“I do not support anything going to Newberry”: Alachua County Commission stops work on meat processing facility
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During its regular meeting today, the Alachua County Commission voted to stop working toward a controversial meat processing facility in Newberry, with Commissioner Chuck Chestnut saying he wouldn’t vote to put any County facilities in Newberry “because why would we put County resources into a city that wants a new county, a Springs County?”
Request for Proposals for a developer-operator for the facility
The agenda item, which asked the board to approve a Scope of Work so staff could issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a developer-operator for the proposed meat processing facility, went off topic almost immediately when Commissioner Ken Cornell objected to updates on a soil analysis report and the proposed solid waste facility at the same site “because those things are separate.” Cornell also objected to the Scope of Work referring to a “developer-operator” because “this board has never had a discussion about a developer-operator; we have always only ever had a discussion about an RFP for an operator.”
County Manager Michele Lieberman said the facility has always been discussed as being similar to the Sports Event Center, which was built and operated by a third party with County funds.
Cornell said he had thought the County was putting up $2.5 million, along with $2.5 million from the State, and would then build it and put out an RFP for an operator: “The State said, ‘You can’t have the money,’ and I thought that was our off-ramp, we’re done. But no… I don’t even understand why we’re talking about it.”
Chair Anna Prizzia said the RFP is to look for “a partner to bring forward the remaining money that would be necessary to build this project and to collaborate with us on building and operating this project… I feel like you’re trying to make it sound like there’s something that was done that was sneaky… and I don’t see that sneakiness in here; I see them bringing forward a Scope of Work for us to talk about, and we’re talking about it today.”
No contamination at the site
Environmental Protection Department Director Steve Hofstetter told the board that soil samples taken in July at the proposed site for the three County facilities (fire training facility, solid waste facility, and meat processing facility) found no pesticide constituent concentrations above soil or groundwater clean-up target levels. The site hosted a crop dusting business in the past, so there have been concerns about whether the site is still contaminated.
Solid Waste Director Gus Olmos said his department has been working with the City of Newberry on the location of the solid waste processing facility “and also looking at potential alternatives, if necessary.”
Cornell asked whether they have a Plan B, and Olmos said, “This is Plan B. We’re on Plan C right now.” Cornell said, “I think it’s really difficult for us to even talk about this if we can’t meet with the City of Newberry, and they don’t want to meet. Well, they don’t want to meet about the meat processing facility; I don’t know if they want to meet about this. So I’m interested in pursuing Plan C.”
“I’m not trying to kill the meat processing plant, but I will kill it if it goes to Newberry”
Commissioner Chuck Chestnut said, “I do not support anything going to Newberry… because of what I’ve been reading in the paper and what I’ve been seeing on the news. I don’t like it. I thought that we came in good faith to talk to them about a meat processing plant. What occurred was, there was a talk about a County Road 337. And it’s like… it was a setup for us that night because we never did talk about the processing plant at all. And then we hear these comments about–I’m trying to be nice–to talk about a new county, I’ll put it that way, or Springs County, but I didn’t want to say it, but it pisses me off, I’ll just be honest with you, because why would we put County resources into a city that wants a new county, a Springs County? So why would we put Alachua County assets in a city that they’re talking about Springs County–it keeps coming up when we don’t agree with the City of Newberry about something. And that’s frustrating to me… If you want to be in Springs County, create a Springs County, but don’t come to the County asking us to put facilities in your backyard… I don’t play those games like that.”
Chestnut went on to say he was upset that Newberry asked the County to move CR 337 up on their list of priorities in exchange for the land for County facilities: “We have a pavement management plan. We hired a consultant to do an equity issue in that plan. And now you want us to deviate from our plan to meet you, when you didn’t even support the surtax for transportation. So I don’t play games. And so I don’t support any of our projects going into the City of Newberry, and I will vote against it and continue to vote against it… I’m not trying to kill the meat processing plant, but I will kill it if it goes to Newberry.”
Chestnut asked whether the County has identified other locations for the proposed facilities. Prizzia said the County had originally looked at the Newberry location because they offered land and have a wastewater treatment facility there.
“What I’ve done is switch lanes”
Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler said instead of taking an off-ramp, “What I’ve done is switch lanes.” She said she wanted various organizations to “form a co-op or work in cooperation with the University of Florida… I am ready to let this go into the hands of the people who will actually make this happen for the community. I am not interested in sending out an RFP at this point.” Wheeler favored making a grant available but not having staff work on it anymore. She continued, “I’m not on the off-ramp, because I do support the idea of meat processing… I’m trying to pull us out of it until we have a clearer path with people who are engaged in the profession.”
