[3:07] All right. Good evening, everyone. I'm

[3:10] calling this regular scheduled

[3:12] commission meeting to order. Today's day

[3:14] is August 10th. Time is 700 p.m. And I'd

[3:17] like to entertain a motion to approve

[3:19] the agenda.

[3:20] >> Motion. Second.

[3:22] >> All right. So, we got Clark and Maison.

[3:26] Uh, any discussion on the agenda from

[3:28] the dis? Any from the public? Seeing

[3:30] none, all those in favor signify by

[3:32] saying I.

[3:33] >> Motion passes unanimous.

[3:36] And Miss Ganszer, would you like to come

[3:38] up and bless our meeting for us, please?

[3:40] Uh stand if you can and remain standing

[3:43] for the pledge of allegiance

[3:56] together to keep it moving in the right

[3:58] direction.

[3:59] Newberry is made up of many faiths,

[4:02] creeds, cultures, and politics. Remind

[4:04] us, Lord, to be respectful of that and

[4:06] to remember we are all precious in your

[4:09] eyes. We pray today for the school

[4:11] children as they start the new year.

[4:14] Keep them safe, Lord, and help them to

[4:16] be focused not only on academics

[4:19] and learning, but to be good human

[4:21] beings. Our world needs the next

[4:23] generation to work together to get along

[4:26] and bring peace to the planet. Bless our

[4:28] elected officials this evening and the

[4:30] decisions they make. It's in thy

[4:32] precious name we pray. Amen. Amen.

[4:35] >> Amen. Uh, Commissioner Clark.

[4:54] All right. Fantastic. We uh get going to

[4:58] get started with our director of public

[5:00] works, Mr. Rance Green. He's got a

[5:03] couple of awards he wants to talk about.

[5:16] » Good afternoon. Like you said, my name

[5:18] is uh Ranch Green. I'm director of

[5:20] utility and public works. Um I have the

[5:23] pleasure to come to you guys tonight and

[5:25] brag a little bit about our electric

[5:27] department. Um and uh this past month we

[5:31] had our annual FMPA conference um where

[5:34] they go and they recognize our uh

[5:36] recognize staff and everything for

[5:38] accomplishments that they've made

[5:39] throughout the year. And the city of

[5:40] Newberry was recognized for a momentum

[5:43] award which recognizes the city for

[5:45] achieving the most significant decrease

[5:46] in duration outages which means that our

[5:49] staff is on point. Whenever we have

[5:52] outages we get uh we get in we get them

[5:54] taken care of. uh our AMI system is

[5:57] helping out a lot where it it notifies

[6:00] us whenever we have outages and it

[6:02] connects pinpoint them to a a a better

[6:05] uh response time so we can come out and

[6:07] get this taken care of. We also received

[6:09] the duration award which recognizes the

[6:11] city for reducing the duration of

[6:12] outages by 10% or more and that also

[6:15] speaks to the same um whenever our guys

[6:18] know where they're going and know what

[6:19] they have going on um we're able to go

[6:21] out there fix the issue and and get the

[6:23] power back on for our citizens. Um,

[6:25] these awards are in a testament to hard

[6:27] work and dedication and commitment from

[6:28] our electric department and their

[6:30] continued efforts to provide reliable

[6:31] services to our communities. I'd like to

[6:33] congratulate our department on a

[6:35] well-deserved recognition. We are proud

[6:37] of the work they do for the city of

[6:38] Newberry.

[6:40] [applause]

[6:42] >> So,

[6:44] Mayor uh uh manager Marlo can probably

[6:47] explain this a little bit better because

[6:49] he brought this back. And uh so I guess

[6:51] what this is is uh in South Florida they have outages due to iguanas whereas

[6:58] we have outages up here due to

[6:59] squirrels. So they give out these little

[7:02] iguana for

[7:05] >> they look very they look very similar

[7:08] >> squirrels and iguanas. [laughter] And

[7:10] >> while we get to keep both the plaque and

[7:12] the trophy I think the assistant utility

[7:15] director may be claiming the iguana. Uh

[7:19] she's she's taken a liking to it. So she

[7:20] has taken a next year we'll get a

[7:22] squirrel and maybe we'll bring the

[7:23] squirrel up here. So that makes a little

[7:24] more sense for us.

[7:26] >> Yes, my my daughter has definitely taken

[7:27] a liking to this and she walks around

[7:29] and she's named it Bubba for some

[7:31] reason. I'm not rightly sure why, but

[7:32] still it is what it is.

[7:34] >> Mr. Mayor, we would love to get a

[7:35] picture of you and utility director with

[7:37] all the many awards there. You may need

[7:40] another commissioner to join you to hold

[7:41] all of those awards. I don't know.

[7:42] That's a lot.

[7:47] There you go. There you go.

[8:35] And Mr. Green has a special treat for

[8:37] one of all his awards. You don't have to

[8:38] wait till the end of the night.

[8:41] Head on out. Same thing for you,

[8:43] Crystal. No, actually, we need one

[8:44] picture. Yeah.

[8:46] >> Uh, all right. Let's move on to public

[8:49] announcements. Uh, these are two minutes

[8:52] and I understand that we have one of

[8:54] them ready to go.

[8:58] >> [clears throat]

[9:13] » Y thank you.

[9:15] >> Um, thank you for the opportunity to

[9:17] make this presentation, commissioners

[9:19] and Mr. Mayor. um late 204 early 205

[9:23] when I first became the city manager of

[9:24] Newberry I became friends with a was a

[9:27] strange friendship with a gentleman name

[9:29] of David Morris he's in Newbury he was

[9:32] known as Mo he had a foot long gray

[9:34] beard long gray hair would have

[9:37] [clears throat] been a hippie back in

[9:38] the 60s but nonetheless he was a great

[9:40] guy we became close friends um and two

[9:44] years later keep it short he came to me

[9:47] and he said Keith I'm I've got terminal

[9:49] cancer

[9:51] and I need a favor. I'm going to be dead

[9:53] within four months. Those were his exact

[9:55] words. I said, "What's [clears throat]

[9:56] the favor?" He said, "I've never been

[9:58] out of the United States and uh my best

[10:01] friend lives in Nicaragua. I'd like you

[10:04] to take me to Nicaragua."

