Newberry City Commission meets remaining three candidates, construction to begin on SW 15th Avenue

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

NEWBERRY, Fla. – At their March 24 Regular Meeting, the Newberry City Commission heard from three candidates running in the City election on April 8, received financial reports and a clean independent audit, approved an electrical franchise agreement with CFEC, approved amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, accepted money from Publix for a new traffic signal, and selected Watson Construction to repave SW 15^th Avenue this summer.

Glanzer, Campbell, and Mazon speak

The meeting began with the remaining three candidates for Newberry Mayor and City Commissioner introducing themselves (the first three candidates spoke at the March 10 meeting). 

Candidate for Mayor Joy Glanzer spoke first: “I’m running for Newberry because I love Newberry. I love this town… In the 48 years since 1977… that Newberry has been my home, my husband and I have raised our four children, started up and operated six businesses, and served our hearts out on anything and everything where we could see a need… I’ve been asked to ‘Please please please, don’t turn Newberry into Gainesville,’ and I’m here to tell you that that is quite impossible because the size or the mindset or the physical buildings of this community don’t define Newberry. What measures Newberry and defines it is this community. When I first moved here as a young woman of 21, I had been a UF student hailing from Miami, so I have to tell you that Newberry was a bit of a culture shock… I realize that there’s an element of social media that’s kind of like the Wild West right now, but that doesn’t define Newberry, either… Please help me to keep Newberry Newberry, to manage our growth wisely, to plan for the future, and to remember our roots. I’ll be your full-time mayor. This will be my only job. You will be my only focus, and please don’t forget to vote on April 8^th. Thank you so much.” Glanzer is running against current City Commissioner Tim Marden, who spoke at the previous meeting.

Commission Group V candidate Rosa Marie Campbell spoke next: “’Nothing works unless you do it,’ by Dr. Maya Angelou. My name is Rosa Marie Campbell, and I’m proud to stand before you today, not just as a candidate, but as one of you. I was born and raised right here in Newberry… I am a wife. I am a mother, a sister, an aunt, and a lifelong educator. For 26 years, I dedicated my life to children at the School Board of Alachua County, including right here in Newberry. I worked at the elementary school, worked at the high school. Now I’m at UF ECC Baby Gator, where I am a proud educator of young children. And I will continue to do my work. I’m running because I believe in Newberry. I believe in restoring unity that makes us strong. Our community has seen division, and we all can contest to that… I have spent thousands of hours making sure every child has the opportunity to succeed. And in life, in school, I work to bring people together in small ways, too. Like starting our local line dancing, Heart and Soul… Vote me your next Commissioner.” 

Commission Group V candidate and incumbent City Commissioner Tony Mazon spoke last: “I want to say it’s been, what, four years since I’ve been in this position right here, just as nervous now as I was back then. I’m a little bit wiser, and I have a little bit more knowledge… Four years ago, I came to this Commission with one agenda, and that is to be the voice of the community. And… if reelected, I will continue to be the voice. I will be open, I will be honest, and I will keep being accessible. If I’ve earned your trust, on April 8^th, vote Tony to keep Newberry amazing. Thank you.”

Comprehensive financial reports and independent audit

Acting Director of Finance Amanda Hagan introduced a presentation on the City of Newberry’s and the Community Redevelopment Agency’s comprehensive financial reports for the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2024. She said Barbara Boyd of Purvis Gray would be presenting the results of an independent annual audit conducted by an outside firm.

Boyd showed slides breaking down the different aspects of the audit and said, “I’m pleased to say there’s no reportable items – no significant deficiencies, material weaknesses, or material non-compliance that’s reported.” Boyd said two reports have been issued, following legal requirements. She said the one issue that was identified during the previous year’s audit was corrected. Boyd concluded, “All in all, this is an excellent report, about as good as you can get from us. So, kudos to your team.”

Responding to the audit, Marlowe said, “I just want to say how ecstatic I am… I just got done reading an article about the School Board’s last financial workshop (and their) $33 million deficit. That’s why their pay increase for teachers went from 1.6% to 1%, because they’re on the verge of the State taking over. And I feel really bad for the position that that Board is in, of having to try to unwind some of the decisions that have been made there. So it is a pleasure to work with a Commission and a team that leave our City in such a strong financial situation… I wouldn’t want to be faced with that… We’re hitting all of our metrics.”