Prizzia said the RFP is exactly that – an opportunity for an organization to use $2.5 million in County funds to put toward a meat processing facility – but Wheeler said she didn’t think there would be any interest in that, and she didn’t want staff to keep working on it.
“I think that Newberry has put us into a corner”
Prizzia said, “I get you, but it is an off-ramp. I mean, you are killing the project. And that’s fine… I understand why… Because I think that Newberry has put us into a corner.” She said she hoped the board would keep the $2.5 million “solidly in the local food bucket… and then we ask our staff to come forward with actual plans and proposals for how we can use that $2.5 million to increase food security and local food projects across Alachua County and not just derail the conversation about local food development and economic development in this arena.”
Wheeler said she disagreed with Chestnut about Newberry’s request to move up work on CR 337: “I was looking at it as good horse trading,… you make deals, you try to find the best angle to get what you need for your community. So I wasn’t offended by all of that. I realized that the mayor and the Commission there was trying to get a road taken care of, and they were willing to move the pieces around in a way that would get them the leverage that they wanted for that.”
Commissioner Mary Alford supported asking for proposals to put the facilities in another location, although applicants would need to be able to process the waste, among other requirements. She supported going forward with the RFP to see whether a local meat processing facility would be financially viable.
Motion to discontinue working on the meat processing facility
Cornell pointed out that 31 people had spoken about the meat processing facility during Early Public Comment, and 74% were against the facility. He made a motion to “direct staff to discontinue working on the development of a County-owned meat processing facility.” Wheeler seconded the motion.
During public comment on the motion, eight people spoke in favor of the motion, and two spoke in favor of continuing to work toward a meat processing facility.
“I am truly outraged by the behavior towards this board”
After public comment ended, Wheeler scolded the public for being disrespectful to Alachua County and Newberry Commissioners: “I don’t appreciate my fellow commissioners being called by their first name. We have a certain protocol… The disrespect that I see coming towards this commission makes it very hard to agree with whatever it is you’re saying… It makes it very hard to be a part of a solution.”
Speaking to one family that has shown up to multiple County and Newberry meetings and who mentioned that they had interrupted their vacation to be at the meeting and might move here in the future if the meat processing facility was not stopped, Wheeler said, “The fact that you all have given up your vacation to be here is not our problem; that has nothing to do with us. Your personal life has nothing to do with us, particularly when you don’t even live in this community… I am truly outraged by the behavior towards this board.”
Prizzia had to stop Wheeler several times to ask people in the chamber to stop calling out responses to what she was saying, and one man was removed by a deputy after multiple requests from Prizzia to be quiet.
“I thought our community was further along in terms of… its ability to… embrace a project like this”
Prizzia said, “I think that [the reason] this project isn’t moving forward is because of a lack of education and understanding of our food system as a whole and where the industrial food system is and the stranglehold that it has on our overall ability to provide healthy and sustainable and resilient food systems for our world. And you know, I’ve been working in that arena for a long time, so I take some personal responsibility for the fact that I thought our community was further along in terms of its understanding and its ability to sort of embrace a project like this, which is a leading-edge project. But we’re not there yet, and I get that, and I accept it.” She said she hoped the motion would fail and that they would keep the money in a bucket for local food systems development and direct staff to look at other options for supporting a local food economy and building resilient food systems in the community.
Cornell said he would work with Prizzia on food security issues, “but I can’t support a meat processing facility in Alachua County right now.” He said he would look at unsolicited proposals for a meat processing facility but would not support a facility led or owned by the County.
Prizzia asked if they could keep the $2.5 million set aside for local food systems development, and Cornell replied, “No, I’m not ready to do that. That’s the next conversation I want to have.”
“Every time Newberry wants its way, they bring up Springs County, and I don’t like that”
Chestnut said he supported food security, but “I will state this over and over again: I will not support anything going to Newberry because they keep talking about Springs County, and most folks don’t want to talk about it, but to me, it’s very, very important. Either you want to be a part of Alachua County or you don’t. And if you don’t, then develop your own county and do what you want to do. I don’t respect that… Every time Newberry wants its way, they bring up Springs County, and I don’t like that.”
Alford asked whether Chestnut would be open to a substitute motion to remove the City of Newberry from the RFP and go ahead and issue it, and he said, “I’ll be honest with you–no.”