[10:06] And I said, "Mo, I'm I'm the city

[10:08] manager. I'm not a travel agent." So, I

[10:10] said, "But I'll talk it over with my

[10:11] wife." I went home. Sar said, "You know,

[10:13] you're going to do it." So, I talked to

[10:15] the commissioners. I said, "Is it okay

[10:16] if I do this?" They said, "Go for it."

[10:18] So off we went to Nicaragua where the

[10:21] Sandinistas were in power, you know,

[10:22] still then. Anyway, we we

[10:24] [clears throat] had a good time. He met

[10:26] his friend and uh we you spend some time

[10:29] on the west coast on the Pacific side

[10:31] and then the last day we're coming back.

[10:33] We've never seen the Sandinesas at all.

[10:35] We're on the bus. We made this turn and

[10:37] there's the Sandas with their covered

[10:39] heads and their K47s and they stopped

[10:42] the bus. [clears throat]

[10:44] Mo has a bag of marijuana about this

[10:47] big.

[10:49] The Sandinista guys get are getting the

[10:51] Sandinista guys are getting on the are

[10:53] getting on the bus and I said, "Mo, what

[10:56] the hell are you going to?" He ate the

[10:58] entire bag

[11:00] >> right there.

[11:01] >> Wow.

[11:02] >> And we got through.

[11:04] >> Oh my lord. which anyway [clears throat]

[11:06] we got back to the states

[11:08] and uh he was really getting poorly and

[11:10] he said Keith I want to give you a gift

[11:12] for taking care of me and I said well

[11:15] you don't need to do that he said no I I

[11:17] found this in watermelon pond in 202 I

[11:22] was in the the pond water was down I was

[11:24] in my rowboat and I saw this

[11:28] the butt sticking up out of the water so

[11:30] I tried to get it up but it was stuck in

[11:32] the mud and uh finally I got out cuz it

[11:35] wasn't very deep and he pulled it out

[11:38] and uh he cleaned it all up, put it on

[11:40] this plaque and he said, "I want you to

[11:41] have this for for what you did." And I

[11:43] said, "Thank you very much." And I so

[11:44] I've had it on my wall in the house for

[11:46] all those years now. And uh then your

[11:51] good manager, oh, he's over here told me

[11:53] about you. You may have the museum

[11:55] thing. And I thought this would be

[11:56] appropriate. It's probably 150 years old

[11:59] according to the people I've checked.

[12:00] It's been in Newberry for I don't know

[12:02] how many years, maybe all that time. So,

[12:05] I'd like to present it to your museum on

[12:08] behalf of Mo Morris. So, thank you.

[12:11] >> Thank you. [applause]

[12:30] foot.

[12:34] » Did he get high marijuana?

[12:38] » He ate everything that he got.

[13:13] only in Newberry.

[13:17] » All right. Well, thank you very much for

[13:19] that. Is there anybody else with a

[13:21] public announcement of any kind?

[13:25] >> Madame Crystal.

[13:26] >> Yeah, I can't beat that.

[13:28] >> PG. [gasps] So, I'm Crystal, community

[13:31] engagement coordinator for the city.

[13:33] With the school year starting this week,

[13:35] I just want to give a shout out to all

[13:36] of the amazing back to school giveaways

[13:38] that we had. And please forgive me if I

[13:41] miss any. Uh, Shakana Glory had an

[13:43] amazing event at the MLK Center. They

[13:46] gave out over a hundred backpacks to

[13:48] kids in the community. DCC hosted a

[13:51] giveaway for clothing as well as

[13:52] supplies. honored the Tory and Green

[13:56] Foundation who uh is the coach, one of

[13:58] the coaches for the Gators basketball.

[14:01] He came out and had a skills and drills

[14:03] camp and then gave out a bunch of

[14:04] supplies afterwards. Journey of Chad's

[14:07] Mission that was hosted at the um Freddy

[14:10] Warmarmac Park was absolutely

[14:11] incredible. I had to go up to her and

[14:13] say, "You're amazing. This is amazing.

[14:15] We need to put it in a bigger space." It

[14:17] was that much of a crowd and there was

[14:19] so many people, so many happy faces. So,

[14:21] I was super thankful for them. And then

[14:23] the Newberry Area Chamber of Commerce,

[14:25] they hosted an inaugural uh school

[14:28] supply giveaway, but this was

[14:29] specifically for the teachers, which uh

[14:32] we thought was super important being

[14:33] that we're, you know, changing the

[14:35] scenery within the schools this year.

[14:37] So, I just want to shout them all out

[14:38] and give them a big thank you.

[14:41] >> Good job. Thank you. [applause]

[14:46] » Well, Newberry is volunteer powered. So,

[14:50] there's a some great examples of that.

[14:52] Um, anything else? Any other public

[14:54] announcements?

[14:56] Seeing none. Okay, we've gentlemen,

[14:58] we've got a published consent agenda.

[15:01] Uh, if there's no changes, I'll accept a

[15:02] motion to approve.

[15:04] >> So, move second.

[15:05] >> Commissioner Long and Commissioner

[15:07] Clark. All those in favor signify by

[15:09] saying I.

[15:10] >> I.

[15:11] >> Motion passes unanimous. So, this brings

[15:13] us to our uh really our one and only

[15:16] item on the agenda tonight. This is a

[15:19] public hearing on Countryway 2 resoning

[15:22] to planned residential development. Uh,

[15:25] Madame Attorney, you have something to

[15:26] read into the record for us?

