Newberry City Commission honors Commissioner Farnsworth, approves NC Ranch land use change

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

NEWBERRY, Fla. – At their March 25 Regular Meeting, the Newberry City Commission recognized Commissioner James “Monty” Farnsworth’s twenty years of service on the Commission; Judith Jensen, a candidate for Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, introduced herself and her goals for the County; Assistant City Manager Dallas Lee gave an update on the vote to convert Newberry’s three schools to public charter schools; NC Ranch land use changes were adopted on second reading; and an amendment to the regulations for operating golf carts on city streets was passed.

Honoring Commissioner Farnsworth

Mayor Jordan Marlowe began the meeting, “Our first presentation tonight is quite the special presentation. We want to recognize James ‘Monty’ Farnsworth for his twenty years of service. So we have a couple of things here that we want to do to recognize two decades… So I’m going to read this proclamation in, and then we’re going to talk a little bit about some things… And we want to make sure we honor his past and his family’s history.

“But let’s start with the proclamation: Whereas Commissioner James ‘Monty’ Farnsworth has devoted twenty years of exemplary service to the City of Newberry, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to our community and its citizens. And whereas, throughout his tenure, Commissioner Farnsworth has exhibited outstanding leadership, integrity, and dedication, significantly contributing to the improvement, enhancement, development, and preservation of our civic resources. 

“And whereas Commissioner Farnsworth has consistently prioritized the welfare of our citizens, ensuring that every decision and action taken under his guidance was done with the utmost consideration, for the community’s best interest, safeguarding the prosperity and well-being of our people for generations to come. And in Monty’s case, that’s true. Twenty years, that’s a generation, generations to come. 

“Whereas Commissioner Farnsworth’s efforts have fostered a spirit of collaboration and excellence, encouraging others to contribute positively to our community. And whereas it is appropriate to recognize and commend such outstanding service and to express our gratitude for Commissioner Farnsworth’s dedication and lasting contributions. Now therefore be it proclaimed that I, Mayor Jordan Marlowe, on behalf of the Newberry City Commission, do hereby urge all citizens to recognize and celebrate the achievements and contributions of Commissioner Farnsworth to our community… I cause the Seal of the City of Newberry to be affixed this 25th day of March 2024.”

Marlowe said the Farnsworth family was in the grocery business for a long time, and when customers were having difficult times, they were known for trusting people to pay when they could. Marlowe presented Farnsworth with a “key to the city,” and everyone in the room stood and applauded loudly. A photographer took several photos of Monty and his family holding his official proclamation certificate and the “key to the city” plaque.

Farnsworth spoke at the podium, facing the audience: “I started in 1986… Over the years I’ve seen a lot of different things happen and a lot of good things, some not so good. People think that the Commissioners make all these decisions and come up with all these great ideas and everything, but really we don’t. We depend on the great staff we have here at the City of Newberry. They do all the legwork. They get the material ready for us to look at and go over… Without them, I’d be nothing… We depend on the employees of the City for all this… My dad was a City Commissioner here for a long time. Also, he was Mayor for a while.” He mentioned the help he received early in his career from Mentholee Norfleet, and he thanked the citizens for continuing to re-elect him. Everyone applauded.

Chris Holley of the Florida League of Cities presented Farnsworth with another award for his longtime service. He stressed that only 1% of their members serve the twenty years required to receive this award. 

Supervisor of Elections candidate introduced

Continuing with the presentations, Mayor Marlowe introduced Judith Jensen, a candidate for Alachua County Supervisor of Elections. She said it concerns her that she is commonly asked, “Do you think the election was stolen?” and she wants to restore trust and transparency to the election process. She showed the following slide with her goals:

Jensen said most of her qualifications stem from volunteering as a Poll Watcher, Poll Worker, Observer for Signature Comparison, and Canvassing Board member. She is a High Springs resident. She has a Master’s Degree and works as a Registered Nurse. She is involved with the organizations Election Integrity Network, Florida Fair Elections Coalition, Defend Florida, and The People’s Audit. These organizations helped to expose felons who registered to vote in jail and other problems, Jensen said. 

Jensen said she strongly advocates for the use of Voter ID, and she wants hand-count audits to verify the accuracy of all voting machines. She said she has concerns about mail-in voting and signature discrepancies. Stressing that she needs approximately 1,000 more signatures to be put on the ballot, she closed with the following slide:

Update on conversion of Newberry’s schools to charter schools

Assistant City Manager Dallas Lee gave a brief update on the proposed plan to convert Newberry’s three public schools to public charter schools, including that the election will be held April 5-12 and that the ballots will be counted on April 17. (More information can be found here.)

Lee stressed that each school will decide independently.

Lee said that if the votes pass, the employees of the charter schools will become employees of the City of Newberry, and the City will provide administrative support to the schools. He said the plan has been reviewed by two outside entities, and they feel the plan is sound.

Golf cart regulations

Staff introduced an ordinance to revise local golf cart regulations and bring them into compliance with new State standards. Newberry has been allowing everyone age 15 and over to drive golf carts on city streets, but, as of 2023, the State says that anyone under age 18 must have a valid learner’s permit or driver’s license. The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading.

Land use for the NC Ranch development

Jean-Paul Perez, Director of Planning and Economic Development, introduced the second reading of an ordinance to amend the Future Land Use for the 1,293-acre NC Ranch Planned Development from Agriculture to Planned Development. This is following the State’s approval of the plan submitted after the first reading in December.

Commissioner Rick Coleman made a motion to pass the ordinance, and Commissioner Mark Clark seconded the motion. The Future Land Use amendment passed unanimously on second reading.

The second reading of a companion ordinance, a Text Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for the NC Ranch Planned Development, was introduced by Perez. He said the only change was increasing the minimum distance from any home to a neighborhood park from ¼ mile to ½ mile. Perez noted that he will return on April 15 with the second reading of a zoning ordinance for the NC Ranch, which is required before any work can begin.

Coleman made a motion to approve the ordinance, and Commissioner Tim Marden seconded the motion. The Text Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan passed unanimously on second reading. 

During closing comments, Commissioner Marden, who also serves as the Alachua County Republican Chair, expressed his support for Alachua County Supervisor of Elections candidate Judith Jensen: “She would help serve our community well in that office.”