Letter to the editor

I want to start with the following excerpt from the Alachua Chronicle article about the November 6 Gainesville City Commission meeting, describing the Commissioners’ discussion about the closing of the two-way street that leads to the front door of the Best Jewelry and Loan Pawnbrokers at NW 5th Street & NW 3rd Ave in Gainesville (an enclave within the Santa Fe College Downtown Campus).

This is where I have earned my livelihood for over 41 years. I was there before the college was there…

After you read the AC excerpt , you will find my response to the City of Gainesville and Santa Fe College’s closing of the street.

I look forward to reading your comments.

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On September 18, Commissioners approved a license agreement that allowed Santa Fe College to close NW 5th Street between NW 3rd Avenue and NW 5th Avenue to serve as a closed area for students to test-drive vehicles used in the college’s Automotive Technology Training Center. At the October 23 General Policy Committee meeting, Commissioners asked for a more robust discussion of how these agreements are granted, particularly regarding public engagement.

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said that in this case, “the public was not involved or was not aware that it was coming forth… I would say to Santa Fe, you really, really need to be sure that you involve the community.”

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker said she learned from Santa Fe College representatives that they held a community engagement meeting, and six people attended. She asked how people were informed about the meeting.

Commissioner Ed Book said the community engagement meeting happened after the licensing agreement was finalized. He pointed out that since the issue was not a zoning or land use item, the neighborhood workshop process did not apply, and he supported adding some requirements for this type of licensing agreement in the future. 

Commissioner Casey Willits made a motion to direct staff to bring back an amendment to the City’s real property policy that is consistent with the public notification process in the land development code. Duncan-Walker seconded the motion

During public comment on the motion, four residents of the Pleasant Street neighborhood said the process should have required a neighborhood workshop; they also asked Commissioners to terminate the licensing agreement.

Commissioner Bryan Eastman responded, “It’s kind of a decision of — either there has to be a place to put these cars, or this has to be built up in [Santa Fe College’s] Northwest Campus. And so I love the idea of having a more urbanized Santa Fe downtown campus and having a little bit of flexibility with them, and at the same time, just feeling deeply uncomfortable at the idea of cutting off a road and having just a gate up there. So I’m happy to vote on the motion; I’ve had mixed feelings about this for a little while.”

The motion passed 6-0, with Commissioner James Ingle absent. 

In response to the people who had spoken, Mayor Harvey Ward said, “I understand that doesn’t make everybody happy. We never do… In this instance, I am not prepared to move forward [with terminating the licensing agreement].”

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The following is my response to the City of Gainesville & Santa Fe College:

Santa Fe College and City of Gainesville’s 40-year license agreement to close NW 5th Street from NW 3rd Ave to NW 5th Ave: Notification, policy, procedure, and transparency

To the City of Gainesville and Santa Fe College:

Certain items should never appear on a consent agenda. These include anything controversial or likely to generate questions, new policies or significant policy changes, items requiring strategic discussion (matters with potential legal implications), and anything a board member has indicated they want to discuss (they did not want to discuss this, nor did they… They wanted to slide it through unnoticed). 

Controversial matters with potential legal implications:

1.   The deal closes a two-way street that has been traveled by neighbors, residents, and the general public for over 100 years… Notice was not provided to the public, businesses, and neighbors, in any way, that 5th Street was going to be closed for the school’s exclusive use to test cars without public input. The school has plenty of land of its own to test cars, and the closure is not necessary. This was a land grab… In 40 years (we will all be dead), when this license is over, no one will remember it was a license agreement; the agreement is tantamount to a sale for $40… It was a done deal, and they did not want to discuss this.

When the item was pulled from the consent agenda, there was no discussion of 1) “Were the businesses, neighbors, and the public noticed properly?” and 2) “Will the City reopen the street when the agreement expires?”

This item is controversial because citizens complained, as evidenced by Commissioner Willits’ statement at the November 6 meeting: “I agree that not enough notification was given to the neighbors by City staff because we didn’t have clear policy established for this specific type of agreement.“

Commissioner Ed Book told me that he had asked in a public meeting whether the “neighbors were notified”… He did not tell me if that question was answered.

We know the answer: it is no. He is trying to be very careful in showing he did not have a conflict of interest because he was both the police chief of Santa Fe College and a GNV City Commissioner. Book said, “I was not there for the vote; I was in Alaska.”

2.  The item is controversial to me because 5th Street is the two-way street that leads to my business’s front door. I have been there for over 41 years, and the closure of that street will make it difficult for customers to get to me, potentially putting me out of business. 

I have been a good neighbor, and both Santa Fe College and the City should have noticed me properly because my shop and the land I own are inside the city limits, and it is also an enclave within the college campus. I am the proverbial “elephant in the room,” and they did not see me… They did not notice me! They were blind to me. I am an interested and affected party. 

This agreement is void ab initio because 1) the City and Santa Fe College did not properly notify the public and neighbors of the street’s closure; 2) there was no transparency by the City or Santa Fe College with the closing of this street; and  3) there was no clear policy established for this type of agreement. 

The City and Santa Fe need to start over with proper notification and procedure if they want to close NW 5th Street.

This information was sent by email as OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION to both the City of Gainesville and Santa Fe College that their 40-year license agreement to close NW 5th Street from NW 3rd Ave to NW 5th Ave  is VOID and that the NW 5th Street will remain open to the public.

I hope that Mayor Harvey LeGrande Ward is prepared to move forward with terminating the licensing agreement now.

Please comment, and I will try to respond. I’d love to hear what the readers have to say…

Use these links to contact the Gainesville City Commission and to contact Santa Fe College to let them know how you feel:

• citymgr@gainesvillefl.gov
• citycomm@cityofgainesville.org
• Santa Fe College President Broadie’s Executive Assistant: paula.gainey@sfcollege.edu

Richard Selwach, aka Diamond Rick, Gainesville

The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.