High Springs City Commission sets millage rate at 6.99, approves FY26 budget, hires KCT Consulting to perform Land Development Code rewrite

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – At their September 8 meeting, the High Springs City Commission set the property tax millage rate at 6.9900, approved the FY26 budget, heard an apology from their Fire Chief about statements made about Alachua County Fire Rescue, approved a contractor to fix the roof at the Priest Theatre, suspended alcohol sales laws for the Hot Rodding for Heroes event to be held on December 6, and approved hiring KCT Consulting to perform a rewrite of the Land Development Code for $90,000.

Commissioner Katherine Weitz gave a presentation on Robert Lee Wallace, a local military hero who was awarded the Purple Heart award twice while serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

Property tax millage and budget

The first item of business was setting the property tax rate. Finance Director Diane Wilson said the proposed rate is 6.9900 mills. The rolled-back rate is 6.3438 mills, so the new rate represents a 10.19% increase over the rolled-back rate. Wilson said the second and final budget hearing will take place on September 22 at 6:30 p.m.

City Attorney Kiersten Ballou read the resolution. Commissioner Chad Howell made a motion to accept the resolution as read, Weitz seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously in a roll call vote.

The next item of business was adopting the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget. City Manager Jeremy Marshall reviewed the previous meeting, in which Commissioners decided to make no cuts to services, raise wastewater rates by $24.25/month, raise the property tax rate by 0.25%, give 3% raises to employees, and cut Commissioner salaries by 25%. 

Marshall said the recent $6,000 lease with Swampbots Robotics for the Santa Fe Room was not included in the budget. He compared this year’s budget to next year’s, pointing out categories with minor changes. Solid Waste had a significant increase of approximately $600,000, a result of switching from GFL to Waste Pro.

Marshall said cash reserves are lower than they should be and funds received from the sale of buildings should probably be put into reserves instead of the General Fund. 

Commissioner Wayne Bloodsworth asked if they could come back and change certain aspects of the budget in a month or two, if they can figure out better ways to save money. Marshall said, “We do budget amendments throughout the year that will clean up the budget.” 

Ballou read the budget ordinance. Vice Mayor Andrew Miller made a motion to approve the ordinance, and Weitz seconded the motion. 

During public comments on the budget, a man said he remembered receiving $20 million in grants over the course of 10 years, and he wanted to know what grants have been applied for and/or received. He said the sewer system received an especially large number of grants. 

Marshall said, “In the last two months, I have applied for over $23 million worth of grants, most of those for sewer.” He said fewer grants are available due to federal cuts.

The budget ordinance passed unanimously in a roll call vote.

Fire Chief apologizes for inaccurate statements about ACFR

Marshall said he wanted to read a statement from Fire Chief Joseph Peters: “I would like to clear the air a little bit. During the last Commission meeting, emotions ran high, and in the wave of those emotions, things were said that were inaccurate. I own these inaccuracies, no matter who said them. I am the Chief of the Department. Ultimately, the actions of the fire personnel fall solely on me. I have spoken with Chief Theus on the phone and offered my sincere apology for the actions that took place at the last meeting. To the men and women of ACFR Local 3852, please know that nothing I said at the last meeting was intended to discredit the amazing work you do, day in and day out, for the communities of Alachua County. The men and women of ACFR in the streets doing the work are exceptional at what they do, and I’m honored to have a department that works side by side with you. 

“Mayor Grunder and Commissioners, may I remind you that when I took over at the helm of the Fire Department, we faced many challenges. We have worked tirelessly to conquer those challenges. And I say ‘we’ because it has been a team effort. I was directed to determine exactly what it cost to run the Department. And I did just that. We were directed to remedy some unnecessary expenses. For example, the heavy [rescue truck], the boat, the Tahoe, the Suburbans — and we did just that. We’ve become a united Department working together to serve the citizens of High Springs. Do I make mistakes? Certainly. I believe we all do at some point. Mistakes are how we learn and grow. At the end of the day, I’m passionate about these things. My wife, my daughters, my grandson, and my family, the Fire Department, and the men and women I lead, and the City as a whole. I want nothing more than to see the City succeed and become the best version of itself. We have come a long way since City Manager Marshall took over the reins, but we have a lot of work left to do. The staff you have now is the dream team. We work together daily to ensure the most transparent, efficient-run City possible. And I’m proud to work beside each and every one of the employees of High Springs.”