[15:28] >> I do, mayor. It's ordinance number

[15:30] 2026-24,

[15:33] petition number LDR24-26,

[15:36] an ordinance of the city of Newberry,

[15:38] Florida, amending the official zoning

[15:40] atlas by changing the zoning district

[15:42] from agricultural to planned residential

[15:45] development PRD on approximately 160

[15:49] acres. Tax parcel number

[15:51] 02539-00001-0000

[15:56] located at 23717

[15:58] Southwest 15th Avenue. Adopting land

[16:02] development regulations for the

[16:03] development commonly referred to as

[16:06] Countryway 2. Providing for

[16:08] applicability and repeal. Providing for

[16:10] exclusion from codification, correction

[16:13] and directions to the city manager.

[16:15] Providing a severability clause.

[16:18] providing a repealing clause and

[16:20] providing directions to the clerk and an

[16:22] effective date.

[16:23] >> Very good. Well, thank you very much.

[16:25] Uh, Miss Hectis, I guess you're going to

[16:27] lead us through this quasi judicial. Uh,

[16:30] so we will cease being a uh governmental

[16:33] body will become a quasi judicial. All

[16:36] public testimony will be given and taken

[16:38] under oath. Everyone testifying will be

[16:40] subject to cross-examination. All

[16:42] documents and exhibits shall be entered

[16:44] into evidence in the giving of opinion

[16:46] testimony is limited to experts. Closing

[16:48] arguments will be limited to the

[16:50] evidence of record. U madam attorney,

[16:52] would you uh well, we've already read

[16:54] into the record the ordinance. Uh I'm

[16:56] going to call on the clerk to swear

[16:58] anybody in who's uh going to be giving

[17:00] testimony today. Applicant, staff, andor

[17:03] participants, please rise. Hold up your

[17:06] right hand.

[17:23] All right. Before we get begin, we're

[17:25] going to disclose experte

[17:27] communications. These are any

[17:29] conversations or transmission of

[17:30] information that may have bearing or

[17:33] influence on any voting member's

[17:35] decision. We'll begin here to my

[17:36] immediate right. Commissioner Mison.

[17:38] >> None.

[17:38] >> Mr. along.

[17:39] >> Yeah, I saw the property, but it has no

[17:42] decision.

[17:43] >> Okay, thank you for that. Uh,

[17:48] » Mr. Coleman. Okay. All right. And I do

[17:50] not have any either. Uh, I am a non-

[17:53] voting member of this board, however, so

[17:55] it doesn't necessarily matter, but uh

[17:57] Okay, let's begin with our

[17:58] presentations. Uh staff will go first.

[18:01] >> Good evening, mayor, commissioners. Uh

[18:05] we're here this evening to uh go over

[18:07] the item uh resoning ordinance 2026-24

[18:11] LDR24-26

[18:13] for countryway 2. This is a change on

[18:16] approximately 160 acres from agriculture

[18:19] to planned residential PRD on like I

[18:23] said the 160 plus acres. Um, one thing I

[18:26] wanted to bring to your attention before

[18:28] we move forward is um, in your packet

[18:30] tonight, you saw for the first time our

[18:33] new ordinance format for these custom

[18:36] zonings. So, I wanted you to um, know

[18:41] that this is the first one to go through

[18:43] this process. You will see two others

[18:45] following up quite shortly. Um, but

[18:48] you'll see that this is more of an

[18:49] organized format for these ordinances.

[18:52] Nicole has worked very hard with staff

[18:54] to get them into this format. You're

[18:56] also going to uh coming forward, you're

[18:58] going to see our staff reports uh

[19:01] structured very similar similarly to

[19:03] these as well. So, I hope you like the

[19:06] format because I will tell you it was

[19:08] much easier for me to understand and

[19:09] read and go through the process as well.

[19:11] So, thanks Nicole for all the hard work.

[19:16] So the question this evening um is to

[19:19] consider the request that the change

[19:22] that we are a that the applicant is

[19:23] asking for this evening meets the intent

[19:26] of the comprehensive plan and the land

[19:28] development regulations. If it's a yes,

[19:31] you'll approve the ordinance, no, deny

[19:33] it, or the third option is to continue

[19:35] it to a date and time certain.

[19:40] Uh the history on this so far for this

[19:42] ordinance was it was seen at the May 4th

[19:45] 2026 planning and zoning board. They

[19:48] unanimously voted 30 to forward a

[19:50] favorable recommendation to the city

[19:52] commission um for this ordinance 2026-34

[19:56] 24. The staff uh does find this

[19:59] ordinance uh consistent with the

[20:01] comprehensive plan and the land

[20:02] development code.

[20:05] This is a request for a resoning from

[20:08] agriculture to planned residential

[20:10] development, the PRD custom zoning that

[20:13] we have. And it's located generally

[20:16] southwest corn the southwest corner of

[20:18] Northwest 15th Avenue and southwest

[20:20] 234th Terrace approximately a half a

[20:22] mile east of State Road 45.

[20:26] And this is a summary of the qu request

[20:28] as well as a location map of the

[20:30] property. The property just to the west

[20:32] of that is the existing uh Countryway

[20:36] Town Center development just to the east

[20:39] of the square.

[20:42] Here is the proposed uh property as

[20:45] they're um going forward asking the

[20:48] request on this square there. Just like

[20:50] I said to the west is the existing

[20:53] neighborhood neighborhood.

[20:56] Again, tonight the question is the

[20:59] request to change the zoning on

[21:00] approximately 160 acres from agriculture

[21:02] to planned residential development

[21:04] consistent with the city's comprehensive

[21:05] plan and land development regulations.

[21:08] There's your choices and the applicant

[21:09] has a presentation as well. I'm here

[21:12] also for any questions you might have.

[21:15] >> Thank you, Mr. Deenbach.

