04/21/26 BOCC Meeting Updates

Burn ban enacted as drought persists By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com A burn ban is now in place in Suwannee County. The Suwannee County Commission unanimously approved implementing the burn ban during its meeting Tuesday night due to the ongoing exceptional drought conditions. The ban went into effect Wednesday morning and will be in place until 10 p.m. on May 5, the date of the commission’s next meeting. The board will decide at that meeting whether to extend it or let it lapse. “That way the citizens can see an expiration date, not this anonymous ‘we’re in a burn ban until further notice,’” Suwannee County Fire Chief Dan Miller said in recommending the ban be put in place. Prior to Miller speaking on the ban, Suwannee County resident Belinda Zeck asked the commission to consider the item as well. It was not on the board’s published agenda. Zeck said when the board approved the ordinance in March that allowed it to implement burn bans, it said that if conditions worsened and if it became a public hazard, bans would be considered. She noted the drought has worsened since that time, pointing to the Keeth-Byram Drought Index that was included in the county’s ordinance. The ordinance called for a public hazard if half the county was at a 500 score on KBDI or above. According to the KDBI, the county’s score was 566 as of Tuesday with 80% of the county ranging from 501-600. The U.S. Drought Monitor map from last Thursday shows Suwannee County, and all of its surrounding counties, entirely in exceptional drought, the highest intensity of drought listed. “We all know that we’re in a severe drought, we see the springs, we see the rivers, we’re having water restrictions, we all know we’re that severe drought,” she said. “It has dramatically risen since April 12.” Zeck also told the board that while taking detours this past weekend as a pair of wildfires took place along County Road 250 near Dowling Park, she noticed a large debris pile being burned, noting that despite the dry conditions, people were still burning items outdoors. “I feel like we need a burn ban because nobody’s right and freedom to burn should outweigh my right to have a house over my head,” Zeck said. “But at least educate the public and tell them not to burn.” The board agreed. Commissioner Travis Land said at the end of the meeting that he was sure there would be some complaints about the board implementing the ban but said it was the right decision. “There’s a 10,000-acre fire just north of us in Echols County that’s like 10% contained and roaring south,” Land said. “Yeah, we may have infringed on your property rights, but your n e i g h b o r has property rights too.” F r a n k l i n White, the b o a r d ’ s c h a i r m a n , said he had heard complaints coming in the opposite direction. “I got complaints today that we already haven’t enacted one,” White said. “I support the burn ban. You ought to have enough common sense right now not to start a fire, but some people don’t.” In addition to requesting the burn ban, Miller told the commission that with the outbreak of wildfires around the region, and with no active fires in the county as of Tuesday night, his department was being requested to assist battle other blazes. He said while he didn’t commit any resources to do that, he was creating a wildfire strike team that would man an urban wildland interface fire engine, an additional tanker and a brush truck that will be working during high wildfire times. “They will be strictly roaming this county, responding to every single brush fire page that comes out,” Miller said. “We try to get on them quick, keep them small because the conditions are so bad with the wind, the dryness.

