Newberry, High Springs rural roundup
Hello from Gainesville, Florida. It's Monday, June 1, and you're listening to StreetSmart. I'm Nick Anschultz. StreetSmart is a weekly podcast from Mainstreet Daily News where we cover local news that informs, engages, and inspires listeners like you. A big thanks to our sponsor, Forest Meadows, where compassion meets experience.
Nick Anschultz:Check out their beautiful gardens, funeral home, and tribute center, cremations, funerals, and memorials all in one trusted place. With exceptional care and personal attention, Forest Meadows is here to honor every life with care. Here's the top headlines we're rounding up. After one hundred and seventeen days, Alachua County lifted its fern ban on Wednesday. The district remains in a water shortage as the groundwater table is still below the twentieth percentile.
Nick Anschultz:Today also marks the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which will run through November 30. Meteorologists are predicting below normal activity with forecast of eight to 14 named storms and three to six hurricanes, including one to three major hurricanes. Gainesville's Phil Mann was named in the American Public Works Association's top 10 public works leader of the year. Mann started with the city thirty nine years ago as an entry level engineer before rising to director of the public works department. The Paper Bag Deli is opening its first location outside of Gainesville in Waldo this month.
Nick Anschultz:The new storefront will offer a gourmet coffee menu and drive through. The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners voted against making Lakeshore Drive a scenic road. They also considered water and wastewater services for Westside Christian Schools expansion into Faith Baptist Church. The new property is on the West side of Parker Road just outside the urban cluster boundary. For more information on that meeting or for any other information on these stories, visit Mainstreet Daily News.com for more details.
Nick Anschultz:Thanks to our generous members. This news stays free for the whole community with no paywall. Thanks for listening to StreetSmart. I'm Nick Anchultz, and we're so excited you've joined us for today's episode, the twentieth episode of StreetSmart. Lillian, that's a big milestone, and we've got a big giveaway to help celebrate.
Nick Anschultz:Can I get a drum roll?
Lillian Hamman:Absolutely. Here comes a big drum roll. We're giving away one $55 gift certificate to Dave and Buster's. You'll have access to food, drinks, and, of course, all the games, and you have until December to use it. Would you say that's a pretty sweet deal, Nick?
Nick Anschultz:I would say so.
Lillian Hamman:Yeah. We actually had our company Christmas party there last year, and it was pretty fun. I had never been, but just something about Pac Man and base invaders and the crane game. I think I used up half my tokens on the crane. It's it's pretty addicting and pretty fun.
Nick Anschultz:Don't forget about Pop a Shot.
Lillian Hamman:Oh, how could I forget Pop a Shot? If you wanna join in that fun and win a Dave and Buster's gift certificate, all you have to do is click on the link in the show notes, and it will take you right to the contest page. And if you wanna help even more of your neighbors know about StreetSmart, you can also vote for us as the best local podcast on Our Town Magazine's favorites of twenty twenty six contest. StreetSmart has been nominated under our name, Mainstreet and all you have to do to vote is just go to ourtownfavorites.com to find the ballots, or we'll also put a link in the show notes, and you can go straight there.
Nick Anschultz:Now it's time to jump into our feature segment. Lillian, kinda busy out there in the rural cities this week. What's been going on?
Lillian Hamman:Yeah. Had some early mornings and late nights out there, but gonna give you all kind of a rural roundup of some stories I covered, and we're gonna start in the middle of a field in Newberry. Last Tuesday, Harvest Singularity broke ground on the first of two $69 million hydroponic greenhouses that are planned for the city. Some city officials called this investment one of the largest in Newberry's recent history, and they will be part of the city's F-300 AgFoodTech Innovation Park. So with these two greenhouses, Harvest Singularity is taking technology that's been popping up around the U.S.