During general public comments, Linda Jones said she objected to the tone used at the previous meeting by Mayor Tristan Grunder when discussing the Alachua County Fire Department. Jones said Grunder did not maintain his composure and characterized his behavior as an “outburst.”

Julia Tapia-Ruano criticized Grunder for being absent on important occasions and for failing to issue a proclamation for a member of the Gainesville chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution after the proclamation had been approved and the recipient stood before him. Grunder said, “If I missed that lady, I’m extremely sorry, and I’ll reach out to her myself.” He said he would not apologize for being passionate about High Springs employees and residents.

Howell read a letter from the Alachua County Fire Rescue labor union. It said that multiple inaccuracies and personal attacks were levied against ACFR at the previous meeting, including by Chief Peters, and it corrected specific statements that were made. 

Utility rates

Wilson introduced a resolution to update the rates charged for utilities. She said hydrant meter fees and new construction impact fees for water and sewer will be increasing. Sewer rates will see a $24.25 monthly increase; water and solid waste rates will remain the same.

Howell made a motion to approve the utility rates resolution, Weitz seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously in a roll call vote.

Priest Theatre roof replacement

The next item was the roof replacement and roof structure repairs for the Priest Theatre. Marshall said Hoffman Construction’s bid met the City’s budgetary constraints better than the other two bids. Weitz asked how soon the work could begin if they approved the bid. Marshall said it first would need to be sent to the state for approval, but he didn’t think it would take very long.

Weitz made a motion to award the bid to Hoffman Construction of Newberry, and Miller seconded the motion. 

During public comments on the motion, Tapia-Ruano asked what remaining work there is to do at the Priest Theatre. Marshall said they have to stabilize the structure and replace the roof –- that is the only work covered by the grant they received. As discussed at previous meetings, options at that point include selling the building to someone looking to complete the renovations and reopen it as a theater or keeping the building, fixing it further, and renting it out as a City-owned space.

The motion to hire Hoffman Construction passed unanimously.

Hot Rodding for Heroes alcohol sales request

The next item was temporarily suspending the alcohol consumption ordinance for the Hot Rodding for Heroes one-day event, to be held next to the High Springs Brewery on December 6. Marshall explained that the event is held every year. He said, “What they do is block off the road right in front of the Priest… The car show comes, and they park their cars. This will allow spectators to go get a beer at the Brewery and walk around [and look at the cars].”

Weitz made a motion to approve the request, Miller seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

Interlocal agreement with Alachua County for firefighting and rescue services

Commissioners voted unanimously to extend the interlocal agreement between High Springs and the County for firefighting and rescue services for another year.

Preserving local grocery store as a Winn-Dixie

The next item was sending a letter to Winn-Dixie Corporate to request preserving the local Winn-Dixie instead of switching to an Aldi business model. Reading the letter, Attorney Ballou said High Springs residents have become accustomed to and would benefit more from the Winn-Dixie full-service store model instead of Aldi’s streamlined version of a supermarket. A motion to send the letter passed unanimously.

Land Development Code consultant

The last item of business was awarding a bid to KCT Consulting to perform a rewrite of the Land Development Code. Ballou said the work will cost a flat fee of $90,000 and take approximately one year. She added that going with a flat-fee approach will prevent any cost overruns, even if it takes longer than one year. 

Marshall said he would set aside another $15,000 to do a quality control check of the work, which will require contracting with a different firm. 

Howell made a motion to award the bid, and Miller seconded the motion. It passed 4-1 in a roll call vote, with Weitz in dissent.

During final comments, Marshall said the annual High Springs Fall Festival will take place this weekend, September 13 and 14, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Farmers Market Pavilion. There will be vendors, prizes, and activities, including activities for kids.