Gainesville City Commission approves funds to renovate buildings, unfreezes Compliance Manager position

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During the evening session of the February 19 Gainesville City Commission meeting, the board approved funds to renovate several buildings and unfroze a Compliance Manager position that had been frozen during the FY26 budget process.

Click here to read our article on the afternoon session of the February 19 meeting.

Click here to read our article about the Commission’s approval of GRU financial transactions at the February 19 meeting.

Wilhelmina Johnson Center

Commissioners approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price Agreement for $1.86 million dollars to renovate the Wilhelmina Johnson Center. Interim Chief Operating Officer Brian Singleton said the renovation is a “full refresh of the building, including restoring some of the original architectural finishes such as the Spanish tile roof, some of the elements of the original front porch, and exterior doors and windows. There will be a new roof, doors, windows, ceilings, flooring, paint, interior/exterior lighting, and new bathrooms.” The renovations will also include ADA corrections, sidewalk improvements, repaving the parking lot, and improved site drainage. 

There was no public comment, and Mayor Harvey Ward said, “Well, of course — it’s only $2 million. I’m consistently mystified that nobody speaks on these things, but it’s okay.”

The vote was 6-0, with Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker absent throughout the meeting.

Community Center in the Porters Neighborhood

In another 6-0 vote, Commissioners approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price Agreement for $545k for the renovation of and addition to a City-owned building that will be used as a community center in the Porters neighborhood. The building is located at 225 SW 5th Avenue and will allow community groups to meet during the afternoon, when the Porters Community Center is closed to the public because it is hosting childcare programs.

Ward said he was “very happy that we’re getting this done in the Porters community with money that existed from the previous CRA in that spot. I’m glad we’re delivering on the promise. I do choke a little on the very high per-square-foot price because I understand that’s what it costs,… but that’s a lot of money. And this is a theme you’ll hear for the rest of the evening.”

GTEC Center Building Renovation

The next agenda item was the approval of a Guaranteed Maximum Price Agreement for $5.1 million to renovate the interior of the GTEC Center Building. Before the presentation, Ward said, “Y’all remember when I said that’s a lot of money? Well, this is a lot of money.”

Bill Dorman from the Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area (GCRA) told the Commission that GTEC is the City’s business incubator. It was built in 1999, funded by a grant, and in 2019, the GCRA took over management of the facility. In 2021, the GCRA moved its offices to the GTEC Center. 

Dorman said a needs assessment found that the building has non-ADA-compliant restrooms, the first floor is mostly large lab spaces, it has a large administrative office, the conference rooms are disjointed and don’t flow well for large meetings, and the second floor mostly consists of open-plan spaces with a bunch of cubicles. Dorman said, “In summary, the GTEC building was built as a technology incubator, and it never connected directly to the community in East Gainesville.”

The renovation will make the administrative office smaller, move the reception area to the lobby, and move the conference rooms to the back, with an entrance directly off the parking lot for community events. It will create more small offices and office suites to replace the open-plan spaces. Dorman said the renovation will allow the facility to host up to 64 individual companies.

Commissioner Casey Willits said it seemed like “a big chunk [of GCRA money], all in one place.”

Commissioner Chestnut: “I just have some concerns about the cost, because we really could get a Senior Center out of this. It just seems so high.”

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said, “I just have some concerns about the cost, because we really could get a Senior Center out of this. It just seems so high… I don’t feel comfortable with this. I must tell you, I don’t feel comfortable with it. I just think it’s expensive, and we don’t have a guarantee [that the office space will fill up].”

In response to a question from Ward about how much the offices would rent for, Dorman said they range from $175/month for a 100-square-foot office without a window to $600/month for a 300-square-foot office. He said they could also offer co-working spaces. He added, “We’ve heard the conversation that [County] Commissioner [Anna] Prizzia has had about moving a Farm Stop to the Cornerstone campus. We think we can align with that vision, and it would align with what we have in store and hope to promote for GTEC.”

Mayor Ward: “A thing that I would really like to get into somewhere east of Waldo Road… is some kind of financial services… It will require a leap of faith by a financial services company to do this, so we have to be helpful with that. We have to take that leap of faith with somebody.”

