City Commission approves Solar PPA, repeals salary increase for commissioners, announces resignation of City Clerk

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Updated at 8:45 a.m. on 4/21 to fix vote on salary repeal.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At this afternoon’s Gainesville City Commission meeting, the commission voted unanimously to approve a Power Purchase Agreement with Origis, voted 6-1 to reverse the 90% raises adopted by the previous commission, and announced that City Clerk Omichele Gainey has submitted her resignation letter.

Solar PPA

Eric Walters, Chief Sustainability Officer for Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), introduced the agenda item, explaining the history of the project. The original contract, approved in July 2020, required Origis to build a 50 MW solar facility and required GRU to buy all of the generated electricity at $31.52/MWh. However, a contract amendment was signed in March 2022 to extend all of the deadlines in the original contract after the Alachua County Commission refused to approve a special zoning exception for the solar facility.

The second amendment to the contract was approved in February after a new site was selected and then paused in March for six weeks after the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) questioned the redactions in the contract that hid the pricing from the public. That amendment increased the capacity of the facility from 50 MW to 74.9 MW and increased the price to $40.56/MWh.

Walters told the commission that GRU officials had spoken with eight of the 11 JLAC members, including the Chair and the Vice Chair, and four of the members of the local legislative delegation between March 17 and April 13; he said JLAC members had “no concerns” about the terms and conditions in the contract amendment.

Walters said the JLAC legal team reviewed the City of Gainesville’s stance on the redacted prices, which were just unredacted this week, and agreed that the City of Gainesville had properly refused to reveal the prices and that Origis was within their rights to redact the prices and other terms and conditions in the contract. Walters also said that Origis’ permission to unredact the contracts “does not set a precedent for future contracts for GRU.”

Staff recommended that the City Commission authorize the GRU General Manager to execute the amendment to the contract and also not encourage future solar development on the previously-denied parcel, due to its proximity to a historic, rural African American community and cemetery. Attorney Nathan Skop previously brokered an agreement between the African American community and Origis to find a new site for the project.

Walters told the commission that the price per megawatt-hour in the contract is “lower than our average projected cost of power going forward.” He elaborated, “When we look over our history, so going back to 2005, and when we look going out 10 years, the cost of this contract is lower than our average cost of power.” Ward followed up, “So it is less expensive for us to follow this contract than we expect it to be to not do that?” Walters replied, “Correct.”

Walters said that if the City Commission did not approve the contract amendment, it was likely that Origis would decide not to build the project. Commissioner Reina Saco asked, “And then if we tried to do any more solar projects, we’d have to start all over?” Walters said that would lead to at least a few years of delay, and Saco followed up, “To get renewable, clean energy for the City that is cheaper than our current, if we don’t approve today?” Walters replied, “Correct.”

In response to a question from Commissioner Bryan Eastman about the price, Walters said, “Right now, natural gas prices are low. By the time we look at 2025, they’re projected to be [higher than the current price] and projected to increase from there. So based on the projections, this is still going to be below our average cost of power.”

Mayor Harvey Ward said, “I love that this is solar, I love that it is renewable energy, but that should not drive our decision. The fact that it is renewable should not be the driver, I don’t believe, for this. What should drive the decision… is not so much how much I want to see us have solar be part of our mix but the fact that we should let the math drive the decision. And it looks like… if we choose to do this, we are not listening to the math, and that is not how we should proceed.”

Ward thanked “everyone who has been involved in this… I want to thank folks from Origis, I want to thank the neighbors who live near the property for getting to a better place with this,… representation by Mr. Skop and his addition of items to this measure, Mr. Bielarski’s work on it, our current General Manager, all the team, Mr. Walters, the financial team at GRU… I appreciate the effort on everyone’s part.”

Saco made a motion to approve the staff’s recommendation, and the vote in favor of the motion was unanimous.

Jason Thomas, Senior Director, Project Development at Origis Energy for the Sand Bluff Solar Project in Alachua County told Alachua Chronicle, “Today the Gainesville City Commission voted to move the city’s first large-scale solar and storage project forward. It is a vote for carbon-free energy generation. It is a vote for price stability and lower energy generation costs. This vote is a vote for GRU ratepayers. Origis is committed to being a good partner with each and every community where we work, including here in Alachua County and the City of Gainesville. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the City of Gainesville, GRU, and the community to bring clean energy and lower generation costs to ratepayers.”

Salary repeal

With little discussion, the commission also adopted an ordinance that would repeal an ordinance passed on December 15, 2022, that would have nearly doubled their salaries in January 2024. Saco and Willits dissented in the 5-2 vote.

City Clerk resigning

During member comment, Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said that commissioners had just received a resignation letter from City Clerk Omichele Gainey. She said, “I want to commend the Clerk for the excellent job she has done since January 2018.” Ward said he was sorry to see her leave, but “life is about change.”

Gainey previously resigned in September 2021 and then rescinded her resignation nine days later. Gainey’s resignation is effective June 30, although she wrote that she is willing to work as a consultant for 90 days after that date.

Gainey’s resignation letter said, “In September of 2021, I reached the place where I find myself now, ready to end my time as Gainesville’s first African American City Clerk. Unknown to me at the time, there were several other departures taking place that weighed heavily on my decision to rescind my resignation and remain to provide stability within the city’s leadership team. During the last two years, I’ve been able to yield my insight and expertise to the fine individuals at the reins today and I am confident they will continue to provide stable leadership to the city’s workforce.”