Cornell’s motion passed 3-2, with Alford and Prizzia in dissent, effectively ending the meat processing facility.
Chestnut’s true “colors” come out. Wonder how he voted for Plum Creek.
Maybe he should ask himself why there’s a great deal of support for “Springs County.” Oh wait, he, Mary, Anna, Kenny, Marihelen and others see that every morning when they look in the mirror.
Ol’ Chuck needs to take a class in civility.
He needs to tone down the rhetoric. To me he comes off as an uneducated fool.
Maybe all the fumes from the embalming fluid have caught up with Lil Chuckie C over the years. He’s no blood relation to Cynthia, just a step-child. I must watch the video to see all of them having public meltdowns. We would have preferred not to have to hear all about how the witches were living in the wrong districts, in their grandbaby’s bedroom, etc.
Thinking back over his tenure, I can’t think of one piece of meaningful legislation he las led.
My memories are of him sitting on the dais, staring down, giving me the impression he was either asleep or not paying attention. He rarely talks, and when he does, he puts his foot in his mouth – I.e. during Covid, all he was concerned about was people picking up fruit in the supermarket! “I’m worried about the fruit!”
With single member districts starting, these people better up their games…. Kenny will have a re-election problem if East Gainesville puts forward even an MILDLY intelligent candidate.
So the county should bow to Newberry?
The county needs to fix THEIR roads without holding small cities hostage. The roads all over this county are in dire need of repair and the county does a lot of Harris word salad but never does anything to fix them without a flim/flam deal that screws a town of something.
I don’t think Newberry cares. Seriously. Bring on Springs County. We’re tired of being dumped on.
“Bring on Springs County”??!?! There is zero infrastructure to create a separate county simply for spite. But go ahead and keep beating that drum. Remember your enthusiasm when your property taxes leap to new heights in order to fund that infrastructure.
Merge the western part with Gilchrist, then. Bingo.
Not sure how you get no infrastructure springs county would be most everything west of sr 121 ( 34 Ave) though the whole county
Sure Jonesville home owners would vote Yes I am sure 🙂 .
Zero? That’s an exaggeration. While full infrastructure is not in place there is a portion and with the existing potential for tax revenues, (which Alachua County would lose), it would find itself in an enviable position for future development for not only infrastructure but economic, both commercial and residential as well. Personally I could see the current residents of Newberry impeding more development than lack of infrastructure. While it may be something they secretly desire, I don’t think they’ll be as receptive to the problems associated with larger municipalities and they definitely will not appreciate the devouring of the community that many grew up in or moved to in an effort to escape Gainesville’s incompetence.
In a nutshell, last thing Newberry wants is the pestilence moving further west.
Well do you believe the existing infrastructure simply evaporates? I am thinking you might not understand what “common sense” actually means
The way the Florida Constitution is written, all tangible assets of Alachua County within the boundaries set forth become those of the new County. All tangible schools, roads, pipes, wires, antenna etc. All intangible and moveable would be split pro rata (Police cars, fire trucks, County vehicles, assets and liabilities).
No wonder some are vehemently opposed to it. A certain group of commissioners would see their taxes go up exponentially to make up for lost revenues.
Well apparently Chucknut has an axe to grind with the successful part of Alachua County. What an extreme predjudice and censure worthy statement and position towards taxpayers. If another Commisioner made a statement like that about his district he would be screaming you know what and seeking legal remedies. And of course when fellow Commsioners get away with collecting a salary while in office not living in thier district, being removed from office and not paying the taxpayers back, then they truly consider themsleves unaccountable. The last thing I remember is Chucknuts district along with Liddle Kenny failed leadership,cost us $3 million dollars to pull out of a commitment to improve the area. I am still not sure how that happenen but we damn sure paid for it.
Funny stuff Cat Shad. Yeah, all those people living in Gainesville, Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, and High Springs who have to drive to their work in Newberry will be sorry if it secedes.
Alachua, High Springs, Archer, and Newberry would all be in one county. A county with less development and more freedom. Less crime, less woke, less Gainesville interferance, less Alachua County Commission BS. Keep beating that left drum.
You do realize that the next city you would be complaining about is Alachua where the county seat would be located.
There is only a handful of communist thinking people in Alachua they would flee to the makeshift land of Disney (I mean Gainesville) along with the criminals and liberals from these other small towns.
