MediaUpdate

​Get ready for an electrifying weekend June 28/29 as Alachua County’s volunteer ham radio group (https://www.nf4rc.club/), partnered with Alachua County Emergency Management, dives into a high-stakes, nationwide 24-hour radio marathon! This isn’t your average contest—on Saturday and Sunday, our local radio wizards will battle it out against 30,000+ hams across the country, showcasing every trick in the radio playbook. Last year, they crushed it, landing in the top 7% of one of the toughest categories, and this year, they’re bringing even more heat with mind-blowing satellite communications efforts and even a crew of tech-savvy high schoolers from Loften Magnet School.

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​Alachua County Emergency Management officials were at the High Springs Brewing Company on Saturday.

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​June is Gun Violence Awareness Month, and some Alachua County leaders gathered Saturday morning to honor survivors of gun violence in light of a recent uptick in shootings across Gainesville.

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​Alachua County Fire Rescue is celebrating a new fire station.

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​A ribbon-cutting ceremony in Alachua County unveiled a new state-of-the-art fire station after more than a year of construction.

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​Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR) Chief Harold Theus said the crew moved into the space a couple weeks ago to work out any issues before the public opening. But the crew saved the first raising of the American flag for Friday’s official opening.  

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​Alachua county commissioners on May 27 voted to loan the city of Archer $68,000 to help pay for documents for key water projects — far less the more than $250,000 it requested.

Archer Mayor Fletcher Hope and Assistant City Attorney Kiersten Ballou requested a loan of $253,000 that would be paid back using future funds earmarked for the city from the county's infrastructure surtax.​

​The funds would have been used to pay Gainesville-based engineering firm Kimley-Horn for design documents related to its share of a water treatment plant being built by the city of Newberry and a water repair project.

​An interlocal agreement between the cities of Newberry and Archer call for Archer to pay a total of $30 million for two projects related to a future wastewater treatment plant — $10 million to purchase capacity in the future plant and $20 million to construct a collection system to transfer sewage from Archer to Newberry.

Hope said the city has received nearly $22 million grants for the projects

​While Archer only requested $253,000, it still owes Kimley-Horn about $290,000 — $222,000 for the wastewater documents and $68,000 for the repair documents. Archer must send the documents to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, however, Kimley-Horn won't release the documents until it is paid.

Ballou said it cannot use the grant money to pay Kimley-Horn for the documents as it is allocated for construction.

​"The consequences of Archer's failure to submit this permitting and move this permitting process is quite significant and we have a $13 million agreement with Newberry which requires we contribute to build the capacity for the wastewater treatment plan," Ballou said.

Ballou added that if Archer fails to pay in a timely manner, it will have to pay significant financial penalties and would be in default of the agreement with Newberry, resulting in a major setback.

​ The city's water repair project is funded by the Suwannee River Management District through a reimbursement program thus still owing $68,000. Ballou said if the county provided a loan of $68,000 to Archer, the city could pay it to SWRMD and it will then be reimbursed, allowing the city to pay back the county.

"As it stands right now, I'm sure you're all aware that Archer is in some tough financial strains and $68,000 is simply not available for us to make those payments," Ballou said.

Hope said Archer secured a $1.5 million line of credit with Ameris Bank a year ago in which the city already spent some of the funds, but the interest payments are already hurting the city.

County Commissioner Ken Cornell said he wants to help Archer but feels it's more appropriate for Archer city officials to seek financial help from Ameris Bank and Newberry. When Cornell asked if city officials reached out to Newberry for financial assistance, Hope replied that the city hadn't approach officials at that moment.

"From my perspective, it would seem like the city of Newberry should extend and you should accept a loan from them," Cornell said "I'd love to help Archer but for me it sets a negative precedent for this commission with eight other cities."

Commissioner Mary Alford said she understood Cornell's way of thinking, however, disagreed and felt the commission should bite the bullet and accept Archer's temporary loan request as it's an extenuating circumstance. Alford added that the decision wouldn't mean it's an open bank for all of cities to ask for loans and would help to get Archer citizens out of septic tanks.

Ballou told commissioners earlier that the wastewater project would remove approximately 700 homes and businesses off septic tanks.

Board Chair Charles "Chuck" Chestnut IV called it a great risk to pay for the requested temporary loan and questioned Archer for paying a company that didn't complete a job.

In a regular city of Newberry meeting also on May 27, Hope asked that the Newberry City Commission request a workshop with city officials, which was later approved.​

At their May 27 meeting, the Alachua County Commission reluctantly agreed to lend $68,732 to the City of Archer to help them pay their engineering firm and avoid missing a permit deadline.

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​The Alachua County Commission will conduct a special meeting on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. They are hosting a policy discussion at 1:30 p.m. in the Grace Knight Conference Room, located on the second floor of the Alachua County Administration Building (12 SE 1st St., Gainesville).

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​This $7 million, 11,500 square-foot facility is equipped with the latest technology and designed with one goal in mind: keeping the community safe.

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​During the evening session of the May 27 Alachua County Commission meeting, the board voted unanimously to approve the first step in developing Eastside Preserve, a single-family residential neighborhood with 149 homes, near Newman’s Lake.

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​The Alachua County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a contested land-use change, paving the way for 149 single-family homes to be built on 82 acres just west of Newnan’s Lake, sparking controversy.

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​On Saturday, nearly 100 volunteers helped plant American flags in front of the gravesites of veterans, which total 1,100 according to Evergreen’s coordinator, Karen Pruss.

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​Alachua County commissioners are only loaning Archer city leaders a quarter of the money they requested to pay an engineering firm working on their wastewater facility project. They say that they would lose a $13 million state grant if that firm isn’t paid.

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​Alachua County is pleased to invite the public to a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the grand opening of Fire Station #21 (16121 NW 173rd St., Alachua). The event will take place on Friday, May 30, 2025, at 10 a.m., with light refreshments served.

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