Spring Festival planned for April 5

During public announcements, Chris Mack of Newberry Main Street said, “We have our Spring Festival coming up April 5^th, two Saturdays from now, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We’ve got music all day. We’ve got food vendors. We’ve got over a hundred vendors up and down Seaboard Avenue.” Mack said they will also have activities for kids.

Ordinance granting electrical franchise to Central Florida Electric Cooperative

City Attorney Scott Walker introduced the first reading of an ordinance granting an electrical franchise to Central Florida Electric Cooperative. Interim City Manager Dallas Lee said other electrical franchise agreements are already in place in Newberry, including with Clay Electric, and this will be the final electrical franchise agreement the City will need.

Lee said franchise agreements are contracts between a municipality and a utility that allow the utility to use the public rights-of-way and to serve customers within the municipality’s jurisdiction. He said the utility pays a franchise fee to the City in exchange for the protections offered, and typically those fees go to the Public Works Department.  

The fee is based on gross electric revenues, Lee said, and it will be 4% for the first 10 years, will increase to 5% for years 11 to 20, and will increase again to 5.5% for years 21 to 30. He said there is a provision to waive a portion of the fee to help subsidize new businesses that may need incentives to open here. Lee said the recommended action is to pass the ordinance on first reading, and a second reading will be presented in April.

Commissioner Monty Farnsworth asked whether natural gas companies coming to Newberry would need similar franchise agreements. Lee said they would, and he added that there are already several gas companies in the area with existing agreements. 

Commissioner Marden made a motion to approve the franchise agreement on first reading, and Farnsworth seconded the motion. It passed unanimously. 

Comprehensive Plan amendment

Attorney Walker introduced the second reading of an ordinance to adopt the amended City of Newberry Comprehensive Plan, including the Future Land Use Map. Director of Community Development Stacey Hectus gave a brief presentation detailing some of the proposed changes and why they were included; work on the amendments first began in May 2023. 

Hectus said CHW Professional Consultants was hired to help with some of the items. The list was submitted to the State in November, Hectus said, and they made a few minor suggestions, which were incorporated into the second reading. Hectus said the final step is for staff to send the final document to the State within 10 days of approval, and the changes will take effect 31 days after the State’s final approval.

Commissioner Marden made a motion to accept the proposed Comprehensive Plan changes on second reading. Mazon seconded the motion. It passed unanimously. 

Accepting funds from Publix for a new traffic signal

The next item was an agreement to share the cost of a new traffic signal with Publix Supermarkets. The traffic signal will be located at the intersection of SR 26 and Newberry Lane, serving the new Publix store. Jamie Jones of Public Works said they still need to develop consensus on exactly how to design the intersection, and the State must approve the design. Jones said Publix has pledged to contribute $134,000 for the project, regardless of the exact cost. Jones added that County funds will not be used for the project: “It was intended to be a three-way agreement between Publix and the other development, City, and the County. Well, due to the County’s desire to locate the light at 235 instead of Newberry Lane and State Road 26, the County is no longer participating in the funding for the light.”

[Editor’s note: Alachua County Communications Director Mark Sexton sent the following statement in response to the comment about County funding for the traffic light: “The suggestion that the County was pulling back from its promise to help fund the project is untrue. The City of Newberry turned down the County’s offer to use its infrastructure surtax matching grant program to help fund the project. Instead, the City chose to apply that County support to the SW 15th project, also reported on in the story.”]

Commissioner Farnsworth made a motion to approve the agreement to accept the $134,000 from Publix. Mazon seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Jones said he plans to return soon with a proposed design for the intersection after working with all the parties.

Construction contract for SW 15th Avenue

Following a presentation from Director of Capital Projects and Facilities Joe Lovelady, Commissioners authorized the City Manager to execute a contract with Watson Construction Company in the amount of $2,483,000 for the construction of SW 15^th Avenue between SW 60^th Street and SW 252^nd Street, with change orders not to exceed 10%. 

Commissioner Marden asked when construction will begin. Lovelady said they are “trying to get it started before this summer.” He added that they hope to have it done before the start of the fall school semester, and there will be approximately 70 to 80 angled parking spaces for use by visitors.

Rescheduling May 26 meeting and public comment

Interim City Manager Lee suggested moving the date for the second Commission meeting in May from May 26, Memorial Day, to May 27. Commissioners unanimously voted to reschedule the meeting to May 27. 

During final public comments, Commission Group V candidate Rosa Marie Campbell advocated for installing speed humps if people will not stop for stop signs.