[21:23] » Arrow over.

[21:25] All right, Stacy should have added, "The

[21:28] applicant has a brief presentation.

[21:32] Goal is to get you all home by 8

[21:33] o'clock." So, I am Jerry Deedenbach. I

[21:36] am here this evening with Margot

[21:40] Patterson and Patrice Boyce who have

[21:42] worked on this application directly with

[21:44] me and of course the Norfol family, our

[21:46] client is here to watch and participate

[21:48] in this should you have any additional

[21:50] questions that we can't answer. As a bit

[21:53] of background, you might remember that

[21:55] we stood here in 2024 and 2025 to change

[21:59] the land use on this 159ish acres. It

[22:03] had previously a mixeduse land use on

[22:06] it, but was never finally zoned. Um,

[22:09] that land use actually went through and

[22:11] closed in June of 2025, so a little bit

[22:15] more than a year ago. And the process

[22:18] that we've been involved in since 2024

[22:21] when we had our pre-application meeting

[22:23] with city staff, we've submitted

[22:25] applications in October of 2024. They

[22:27] went through staff review. We had our

[22:29] resubmitts, which is a common process as

[22:32] the applications mature through the

[22:34] review cycle. Staff got to a point where

[22:37] the staff report recommended that the

[22:40] board approved this. So, your planning

[22:42] and zoning board heard this on May 4th

[22:44] of this year and we are here tonight for

[22:46] first reading. As Stacy stated, the

[22:49] project sits in the southeast quadrant

[22:51] of the city of Newberry and it abuts

[22:54] countryway town center. So, it has a

[22:57] logical connection to the existing

[22:59] development that is building from the

[23:01] west to the east toward this property.

[23:04] Accordingly, this property is located

[23:06] south of South 15th Avenue and east of

[23:09] State Road 25 or State Road 45 2741,

[23:13] however you want to call it.

[23:16] And it has a low density residential

[23:18] land use. As such, the only appropriate

[23:20] way to reszone this property then would

[23:22] be with a residential type zoning. So on

[23:25] top of that residential lowdensity land

[23:27] use, we desire to replace the

[23:29] agricultural zoning with a PRD or

[23:33] planned residential development. This

[23:36] will develop this property at a density

[23:38] of just under 3.14

[23:41] dwelling units per acre in a manner

[23:44] similar and comparable with the abuing

[23:46] existing subdivision. over the 160

[23:50] acres. That will give a maximum number

[23:53] of units on this property of 500 units.

[23:57] That will be broken into a master plan

[23:59] that looks like this. Effectively, four

[24:02] quadrants of 125 units per quadrant. It

[24:06] has similar development standards and

[24:09] specifications as the existing

[24:10] development. Minimum lot size is 3500.

[24:13] Minimum lot width is 35. But of course,

[24:16] we can build larger than that. So as

[24:18] this matures over time, it will be

[24:22] responsive to market demand. As you can

[24:24] see on this PD master plan, there is a

[24:27] buffer that is built around the entirety

[24:29] of the community. And in the south

[24:31] areas, you can see areas where there are

[24:33] lower depressional areas with the

[24:35] cross-hatch pattern on it where storm

[24:37] water will be in the lower areas. The

[24:39] connections will initially come from the

[24:42] existing Countryway subdivision and

[24:45] Countryway Town Center to the west and

[24:47] this will ultimately connect to um

[24:50] Newberry Road via connections across

[24:53] South 15th Avenue up to the north. We

[24:56] have planned in to this a future north

[24:59] south connection along the eastern

[25:01] portion of the property. As you notice,

[25:03] there are connections on both the west,

[25:05] the north, the east, and then to the

[25:07] south. So that is consistent with your

[25:09] comprehensive plan and your

[25:11] transportation mobility type

[25:12] requirements. That connection will allow

[25:14] the project that is developing to the

[25:16] south of this Newberry Ridge to access

[25:20] to the north to get traffic directly up

[25:22] to state road 26 in lie of all traffic

[25:24] being on 2741 or state road 45.

[25:30] » [clears throat]

[25:30] >> This new collector roadway will be um

[25:34] within adequate right ofway which will

[25:36] be donated early on in the project. So

[25:39] should the developer to the south wish

[25:40] to advance that roadway faster than we

[25:43] get to it, they have the ability to do

[25:45] that. So that future north south

[25:47] collector there is along the eastern

[25:49] boundary right on what would be I

[25:51] believe is a quarter section line. This

[25:53] oblique aerial gives you a picture as if

[25:56] you were in a helicopter over the top of

[25:58] Newberry Ridge. And you can see how they

[26:00] had originally planned to connect to

[26:02] Countryway 2 in the exact kind of center

[26:05] middle portion of it. But they are

[26:07] routing that connection to the east side

[26:10] of this property. And if you follow that

[26:12] orange line up, you see that it crosses

[26:14] very succinctly over Southwest 15th

[26:17] Avenue and connects up and has the

[26:19] potential to connect to uh Highland

[26:21] Park, the Gromax development, or it

[26:24] could connect up via the yellow line and

[26:26] then align with the A Tech Center on the

[26:30] north side of state road 26. But that is

[26:33] all designed to help Newberry's traffic

[26:35] system in a connected manner. So you're

[26:37] not relying wholly on the state roads of

[26:39] 2741, State Road 45 or Newberry Road.

[26:42] This helps diversify traffic in the long

[26:44] run.

[26:46] This is a little bit larger view. And so

[26:48] you can see from now a little bit more

[26:50] the east side if you were in a

[26:51] helicopter over the top of the Newberry

[26:54] Ridge project that that line goes along

[26:56] the east side of this property and will

[26:58] connect further all the way up to 26 and

[27:00] makes a nice connection up there at

[27:02] Newberry Road.

