School board tables Citizens Field, UF presidential forums
Hello from Gainesville, Florida. It's Monday, June 8, 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. Santa Fe College broke ground last week on a new automotive technology training center.
Lillian Hamman:The $16,000,000 center is in Downtown Gainesville at the college's Blount Center. It's expected to open with expanded trade career opportunities in the fall of twenty twenty seven. A new multi use trail is open in East Gainesville. The nearly one mile trail travels along Northeast 31st Avenue and connects to an existing trail network along Waldo Road. Local veteran Andy Atkins's new book, Phnom AC-forty eight, honors the lives of Alachua County's 48 men who died during the Vietnam War.
Lillian Hamman:The book mentions 20 year old Vernon T. Carter Jr, who was the first casualty and is buried at Mount Pleasant Methodist Cemetery. On Tuesday, the state legislature passed a proposal that could raise homestead tax exemptions. If approved by voters in November, the Alachua County property appraiser estimated the county and its municipalities could lose a combined $68 million of estimated revenue and almost $10 billion of taxable value. During a commission meeting also on Tuesday, Hawthorne Mayor Jacquelyn Randall approved sending a letter opposing the exemptions to state representatives.
Lillian Hamman:She said she hoped the opposition would safeguard current property tax revenue streams. For a more in-depth breakdown on how eliminating property taxes would impact Alachua County or for any other information on these stories, visit mainstreetdailynews.com for more details. Thanks to our generous members, this news day is free for the whole community with no paywall. Thanks again for listening to StreetSmart. I'm Lillian Hamman, and in case you missed it, last Wednesday was Global Running Day.
Lillian Hamman:Mainstreet covered a special pop up event at the Lululemon and Butler Plaza, where around 200 runners gather to celebrate the occasion. I've got our education reporter Nick Anschultz here in studio with me today. Nick, I'm so curious to hear if you went for a run on Global Running Day.
Nick Anschultz:I did not. I know that you're a runner. Did you happen to make it over there?
Lillian Hamman:I did not make it to that special event, but I did go for a run around my neighborhood and always appreciate a time to get away from behind the desk. Even if you weren't lacing up the running shoes, Nick, I know you were busy running around Alachua County covering all sorts of education stories last week, including a five hour School Board of Alachua County meeting.
Nick Anschultz:Yeah, that's right, Lillian. It was a long one for sure.
Lillian Hamman:Nick, really appreciate you taking the time to come in studio with us during your busy schedule. You're going to give us a rundown on that super long meeting, as well as the UF presidential search and where we're at with that. You also had a couple forums that went on and you attended the faculty forum as far as, you know, the sole candidate for that. So, we'll start with the school board meeting. What was going on there?
Nick Anschultz:At that school board meeting, the board voted five to zero to table a purchase and sale agreement and interlocal agreement with the city of Gainesville involving Citizens Field. District staff said both agreements are tied together. And just as a refresher, negotiations for the sale of Citizens Field originally started in October of last year. With the purchase agreement, the school board would buy Citizens Field from the city for a price of $500,000 Alachua County Public Schools currently leases the stadium from the city and takes care of the maintenance. Per the agreement, the school board would have to place a $100,000 deposit into escrow within twenty days after it, along with the city commission, approves the contract.
Nick Anschultz:The remaining $400,000 would be paid at closing. Within twenty days of the school board and the city commission approving the contract, the school board would have to place a $100,000 deposit. The remaining $400,000 would be paid at closing.
Lillian Hamman:Does this purchase agreement give the school board any type of due diligence period to maybe look over the field or inspect it before they buy it?
Nick Anschultz:So, is a ninety day inspection period, which the board has the option to extend two more times for a total of two seventy days. The Board can also terminate the Purchase Agreement at any time before the end of the ninety day inspection period.
Lillian Hamman:Okay, gotcha.
Nick Anschultz:Now, if the School Board terminated the Purchase Agreement, the Interlocal Agreement would also end.
Lillian Hamman:Nick, can you talk a little bit more about what that Interlocal Agreement is?
Nick Anschultz:Yeah. So, the interlocal agreement establishes basically a partnership with the city and the school board regarding redevelopment of Citizens Field. So, the city would be responsible for infrastructure improvements to the property, as well as environmental remediation. Now I will say with the environmental remediation, the school board would include its share of the remediation costs and its payment to the city at closing. It's looking like if the school board owns Citizens Field, they would demolish the stadium and build a new one.
Nick Anschultz:Suzanne Wynn, executive director of planning, construction, and maintenance for Alachua County Public Schools told the board at last week's meeting that she had the district structural engineer who does annual inspections on Citizens Field provide her with a letter and his professional opinion on whether the stadium is worth renovating. She said his opinion was that it should be demolished. She did say that the stadium is safe to occupy until the school board gets it demoed and reconstructed.
