Newberry spat, Gainesville city manager search
Hello from Gainesville, Florida. It's Monday, April 6, and you're listening to StreetSmart. I'm Lillian Hamman. 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.
Lillian Hamman: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. The Gainesville City Commission finalized a contract for two red light cameras.
Lillian Hamman:The cameras would automatically send tickets to vehicle owners running red lights. The contract is for two intersections where Waldo Road and Northeast 39th Avenue cross and where Northwest 6th Street meets Northwest 23rd Avenue. Nine challengers have filed for Florida house districts that represent Alachua County. We asked each a series of six questions about the past legislative session. You can read their full answers online.
Lillian Hamman:A Gainesville resident is raising awareness for cold and missing person cases through a growing online publication. The newsletter on Substack has more than 20,000 monthly readers and focuses on lesser known cold cases across The United States. Eastside High School unveiled a new 200 foot long mural on campus. Local artist Jenna Horner collaborated with students to design and paint the piece that represents the school's legacy and history. Gainesville Regional Airport finalized its contract for a new CEO.
Lillian Hamman:The transition will take place in mid April. The governing board is also working on new projects like a fuel farm renovation and new general aviation terminal. April is National Pickleball Month, and Alachua County has 12 public facilities with designated courts. For a complete list of where you can play pickleball or for more details on any of our stories, visit mainstreetdailynews.com. Thanks to our generous members.
Lillian Hamman:This news day is free for the whole community with no paywall. Thanks again for listening to StreetSmart. I'm Lillian Hamman, and pickleball has certainly picked up in competitiveness, hasn't it, Seth?
Seth Johnson:Yeah. People are thinking all around Alachua County. And you know what else is competitive is those races for the Florida House. We mentioned that in the top headlines, but I just wanted to reiterate that we sent questionnaires to all of the current challengers who filed to run, and that's eight different challengers, and you have the opportunity to hear around a thousand you know, in their own words as they respond to these questions, and it gives you a really good opportunity to see their responses side by side and how the candidates line up. So you can check out all of those questionnaires at our website.
Lillian Hamman:Local races are also very competitive, and the race in Newberry got a little out of hand last weekend.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. Heading straight into our future stories. Take it away, Lillian, what happened now in Newberry, because there was a video that caught a lot of attention.
Lillian Hamman:Yeah. Last Sunday, the League of Women Voters of Alachua County hosted a candidate forum in Newberry, and multiple candidates showed up. There are seven candidates running for three different city commission seats, including seats one, two, and three. And Alachua County Sheriff's Office had to make a special appearance at the end.
Seth Johnson:But they are not running for one of the seats.
Lillian Hamman:They are not. No. So according to the sheriff's office, a deputy responded to a call around 03:30 that afternoon after the forum, and it had to do with one of the candidates, Brandy Oldman, got in a scuffle with a resident who attended the forum. Oldman is campaigning for seat one against incumbent Rick Coleman. And Oldman is a stay at home mom, and she has been a vocal public commenter at meetings, particularly against the Newberry Charter School.
Lillian Hamman:The video that Seth mentioned went viral was filmed by Jessica Carey, who was the resident that got in the scuffle with Oldman and the video shows Oldman denying that she's a liar, which is what Carey
Lillian Hamman:was calling her. Oldman had said on stage at the forum that she was gonna be respectable to, you know, everybody, all citizens, everything, and Carey disagreed that she had been. So was calling her a liar. Oldman didn't like it.
Lillian Hamman:And that ended in Oldman showing her middle finger to the camera and slapping Carey's phone out of her hand. And then you can hear Carey saying in the video that she's going to press charges and called 9-1-1. So the sheriff's office sent potential simple battery charges to the state attorney who will decide if Oldman will ultimately be charged.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. It seemed like there were some different languages on if both of them would be charged or just one, and Oldman was handcuffed and placed in the back of the squad car for a limited time before she was let go, and then those charges were came forward. Oldman also said, you know, she thought the charges would be different from what she heard from the sheriff's office on scene versus what came out the next day. So it seemed like some mixed communication lines there.
Lillian Hamman:Yeah. There were. And especially since Oldman had a different side of the story as to when the scuffle started. So Old man said that the back and forth between the two started inside after the forum, and Carey had come up to her and actually, you know, Oldman said she grabbed her face and was still calling her a liar. And after that, according to Oldman Carey went outside.
Lillian Hamman:Oldman followed her and ended up throwing her phone, which she admitted she wished she hadn't have done that. It was wrong to do. She apologized for losing any trust in her voters if that's what happened. But she also felt like this kind of attack wasn't an isolated incident. She feels like she's been kind of harassed by other sides of the political race more than other candidates.
Lillian Hamman:But Oldman said she's still going to campaign, and voters will ultimately decide who gets seats one, two, and three on April 14.
Seth Johnson:Back in the city of Gainesville, the city commission had a pretty big regular meeting on Thursday. In the morning, the city commission decided to move forward with a national search for a permanent city manager. Currently, Andrew Persons is serving as city manager. He was the chief operating officer before, and then city manager Cynthia Curry stepped down in the fall and he took that spot. The conversation started with mayor Harvey Ward saying he didn't know if the city needed a national search.
