Newberry City Commission grants electric franchise to CFEC, submits application for state CDBG grant

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

NEWBERRY, Fla. – At their April 14 Regular Meeting, the Newberry City Commission approved the utility franchise agreement with CFEC on second reading, agreed to submit an application for a CDBG state grant, and extended the deadline for the NC Ranch developer to submit the final development plan.

WestFest 2025 

The meeting began with a presentation about the upcoming 7^th annual WestFest 2025. Special Events Coordinator Crystal Rushing said the music festival will take place on Saturday, April 26, at Lois Forte Park, with the gates opening at 3:30 p.m. Rushing said four bands will be featured: TJ Brown from Chiefland; Andrea Kay from South Florida (now attending the University of Florida); Thomas Wynn and Hannah Harber, who are known as Harber Wynn; and Emma Forgette from Ocala.     

Rushing said Justin Clement of the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce will be the MC, and they will have trivia games and giveaways, including t-shirts. For kids, there will be a bounce house and other activities. Rushing said this year’s food trucks will include DonutNV, Back Porch Burgers, Rollin Sliders, Charlie’s Snow Shack, Lazy Days Lemonade, and Locos por Tacos. 

Rushing listed the event’s many sponsors and said they are advertising it in several places, including Alachua Chronicle and 103.7 FM, The Gator. 

Mayor Jordan Marlowe said, “Expect a great turnout. Expect great weather. It’s become kind of a community favorite… Bring your chairs. Bring your blankets. Lay out on the lawn, talk to your neighbors, get to know everybody, listen to some good music, let the kids run around and have fun.”

Newberry Proud

Former Commissioner and 2025 Mayoral Candidate Joy Glanzer spoke about Newberry Proud, a group of newly-organized community volunteers dedicated to recognizing the youth of Newberry. Glanzer said, “Whether athletics, academics, or community engagement, our young people are achieving great things, and Newberry Proud is here to celebrate them. Our board consists of Jordan Marlowe, myself, Donald Long, Tony Mazon, Mellina Parker, Daniel Eby, Fred Scippio Jr., Veronica Kadala, Christa Rummle, Tiffany Holt, and David Wallace.”

Glanzer continued, “Our first official event – we hope you all can make it – will take place on May 23^rd at 7 p.m at the high school football field. We’ll be hosting a movie night featuring ‘Grease,’ with free popcorn and water. Food trucks will also be available for those who would like to enjoy dinner and a movie. Before the film, we’ll honor all the boys’ and girls’ varsity athletes who have won district championships or higher, and there’s many of them this year. Each player will receive a special commemorative coin provided by Congresswoman Kat Cammack. Newberry has many reasons to be proud but perhaps none greater than our children. That’s something that we can all celebrate together. Thank you.”

CFEC electric utility franchise

City Attorney Scott Walker introduced the second reading of an ordinance granting a utility franchise agreement to Central Florida Electric Cooperative (CFEC). For more in-depth details, see our story about the first reading at the March 24 meeting.

Acting City Manager Dallas Lee said this is the last major utility that the City will need to sign a franchise agreement with. The agreement is for 30 years, Lee said, with franchise fees ranging from 4% to 5.5% over the 30-year term. 

Commissioner Tim Marden made a motion to pass the ordinance on second reading, and Commissioner Mark Clark seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

Application for CDBG Neighborhood Revitalization grant

The next item was a public hearing on Newberry’s CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) Neighborhood Revitalization grant application. Grant Manager Jane Sullivan said the Small Cities CDBG funding is administered by Florida Commerce. A small part of Newberry is eligible for the funding (based on income restrictions), and Neighborhood Revitalization Project categories include fire protection, flood and drainage, water and sewer improvements, and sidewalk and street improvements. 

Sullivan said street improvements have been a topic of conversation in Newberry, and this is a source of funding for that. Commissioner Clark asked how long it will take to find out whether Newberry will receive the grant money. Sullivan said the application is due by the end of May, it will take about four or five months to get an answer, and, if approved, it will take several more months before the funds will be available and work can begin.  

Commissioner Mazon made a motion to submit the application. Commissioner Clark seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

NC Ranch extension

Community Development Director Stacey Hectus said the NC Ranch developer is requesting a one-time, one-year extension of the deadline to submit a final development plan to the City. Hectus said the new deadline will be May 28, 2026. 

Commissioner Marden made a motion to allow the deadline extension, and Commissioner Monty Farnsworth seconded the motion. 

Farnsworth asked the reason for the delay. Developer Tripp Norfleet spoke at the podium and said they might be able to get the development plan done by the current deadline, but they didn’t want to take a chance of not having it ready. 

The motion passed unanimously.

Swearing-in for Mayor and Commissioners will be on April 28

During final comments, Acting City Manager Dallas Lee said, “I signed the contract this afternoon for the construction of SW 15th Avenue to begin, hopefully in the next several weeks… Next week, on Monday at 6 p.m., we will be hosting Newberry 101 for all of our newly-elected Commissioners and any Commissioners who’d like to return. And on that, I’d like to offer my congratulations to the Mayor-elect and Commissioner Mazon and Commissioner-elect Long. I look forward to working with you guys and continuing to work with you. And also on that note, just as a reminder, we do have the swearing-in ceremony, which will be held on April 28th at 6 p.m., right here in City Hall.”

Commissioner Farnsworth said Newberry Proud has t-shirts available for purchase, for anyone who wants to show their support. He said the fact that there will be two black Newberry City Commissioners shows that Newberry citizens do not vote based only on skin color.

Commissioner Mazon said, “I have a couple of things that are going to be going on at the MLK Center. We’ll start with the egg hunt. It’s going to be on April 19. The address is 25515 Northwest 6^th Avenue, Newberry. We’re also going to have, on the 26^th of April, two weekends from now, our second movie premiere. This is going to be ‘The Wild Robot,’ and it’s also going to be at the MLK Center at 7 p.m.” 

Mayor Marlowe, whose term is about to end, said, “I appreciate you guys. I appreciate working with you in this capacity. It’s been quite literally one of the greatest honors of my life. I’ll save the tears for the 28^th.” Marlowe will become City Manager after his term ends.