Will they be more or less sorry than those living in the communities who have to drive to Gainesville? Aside from those living in Hawthorne and Gainesville, the drive from the other communities you mentioned could potentially be less. Another thing, since most are employed in Gainesville, why would the commute change? Have to admit though, commuters wouldn’t have to deal with panhandlers on the scale they do now, (if they take on employment in Newberry and they maintain current residences).
Dude, there are no jobs in Newberry and it wouldn’t exist if Gainesville didn’t. Farming in Alachua county is over. The people there drive to Gainesville for work.
You need to tune up your sarcasm meter.
Gainesville would not exist if the University of Florida was there. It would be the same size as Newberry.
Irrelevant since Gainesville is not thinking about cutting off from UF – which pays no local taxes. It was also the county seat and biggest county town/city before UF existed. Yeah, I know about Newnansville.
It is relevant since these progressive liberals are in bed with UF. If UF was not here Alachua County would be Red and where there would be no whiners like Chucky threatening small town America with withholding money. This is not Ukraine.
I think you’re escribing Lake City, where you should probably move.
Nope I’m fine here when we run the liberals out it will be a great county. Until then I enjoy bothering you because you get so irritated. Maybe you should be the one to move to a blue state.
Jazz, you idiot. The distance from Newberry to Gainesville is the same as the distance from Gainesville to Newberry. (Unless one has to drive around the empty space between your ears.) Reread your comment, maybe you’ll have a clearer understanding of the response.
On this one you are wrong:
The total economic contribution of agriculture, natural resources, and food industries in Alachua County amounted to $1.2 billion in value added and 32,441 total job impacts. The number of jobs in crop, livestock, forestry, and fisheries production has increased substantially over the past 10 years.
Link please.
I used to run a cow/calf farm outside Alachua in the 70s and 80s and know personally what agriculture used to be around here. Gone without being missed since are Brownlee’s in Gainesville and the seed and feed places in Providence, the livestock market at NW 6th and 441, Cotton Fletcher’s in Newberry, the tractor and farm implement places on Archer Road and in La Crosse, and the tobacco auctions in High Springs. Are the packing sheds in La Crosse still functioning? The bigger farms from then are in pines, subdivided, or waiting to be.
But a hop skip and jump to Columbia County where livestock farms seem to be doing just fine. There are still functioning farms in Alachua County but a Springs County could follow Columbia County’s lead and produce. Alachua County and Gainesville have run some farms out of business with high taxes and BS restrictions. It is easier to go to market in Columbia County then to try and build a meat processing business here. The down side is that people need to shop out county for quality meat or ingest the chemical filled meat sold in supermarkets here. Talk about putting stuff in your body because the Government says the chemicals they inject into these animals with are good for you.
Wake up bear. Farming in Alachua County is what you do to maintain the ag exempt while you wait to sell off lots to people who don’t work in agriculture, they work in Gainesville. You get that is who is buying those new houses in Newberry, right?
Columbia County on the other hand doesn’t have Gainesville as it’s county seat, it has Lake City. Not many looking to buy lots so they can commute there.
You are so fun to bother. I will keep buying up the land. Every acre I buy means two liptards can’t build blue homes on my property.
UF in the year 2017.
https://svaec.ifas.ufl.edu/media/svaecifasufledu/docs/pdf/agribusiness/AgEconFactSheet_AlachuaCo2017_Final.pdf
Thanks for the link tooth. I don’t think that shows what you might think it does. First, it follows the 2008 crash, it follows when agriculture here was already way down, and some serious indicators were negative , while the largest plus was “food distribution”, whatever that is.
https://www.fdacs.gov/Agriculture-Industry/Florida-Agriculture-Overview-and-Statistics
We are a small county. But ranked about right about the middle among all Florida Counties for agricultural production.
Things may not be the way you remember it. But we are still a rural county with a lot of agriculture.
Thank God.
Thanks to immigrants doing the work.
Ok so we have moved on to the subject of immigrants. Are you talking illegals who have trespassed into our country or the honest immigrants that followed the rules and are legal to be here?
Don’t tell Prizzia farms don’t exist in Alachua County. She’ll have a prissy fit.
I don’t see how that would be different from the current daily caravans of people driving into Gainesville from more affordable housing in Levy, Dixie and Gilchrist counties?
On the other hand, people backing removal of western Alachua county to Springs or Gilchrist county need to be aware that they will inheriting a huge road maintenance backlog from Alachua county.
The need to fix things like CR337 push the idea of reduced property taxes some years into the future.
This Springs County Sounds Good! I live in the city of GNV and on the west side of NW 13th Street & hope I get annexed into springs county! The meat processing plant is much needed for food security in our area.
