High Springs City Commission discusses budget cuts, moves to purchase historic Priest Theater, prepares to hire new City Manager

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – At a January 11 Budget Workshop followed by a Regular Meeting, the High Springs City Commission heard proposed ways to cut the City budget in a few departments for the upcoming fiscal year. Commissioners voted to submit an offer to purchase the Priest Theater, along with some of the projection equipment inside, and also decided to select five finalists for the open City Manager position at their next meeting on January 25, when each Commissioner will rate the candidates.

Budget cuts

During the Budget Workshop portion of the meeting, City Manager Ashley Stathatos listed the departments with the highest expenditures: Police ($2,769,547), Fire ($2,515,323), Public Works ($900,245), IT ($404,622), and Parks & Recreation ($395,864). Stathatos said she and her staff had gone through “three or four rounds” of finding cuts, and she didn’t think more cuts were possible. 

High Springs Police Chief J. Antoine Sheppard showed the slide below and discussed some possible cuts his department is considering. He mentioned decreasing community education programs and other ways to reduce overtime pay. Sheppard said that special events policing should be charged to Parks & Recreation instead of his department’s budget. The Chief added that since their K-9 dog Caesar was recently retired, he recommended going without a dog and handler until the department has the funds to pay for it. He closed by saying, “We’re trying to be extremely frugal with the budget.”

Andy Burkhalter of the High Springs Fire Department said his department is prepared to cancel two “high-end” software products they now use, Silent Partner Technology and Target Solutions. And, Burkhalter said, some training can be reduced without impacting safety. 

Mayor Katherine Weitz asked whether the fire department really needs the three SUVs they currently have. She suggested they return the third vehicle to the leasing company to save that extra money. Weitz also suggested they sell the recently-purchased rescue boat since it is brand new and they can rely on surrounding departments’ boats when the need for a rescue boat arises. Burkhalter said the other nearby agencies had expressed excitement that High Springs had added a boat to the local rescue fleet.

City Manager Stathatos said, “I would like to add on the vehicles that… Thomas is looking at them holistically city-wide and trying to get all the options… I just don’t want you to think we’re over here chilling about the vehicles.” Weitz suggested reviewing the necessity for the vehicles that are taken home by employees, since that adds to insurance costs.

Stathatos finished the Budget Workshop by saying, “I think these cuts are very important to do. I wouldn’t be having them done if I didn’t. Number one, you want to be a good steward of the community’s money. Number two, I don’t think we want to leave a margin of error going forward. So I do think we need to make cuts.”

School zone traffic cameras

Following some special presentations to community groups, Mayor Weitz began the Commission Meeting by revisiting two items of unfinished business. The first item was the second reading of an ordinance allowing the use of school zone traffic cams and providing for a local hearing officer for anyone wishing to appeal their citations. 

Responding to a question from an audience member, City Attorney Scott Walker advised, “We have a Code Enforcement Officer. I would think that person possibly could serve in this role. That’s something that we need to have done and appointed at some stage so that the person could come in and say, ‘Wait a minute. This picture is not my car. It’s a different car. There’s a license plate mistake here.’  Whatever it is… There’s all kinds of things theoretically that somebody could come in and say, ‘I have a defense against paying this.’ Largely, I would believe people will pay the fine and not go through the hearing process. But there needs to be that ability under the statute.” Chief Sheppard added that there would be no additional cost to the City for the hearing officer since it would someone already on the payroll.

Commissioner Byran Williams made a motion to approve the ordinance on second reading, and Commissioner Tristan Grunder seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

Priest Theater

Weitz introduced the second item of unfinished business: discuss, consider, and act on purchasing the Priest Theater. Stathatos reminded commissioners that the City had received a grant of $1.04 million to purchase and restore the theater. A recent appraisal placed the value of the building and property at $310,000. Equipment appraised at $45,400 inside the theater includes two projectors, a projection screen, a digital sound system, and a popcorn machine. 

Architect Paul Stressing said that codes require bringing a building up to current codes, including accessibility, if repairs exceed more than 50% of the value of the building or if the use of the building changes. Stressing said, “The tricky thing is the value of repairs would trip that threshold. However, I would argue and I would suggest that I have no problem writing a letter as an architect of record, and… I’m also the architect for the City as well as the County. I could author a letter basically saying… that the building, as noted in my report, has some serious structural concerns, and if not addressed in the near future, there could be catastrophic failure of the roof. I would recommend to the authority having jurisdiction, which is your local building official, that the balance of the building would not have to be brought up to codes dealing with handicap accessibility (or) things of that nature.”

Stressing said the historical significance of the building is very unique. Weitz asked if the grant will be enough to structurally stabilize it and fix the roof, and Stressing said he thought it would be enough, in his professional opinion.

Stathatos said they needed to make a motion to at least show interest. She said, “I think that they’re wanting $350,000 for the contents and the Priest Theater. I think that could get us a deal.” She added that the current owners are motivated to sell it to the City to preserve its legacy, so they should be able to work something out.

Weitz asked if the historical significance might make it harder to find a buyer. Stressing said it’s an incredible building with history and has a stage for live performances, in addition to serving as a movie theater. 

Responding to a question from the audience about lost property tax revenue, Stathatos said it shouldn’t take long to get the repairs done and sell the building; also, the value of the building will be increased, which will result in sufficient additional property tax revenue to recoup any temporary losses. 

Grunder made a motion to purchase the Priest Theater with the two projectors and screen for a price under $350,000 including closing costs, with the stipulation that the building will not have to be made ADA-compliant. Williams seconded the motion. Walker said the seller will have to approve the offer, and then it will need to be signed by all parties. The motion passed 4-0, with one seat vacant.

Hiring a new City Manager

Mayor Weitz said they needed to decide whether to hire an interim City Manager since Ashley Stathatos’s last day of work will be February 29. Commissioner Williams expressed concerns that the fifth Commissioner who will be elected in March would not have any input in selecting the new City Manager or be part of the process. 

After some debate and input from audience members, and in light of the fact that Stathatos has an illness in her immediate family, the commission decided to proceed with the selection process and not hire an interim City Manager. They plan to select five High Springs City Manager finalist candidates at their next meeting, on January 25.