Lillian Hamman:There's actually some hydroponic greenhouses in San Felasco Tech City in Alachua, but it's been the primary new agricultural technology coming out of The Netherlands. And Harvest Singularity wants to build a hub of hydroponic greenhouses here in Florida. They're wanting to bring 10 greenhouses to the state, and the first two are in Newberry. The state has been pretty involved with the project. Back in November, Governor DeSantis approved a $5.6 million jobs growth grant for infrastructure at the greenhouses, which are projected to produce nearly four tons of leafy greens every day.
Lillian Hamman:And, eventually, they wanna add tomatoes and strawberries as well. So Harvest Singularity's big mission with these greenhouses is to try and help curb food insecurity and bring fresher foods to wholesale retailers like Publix and the big stores. But they do also plan to partner with the community and local farmers. Getting into some of the technology of the greenhouses because they are hydroponic. They use water recycled from the rain instead of soil.
Lillian Hamman:They have translucent roofs to reduce electricity usage. They don't use pesticides, GMOs, or triple washing. And according to Harvest Singularity, they are using 94% less land and 95% less water than conventional agriculture.
Nick Anschultz:Wow. That's a lot of food, Lillian. When are they hoping to open?
Lillian Hamman:The greenhouses are currently being built in The Netherlands, and they will be brought to Florida and constructed here on the ground, but that should be opening in nine months to a year.
Nick Anschultz:And in addition to Newberry, Lillian, I know that you were also in High Springs on Thursday for a big meeting. Wanna talk about that?
Lillian Hamman:Yep. So it was a regular city commission meeting, and the two items on the agenda that most people were there to hear were about whether to keep the fire department and whether to reduce staffing in the police department or potentially cut that one as well. So the final votes were to keep both police and fire and not make any police cuts, but it didn't pass necessarily with flying colors. Vice mayor Wayne Bludworth junior made the motion to keep the fire department, and it passed three to two with commissioners Tristan Grundar and Chad Howell in descent. Not long before last week's meeting, the city had met with the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners and former chief Harold Theus.
Lillian Hamman:He's now retired after 32 years. Congrats, Chief Theus. He gave a presentation on what services could look like if the county assumed fire services in High Springs. And so the dissenting commissioners didn't think it would be too terrible if High Springs residents were on the sliding scale for fire assessment fees like the county offers. They didn't feel comfortable necessarily raising the fire assessment in High Springs for people on fixed incomes, and and the sliding scale could adjust that.
Lillian Hamman:So not everybody's paying the same amount. And they also just didn't feel like keeping the fire department solved some of the core issues in their budget. For instance, multiple utilities like sewage transportation are supplying over half of High Springs' general fund, and 56% of the general fund pays for police and fire departments. The commissioners in support, so vice mayor Wayne Bloodsworth Jr., Katherine Weitz and Mayor Andrew Miller, they felt it would be better to raise the fire assessment in High Springs instead of losing control of what they can charge residents for that, and they'd also have to surrender around $1 million worth of equipment to the county. But the bottom line, all commissioners said nobody wanted to cut the fire department or police, but everybody was just trying to wrap their minds around what to do about the budget.
Lillian Hamman:Some of the commissioners feel like this issue is just going to resurface again, and they're gonna have to have these same conversations during budget season the next year. But they also acknowledge that as they want to invite growth into the city, they feel like they're going to need the emergency services to cover those new and bigger areas. And then, the commission unanimously passed a motion to look into raising its fire assessment. So, currently, the fire assessment is at $250 per resident. It's a flat fee everybody has to pay.
Lillian Hamman:And, they discussed raising it to the maximum right now, which is $335, and potentially doing another study to be able to raise it to either $360 or $383, which could cut the amount that the fire department is extracting from the city's general fund budget by about 50%. And no matter the decision they made, High Springs Fire Chief Joseph Peters was kind of pleading with the commission to make a decision that night because he had been working multiple twenty four hour shifts to cover for staffing shortages over employees who had quit because of the uncertain future of the department.
Nick Anschultz:And what about the proposal to reduce police staffing?