I bet springs county will have no bums in the street medians panhandling either…I was on 34th & Archer Road yesterday and there were panhandlers in the medians with cardboard signs working the motorists for $…you know it’s like 5 lanes of traffic in either direction…it’s a public safety hazzard! Isn’t that Jaywalking too walking in the lanes at a stop light begging for $. Panhandling is not a legitimate profession. You know what the bums all had in common? They were all smoking cigarettes.
Where’s a cop when you need one? I have no confidence in the C of G or Alachua County commissions….I’ll never forget what tyrants they were for shutting everything down for that big lie Covid. Bring on this springs county! Sounds like a freedom utopia. “ I don’t mind taxes, reasonable taxes…I don’t mind government, good government”.
GNV ruined GRU, now property taxes and rents are going up….the unintended consequences of government intervention. Say no to Vax passports…”my body, my choice”… beware of commie Marxist weirdos wearing masks!
Dream on, and enjoy the next pandemic. No doubt the ICU in Newberry can handle the load.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/united-states-rates-of-covid-19-deaths-by-vaccination-status
Jazz: enjoy the next pandemic? I bet you want to round up all the people who believe “ my body, my choice” and put them in concentration camps. You are probably for Vax passports too.
Good will triumph over evil. You don’t ruin the $ and our economy for something that has a 99.98% survival rate. What does that round up to? 100% oooh, people are dying!!! Stop with the fear mongering to make the planet a one world totalitarian hell. I know you want mandated Vax passports to control the people. I know you want everyone to get the mark to engage in commerce. Jesus died on the cross for our inalienable rights. You know where you can go. Put your mask and load up with your
Vax. My immune system works just fine. I have the armor of god protecting me, not some bullshit face diaper. The devil wants to cover faces because we are made in gods image. You fool no one you Satan’s minion.
Try over a million dead Americans Mr Pink, 300k needlessly because they didn’t get vaccinated. As noted in the stats I linked to, the unvaxxed still lead in new cases, hospitizations, and deaths and have since 2021.
Funny thing, but Jesus died over 2000 years ago and our rights weren’t secured until the federal government and the bill of rights. I’ll credit the founders and our veterans with that.
You’re welcome.
But what about the people who have had adverse reaction to the vac. They have suffered blood clotting, heart issues, etc. Some have even died. They are still compiling those numbers. What about the kids who were forced to take the vac unnecessarily and have developed medical issues. The vac doesn’t stop you from getting the China Flu. You will get it maybe with reduced symptoms but maybe not. I know of a least a dozen people who have had the vac and still got the China flu and or also developed serious medical issues from the vac. I also personally know three people that have had the China flu with getting the vac and have been positive for the China flu 3 times. So me personally I have had the China flu once and never been vaced and haven’t caught it again after at least 10 exposures. So back to the right to choose weather you want a untested substance jabbed into you or not. Given what has occurred to family members and friends with the vac. I’ll say no thanks.
Bear, while it is true that some react very badly to the vaccines, the over all benefits far outweigh the almost non-existent risks and the unpleasant side effects. Even the highly promoted idea – falsely by our “surgeon general” – that cardiac problems for teenage boys increase is less than actual deaths and heart attacks among this same group from covid.
Your anecdotes are disproven as conclusive by the conclusive data which continues to show increased risk of hospitilization and death for those unvaccinated. Someone is feeding you BS for probably political reason – see DeSantis who’s backing off vaccines costs about 16k lives – and you should do what the overwhelming numbers of medical doctors and scientists will tell you. Get vaccinated.
So the people I personally know who have adverse effects and permanent issues from the vaccine are making this up and I need to tell them that Joe Biden said their symptoms and condition are figments of their imagination. No one is feeding me a line of BS when I see it with my own eyes. You are the one living in fantasy world believing everything is ok because a bunch of Fauci doctors tell you to inject something into your body. It’s just like the mask wearing. Unless you wear a expensive N95 type mask your paper and cloth masks do not work. Once again my body my choice. Isn’t that what at all liptards say about abortion and cutting body parts off to be something you are not.
Your body, your choice does not apply to contagious diseases during a pandemic. You do know that all kids must be vaccinated to enter schools and that is true in every state in the union, right?
You can believe your friends about bad reactions to the vaccines, but permanent problem are rare to ono-existent.
Yes, I listen to the overwhelming numbers of doctors and scientists when they agree on something. They do on covid vaccines.
