High Springs City Commission finalizes water, wastewater, and solid waste rates, prepares to install school zone traffic cameras

High Springs City Commission meets on December 14

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – At their December 14 meeting, the High Springs City Commission voted to raise water, wastewater, and solid waste rates. They also approved the amended 2022-2023 budget and passed an ordinance to allow the enforcement of speeding citations in school zones using cameras.

Amended budget for previous fiscal year

After presenting awards to two local teachers, Mayor Katherine Weitz introduced an item of unfinished business, the second reading of the amended 2022-2023 City budget. City Manager Ashley Stathatos said, “Mayor and Commission, this is a simple one. It’s just true-upping the budget at the end of the year, which is required by State statute… It’s the second reading, and this is required every year… It just is showing what was actually the actual revenues and expenditures and how the year ended.” 

In City Attorney Scott Walker’s absence, Danielle Adams of the Folds Walker Law Firm read the ordinance into the record. Commissioner Tristan Grunder made a motion to approve the ordinance as read, and Commissioner Andrew Miller seconded the motion. No members of the public chose to speak. The ordinance passed 5-0. 

Second reading of water rates

Weitz introduced the next item of unfinished business, the second reading of a resolution increasing water rates by CPI (the Consumer Price Index). Stathatos said the City has the option of making an ordinance that would raise the rates by CPI automatically each year, but there is currently no such ordinance, so a vote would be required every year to increase the rates. After a question from Weitz, Adams said, “In the future, if you’d like me to bring back an ordinance that allows you all to raise rates by CPI every year without it having to come in front of you, that’s absolutely something we can put together.” 

Commissioner Steven Tapanes said, “I like the fact that it comes in front of the Commissioners first, to keep us aware, so if there’s any increases to follow, we can always step back and say okay, we did CPI, and now why are we raising it again? So in that sense, I think it’s good that it actually comes in front of us.”

Grunder said he liked the idea of automatic CPI increases, but he agreed with Tapanes that anything higher than CPI should come before the Commission. 

Grunder made a motion to accept the water rates increasing by CPI, and Tapanes seconded the motion. It passed 4-0, with Commissioner Byran Williams abstaining.

Second reading of wastewater rates

The next item was a second reading of a resolution raising sewer (wastewater) rates by CPI. Weitz said, “I just want to make sure that people know that we’re not taking these increases lightly at all. And the Mayor from the City of Newberry reached out to me earlier this week and invited me to come down and meet with him and his City Manager to discuss the regional wastewater treatment plant that they thought that High Springs wasn’t interested in. I don’t know if we are or not… I think they have Archer on board, Newberry obviously, and maybe Trenton. And they’ve gotten grant money from DEP to lay the pipe from Archer to Newberry already, so it’s a conversation I’m definitely interested in having… We’re looking at everything we can in terms of not raising rates.” 

Weitz said the City’s grinder pumps are wearing out, and replacing the pumps will be a significant expense. Tapanes said he and City staff have been working on ways to better maintain the pumps and keep them from wearing out faster than necessary. 

Grunder made a motion to accept the wastewater rate resolution as read, and Miller seconded the motion. The resolution passed 5-0. 

Second reading of solid waste rates

Weitz introduced the last item of unfinished business, a second reading of a resolution increasing solid waste rates by CPI. Stathatos said, “In previous meetings, y’all wanted staff to go back and have discussions with Waste Pro, and Waste Pro is willing to meet with y’all one-on-one and open to discussions. They can’t promise anything because it’s a contract already approved and set in place, but they’re open to speaking with us.” 

Weitz asked Adams if they could hold off on the commercial solid waste rates and pass only residential, and Adams said they could do that but suggested clarity when making a motion. 

Tapanes said, “The only thing I’m trying to do, I guess, is buy a little time to, at least, let’s get a feel for if Waste Pro is going to work with us and try to do something, because if ultimately we can get the commercial part directly to them, it’s going to be good for us.”

Grunder asked, “Can we approve the whole thing tonight and then come back and change it in January?” Adams said that would be possible, provided proper notification is given.  

Grunder complimented Waste Pro on the quality of their service and the lack of complaints the City receives about them. No audience members chose to speak.

Tapanes made a motion to pass the residential rate increase and table the commercial rates until a future meeting. The motion failed for lack of a second.

Grunder made a motion to pass the resolution as written and have some meetings with Waste Pro, and Williams seconded the motion. It passed unanimously. 

Tapanes said, “We were supposed to get Scott Walker out there, and whoever else could go, to try to repair this as much as possible, and nothing got done.” Miller pointed out, “No offense, Steve, but there was a conversation that was had, and they left you out of the conversation. Just for the record.” (Miller was referring to Tapanes previously asking to be included in Walker’s conversation with Waste Pro, which did not occur.)

School zone cameras

Weitz introduced an ordinance adding school zone speed infractions issued by traffic detectors (cameras). High Springs Police Chief J. Antoine Sheppard spoke: “We’ve discussed this particular topic for several months, so now we have advanced where there’s an ordinance, and as you stated, this is related to the school zone. The attorney has reviewed and presented this, so if you have any questions, myself or the attorney, we’re available. This is the first reading of the ordinance.”

Sheppard and Adams clarified that the ordinance covers only one school zone, and the ordinance would need to be amended to add any additional school zones in the future. 

Sheppard said, “There’s still a police officer that is reviewing every transaction, and then there’s still an appeals process. Everything’s still there.” Grunder said he liked the fact that the cameras record the tags of everyone driving through the area, which might help to solve some crimes. Sheppard said the system, which will go into effect for the next school year, issues citations only during school hours, and the City keeps 60% of the fines. 

No audience members wished to speak. Grunder made a motion to adopt the school zone speed infraction ordinance as read, and Miller seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

Weitz closed the meeting by saying, “I wanted to wish everybody a Merry Christmas, and thank you guys for coming out.”

  • Steve Walker needs to go. There is something fishing going on. Is he not being truthful about these supposed meetings with Waste Pro? Is he billing the city for these meeting?

  • Traffic tickets enforced by cameras are BS money grabs by police agencies and nothing else. There’s no way to determine the driver of the vehicle, so its owner gets a ticket in the mail, which again is BS.

    • It’s not really police departments that get money it’s the city or county funding the cameras that gets the money. They said the city would get 60 percent of the fine. The rest is going to county and state funds. The issue I see with the cameras like other small cities is the proper maintenance and operation of the cameras. There have been instances where the cameras were citing people on holidays, school breaks, and even on non school days. So there probable is a lot of oversight that has to go into it. Also unless they are photographing the driver I’m not sure how they can positively ID a driver. Speeding in school zones is a huge problem that needs to be dealt with.

      • From previous stories, I think the other 40 percent goes to the company that installs the hardware, mails out the citations, etc.

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