Lillian Hamman:And that stadium has been open since 1948, so it definitely packs a lot of history there. What did the school board members have to say about it?
Nick Anschultz:So, some school board members actually expressed concerns about not having enough time to review both agreements with the city. Chair Thomas Vu said that he received a copy of the agreements actually an hour before the board's meeting last week, and that ultimately led to the board deciding to table the agreements. They'll revisit the agreements at a special meeting on June 16. District staff also said the agreements will go before the Gainesville City Commission on June 18.
Lillian Hamman:And then heading just down University Avenue to the University of Florida, you had your forums for the presidential finalist. What went on there?
Nick Anschultz:Yeah. So, Dr. Stuart Bell, the only finalist in line to become UF's next president, visited campus last Wednesday to speak with students, faculty, and staff in a series of open forums. Just as a refresher, the UF Presidential Search Advisory Committee unanimously recommended Bell, the former president of the University of Alabama, as the sole finalist to become UF's fourteenth president on May 18.
Lillian Hamman:Seems like having a sole finalist is kind of happening a lot for UF lately. I know, wasn't Santa Ono the only finalist last year as well?
Nick Anschultz:Yeah, that's right. Lillian Ono was the sole finalist, but he ended up being rejected by the Florida Board of Governors in June 2025, and the search has been ongoing since former US Senator Ben Sasse stepped down in 2024. Bill participated in three separate forums last Wednesday, a student forum, a faculty forum, and administrative and staff forum. During the faculty forum, he discussed his vision for UF and the importance of engaging UF's community in accomplishing that vision. He also highlighted the importance of improving school grades.
Nick Anschultz:You can read more about the forum on our website.
Lillian Hamman:When is the Board of Trustees going to interview Bell?
Nick Anschultz:So they will interview Bell actually this Wednesday at 02:30PM at Emerson Alumni Hall. If he's selected, he will still need to be confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors.
Lillian Hamman:Some big votes coming up, Citizens Field, UF President. We will be depending on Nick and Schultz's coverage here. We're gonna take a quick break to hear from our sponsor, Forest Meadows, before jumping into the news forecast and events segment 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, cremation, funerals, and memorials at our funeral home or tribute center located on our cemetery grounds. Forest Meadows, where compassion meets experienced, and every life is honored with care.
Lillian Hamman:Now for this week's news forecast. Alachua, Newberry And Archer City Commissions will all meet tonight with items preparing the cities for upcoming budget setting seasons. The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners will meet tomorrow at 11:30 a. M, and the High Spring City Commission will meet on Thursday to call an election for seats one and two on November 3. Hawthorne will hold an election tomorrow for seats one and three, which will also install a new mayor. Mainstreet will have the results at mainstreetdailynews.com as soon as the votes are tallied.
Nick Anschultz:Now for our events segment covering upcoming family friendly events this weekend. Starting today through July 24, Alachua County Public Schools is offering free meals for children 18 and under. One food kit covers a week of meals, which includes baby formula options. Locations and pickup times will vary, but can be found at alachuacountyschools.net. In case you missed Newberry's watermelon festival last month, head over to Williston this Saturday for their watermelon festival, enjoy a pageant, vendors, live music, and of course, free watermelon.
Nick Anschultz:Regal movie theaters across Gainesville are showing family friendly movies for $1 this summer. Whether you're in the mood for Garfield, SpongeBob SquarePants, Paddington, or The Sandlot, check out Regal's website to find discounted flicks for the whole family all summer long. The annual DJ's Unite for Life South is setting up for blood donations at Life South Community Blood Centers on Newberry Road, Saturday from 10AM to 2PM. Mix it up with live DJs from I am Country 106.9 , Magic 101.3 and The Beach 100.9 and enter to win exclusive prizes. All donors get a t shirt and $25 e gift card.
Lillian Hamman:Fun fact. Did you know Mainstreet is under the parent company MARC Media, which is the same company that owns I Am Country 106.9 , The Beach 100.9, 100.5 Rocket, R & B 94.1 and Magic 101.3? You can meet all those DJs live in person at the DJs Unite For Life. Since we all are under the same company, we get to work together and see each other in the office every day, And it's just so fun getting to work with a bunch of different DJs.
Nick Anschultz:Yeah, they're all great to work with. And they've actually all been a really big help in helping get StreetSmart, you know, up off the ground and launch and helping promote Mainstreet. So make sure to give them a listen and show up to DJs Unite for Life.
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 with more local news that matters to you. Take a minute before next week to share StreetSmart and help us continue the work. Remember to click on the link in the show notes and find more free local news at mainstreetdailynews.com or pick up a print copy around Alachua County. Our theme music is Sunset Sonata by Gainesville ska band Now Leaving Space. This episode is a production of MARC Media.