[27:05] It is consistent with the comprehensive

[27:07] plan as staff has stated and as we have

[27:09] demonstrated throughout the process of

[27:10] our application materials, it will

[27:12] accommodate growth in a financially

[27:15] feasible and environmentally acceptable

[27:17] manner. there are no wetlands or flood

[27:19] planes on the property and so um we have

[27:22] a very easy site in the terms of

[27:24] converting this land to residential to

[27:27] serve the growing demand in the city of

[27:29] Newberry is consistent with the urban

[27:30] services uh portions of the

[27:33] comprehensive plan and the data and

[27:34] analysis that we have provided through

[27:36] our application process shows that

[27:38] there's consistency across all the

[27:40] relevant elements of the comprehensive

[27:42] plan. staff has acknowledged that each

[27:44] phase of the development uh in the

[27:45] petition represents a varying degree of

[27:47] impact on state and local services and

[27:49] each phase will be evaluated at the time

[27:52] which failures have been identified. And

[27:54] that's a nice way of saying that we will

[27:56] continue to monitor over time as this

[27:58] development moves forward. What are the

[28:01] volumes of traffic out on the road?

[28:03] What's happening with the water and

[28:05] sewer system? what's happening with

[28:07] electrical and other subsystems that uh

[28:09] support development so that this builds

[28:12] in a timely manner in conjunction with

[28:14] Newberry's growth.

[28:19] This is consistent with article 4, the

[28:21] zoning regulations of the city of

[28:22] Newber's land development regulations

[28:24] and as such um this will also include an

[28:27] element where tiny homes can be built.

[28:29] So, it is designed to accommodate market

[28:31] demand as time and as the market

[28:34] advances in our community here. So, our

[28:37] request is that you accept the staff

[28:40] review of this as well as your planning

[28:42] and zoning board's unanimous

[28:44] recommendation that you approve this and

[28:46] approve this on first reading this

[28:47] evening. Should you have any questions,

[28:49] I am most happy to answer those or if

[28:52] they're really tough and complicated, I

[28:53] will defer necessary to Miss Boyce or

[28:56] Mr. Norfleet and family.

[28:59] Thank you so much.

[29:00] >> Thank you, Mr. Debbark. Is there any

[29:01] public comment? We have three minutes to

[29:03] do so.

[29:06] >> Go ahead.

[29:08] >> I'll stay here in case.

[29:10] >> It's just a quick question.

[29:12] >> A good one.

[29:13] >> Joy will answer. Um I like the way it

[29:14] connects up to the highway. That's

[29:16] great. And connects to the country. I

[29:18] didn't hear any discussion that

[29:19] obviously I think traffic might want to

[29:21] go east and west on 15th. So I don't

[29:23] know if you you addressed that. I'm sure

[29:25] Woody because that's right now it's kind

[29:27] of a smaller road that's got the canopy

[29:30] trees that you'll hear a lot about. I'm

[29:31] sure

[29:35] » to answer Miss Glancer's question. Uh we

[29:38] have had numerous

[29:41] hours of discussion about South 15.

[29:43] South 15th is a substandard roadway in

[29:46] the sense that it does not have adequate

[29:48] rightway. The alignment there is very

[29:50] narrow. Anybody who's ever tried to

[29:52] drive a big brown truck probably hits

[29:53] tree branches in there. We have tried to

[29:56] discourage and we are considering that

[29:58] signage may be the best way to say not a

[30:01] thoroughfare to leave that as an east

[30:04] west local connector only. Now you can't

[30:07] stop people from driving on a road that

[30:08] is public. But the way that we want to

[30:11] engineer that connection is such that

[30:12] when you get to 15th there that your

[30:16] predetermination if you will or

[30:18] destination is just go straight to

[30:20] Newberry Road on a nice new paved road

[30:22] that will get you to the state road as

[30:24] opposed to taking 15th and heading east

[30:27] toward 202 and and Gainesville. But you

[30:30] can't block people from using that road.

[30:33] We realize the tree canopy nature of

[30:35] that road and its scenic character and

[30:38] we want to try to preserve that as much

[30:40] as possible. That's not why we're not

[30:41] like out there adding right ofway to it

[30:43] and paving and trying to you know make

[30:45] that bigger because we don't want to

[30:46] create what be effectively like an

[30:48] attractive road to hey let's drive on

[30:50] this.

[30:52] >> Mr. Mayor,

[30:52] >> very good. [clears throat] I'd just say

[30:54] staff's position and the applicant has

[30:56] been very uh cooperative on this is that

[30:59] the future of traffic flow in the

[31:01] souththeast quadrant is the spine road

[31:04] that this applicant has very graciously

[31:06] worked with us worked with Newberry

[31:09] Ridge to align to get you from southwest

[31:11] 30th up to 26. It's my belief uh and I

[31:15] think that the traffic impact studies

[31:17] support this that the majority of that

[31:20] of those folks if they don't have kids

[31:23] to drop off are trying to get east to 26

[31:26] and get into Gainesville. So what we're

[31:28] trying to do is create a situation where

[31:30] anyone who needs to go to the light is

[31:32] going to come it's going to flow back to

[31:33] 27. They're going to come up to drop

[31:35] their kids off. But everyone else is

[31:37] going to take that spine road. They're

[31:39] either going to take Southwest 30th to

[31:40] 202, which is all chip sealed, or

[31:42] they're going to take this spine road,

[31:43] which is uh intended to be a boulevard,

[31:46] uh, and get people east of the light.

[31:48] So, we're not sending everybody down to

[31:50] a bottleneck at the old light at

[31:52] Newberry. So, that's what we have been

[31:54] working on with uh this applicant as

[31:57] well as Newberry Ridge and Sandia Park.

[31:59] >> Very good. Thank you. Uh, did uh staff

[32:03] hear anything that they wanted to

[32:06] uh cross-examine? No. Okay. All right.

[32:09] Fair enough. When anybody from the uh

[32:12] DIS have any questions?

