UF 36-hole golf course, ACPS focuses on Alachua
Hello from Gainesville, Florida. It's Monday, May 4, 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.
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Nick:Here's the top headlines we are rounding up. Elite Training Center hit its first anniversary. Operated by Gainesville Housing Authority, the center provides training for high demand jobs along with youth and educational programs.
Nick:The city of Alachua placed a stop work order last week at Tariffonicia following land clearing. The city said the owner will need to get proper approvals before continuing.
Nick:The Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce selected Ian Fletcher to step into the interim managing director position. The decision comes as the chamber looks for a new CEO after significant recent changes.
Nick:The Nehemiah Project was awarded a $25,000 grant from United Way North Central Florida. The grant will launch a pilot recovery Bucks program for people in substance treatment and recovery.
Nick:Gainesville's newest radio show hit Airwaves in February. Main Street spoke with the radio personality Jay Smart about his first few months behind the mic and the history of R&B 94.1. For more on these stories, visit mainstreetdailynews.com. Thanks to our generous members, this news stays free for the whole community with no paywall.
Nick:Welcome back to StreetSmart. I'm your host, Nick Anschultz. And with me in studio today is associate editor Seth Johnson. How's it going, Seth?
Seth:It's going well. Good to be back with you in the studio, Nick. It's been a while since we've been on an episode together.
Nick:Yeah, it has been a while. I was thinking about that, so it's good to have both the guys in here for a change.
Seth:Absolutely. And last week, we had a bunch of the guys in studio for a sports takeover. You can go back and to that with Mike Dame and Mike Ridaught and Pat Dooley talking about Mainstreet's new Gator coverage. But now we're back to news this week, back to our normal regular episodes.
Nick:Although we will be touching on UF sports again, Seth, that's your feature story for this episode.
Seth:That's right. Even though it's not an episode dedicated to UF sports like last week, we are touching on them because of a local government story that I wrote up this last week. And that concerns UF's plans for a new 36 hole golf course off of Parker Road just west of Gainesville. They went before the county commission last week to get a lane rezoning on five eighty acres planned for that golf course.
Nick:Now Seth, this didn't just come out of nowhere, right? You've done some previous reporting on this?
Seth:Right. This item has come before the county commission before. And even before that, we did stories when the Florida legislature originally gave $38,000,000 to UF to purchase this land. And not only these $5.80 acres, but another 2,600 acres just across Parker Road to the west, which will be under management by UFIFAS. We did a story back then when they first got the funds from the Florida legislature.
Seth:We did a story when the contract was finally approved for the sale last year, and now they're back for what's called a special area plan. So the land that they buy is environmentally sensitive. It's on one of Alachua County's strategic ecosystems. Because of that, the previous owner started a special area study where they had the ground truth where the strategic ecosystem and where these valuable flora and fauna were located on the property. And the plan takes that information from the study and then says, how can we build around it while protecting the land?
Seth:But the first step is getting the land under a new land use to allow a golf course to move forward in the first place. So Alachua County actually came up with a brand new land use for this property called UF Golf Institutional that no one else is gonna have. And so this approval last week kind of gives the okay from the county and sends it to Florida Commerce to get state reviews on the new land use, and then it'll come back for the county for another vote in June. And then after that, there's still a lot of steps to go before this golf course gets under construction and it'll be coming back before the county along with some workshops in the future. Now, for some of the big questions that are circulating kind of around this topic and have been for a while, one of them is what's gonna happen with Mark Bostick Golf Course, which is US, you know, Hallmark Golf Course for the last hundred years, and UF officials said nothing's gonna change.
Seth:It will still be open to the public with anyone who has kind of that UF connection, whether a student or alumni or donor, anything like that, they'll be able to still use Mark Bostik like they have for years. Another topic like I kind of touched on is those conservation areas. So on those five eighty acres, there are certain areas that are gonna be set aside and called conservation management areas and those will not have any golf on them. They won't be touched and they're gonna have buffers to protect them. And that's to protect species like the gopher tortoises along with the woodland poppy mallow, which was also found on the site.
Nick:So what kind of facilities are on a 36 hole golf course set?
Seth:Well, have definitely plans to make this a premier championship level golf course, they said. Head men's golf coach, JC Deacon, was at the meeting and he said the facilities that UF has currently really holds them back on recruiting and kind of prevents them from being that top team in golf even though they've had some successes. He said this new facility will really take them to the next level to attract talent and then also to be able to train that talent. So on the site is gonna be a 65,000 square foot clubhouse, and that's gonna be for donors and whoever else UF sends out there to play some golf. Then there's also gonna be a UF golf team facility.