Seth Johnson:He said given the politics in Florida right now and some question marks around the city of Gainesville, he wasn't sure if a search would yield a better candidate than what they already had in front of them, and commissioner James Ingle kind of agreed with that. However, other commissioners said they've done national searches for other top positions like the city auditor and city clerk, and it's best to keep with that policy. Eventually, the commission voted unanimously to move forward with the search that's gonna launch this fall in October. They decided to push it back a little further after the city election that will be happening in August with any runoff elections in November. Commissioners said they didn't want the city manager item to become kind of a political topic during the campaign season, try and keep it isolated from those debates.
Lillian Hamman:City manager will be a big decision for the city to make, and the final vote will come next year.
Seth Johnson:Yeah. Hopefully, a final vote will come February 2027. And commissioner Bryan Eastman, just mentioning almost all the commissioners here in this story, highlighted just how important this vote is. And he said it's far and away the most important decision that they make as a city. And he said it's more important, you know, who the city managers have been at various times than who's been sitting in the dais seats as city commissioners.
Seth Johnson:So city managers definitely shaped the course of Gainesville and all the other cities. One other big item from Thursday's meeting was whether or not to fund Heartwood Soundstage. Now, the Soundstage came to them a couple weeks ago asking for about $55,000 to help fill budget deficits that they've had. Those deficits were at a quarter of a million dollars, and then they've been able to whittle it down and save costs to get it down to that $55,000 mark. This comes after they've switched from being a for profit to a nonprofit in the fall, and they say they're trying to get on stable footing to be able to move forward.
Seth Johnson:But commissioners were kind of on the fence, and you see that in a split vote that happened at the end. It was a four to three vote to move forward with providing funding for the Heartwood Soundstage. And the motion was for $45,000, and that included requirements that Hartwood Soundstage have four free public events per year over the next three years as kind of a way to pay back that money. But other commissioners said if we give out this money for Heartwood, you know, other nonprofits are also gonna come forward. And what's the rationale?
Seth Johnson:What makes one different from another? And commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker sought to kind of remedy that by putting forward a motion for a permanent loan program for these arts organizations that aren't already served through grants or through other means. And the program would provide some level of funding that would be a loan that they could pay out at a lower interest than what they'd normally receive through a bank or through credit cards. That program will come forward through the budget season, but might be a way to help nonprofits like the Hippodrome or Heartwood Soundstage moving forward. And in case you're curious, that split vote, four to three, it was commissioners Ed Book, Cynthia Chestnut, and Desmon Duncan-Walker in dissent with the funding for Heartwood, but then they were all unanimous on the motion for that permanent loan program.
Seth Johnson:Now we're gonna take a break from all that news. We're gonna hear from our sponsor, and then we'll be back to let you know about a lot of free and cool local events happening this weekend.
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.
Lillian Hamman:Now for this week's news forecast. The city of Gainesville is holding a workshop on Thursday to hear community input on TB McPherson recreation complex renovations. The feedback will be used to shape design and construction plans. On Monday, Newberry's planning and zoning board will vote on a new 15 acre composting facility at the city's environmental park. The Alachua City Commission will also meet on Monday followed by High Springs on Thursday.
Lillian Hamman:Alachua County has two special meetings on Tuesday, including a quarterly update on the county jail. The Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority will meet on Wednesday evening. It'll be the first meeting since a bill was approved by the Florida legislature to preempt the authority and potentially prevent changes to utility management.
Seth Johnson:Now for our event segment covering upcoming family friendly events this weekend. There's lots of music playing across Alachua County. On Friday, Gainesville's free concert series has its second outing at Bo Diddley Plaza. Crooked Counsel will perform. Also on Friday, but in Alachua, the Flatlanders Bluegrass band will play at Skinner Park near City Hall for the Levitt music series starting at 6PM.
Seth Johnson:On Saturday, the city of Newberry is holding a spring festival on Main Street starting at 10AM, followed by a reenactment of the revolutionary war battle of Lexington and Concord, and dedication of a Liberty Tree at City Hall, honoring America's 200 birthday. The third annual Santa Fe Springs celebration will also take place on Saturday at Post Springs Park in High Springs. The free event focused on protecting local water resources will feature live music, food vendors, and educational exhibits. Santa Fe College will host one of the region's largest art festivals with the fifty fourth annual Spring Arts Festival on Saturday and Sunday. The event will feature more than a 150 artists, live performances, and family activities all on campus.
Seth Johnson:Gator football will hit the field for its orange and blue games starting at noon on Saturday. Admission is free at The Swamp where new head coach John Sumrall will be on the sidelines for the first time.
Lillian Hamman:And you'll be able to spot me at Newberry's Lexington And Concord Reenactment because I'll be shooting away, but not with a musket, with a camera.
Seth Johnson:You are a highly trained photographer, maybe not a highly trained marksman with those old muskets.
Lillian Hamman:No. I I would not have lasted that long.
Seth Johnson:And if you're really interested in Revolutionary War history, Mainstreet is actually going to be holding an event later in April. We'll give you more information at next week's episode, but it's gonna be at the Matheson History Museum, and it's called the Forgotten Front. It is free, and tickets are available. If you wanna just Google it or go to our website, you can find more information. But it's gonna be about Florida's role in the Revolutionary War.
Lillian Hamman: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. Please share StreetSmart and help us continue the work. Remember, you can click on the link in the show notes to find more free local news at mainstreetdailynews.com or pick up a print copy around the Alachua County.
Lillian Hamman:Our theme music is Sunset Sonata by Gainesville ska band Now Leaving Space. This episode is a production of MARC Media.