Ward said, “A thing that I would really like to get into somewhere east of Waldo Road, and this is the most likely place for it, is some kind of financial services. That could be as simple, frankly, as an ATM in the lobby or near the lobby… It will require a leap of faith by a financial services company to do this, so we have to be helpful with that. We have to take that leap of faith with somebody.”

Commissioner Bryan Eastman pointed out that it’s different from spending the money on a Senior Center because GTEC produces revenue.

Interim City Manager Andrew Persons said the renovation fits within the City’s overall Economic Development Plan. He also pointed out that each of the projects discussed that evening were reinvestments into improving existing City facilities, and that sends a strong message about the importance of good stewardship.

The GTEC renovations were approved 6-0, with Duncan-Walker absent.

Unfreezing a Compliance Manager position

The final agenda item was a request from Director of Equity and Inclusion Zeriah Folston to unfreeze a Compliance Manager position that was frozen in last year’s budget discussions; Folston said the cost of the position for the rest of this fiscal year, including benefits, is $63,586.60, but it could be less if the position is not filled immediately.

Folston argued that this position is essential to the City’s ability to promptly and effectively respond to complaints of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation filed by both employees and members of the public. The staff presentation stated that in the first quarter of FY26, the office had 47 inquiries and 10 cases opened, with one employee; in FY24, for example, there were two employees doing that work, and they had 85 inquiries and 19 cases for the entire year, so the workload has increased.

Persons said he believed the City could take the funds from excess salary savings this year, and “we’ve got a plan to cover the cost.”

Willits made a motion to unfreeze the Compliance Manager position.

Commissioner Ed Book said the position is important because it involves risk and liability, but he said the City Auditor may also want to unfreeze some positions. 

Commissioner Eastman: “It’s one thing to say, ‘Well, we can get this sorted out with a little bit of reserve funds here.’ It’s a lot different when you’re looking five years down the road.”

Eastman reminded the Commission that they had gone through an extensive budget exercise of looking at all of the frozen positions, how much they would cost in future years, and whether the City’s projected revenue would cover them. He said, “It’s one thing to say, ‘Well, we can get this sorted out with a little bit of reserve funds here.’ It’s a lot different when you’re looking five years down the road,… so I would want to reconsider the budget at that point.” He said, however, that the frozen positions were usually positions that were vacant, and “sometimes that means that the positions that we let go weren’t necessarily the highest and best use, if you were to neutrally look at everything. And I think the Compliance Manager for Equal Opportunity was clearly one of those things that — we need to make sure that we’re moving through those compliance reviews… This is the core function of the Office of Equal Opportunity in our Charter.”

Interim City Manager Persons: “I’m a big believer in making sure we do a great job with providing service, but I also don’t want to be turning around, having to lay folks off, because we have uncertain budget waters ahead of us this year.”

Persons said he “would strongly urge the Commission — as we’re talking about unfreezing positions, please, let’s do it through the budget process.” He reminded them that changes on property taxes are still being discussed in Tallahassee. He added, “I’m a big believer in making sure we do a great job with providing service, but I also don’t want to be turning around, having to lay folks off, because we have uncertain budget waters ahead of us this year.”

Mayor Ward: “I’m a little less concerned about the property tax thing than a lot of folks are, because I’m an eternal optimist; I believe in the good sense of the people of Florida… But even if that doesn’t change, we are not headed for a year where there’s money to spend.”

Ward said, “I am in agreement that we should fill this position. I am worried when we talk about unfreezing other positions, because it’s easier once we start… We’re going to hear from some folks on March 5 about some spending that is not budgeted… We need to be very careful. I’m a little less concerned about the property tax thing than a lot of folks are, because I’m an eternal optimist; I believe in the good sense of the people of Florida… But even if that doesn’t change, we are not headed for a year where there’s money to spend… I’m going to vote for this, but we need to be extra careful, said the guy who just voted for a $5.1 million renovation to a building that’s already in use.”

The motion passed 6-0, with Duncan-Walker absent.