Seth:So that's for the men and women's golf teams along with maintenance facilities and up to 30 overnight cottages. That could be for special guests to come and stay overnight and play some golf connected with UF. Even though they probably won't start with 30 cottages right away, they said they'll probably build up and see if they need that many. The site is also gonna have some connecting walking and biking trails to Oakmont to the North and to Hill Plantation to the East. And because this is gonna be coming back before the county multiple times down the line, we will be covering it more.
Seth:So if it's an item you're interested in, keep your eye out on mainstreetdailynews.com. And there will also be those community workshops as plans get underway that you could participate in and let your concerns or approvals be known. I know the county said that UF did a good job with their presentation and coordination with staff and that they're confident in the care that UF will provide on the site. But they said a lot of people in the community are still wary knowing that it's a pretty environmentally sensitive piece of property and that there's still some people not super comfortable with how that lane's gonna be developed. Another topic that some people are kind of not super happy about how things are developing is with the school board and their new kind of school alignment plan.
Seth:Nick, you know, that was passed, I don't know, month ago, a little over a month ago now. And I think we've talked about it on the podcast, but kind of since that new restructuring rezoning for the school district came out, the city of Alachua has kind of been a sticking point, it seems like, and it's come up in a meeting last week and it's gonna be in the meeting tomorrow as well, right?
Nick:Yeah, that's right, Seth. So at a meeting last week, most of the school board members favored turning Irby Elementary School in Alachua into a pre K through four school for all students in the Alachua area and making Mabane Middle School into a fifth through eighth. So kind of as a refresher, at a special meeting on March 12, the school board in a split vote approved a rightsizing plan to balance out enrollment across Alachua County Public Schools and reduce overcrowding and underemployment at schools. That approved plan included the closing of Alachua, Foster, and Williams Elementary Schools.
Seth:And Irby Elementary was originally on that list as well of school closures, but then the school board kind of took it off the list and asked staff to reevaluate it.
Nick:Yeah, that's right, Seth. So the school board had asked district staff for options and those options were presented to the board at that workshop last week. A total of four options were presented. Three out of the four scenarios proposed keeping Irby open, but as a Pre K through five. So Irby is currently a Pre K through two.
Nick:And the final option that was presented to the school board suggested closing both Alachua and Irby. And actually, most of the board ended up favoring an idea that was brought forth by board member Sarah Rockwell to make Irby a Pre K-four school and Mobain a fifth-eighth school.
Seth:So, of the four options presented, they picked the fifth?
Nick:That's correct. And that was an option that was not presented by district staff. That was one that, like I said, was suggested by board member Sarah Rockwell.
Seth:Yep, sometimes ideas and new options come up from the dice. And so that new option is going to be presented again tomorrow, right for a vote?
Nick:That's right. That option will be presented to the board at tomorrow's meeting, which begins at 6PM.
Seth:I'm sure a lot of City of Alachua leaders and residents will be happy to hear that Irby Elementary will get to stay open even though Alachua Elementary is still going be closing, right?
Nick:Yeah, that's right Seth. That was one thing I did want to note. Under that new scenario that will be presented to the board for consideration, Alachua Elementary is still projected to close by the end of the 2027-2028 school year.
Seth:We're going to take a second to hear from our sponsor before returning with our news forecast and events segment.
Sponsor: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.
Seth:Now for this week's news forecast. The city of Alachua will hold a regular meeting today at 6PM, and Newbury will meet at the same time for a planning and zoning board meeting.
Seth:Alachua County has a special meeting on Tuesday about its animal resources contract with UF for a new animal shelter off Archer Road.
Seth:The school board of Alachua County will discuss its school closures for City of Alachua during a regular meeting on Tuesday.
Seth:The City of Gainesville has a special budget meeting on Tuesday prior to its regular meeting on Thursday with the morning session starting at 10AM.
Nick:Now for our events segment covering upcoming family friendly events this weekend.
Nick:Gainesville Retro Society, a Chicago cover band, will take the stage at Bo Diddley Plaza Friday at 7PM for a free city hosted concert.
Nick:The Matheson History Museum will host the Floridiana Festival at first magnitude on Saturday starting at noon with food trucks, live music, and a curated lineup of vendors selling vintage Florida souvenirs, artifacts, artwork, and books.
Nick:On Sunday, the Greater Gainesville International Center will have its biweekly international festival at United Church of Gainesville. The festival runs from 11AM until 2PM with food, crafts, and games from around the world.
Nick:Then it's a Mother's Day roundup. You can find a variety of view picks, festivals, and more at mainstreetdailynews.com under the events tab. Lots of events this weekend and lots of ways to make your mom feel special.
Seth:Maybe the best one would be skipping the golf course this weekend and just hanging out with her at the house.
Nick:And what if I've already scheduled my tee times?
Seth:Nick, it might be time to cancel those.
Nick: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. And 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 Alachua County. Our theme music is Sunset Sonata by Gainesville Ska band Now Leaving Space. This episode is a production of MARC Media.
