Honoring Charles Chestnut III
To honor the legacy of former County Commission Charles Chestnut III, the Alachua County Commission agreed for Chair Mary Alford to send a letter in support of renaming Alachua County Public Schools’ administration building after the late county commissioner.
In 2017, shortly after the county removed the “Old Joe” Confederate statue, the school district also removed the Kirby Smith Center moniker from its building and associated signage due to its Confederate ties, a name that carried over from when it was known as Kirby Smith Elementary School.
Chestnut passed away in December 2023 and is the father of County Commissioner Chuck Chestnut IV. He was a pillar in the local Civil Rights movement and was also the first Black School Board member in county history.
Lochloosa Connector
The County Commission also voted Tuesday to purchase 160 acres of land (as well as 70 additional acres of sovereign submerged land) known as the Lochloosa Connecter for $1.45 million. The property is adjacent to Little Lochloosa Lake in southeast Alachua County.
The property will be assessed for appropriate recreational opportunities and will be managed by the St. John’s River Water Management District, as part of a joint participation agreement with the county. The water management district will cover a portion of the purchase and closing costs, as well as management costs.
The county anticipates closing on the property in May 2024.
Cease-fire discussion
A resolution for a cease-fire amid the ongoing Israeli-Hamas War in Gaza was deferred so that members of the local Jewish and Palestinian communities have the opportunity to draft a new resolution they agree on.
That resolution would then come back to the County Commission for discussion at a later date.
Presentations
The commission heard a pair of presentations from two of its community partners.
The first presentation came from the county’s sports marketing arm, the Gainesville Sports Commission, to talk about its 2022-23 fiscal year. Data shows that during that time, Alachua County hosted 43 tourism sporting events at 18 different county facilities for 15 different sports, including swimming, archery, track and BMX.
Roughly 81% of event attendees were from outside the county, many of whom came from around the country, creating additional economic benefits for Alachua County.
The other presentation came from Gainesville for All (GNV4ALL) regarding its newly opened Family Learning Center, which aims to address racial and economic inequities in schools.
In January 2023, the County Commission allocated $350,000 for the center through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The center is located at Metcalfe Elementary School and serves dozens of students as young as six weeks old to 4 years old to help prepare them for kindergarten readiness.
Over the past year, GNV4ALL began offering scholarships to families, completed renovations for its building, saw an increase in staffing, received its licensing from the Florida Department of Children and Families, as well as certification from the Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County. The organization hopes to increase enrollment to nearly 90 students with five teachers and eight teacher assistants.
Recognition and proclamation
The county recognized 37 active and recently retired employees for their length of service, ranging from 5 to 50 years of employment.
The commission also declared Jan. 19, 2024 as “Arbor Day” in Alachua County.
