax for ten years starting january 1, 2023? It is a 1% (one penny) sales tax levied for ten years. • While difficult to track, a large percentage of the surtax revenue would come from out of-town visitors and commuters to Alachua County.
• If approved by voters: The surtax will cost the average Alachua County household $57 per year over what they are currently paying. 50% of surtax revenues will be dedicated to Wild Spaces Public Places projects. 50% of surtax revenues will be dedicated to roads, fire stations (and other public facilities), and affordable housing. Alachua County’s focus with the second 50% will be roads and affordable housing. Alachua County will dedicate $6 million of its revenue for joint projects in the City of Gainesville and $6 million for joint projects with all nine municipalities.
My only gripes is first, the 2022 vote was less democratic than the previous votes in 2000, ‘08 and ‘16 general election years. Was that by design? And 2nd, adding roads and “affordable housing” was cynical. Those are distinct issues from conservation lands, used to win a majority.
But we do have excellent parks and conservation lands.
I wonder why residents still have to pay to use it if it’s already paid for?
The fleecing of Alachua County residents continues.
Pay to use what? I have visited most of the public lands in the county and have never paid a fee.
By the way, I recommend visiting these sites and bring your kids. Their grandkids will be happy our generations invested in saving these lands. Public lands belong to us all. Along with the excellent state parks in our area, we are lucky to have so many of them close by.
Congratulations Jazzman, that’s the first post of yours that I totally agreed with.
Glad to hear that.
I think they’re great as well, but all of the lands need maintenance as do roads, bike paths and sidewalks. The bike path that parallels NE 53rd varies in width because the grass/ weeds has started to grow over it. Some portions are the standard width and some areas shrink to barely a foot and a half wide. Yes, I’ve called. Yes, there’s been work order requests. The path along NW 43rd has issues as well. Drainage is horrible and some parts of the year the brush is so high one can’t see the road from the sidewalk. Many others have made mention of some of the horrible roads throughout the county so I won’t bore anyone with redundancy.
Most do not charge but Kanapaha and Poe still do. I occasionally mix up some of the others, Devil’s Millhopper, San Felasco, and the Alachua Sink…my bad.
Still, the County has enough land and it’s becoming clear they don’t have the manpower to maintain it. I for one, don’t want a lifetime of increased taxes because others have the landownership to pass on to heirs and with the County’s help, will prevent anyone from encroaching on it. Until the state declares eminent domain that is.
You are correct on Poe Springs, my bad.
Kanapaha is a private non-profit. Devil’s Millhopper, San Felasco, and the Alachua Sink at Paynes Prairie are all state owned.
The people of Alachua County haven’t figured it out after all this time. They voted to tax themselves so that land can be bought by the county and taken off the tax rolls so the county can raise there taxes. As for roads and affordable housing that was placed on the referendum so the voters would pass the referendum. Wise up the county is using this to raise your taxes.
Since the county now has an actual “journalist” on staff, when will we see one of these travelogues about Saturday night ride along with a deputy? Or maybe a walk through downtown Gainesville at bar closing time? Or some interviews with the out of town visitors out at GRACE? Or maybe the dope smoking crowd that seems to float between various public properties?
It appears most didn’t actually read the story. From the story:
“The 10-year, $250 million Transportation Capital Improvement Plan was approved by the County Commission in May 2023,” Public Works Director Ramon Gavarrete said. “Now, we’re one year into the program. It took us some time to get all our ducks in a row, but now we’re pressing the accelerator. The public is going to start seeing a lot of projects. It’s really exciting.”
Maintaining transportation infrastructure is a problem nationwide. In the 1980s, the state turned over 200 miles of roads to Alachua County without providing adequate funding to maintain them. That was the start of the county’s backlog issues. In counties across Florida, general fund dollars are strained to cover mandated services such as law enforcement, jails, fire/rescue, and social services, to name a few. The tool that the state gives counties to pay for the massive costs of road projects is the infrastructure sales tax that voters must approve. There were three roads-only ballot initiatives in Alachua County. All three times they failed.
In 2022, the current Alachua County Commission had the courage to expand the very successful WSPP program into an omnibus ballot initiative that included funding for road improvements. Voters agreed that the time had come to use this funding source.
The WSPP funding added to general fund contributions, gas tax, and grants that allows Alachua County to put together a quarter of a billion dollars over the 10 years of the surtax. This funding makes possible hundreds of projects and makes significant progress on the county’s almost 700-mile road system. These projects include repaving, bridge rehabilitations, bike lanes and other major improvements.
Here are some of the over a dozen other projects that are currently in design, procurement or construction:
Mill and resurfacing of Northwest/Southwest 122nd Street – $5 million.
Preservation and repaving along three segments of Southwest 20th Avenue / Southwest 24th Avenue – $5.4 million.
Repaving of Southwest 46th Boulevard – $1.2 million.
Two segments of North C.R. 225 by Gainesville Raceway will have crack seal work for pavement preservation – $140,000.
Added turn lanes and resurfacing along parts of Northeast/Northwest 53rd Avenue (Animal Services entry) – $8.3 million.
Crack seal, rejuvenation, and resurfacing projects along Main Street (NW 16th Ave. to NE 39th Ave.) – $3.1 million.
Resurfacing of Northwest 170th Lane – $590,000.
The resurfacing of County Road 234 near Paynes Prairie – $5.9 million.
I read it all. The part about the commission’s “courage” was particularly funny.
Now, if Mr. Caplan could take a break from patting the county on the back and provide the Chronicle with a working link to a road and lane closures web page we be good to go.
You should have noticed a link to a project map and spreadsheet if you read the story.
I think this is about the link the City provides weekly for Alachua County road closures. It’s near the end of this press release: https://alachuachronicle.com/road-and-traffic-impacts-for-april-5-12-2024/
The link goes to a “Page Not Found”: https://alachuacounty.us/Depts/PW/transportation/Pages/CurrentReports.aspx
That is correct, JC. I’ve asked the county for a correct link to send you a number of times through their website contact page and have yet to get an any answer.
I thought it was the city who requested several roadways from the state in order to make them part of their “vision” for Gainesville. Main St in particular and most of us who travel it regularly know what a cluster that has become.
My political beliefs lean Libertarian but I do believe that it is in all of our interests to preserve wild land and parks for us and the future generations. Aren’t we all glad that Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon were protected ?
In Florida as millions are moving here and available land is gobbled up, it is critical that we preserve land for recreation and wild life. For once I agree with Jazzman and I support this minor tax except for the latest road and housing add on.