Gainesville City Commission approves GRU ballot referendum on first reading, passes school zone speed camera ordinance on second reading, restores northbound 6th Street to two lanes

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the June 5 Gainesville City Commission meeting, Commissioners heard from a firefighter about facility conditions, scheduled a special election on GRU governance for November on first reading, approved a school zone speed camera ordinance on second reading, and reversed the changes to the northbound side of NW 6th Street near the police station.

Fire station conditions

During early public comment, James Adams, a Gainesville Fire Rescue Driver/Operator and Shift Representative for the Executive Board of Local 2157, said, “Other than the stations constructed in 2011 and 2017, our facilities are in dire straits. We have stations with sewage problems, a cockroach infestation, mold, a temporary trailer that… has been operating since 2017, and quite frankly, it’s falling apart, leaking roofs, air conditioning systems that operate intermittently.”

Adams said crews in Station 2 slept in 90-degree heat for the entire month of June last summer: “Many of these buildings, if they were a medical facility or restaurant, would be shut down immediately, if it is unsanitary and possesses a health risk to those who are living in these conditions for a large majority of their lives.” 

He said employees have gone on traumatic calls and returned to the station covered in blood or other hazardous materials and couldn’t take a shower due to sewage and plumbing issues; he said he believes that is being addressed at Station 5. He said the problem is not a reflection on the current City Manager or City Commissioners but has developed over three decades: “I implore you to take action and cement your legacy as a Commission and City leadership by investing in the fire department to a level that has not been done yet for the citizens, for the first responders, and for the families.”

Before moving on to the next agenda item, Mayor Harvey Ward said, “Madam Manager, let’s talk after the meeting.”

Historical inventory of GCRA projects

After a quarterly presentation about the Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area (GCRA), Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker said she was interested in “an inventory or a list of projects and investments by district, from the GCRA implementation up to now” and suggested that Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut might also be interested in that. Chestnut asked for “the contributions from [each] area, as well as the projects.”

Duncan-Walker made a motion to ask staff to “bring back an inventory of projects and investments by district of GCRA since its implementation to the present.” She added Chestnut’s request for “the contributions as well… over time.”

Ward pointed out that the GCRA goes back 45 years, so the request would be “a very heavy lift,” but City Manager Cynthia Curry said her staff could bring a draft back and get feedback from the Commission on whether that’s what they wanted.

Duncan-Walker said, “If that takes time, well, it just takes time. GCRA is a major bucket of money where people are looking at us for accountability.”

Chestnut said the motion would provide “a historical perspective… And then going forward, you will keep it catalogued in that way, so that you always know what was spent in each district.”

Duncan-Walker: “If you have the historic context, you can say, ‘You know what, in 1973 we didn’t put the money over into these areas. That’s why the sidewalks are looking the way that they’re looking. And we probably need to take a look at investing some more money over there.'”

Duncan-Walker said, “Only in part is this historical relevance key for me. You know, the things that we did 40 years ago and the policies that were crafted at this dais 40 years ago have impacted what we’re looking at now, the way communities were invested or disinvested 40 years ago… That guides my ability to say, you know, there was some inequities in terms of how money was being spent. We don’t want to do that moving forward and in the future… If you have the historic context, you can say, ‘You know what, in 1973 we didn’t put the money over into these areas. That’s why the sidewalks are looking the way that they’re looking. And we probably need to take a look at investing some more money over there.’ So that’s the way that I kind of take a look at things… Historic context is one, but in order for me to understand, engage in equities, that’s another.” She said transparency is also important.

Chestnut read a quote from John Hope Franklin: “If the house is to be set in order, one cannot begin with the present.”

The motion passed unanimously.

Special election on GRU governance

In the first action item of the afternoon session, Commissioner James Ingle made a motion to schedule a special election for November 4, 2025, with a ballot question asking voters whether control of GRU should be returned to the City Commission; the motion passed unanimously, approving the ordinance on first reading. The second reading will be at the Commission’s June 12 Special Meeting. 

Ward told the large crowd that showed up to support the special election, “Stay engaged, because it ain’t over yet.”

Filing notice to appeal ruling on previous ballot referendum

City Attorney Daniel Nee said the City had received notice that the GRU Authority is appealing Count I of its lawsuit against the previous ballot referendum (the right of the City to amend its Charter with a ballot referendum), so the City would “of course be defending that appeal.” He said that since the City would be in the appellate court anyway, he recommended filing notice to preserve their right to appeal Count II (the ballot language); he said it would probably cost about $150,000 over the next year. 

Eastman made the motion to follow that recommendation, and the motion passed unanimously.

School zone speed camera ordinance

The Commission passed a school zone speed camera ordinance unanimously on second reading.

Returning northbound NW 6th Street to two lanes

During Commission Comment, Chestnut said she’d been stuck in traffic on NW 6th Street because it has been reconfigured to a single lane in both directions, and she wanted to change it back. Special Advisor for Infrastructure Brian Singleton said the current plan includes adding a southbound bicycle lane in the outside lane and on-street parking on the northbound side; he said it would be expensive to change the bicycle lane back to a traffic lane, but on the northbound side, they could eliminate the on-street parking and reopen the lane. He said the parking was added “to have parking closer to the police station’s front lobby.”

Chestnut made a motion to reopen the northbound lane to car traffic, and the motion passed 5-2, with Ward and Commissioner Casey Willits in dissent.