@Jazzman, no worries. They’re agricultural. They have ivermectin.
My body my choice if you are a man.
Fine, but like vaccines for school children, then stay home. Public health involving highly contagious and serious illnesses outweighs your “freedom” to listen to quacks. The guys getting on the D-Day landing craft might have had a different idea for how the invasion should be staged, but our nations survival required them to do what the herd was directed to do. You’re not asked to do anything like that, so suck it up and be a good citizen.
Just like a true Biden Sucker. You take your good citizen and suck it up yourself. Freedom doesnt sound like anything you are saying. When D day come we shall see who the survivors are. There are too many people that believe in their freedom and rights in this state and country. Freedom moves forward. If you are part of sheep herd controlled by the Biden government you are standing in the way of freedom. The Biden flock will succumb to the wolves and learn the new new language of their captors.
I think we’re done here bear. I mistook you for someone sane.
Ha ha you are the crazy one.
So you compare an Army at war with Democrat propaganda? Figures. You apparently missed the videos showing the real fallacy of those face diapers. They were and are useless for the purpose Fauci and Biden were pushing.
Yeah right, covid – which has so far killed over a million Americans – is Democratic propaganda.
cuckoo, cuckoo
Springs county: “ get your real cheeseburger in paradise here”.
Say No to Bill Gates’ lab grown meat from cancerous Covid Vax cells…you know that’s how they make the Covid Vax…from cancerous cow cells. They make the lab grown meat from cancerous cow cells too.
😳……sure of that??
Do you think they will be giving the meat away?
Grumpy Chuck
“…why would we put County resources into a city that wants a new county, a Springs County?” Great job making Spring County’s case for them.
Alachua County would miss that tax revenue from the Eastern part of the County.
Merge everything west of 91st street and Haile to Gilchrist County.
*western part of county.
Haile is Tower Road (SW 75th) Street. I want to be in Springs County!
I don’t have any record of commissioner Chestnut or any other county commissioner ever voting against any of the projects that the county enthusiastically spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on in Newberry.
So I don’t want to hear all this crying and carrying on about Newberry now because Newberry is still Newberry, it hasn’t changed.
Bonus: Until Alachua County perceives a strong Springs County initiative they have nothing to lose. If it gained momentum, they’d behave differently. A strong Springs County committee = a persistent threat / thorn in the side of Alachua county — a constant reminder / testament to their gross incompetence and the will of their constituents to separate.
What happened to the Springs County working group? What specific perceived infrastructure cost held it back? Could the tax burden for Springs County really be higher than Alachua County (one of the highest in the state and nation):
https://www.tax-rates.org/florida/property-tax#:~:text=Miami%2DDade%20County%20collects%20the,median%20home%20value)%20per%20year.
Bring back the Springs County initiative! When and where can we meet?
The Springs County movement is a master class in conservatard political miscalculation: first, create a divisive grassroots movement that will never have the funding or political support to be effectuated; and, second, in the process, alienate those around you who would otherwise be in position to make your life better. The next County Commission meeting should build on this momentum by entertaining a motion to start bussing Gainesville’s homeless to Newberry.
Comrade, I don’t think the cats would get off the bus. While there are many generous and caring people in and around Newberry, the last thing they want is a bunch of feral cats looking for food. They might be pried off the buses but they’ll sure find their way back to Gainesville once they discover there’s no food on the porches.
Comrade, if you’re one of those voting for these commissioners, there’s nothing you’re doing to make my life better. From the comments, not much to better the lives of those many who frequent this medium either.
Now that we have single member districts in the county, push for redoing the districts to reflect permanent population, bringing the county back to its conservative roots and away from all the LA and NYC minded fools.
Communism is alive and well in the Alachua county commission.
Poor ole Chuckie Chestnut gets no respect. ‘Dangit, if I can’t get elected as governor then I’ll just make it tough on everyone else.
Chuckie, is it any wonder why Newberry would want to break away from the county & start anew?
Once again a prime example of local politicians not having a clue (or refusing to admit there is a problem.)
When it is all said and done, the meat packing plant will locate somewhere else and Alachua county will loose another clean industry and jobs.
Another example of the Levida Brown syndrome.
Slaughterhouses are as far from a clean industry as you can get. This particular one would have required a new wastewater treatment plant. They create aerosols filled with biohazards, noise pollution (screams), effluent runoff and much more. You would literally be far better off living next to a nuclear reactor.
That’s an idea – a nuclear reactor!