[32:15] >> Um so I know Jerry kind of mentioned but

[32:19] being around the I don't think that the

[32:23] uh applicants

[32:25] thought process here is to build 500

[32:27] homes in this thing. So um the 35 ft

[32:30] lots I know or what you mentioned may be

[32:33] for a tiny home. Um, but for the public

[32:36] and for us to understand this, this

[32:38] subdivision is going to be laid out like

[32:40] they have now. And this subdivision is

[32:42] going to have some beautiful lot sizes.

[32:44] It ain't going to be what we've approved

[32:46] down coming in the corridor, which I'll

[32:48] say publicly, I wish we'd have never

[32:50] approved it, but this thing is the way

[32:52] subdivision should be laid out. It's got

[32:54] the 120 foot lots. It's got the 100

[32:57] foot, the 45s, and if they build their

[32:59] tiny homes, so be it on the 35s. But I

[33:02] will just say for the record, this this

[33:04] thing is not set up for 500 homes in

[33:06] here. So

[33:08] >> I know it's approval, but I know that

[33:10] the subdivision be out with the being

[33:13] built now.

[33:15] >> Thank you, sir. Any other questions from

[33:17] the decision-making body?

[33:20] >> All right,

[33:22] Commissioner Mison.

[33:23] >> These are North Fleet homes, right?

[33:25] Correct. Uh okay. Does uh staff or the

[33:30] applicant wish to make any kind of final

[33:31] argument at all? No. Okay, fair enough.

[33:35] Uh madame attorney, could you read the

[33:37] decision-making bodies uh applicable law

[33:40] and factual findings?

[33:42] >> Yes. As you all know, in quasi judicial,

[33:44] you should base your decision on the

[33:45] competent substantial evidence that's

[33:48] presented to you, and that's both the

[33:49] verbal testimony that you heard this

[33:51] evening and all of the written backup

[33:53] material.

[33:54] >> Thank you, Madam Attorney. Uh there

[33:57] there's time for more deliberations. If

[33:58] none, I'll entertain a motion.

[34:01] >> Second.

[34:02] >> Is that Commissioner Coleman on the

[34:04] motion?

[34:05] >> Okay. And Commissioner Clark on the

[34:07] second.

[34:08] Okay. Uh one more chance on discussion

[34:12] going once. All those in favor signify

[34:14] by saying I. I.

[34:16] >> Motion passes unanimous. Five to zero.

[34:20] All right. We'll bring it back to a

[34:24] standard board and there's no agenda

[34:27] items. Uh which actually brings us uh

[34:30] straight to comments and citizens can go

[34:34] first. Comments for anybody. Citizens

[34:36] comments.

[34:38] You look like you're moving in your seat

[34:40] to get up. No,

[34:42] >> just adjusting. Okay. All right. Uh city

[34:45] manager, you can go first. Oh, I'm

[34:47] sorry. Go ahead, Greg.

[34:54] Hi, Greg Raiden. Uh, just a schedule

[34:57] request on the kennel issue. Uh, I'm

[35:00] going to take Miss Donna out west in the

[35:02] end of September, see Miss Lee's

[35:04] surviving sister. So, if we could

[35:07] possibly ask that nothing be scheduled

[35:10] on that uh item on the second uh

[35:14] commission meeting in September, I would

[35:17] appreciate it. If it has to happen, I

[35:19] understand. But if not, I would

[35:21] appreciate that consideration.

[35:25] >> All right. Thank you, sir. We'll see

[35:27] what we can do. Uh, any other public

[35:29] comment from citizens?

[35:32] Seeing none. Now, city manager Mara, you

[35:36] can go first.

[35:37] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just have a few.

[35:38] First, I want to say congratulations,

[35:40] Commissioner Long award for All Smiles

[35:43] Detailing. just uh just announced the

[35:46] big He'll talk about it. He'll tell us

[35:49] more about it. Uh I want to remind

[35:50] everybody of Wednesday's workshop uh

[35:53] budget workshop that's at 6:30 right

[35:54] here in the chamber. Believe this one's

[35:57] uh first one for um

[36:00] >> governmental funds.

[36:01] Yeah, not enterprise

[36:02] funds. Thank you. Um I had two policies

[36:06] that I would like uh the DAS's feedback

[36:09] on bringing back to you. uh one would be

[36:13] I have advocated for a long time that we

[36:16] need a better more thoughtful policy uh

[36:19] when it comes to the naming of fields,

[36:22] roads, buildings, those kinds of things.

[36:25] What we have right now is pretty pretty

[36:28] short and sweet. Doesn't give a lot of

[36:29] guidance. Um I think it would be

[36:31] appropriate to come back with something

[36:33] that's a little bit more thoughtful. Um

[36:35] could I get a head nod on y'all's

[36:37] willingness to entertain a presentation

[36:39] sometime? There's no rush on this. We

[36:41] got a lot of stuff. But sometime in the

[36:43] next three, four months, I got three.

[36:45] >> Plug it in on a night when we got one

[36:47] item.

[36:47] >> One item. Yeah.

[36:49] >> If only I had known. Right. So, and then

[36:52] the other one is PDM. So, we've talked

[36:54] about this in the past. Um, you know,

[36:57] right now the way we do about things

[36:59] when we have to go to a conference or

[37:00] something like that, we have to it's

[37:03] everything is separated up into

[37:05] categories, right? Instead of just

[37:07] saying you get a predium, it's x amount.

[37:10] It creates a lot of backlog, paperwork,

[37:12] those kinds of things. It's very

[37:14] precise. Uh other governing entities

[37:17] simply say you get what you get. It's a

[37:19] predium, right? And you know, if you

[37:22] stay at a hotel that has breakfast, you

[37:24] back that out of it. That kind of a

[37:25] thing. But it's a basic lump sum. It's

[37:28] just a little bit easier to manage on

[37:30] staff's time when we have to track all

[37:32] of that stuff. So it would be an update

[37:35] to

[37:37] our purchasing policy, travel policy.

