High Spring City Commission approves millage and budget, hires code enforcement contractor and special magistrate

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – At their September 12 Regular Meeting, the High Springs City Commission approved the next fiscal year’s property tax millage rate and City budget on first readings. They also renewed a lease with High Springs BMX and selected vendors for code enforcement and special magistrate services. 

Education Foundation of Alachua County presentation

Tia Paul, the executive director of the Education Foundation of Alachua County, gave a presentation on the work her group has been doing. She explained that the nonprofit was started in 1986, and they help with teacher grants of $2,000 to $5,000 each (partially funded by state “Catalyst for Change” grants), thirty-nine Teacher of the Year awards, and post-secondary pathways. Paul said the post-secondary pathways program awards scholarships to graduating seniors, and they gave grants of $1,000 to $5,000 totaling $539,000 to 117 seniors this past year. She said her group also helps with ongoing education for teachers. Paul showed the following slide with additional information:

Paul discussed the Take Stock in Children program, which currently serves 314 students: “The students come in between grades 6 and 9, and then when they come into the program they receive a mentor who meets with them once a week at their school. They also receive college readiness services. And then when they graduate, they get a two-year Florida Prepaid scholarship that pays for their tuition for two years at a state college.” Paul said the program has 38% male students, and they are working to increase that percentage. She said 97% of the participants graduate high school on time, 80% enter college or Career and Technical Education programs, and 70% graduate. 

Mayor Katherine Weitz said, “Thank you for coming. We appreciate it. It’s a nice way to start a meeting.”

Property tax rate and budget

City Attorney Scott Walker introduced a first reading of the millage rate. He said the tentative proposed rate is 6.7400, 5.64% higher than the rolled-back rate of 6.3802 and 3.6% lower than the previous year’s rate of 6.9900. Walker said the final public hearing to consider the budget and millage rate will be held on Monday, September 23, at 6:30 p.m.   

Finance Director Diane Wilson said lowering the millage rate from 6.9900 to 6.7400 will generate more revenue and is considered a tax increase. She discussed the $27.2 million budget and said all water customers will pay $3.99 per month more and residential solid waste customers will see a $3.00 increase on their bills. 

Mayor Weitz asked Wilson about the previous costs for solid waste services. After hearing Wilson’s answer, Weitz said, “Commissioner Williams is the only other one up here that, when we voted on changing over to Waste Pro, remembered us being told that they were going to honor the current prices. And now we are at double. I have a hard time explaining that to people when they ask, but I mean this is contractually what we’re obligated to.”

Weitz asked whether the new AMI meters are saving the City money by billing more accurately for water usage. Wilson said it will take a full calendar year to determine that, but the AMI meters should be able to determine leaks in the system more quickly and save resources that way.

City Manager Jeremy Marshall said he is spending his first year on the job cutting costs, and his next year will be spent looking for ways to increase revenue. He said he does not want to raise taxes; extra revenue can come from user fees, leases, and other non-tax sources such as renting out the new Douglass Community Center. 

Commissioner Wayne Bloodsworth asked whether any other fire departments are interested in buying the fire truck that High Springs wants to sell. Marshall said a fire department in North Carolina has expressed an interest and will be sending someone to look at it.

Marshall said his budget for next year should “help slow the spending, get it under control.” 

Commissioner Byran Williams made a motion to approve the property tax millage rate, and Commissioner Andrew Miller seconded the motion. It passed 4-0 during a roll call vote, with Commissioner Tristan Grunder absent throughout the meeting.

Attorney Walker introduced a resolution to approve the city budget on first reading. Since the budget had already been discussed as part of the previous item, there was no need for further discussion. Miller made a motion to approve the budget, and Williams seconded the motion. It passed 4-0 during a roll call vote. Weitz thanked Wilson and Marshall for their hard work on the budget. Marshall said all the department heads deserve credit.

High Springs BMX lease

Commissioners heard a resolution to renew a lease of land to High Springs BMX for another five years at $1 per year. A representative of the BMX track said the facility has been operating for 20 years and they have attracted visitors from 38 states and 16 countries. She said many arrive a few days before big events so that they can camp and swim, and some even return to the High Springs area to vacation.

Weitz said, “We always know when there’s big stuff going on there. It’s very nice for downtown businesses. We have a lot of foot traffic, so we love it.”

Miller made a motion to approve the lease renewal, and Bloodsworth seconded the motion. It passed 4-0 during a roll call vote.

Code enforcement services

Attorney Walker introduced a resolution to make an agreement with Wildan Engineering for code enforcement services, paid at the rate of $750 per week based on 10 hours of services. Walker said the agreement is for one year and can be extended for one-year terms. He said the company will have to comply with public records laws, provide insurance, and archive records for at least three years, among other statutory requirements. 

Miller asked if High Springs residents will always have the same officer. Marshall said that will normally be the case unless the officer has an illness or some other personal issue. Marshall added that there is a huge backlog of cases, and time is of the essence.

Bloodsworth made a motion to accept the resolution, and Williams seconded the motion. It passed 4-0 during a roll cate vote.

Special magistrate services

In July, the City issued a RFP (request for proposals) for special magistrate services, to hear code enforcement cases and traffic camera appeals. Walker said they had two possible candidates they were considering: Dukes Legal would charge a flat rate of $300/hour, and Mike Durham would charge $200/hour with a guaranteed monthly minimum of eight hours.

Marshall said, “I looked through them. They’re both equally qualified. I like the proposal from Dukes [Legal] a little better because it doesn’t have the minimum. If you do $200 per hour, eight-hour minimum, as Mr. Durham proposes, it’s $1,600 per month. Dukes Legal plans on holding one session a month, and if there’s no contested cases, he will not hold a hearing and will not charge us… That’s my recommendation.”

Commissioners followed Marshall’s recommendation and voted 4-0 to approve an agreement with Dukes Legal.

Bridlewood workshop canceled

During final comments, Marshall suggested canceling the proposed CDD (community development district) workshop since the Bridlewood developers have changed their minds and decided not to go with a CDD-based plan.

Marshall said that the mold remediation at the fire station will begin in two weeks, and Camp Kulaqua may let the firefighters stay there during the remediation process.