Maybe it could supply us with affordable energy rather than the jacked-up rates the city commission is charging.
On second thought, the progressive liberal lunatics would have issues with that, it would need an immense amount of water to provide cooling and they would object to the use of local water sources to provide that. Not to mention it’s cheaper and the commission would never approve of a cheaper form of energy to it’s residents.
“Alachua County assets”…. seems to me that Newberry pays its fair share of the taxes that the County board feels is “their” asset. Now if the county board is offended by the way citizens speak to them or about them, I would suggest filling out a Hurt Feelings form. How about Newberry withhold their share of County taxes. I would bet the BoCC would suddenly recognize Newberry’s contribution, on the other hand Newberry would finally be able to get CR 337 repaired correctly.
Suckin Chuck just keeps suckin…… He can’t handle getting his lollipop thrown in the dirt.
It appears not enough $$$ was set aside for the commissioners bribes
My county commission intelligence rankings:
1. Cornell (the only true politician on Dias)
2. Wheeler (activist)
3. Alford (activist)
4. Prizzia (activist)
5. Chucknut (collecting a paycheck)
Such silliness. There will never be a Springs County.
Springs County has as much of a chance as the rat,SJ, becoming a decent human being. I prefer Chuck.
“We have a pavement management plan. We hired a consultant to do an equity issue in that plan. … I don’t play games.”
BS! We all pay taxes in this county for everyone to have good roads, so pave the damn roads!
P.S. If you need extra money, you can remove and recycle the Alachua County border signs since you can tell right away where you are when the road goes from smooth blacktop to a pothole wreck!
Chestnut: “Either you want to be a part of Alachua County or you don’t. And if you don’t, then develop your own county and do what you want to do.”
Is this a validation for a new Springs County or just more talk with the meat plant an unwitting casualty?
With all the tax revenue potential…….oh, never mind.
Chucky “Just Cashing a Paycheck” Chestnut: “why would we put County resources into a city that wants a new county, a Springs County?”
Why then should people in Newberry continue to pay taxes to Alachua County? Not sure if there are any history buffs on this site, but we had a little skirmish with the British about taxing us and not giving us a voice in how it was collected and used.
I’m all for dividing Alachua County into multiple counties, weakening the political power and walling off the woke cancer of Gainesville. Just light a candle now and then for us survivors living behind enemy lines.
It would be nice to see chucky actually act like a county commissioner instead of a wanna be Biden threatening a city over withholding support or money. This is not a Ukraine deal.
It is certainly not lost on me, the irony of a county commissioner who has a vision that only his ideas are the right one. Would there even be talk about Springs County if we had an unbiased representative commission that listens to its constituents and makes decisions based on their feedback? The attitude of these folk is something that should be enough to have them ousted at the next opportunity, but the people who spoke against the facility likely don’t even live in the Newberry community, are the same who have repeatedly voted these fools into office in the first place.
One other thing, For Chestnut to act as if the Alachua County pavement management plan is adequate, or even close to what is needed is the biggest F***ing joke this side of the St Johns River!
The people with the signs that Prizzia removed from the room should file a federal lawsuit. She can’t just smile and wink and declare something a disruption. If it’s not REALLY CAUSING A DISRUPTION, it’s what the court would consider imaginary on her part, and it’s grounds for a lawsuit.
Please don’t mention lawsuit! Unless the commissioners themselves have to pay it, us taxpayers will be the ones footing the bill and the commissioners won’t care!
Someone on the commission would have to trip over their own feet and fall down before they sued.
Actually, Chestnut, you are playing “games like that”. If the county would start thinking about the “County” and not just what affects Gainesville proper, and particularly the east side of Gainesville, perhaps those outlying cities/towns wouldn’t feel the need to form their own county. Fact is, it hasn’t happened yet. In the meantime, they are still part of the county, and this meat processing facility would benefit ALL in the county, not just Newberry. Get your head out of your arse, please.
Adults can vote with their feet. I prefer not living in interstate sprawl corridors. Many prefer living in the natural eastern county for that very reason. They don’t want the westside style sprawl, that’s why the county balked at Plum Creek. If adults there aren’t happy with the lack of schools choice and jobs, then they can move west. And many did that already. Welcome to adulthood.
People had their opinions about Mike Byerly – but man, when he voted on something, I truly felt like he was doing what he thought was right. I didn’t agree with much of his politics, but I had respect for him.
He lost the election because he knew face masks were bs. He didn’t back down. He was right.
Wish he would primary Mary again.