[37:39] So, uh, if you guys are willing to

[37:41] entertain having a presentation on that,

[37:44] I can bring that back to you as well. I

[37:46] got one, two head nods, three head nods,

[37:48] four. Okay. So, that, uh,

[37:52] concludes my comments, Mr. Mayor. Thank

[37:53] you.

[37:55] Madam Attorney,

[37:59] this is so not fair. You never say

[38:01] anything.

[38:03] >> Smart.

[38:04] >> Fair enough. Smart attorney. Madame

[38:07] Clerk.

[38:09] All right. Uh, Commissioner Coleman,

[38:12] do you want to go first or you want to

[38:14] wait?

[38:14] >> I want to wait.

[38:15] >> Okay. Commissioner Maison,

[38:17] >> I want to wait.

[38:19] [laughter]

[38:21] >> No, I'm good. Uh, congratulations to our

[38:24] uh

[38:25] >> I want to wait on record. No, but

[38:28] congratulations to our electric uh

[38:30] department. Go Newberry, man. That's all

[38:32] I got to say. Um um Newbury continue continuously they they donate so much to their

[38:41] citizens. They give back. I mean I can't say that enough. And the reason

[38:45] I'm saying that is because I made a

[38:47] delivery to the floor store and um and

[38:49] man he this is the second year I think

[38:51] they did this. They were giving away

[38:53] rugs to teachers.

[38:55] I thought that's Yeah. So, I mean, you

[38:57] know, the teachers, I don't know, you know, they're always asking

[39:01] for, you know, materials for the

[39:03] classroom. And so, a rug, um, I think

[39:06] would be a great benefit. It's a great

[39:09] start. I mean, it's not a pencil, it's

[39:11] not paper, but it's, you know, and they

[39:12] had different types and different

[39:13] material, different type, different

[39:14] colors or whatnot. But over at the floor

[39:16] store, man, they were giving out rugs.

[39:18] And this is the second year. The first

[39:19] year, I want to say they gave out over

[39:21] 200. They say that the range was about

[39:23] 100 to 200 miles travel. people came and

[39:26] heard about this and they decided to

[39:27] come here. So, go Newberry. Right. Our

[39:29] department, our electric department, the

[39:32] award, um what he's about to say, um and

[39:35] then our uh our floor store over there.

[39:37] Um good job to those guys. Um quick

[39:40] reminder, like school's back in u in

[39:42] session, so traffic, cars, um kids, be

[39:46] careful. They're out and about. I have

[39:47] to be careful in my big brown truck. Um

[39:50] so, they will be I mean, kids are kids.

[39:52] They're going to jump out in front of

[39:53] traffic. So, let's just be mindful. be

[39:55] thoughtful and um the only thing I have

[39:58] is you know what did the uh one

[40:01] calculator say to the other

[40:04] >> down what's your digits

[40:06] >> huh

[40:07] >> what's your dig digits

[40:10] >> you can count on me [laughter]

[40:16] that's all I got

[40:18] [snorts]

[40:21] » uh commissioner long

[40:22] >> all right like uh like Jordan said I

[40:24] want to say a special thanks to everyone

[40:26] that voted for me for being on our town

[40:28] phase mobile detailing business. Um it's

[40:30] a great honor to serve this community

[40:32] and serve the surrounding area. So I

[40:33] don't take it lightly. It's a great

[40:35] honor to be able to serve um the people.

[40:38] And something I I helped start when I

[40:40] was uh became a commission was Thrive.

[40:43] So Thrive is a health initiative that we

[40:44] want to bring a healthier community. So,

[40:46] November 7th, we're going to have our

[40:48] first health fair. But on top of that,

[40:50] we're going to also provide screenings

[40:53] for free for the community. So, for

[40:55] workers, people that don't have

[40:56] insurance, people that don't that can't

[40:58] get to the doctor in time, they'll be

[41:00] doing a a special uh opportunity at a

[41:02] Little Red Schoolhouse twice a month

[41:04] where they'll give you screenings,

[41:05] they'll give you checkups. People that

[41:07] have issues, they don't want to go to

[41:09] the doctor, they don't have to drive

[41:10] far, right here in New.

[41:13] So, that's something we're providing for

[41:15] free. So people that have workers and a

[41:18] lot of guys that don't want to go

[41:19] anywhere for medical, they have that

[41:21] access. So I'm I'm proud of that and

[41:23] glad we can bring that to New Br. And

[41:25] other than that, this uh thank you to

[41:27] our utility department. You know, you

[41:29] guys work hard and people always talk

[41:30] about the utility bills, but the service

[41:32] we provide is always key. You know, you

[41:35] always want to have great services. So

[41:37] I'm glad them guys got awarded for that.

[41:38] Thank you.

[41:40] Commissioner Farnsworth,

[41:43] >> um, you forgotten in the honor of your,

[41:47] uh, award, you going to give like 50%

[41:50] discount to all

[41:52] >> citizens with [laughter]

[41:58] Dang. Um, yeah, congratulations to the,

[42:02] uh, electric department. I mean,

[42:06] I am so happy that I live in Newberry

[42:08] during a hurricane because

[42:12] >> I you read all these horror stories

[42:13] about these people even in the city of

[42:15] Gainesville being weeks and I know my

[42:18] aunt was like two weeks without

[42:20] electricity one time when she lived in

[42:22] Gainesville and uh it's just amazing how

[42:27] quick and responsive our our um utility

[42:30] department is and getting everybody back

[42:31] online.

[42:34] and

[42:35] see the primaries are next Tuesday

[42:40] and these are my choices, not the

[42:44] commission choices or anything. So, you

[42:46] can take it as that. Uh, for county

[42:50] commissioner district 2, I'll be

[42:51] supporting Charlie Ray Jackson.

