Newberry City Commission hears from three candidates, agrees to sell 5 acres to County for Rural Collection Center

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

NEWBERRY, Fla. – At their March 10 Regular Meeting, the Newberry City Commission heard presentations from three candidates running in the City election on April 8, agreed to sell five acres of land to Alachua County to be used as a Rural Collection Center for solid waste, and continued their discussion about expanding the Easton Newberry Sports Complex and extending the operating agreement with the Easton Foundation. 

Three candidates spoke; the rest will speak at the next City Commission meeting

Mayor Jordan Marlowe said three of the candidates for Newberry Mayor and City Commissioner would be speaking and the remaining candidates would speak at the next meeting. Mayoral candidate and current Commissioner Tim Marden said, “I’ve done big things and little things as a Commissioner. A couple of the big things that I’ve done is, when I was first elected 12 years ago, I found corruption in our Fire Department, fought it, bringing in the FBI, pushed for prosecutions, pushed for restitution, and got it. I saw the money, hard-earned tax money, going out the door to private organizations in exchange for political favors, and I helped stop it. I saw a leadership team with no discipline and helped correct it. I stood by a fellow Commissioner defending his free speech rights while people tried to get him fired from his job. I stood up to the County when they tried to shut our entire community down during COVID. Here are a couple little things: I put crosswalk flags downtown to help others cross the street easier. I mowed my neighbors’ lawn after they lost their mother. I coached youth sports and hosted numerous voter education events.” Marden said he had been involved in decisions about Publix and other major projects and added, “We have focused on providing Cadillac government at a Chevy price.”

Commission Group IV candidate Donald Long spoke next. Long said, “The reason I’m running… is to keep the focus on the community. I’ve been on the (Planning and Zoning Board), and I helped represent a lot of new things we brought into this community, whether it’s developments or businesses, and I helped strive to make Newberry a place of vision for the next generations. You know, everybody’s focused on today and tomorrow, but 10 years, 5 years from now, this is where we want to be, how we want things to develop, and everything is not as simple as everyone sees it… I want to make sure our schools are always the focus. You know, this charter school has been a major focus, and I’m just here to make sure they commit to what they say they’re going to do, whether you’re for it or against it. It’s all about committing to the students, and that’s what I want to make sure we represent, and that’s what I want to make sure we do going forward.”

The other Commission Group IV candidate spoke last. Steve Panaghi said, “My wife and I moved to Newberry in 2012. We were drawn to the small hometown feel, and it reminded us of where we grew up as kids. Over the years, we have seen rapid growth in Newberry that reminded us of the rapid growth of our childhood homes. We saw firsthand what happens when reckless development takes place, and we are seeing the same warning signs here…  I want to make sure our infrastructure is up to the task of handling all the new residents before they arrive and ensure that the needed improvements to our roads are completed before the first home is sold… I also want to institute both an enforceable ethics policy and term limits for elected officials. Lastly, I want to mend the relationship with the County and the School Board so that we work together for the betterment of our citizens and not be opposed to one another.”

Click here for more information on the April 8 election.

Sale of five-acre parcel to the County

Interim City Manager Dallas Lee introduced the next item, the sale of a five-acre parcel of land at the Newberry Environmental Park to the Alachua County Board of Commissioners to be used as a Rural Collection Center. Lee said the County has offered $35,000/acre, or $175,000 total, which represents a profit over the $12,500/acre paid by Newberry in 2021. The City must install utilities on the site, Lee said, “but other than that, this is a straight purchase of the land.” 

Alachua County Solid Waste Director Gus Olmos said the Rural Collection Center can begin operating immediately once the utilities have been installed. Marden said, “I think it’ll be a great thing for our community.” Marlowe said Newberry stepped up after High Springs decided against siting the Collection Center there.

Commissioner Marden made a motion to authorize the sale, and Commissioner Tony Mazon seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

Easton Newberry Sports Complex expansion

Recreation Director Rod Clark gave a brief update on the proposed expansion of the Easton Newberry Sports Complex that was discussed in December 2024. At that time, the Commission asked staff to bring the item back for discussion after 90 days and investigate any possible grants they may be able to use.

Clark gave an overview of how the City and the Easton Foundation have worked together since 2008 to finance and build the facility, which opened in 2009; he said the City pays most of the operating costs. The current 20-year operating agreement expires in 2029, but a 20-year extension may be granted if the Commission decides to do so.

Clark said the expansion plan includes a new 9,800-square-foot building containing an archery range, bathroom area, office space, and storage areas. The Foundation proposes to pay 100% of the $3.5 million expansion cost, and they would like to renew the operating agreement for an additional 35 years.

Marlowe suggested continuing negotiations with the Easton Foundation since staff and some Commissioners have some concerns about the proposed agreement. Clark detailed some of staff’s concerns: the new building has limited recreational uses beyond archery, 35 years may be too long, a more equitable division of expenses may be needed, and recreational programming may be impacted and growth limited.

Marden suggested bringing back an updated agreement in two weeks with changes made to accommodate staff’s concerns. Commissioner Mark Clark made a motion to continue negotiations, and Commissioner Ricky Coleman seconded his motion. It passed unanimously.

Commission comment

During Commission comment at the end of the meeting, Marlowe said, “There’s so much kudos to go around the city of Newberry. But, you know, I would just ask all of the candidates, when they throw around words like ‘reckless,’ to remember that we’ve got really professional staff that are working really hard to make sure that that word is really inappropriate to use when you talk about what Newberry’s doing… I understand on campaign they’re wanting to attack their opponent, but these guys up here, they turn to the professionals and they say, ‘What is the best fiscally conservative way to protect our City?’ and they’re doing it, our staff is doing it.”

Coleman said, “My family is supporting Donald Long, Tony Mazon, and Tim Marden strongly… I want everybody to know that.”

Clark said the Veterans Memorial is nearly complete, and the unveiling is still scheduled for Memorial Day.