High Springs City Commission accepts $1.9 million wastewater grant, extends City Manager Jeremy Marshall’s contract by three years

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – At their February 27 Regular Meeting, the High Springs City Commission agreed to accept a $1.9 million grant to extend wastewater service to approximately 20 homes off CR 236, agreed to a three-year contract extension for City Manager Jeremy Marshall, and discussed providing fire/EMS service for the upcoming Pioneer Days.

Recognition of a promotion, new police officers, and school crossing guards

The meeting began with Police Chief J. Antoine Sheppard administering the oath of office to two newly-hired police officers. Sheppard said Officer Nick Whiteman is from the Florida Key; he joined the U.S. Army in 2002 as an Airborne Infantryman, deployed to Iraq in 2003 and 2004, and has worked for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office for 14 years. Officer Drew Wilson is from Gainesville; he joined the Army, fought in Syria, and currently serves in the Army Reserves. Whiteman has a bachelor’s degree, and Wilson is finishing his this semester at UF. 

Sheppard recognized Sergeant Jason Taylor, who will soon be promoted to Lieutenant, and presented certificates of recognition to High Springs’ two crossing guards, Margaret May and David Gardener, both employed at High Springs Community School.

Wastewater grant

The next item revisited a recurring discussion about whether to accept a $1.9 million grant from the State to facilitate the extension of wastewater service to approximately 20 homes off CR 236. City Attorney Scott Walker said the contractor is willing to honor the previously quoted price of $1.6 million, and other charges will bring the total cost of the project to $1.9 million. Walker said the grant will cover the entire cost, including the hookup fees that are normally charged to customers. 

Commissioner Wayne Bloodsworth asked whether impact fees will need to be charged. Walker said he didn’t yet have a definitive answer, but he didn’t think there was any way to not charge impact fees. Bloodsworth said he contacted some of the residents who will be affected, and all of them are in favor of doing the wastewater extension.

Commissioner Katherine Weitz asked whether waiving the hookup fees, as Walker mentioned, would be consistent with the normal way the City does business. Walker said, “I did not research that, and I don’t know if we’ve waived hookup fees in the past. I think that is something that would be doable if you decide to waive that, but I don’t know how we’ve handled that in the past.” A staff member said a previous grant for a different project did not cover the hookup fees, and so the residents had to pay it. Weitz expressed concerns about being consistent all the time, in the interest of fairness.

Commissioner Chad Howell made a motion to move forward with accepting the grant for the wastewater extension, and Bloodsworth seconded his motion. It passed unanimously. Weitz asked for “follow-up,… just in terms of making sure we’re being consistent.”

Public comment

During the public comment period, Claudia Wolfson said she is the president of the High Springs Garden Club, which has existed since 1954. She said her club shares a City-owned building with the Boy Scouts of America and Narcotics Anonymous/Alcoholics Anonymous. Wolfson said the building, built in 1949, was badly damaged by the most recent hurricane when a pine tree fell through the roof; the building was condemned, and the groups are no longer allowed to use it. She requested that the City take action to repair the building since the club represents the only social interaction many of its 32 members have, and its members come from all walks of life. Wolfson asked the City to find a different building for her club to use, if the building is to remain condemned and unusable.

City Manager Jeremy Marshall said an insurance claim was filed and the claim to fix the roof was denied because the walls were deemed structurally unsafe. Marshall said, “I’m fighting with them, and now they’re sending an engineer out to take a look at the structure and see how they’re going to fix the walls and then do the roof. It’s going to take time.” Marshall said Jennifer Applebee of Parks & Recreation will be contacting the Garden Club to try to find a different location they can use in the meantime.

Julie Tapia-Ruano asked for an update on the progress of the restoration of the historic Priest Theater. Marshall said the engineer had to re-do the technical drawings after performing some tests on the walls to determine their strength. The drawings are now complete and approved, Marshall said, and the engineer will begin receiving bids from contractors “so they can start the structural reconstruction.”

Extension of the City Manager’s contract

City Attorney Walker introduced the next item, a three-year contract to extend the employment of City Manager Jeremy Marshall. Walker reminded everyone that Marshall’s contract can always be terminated by a majority vote of three Commissioners, either “for cause” or “without cause.” Walker said Marshall’s salary is approximately $122,000, along with health insurance, a small automobile allowance, paid time off, and other benefits, including severance pay of up to 20 weeks. 

With only one exception, all the comments about Marshall were positive. Weitz complimented Marshall on his willingness to start working right away and how hard he worked. Weitz said, “I think Mr. Marshall has demonstrated an unparalleled ability to lead… I think we’re incredibly lucky to have him.”

Bloodsworth said, “The City was… going in a wrong direction, and he is doing all he can, along with our good staff we have, to get it on the right foot… I say continue on.”

Mayor Tristan Grunder said he has always been a fan of Marshall’s since he has been there. 

During public comment on the motion, Kelly Crews, a realtor who represents the Bridlewood development, said that she had been triggered by Marshall’s behavior the previous day: “I’m here to speak about a violent event that took place yesterday. We started off the meeting, and I feel that Mr. Marshall was pretty angry about some events that were happening. He was contacted by some State officials that kind of made him upset over some things that we were going through as a development. We tried to explain the situation, and both parties were speaking kind of over each other, and unfortunately that’s when, like, the aggressive yelling and banging of his fists on his desk started happening… I am a survivor of domestic violence, both growing up and in a previous marriage, and it really triggered me substantially. I wasn’t really able to work out of my home today. I wasn’t really able to concentrate on a lot of stuff yesterday. After the meeting, I had to file a complaint with the Sheriff’s department, and I’m here to request that the Commission start a formal investigation about the City Manager’s ethical behavior and professional manner that took place during yesterday’s attack, and I also will be submitting a formal written complaint to the Commission tomorrow.”

Police Chief Sheppard expressed his strong support for Marshall, and he encouraged trying to minimize turnover. Anna Weitz of the High Springs Youth Council said, “Mr. Marshall is the prime example of competence.” Linda Jones said, “I agree wholeheartedly with the two previous speakers. I object strenuously to someone coming up and lodging a complaint against the City Manager without having put forth a complaint,… and I think it’s very inappropriate.” Janet Evans praised Marshall’s fiscal responsibility compared to his predecessor. 

Utility Billing Manager April Roberts said, “As a previous domestic abuse survivor, I have worked with this man day-in and day-out, and not once have I been afraid of him. Not once has he lost his temper. Not once has he showed anything other than caring, kind words… We are in such a better place now than we were a year ago.” Public Information Officer Kevin Mangan said he knew instantly that Marshall was the right person for the job when he met him. Rick Testa also made a positive comment.

Weitz made a motion to approve the three-year contract extension, Commissioner Chad Howell seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

Marshall thanked everyone for having faith in him, especially all the staff members who showed up to support him.

Fire/EMS services for Pioneer Days

The last item of business was providing fire/EMS services for the upcoming Pioneer Days. After some discussion, it was decided that the Pioneer Days organizers will need to pay for emergency services this year at the rate of $120/hour for 13 hours (two employees at $60/hour each). However, they will be allowed to pay in three monthly installments since they weren’t charged in the past and this is a new, unplanned expense for them.