[42:56] For school board district one, I'll be

[42:58] supporting Janine Plavic.

[43:01] And for school board district three,

[43:03] I'll be supporting Gregory uh Pelum. And

[43:06] I think these three people will be a a

[43:09] benefit to the city of Newberry. So I

[43:12] hope you uh we'll take them into your

[43:14] consideration.

[43:16] >> Thank you, sir. Commissioner Clark.

[43:18] >> Awesome. Um well, one more congrats to

[43:20] the electric team. So uh appreciate

[43:23] everything y'all do down there. U Madam

[43:25] Attorney, you're a breath of fresh air

[43:27] to have in house. I appreciate you

[43:29] speaking with us and the enlightenment

[43:32] that we get. So, thank you much on that.

[43:34] I know we got a few things going on the

[43:37] uh capital funds, but um she's a breath

[43:40] of fresh air. And other than that, uh

[43:42] God bless America and God bless our

[43:44] troops that are deployed.

[43:46] >> Thank you, sir. Commissioner Coleman,

[43:49] >> um I went and ate at me and Marcy went

[43:52] and ate at the uh brick and copper.

[43:55] Uh that it was excellent. Uh, we got the

[43:58] prime rib. Uh, if anybody hadn't tried

[44:02] that out yet, it is delicious there. And

[44:06] their potatoes ain't like that either.

[44:08] They're like that.

[44:10] And seeing that you did local, I'll do

[44:13] uh I'll do for the state.

[44:17] Uh me and my family, the Coleman's,

[44:20] we're supporting Bobby Williams for

[44:22] governor and Matt the welder for

[44:25] agriculture. Thank you.

[44:28] Very good. Yes, sir. I

[44:30] >> I can feel the collective anger from Mr.

[44:33] Jones that I forgot to announce that we

[44:36] got our uh notice to proceed from D this

[44:40] week. We have sent that out. So, you

[44:42] will see uh construction uh companies

[44:45] run in and we will be building a

[44:47] wastewater treatment plant post haste.

[44:51] Post

[44:53] >> waste

[44:54] post waste.

[44:59] [laughter]

[45:01] >> U

[45:02] mostly for the commission's etiquette or

[45:05] uh edification. Uh I've been talking

[45:08] with the uh city attorney and the city

[45:10] manager about a couple of procedural

[45:12] things that we hope can simplify uh our

[45:16] meeting. Uh, one thing we did talk about

[45:17] was a um some sort of a plaque or

[45:20] something on the wall for citizens to be

[45:23] aware of uh kind of when they can speak

[45:25] and what what types of things that they

[45:28] are going to be speaking on and uh just

[45:31] to help them understand kind of the

[45:33] process a little bit. We get a lot of

[45:34] people that come in here that it's the

[45:36] first time they've ever come in here.

[45:38] They're a little bit um unaware of how

[45:41] to really just process. So doing that.

[45:44] Uh we got a couple of procedural things

[45:46] as far as meeting flow uh and how things

[45:49] uh kind of come through uh the board

[45:52] that we're working on. Um I texted each

[45:55] of you to be thinking about evaluations

[45:58] for the clerk, the manager, and the

[46:01] attorney. So make sure you're still uh

[46:03] on track with that. I think our

[46:05] procedurals will be first meeting in

[46:07] September. Madam Attorney, that sound

[46:09] about right?

[46:11] the procedure packet that we were

[46:13] talking about.

[46:14] >> Um, yes, I think as soon as we as we

[46:17] meet and get it finalized.

[46:20] >> Okay. Uh, all right. Fantastic. Um, and

[46:24] uh, yeah, just reiteration of uh,

[46:27] volunteerism is what makes things work

[46:30] better. The government doesn't have to

[46:32] worry about it. People don't have to

[46:33] worry about the uh, you know, where's

[46:35] the money going for from the government

[46:37] to that group or that group. Um, the

[46:40] idea of volunteerism connects the

[46:42] provider with the the customer so much

[46:45] better and keeps us out of it, keeps

[46:48] potential friction from social agendas

[46:50] and all that stuff. So, uh, I'm a huge

[46:53] champion of the volunteerism and as

[46:56] Commissioner Maison pointed out, uh,

[46:59] just everything wrapped in with the

[47:00] schools the last week, uh, really

[47:02] showcases

[47:04] the the spirit of all that and what

[47:06] makes Newberry, uh, so great. Uh, I want

[47:09] to wish all of the schools a happy and

[47:13] uh, productive week. I went by and

[47:16] brought every one of them a card. U this

[47:18] afternoon, I went prayed over all the

[47:20] schools. this morning and I actually

[47:23] even donated a printer over to the

[47:25] community school that I had laying

[47:26] around. So, um, feel free to follow my

[47:30] lead if if you'd like. Um,

[47:32] congratulations, Commissioner Long on

[47:35] your award there. And DOT is finishing

[47:39] up everything north on 2741.

[47:43] They're kind of doing all the the

[47:44] cutouts for driveways and everything.

[47:46] And as I was told, they would start

[47:48] working south soon after they're done

[47:51] there. They're going to connect. They're

[47:53] going to go from Newberry all the way

[47:54] down to Archer. So, be looking forward

[47:57] uh to having that. And once we get the

[47:59] two-way pairs,

[48:01] uh almost every road in and out of

[48:02] Newberry is going to be completely

[48:04] repaved in the next couple years. So,

[48:05] that'll be kind of cool. [laughter]

[48:10] » I'm sure they could I'm sure they could

[48:11] take an add-on or something like that.

[48:13] You just got to open up that wallet. Um

[48:16] well that's all I have for tonight.

[48:18] Thank you all for your attendance and

[48:19] your time. We are adjourned.

Newberry City Commission Meeting - August 10th, 2026

Transcript