I totally agree with commission of Chestnut
Meat processing slaughterhouses should be built and operated by the private sector where sufficient demand exists.
If a facility can exist only with taxpayer subsidies, then sufficient demand does not exist and it should not be subsidized.
I agree. At a minimum the plan, study, and large part of the capital necessary to begin such an effort should come from private sources. If they then need help on something of benefit to the county, OK, sell us.
This facility would be another example of government overreach. This enterrise is appropriate for private enterprise, not local and county government.
If they didn’t neglect the roads and infrastructure of outlying areas such as Newberry, Alachua, etc while taxing everyone to death for DEI, homeless crisis in gainesville that was created by gainesville giving housing,food,money, health care, and preference over residents, no one would be demanding a “Springs County” in the first place.
It just goes to show that Springs County needs to happen sooner rather than later. I’m sick of the liberal pandering of the commission and then neglecting the areas of anyone that disagrees with the liberal plan. Alachua county just raised property taxes AGAIN, why are the roads being fixed? they’re bad now we should not have to wait 2,3,5 more years.
Dear Tired: Newberry Commissioner Lil Timmy, the future manager of Springs County, has announced that the libertarian conservative small government utopia of Springs County will have NO TAXES. Please explain to the rest of us how Springs County will be able to pave more roads than Alachua County with no taxes. Thank you.
Perhaps by not contributing to:
-Grace Marketplace
-not funding a new homeless hotel
-not funding a “central receiving facility”
-not partially funding a city bus system
-not building a town recreation center
-not buying land all over the county thus eliminating tax income
…. for starters…
Perhaps by just concentrating finances on roads and public safety???
Is this the right thread to post some facts? (I hate to bust into the bubba Springs County love fest and MAGA circle jerk.)
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Fact: The Meat Plant will not provide “Food Security” for Alachua County
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The meat plant proponents claim the Newberry small scale slaughterhouse will provide food chain security for Alachua County. The facts prove this is not true. $5.5 million and it is too small.
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The plant will process 15 cows per day. At five days a week operation, this is 3900 cows per year. With 1050 pound steers, this is 4,095,000 pounds of live weight animals. With 650 pounds carcasses, this is reduced to 2,535,000 pounds. Trimming bone and fat results in 450 pounds per cow of edible beef, or 1,755,000 pounds per year of edible beef produced at the Newberry slaughterhouse.
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If the BOCC requires all of this be sold to consumers in Alachua County, and all is ground into hamburger, it will provide two nutritious four ounce hamburger servings per day to 9,616 people. There are 278,000 citizens. The meat plant will be able to feed less than 4% of the population.
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Each weekday the meat plant will produce at most 5437 pounds of hamburger. To provide a 3 ounce serving to small children, and a 4 ounce serving to larger children, to provide a single lunch to its 29,000 students the Alachua County School Board needs 6343 pounds of hamburger per day.
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American per capita beef consumption is 85 pounds. Not counting children and vegetarians, if half the adults eat beef then Alachua County consumes 11,815,000 pounds of beef per year. The meat plant will at most supply 15% of the county’s needs. Less, since it will serve ranchers “within 100 miles of Alachua County” and many will keep their meat and take it home. With a 100 mile radius, Alachua County is 4% of the area served. Why is AC build a plant for out of towners? Commissioner Wheeler does not like them.
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If the beef is distributed to all citizens equally to feed them during “national supply chain Covid emergencies”, the 1,755,000 pounds of beef will supply each citizen with 0.3 ounces per day of locally grown food. For those counting, that is 21 calories.
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“Securely Feeding Alachua County” with 1/15 of the calories provided to a German concentration camp inmate in 1945.
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Prizzia is clueless.
U r right.
Further, government should not be involved in actual food production.
Emergency logistics – perhaps. Production, even if outsourced – no.
No private enterprise will build a small scale slaughterhouse because they are massively uneconomical and money losing pigs.
However, Chair Prizzia says that with positive thoughts, creative outside the box thinking, self dealing grants to Woke Housewives dba Working Food, and some kind of magic voodoo economics only she knows about, Alachua County can build a slaughterhouse that violates all the rules of free enterprise economics and operate without tax subsidies.
Prizzia is in the wrong occupation.
Anna oops I mean Ms. Chair Queen Prizzia needs to write a book ‘splaining how she alone can do what no other economist on earth can do: make a profitable small scale slaughterhouse.
If she does so, I guarantee she will win the Nobel Prize in Economics.