Lillian Hamman:Yeah. Pretty much that was a no go. High Springs Chief Antoine Sheppard presented all the reasons why he feels they need the staffing numbers that they have and that reducing any more personnel would be dangerous for the department and for the community. So it'll be interesting to see if the city is able to come up with any other sources of revenue to help fill the deficits in their budget and see whether they will continue to be the only other city in Alachua County besides Gainesville that has both police and fire.
Nick Anschultz:Well, we all know how important police and fire departments are to, to cities. So thanks for following that, Lillian. We're We're gonna take a quick break to hear from our sponsor, Forest Meadows, before rolling out the news forecast and events for this week.
Forest Meadows:At Forest Meadows, our commitment is simple. Exceptional care, personal attention, and respect for every family we serve. Forest Meadows offers every option in one trusted place. Visit our beautiful gardens and glass front niches, or plan ahead for cremation, funerals, and memorials at our funeral home or tribute center located on our cemetery grounds. Forest Meadows, where compassion meets experience, and every life is honored with care.
Nick Anschultz:Now for this week's news forecast. The Micanopy Town Council will hold a joint meeting with the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners at 6PM tonight. Tomorrow, the city of Gainesville will hold a budget workshop at 1PM and a regular meeting on Thursday starting at 10AM. The Hawthorne City Commission will meet tomorrow to discuss its strategic plan and an agreement with Alachua County Fire Rescue. Also, tomorrow, the school board of Alachua County will hold a meeting at 6PM where the board will consider an agreement with the city of Gainesville for Citizens Field.
Lillian Hamman:Now for our event segment covering upcoming family friendly events this week. Join Alachua Conservation Trust for a free ice cream social at Gainesville's Rockwood Park on Saturday starting at 1PM. Ice cream is first come, first serve, and vegan options will be available. After getting dessert at the social, grab some dinner at 04:30PM on Saturday during the Rock the Block Community Cookout at Veterans Memorial Park. There will be hamburgers and hot dogs, a bounce house, face painting, games, and more.
Lillian Hamman:The Journey to Juneteenth Film Festival will kick off at 05:15PM on Saturday at the Hippodrome. The screening will feature various films crafted by local, regional, and national filmmakers in honor of the holiday. Have you ever wanted to give a cow a bath? Ruderville Sanctuary in Melrose is hosting the Highland Cow Bath and Fluff Day on Sunday at 10AM. For $25, you can bathe, blow dry, and cuddle with the cows.
Nick Anschultz:We are thirty three days from America's 250th birthday, and Mainstreet is running a Stars, Stripes, and Shout Outs campaign to celebrate. Lillian, you wanna talk about what that campaign is?
Lillian Hamman:Yeah. So the idea behind Stars, Stripes, and Shout Outs is to recognize people who embody the best of our country. It could be a first responder, a teacher, or a military veteran, but it could also be someone who toils in your community without fanfare in a profession or type of service really recognized. So we're looking for the people who make North Central Florida a great place to live, work, and play. We're going to publish a series of these shout outs nominated by listeners and readers like you in Mainstreet throughout the summer.
Lillian Hamman:One of those recognized shoutout-ees, yes, I just made up that word, will win a $50 gift card to Public and General, plus two free admissions to a Hippodrome cinema showing.
Nick Anschultz:Just click on the link in the show notes, and the page will prompt you for how to enter your shout out. And don't forget those other links to vote for StreetSmart as your favorite local podcast and win a $55 Dave and Buster's gift certificate. And that's all we've got for this week's StreetSmart podcast brought to you by Mainstreet Daily News and made possible by our generous members. Another special thanks to Forest Meadows for believing in local news and sponsoring us. We'll be back next week to round up more local news that matters to you.
Nick Anschultz:Please share StreetSmart to help us continue the work. Remember, you can find more local news at mainstreetdailynews.com or pick up a print copy around Alachua County. Our theme music is Sunset Sonata by Gainesville's ska band Now Leaving Space. This episode is a production of MARC Media.