Branford, Hale Park, Douglass Center projects moving ahead

Three new community centers are progressing on schedule around Suwannee County. Alden Rosner, the county’s parks and recreation director, told the Suwannee County Commission on Tuesday that the exterior of the new community center in Branford — on county-owned property adjacent to the rodeo arena on U.S. Highway 129 — is finished while the metal frame of the replacement facility at John Hale Park in Live Oak is erected. The third community center will be at the Douglass Center in Live Oak and that building will be erected once the siding and roof are completed at the Hale Park facility. “All three projects are currently on schedule,” Rosner said. All three of the buildings, which are grant-funded by the state, are expected to be completed by September, according to Rosner. The Branford facility will be larger than the other two new community centers and will include a new classroom, telemedicine room, computer lab and multi-purpose room to provide health, education and workforce development benefits to southern Suwannee County, a “historically underserved area.” Rosner said with that facility already erected with the roofand siding in place, crews will begin work on the interior of the facility. The new building at Hale Park will replace the Hale Park Community Center, which was demolished to make way for the metal building. It was built in 1957. The new building at the Douglass Center will be through an AfricanAmerican Cultural and Historical Grant through the Department of State and will be similar to the new Hale Park Community Center. Rosner added the steel frame for the Douglass center building is on the site waiting for the crew to finish the exterior of the Hale Park center. LIVESTOCK BARN Rosner also told the commissioners that the bid the county received on a new livestock show barn at the Suwannee County Coliseum and fairgrounds complex was above the budget for that facility. That new building is also state funded with $1.3 million allocated through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. However with a $1.9-2 million bid, the county is hoping for additional state funding in the future to help complete it. Commissioner Travis Land asked if there were ways for the county to proceed with a portion of the project now and complete it once additional funding is obtained or through contingency funds. “That way those youth groups that utilize that, we can get the show barn up and going,” he said. County Administrator Jason Furry and Tori Humphries, a project manager with North Florida Professional Services, both said the county bid the project in pieces to allow it to be completed in phases in anticipation of it coming in over budget. Humphries said the site prep would have to include a retention pond for the overall scope of the project but the construction of the facility could be done in phases with the show barn completed first. The tie-down barn and air conditioning could be added at a later time. “We gave some flexibility in the building,” Humphries said. “I believe the bid is set so that you guys can pick and choose. That was the goal in this, so you have choices. We anticipated it coming in (over).” The board directed Furry to bring back the bid for the site prep and show barn with a plan for funding it to its next meeting. “There’s a lot of shows that haven’t been hosted there, heifer shows, goat shows and that will grow and continue to grow,” Furry said. “It’s like a sports tourism facility. “There will be a lot of people, an economic driver in the community.”  

Early voting for city election begins MondayStaff report Live Oak city residents can head to the polls starting Monday. Early voting in the city election begins Monday and runs through May 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day at the Suwannee County Judicial Annex, 218 SW Parshley Street in Live Oak. Election day for the municipal election is Tuesday, May 5, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Election day voting will also take place at the Judicial Annex. Two of the city council seats will be on the ballot for city voters with incumbent Tommie Jefferson facing a pair of challengers from District 1, while District 4 Councilman Matt Campbell also faces opposition in his re-election bid. Challenging Jefferson are former Councilwoman Robintina Reed and Adam Collins, an engineer who currently serves on the city’s planning and zoning board. Terry Richardson also qualified for the election but has withdrawn. His name will still appear on the ballot but is no longer running for the seat. Campbell is opposed by Bobby Brady Jr., a school bus driver. Mayor Frank Davis and City Clerk John Gill were both re-elected without opposition. Davis will be serving his third term as mayor while Gill will be serving for a fifth term. If there is a runoff for the District 1 seat, the runoff election is set for June 9.

Council President Campbell seeking re-election Staff report The current Live Oak City Council president is seeking re-election to the city’s governing body. Matt Campbell, who also serves as the chairman of the Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency board, is running for a second term in office as the representative from the city’s District 4. “Over the past four years, our community has faced significant challenges, including three devastating hurricanes,” Campbell said. “Despite this, we have made meaningful p r o g r e s s . Live Oak is experiencing steady commercial growth and I remain committed to ensuring that growth is both responsible and sustainable. “The recent expansion of the CRA boundary within District 4 is an exciting development that will help existing businesses qualify for grant funding while also attracting new investment.” Campbell, who also represents the city on the Suwannee County Tourism Development Council, said during those storms that impacted Live Oak the past few years that he worked closely with emergency operations to support response efforts. Campbell also pointed to his support of hiring a new city manager and public works director for the city during his first term as well the council implementing changes to ordinances that have made it easier for businesses to open and thrive in the city. “I have also been a strong advocate for critical grant funding that, if awarded, will allow us to improve infrastructure, pave roads and address long-standing flooding concerns,” Campbell said. “Additionally, I am proud of the progress we have made in strengthening cooperation between the city and county to better serve our residents.” If re-elected, Campbell aims to continue pursuing grant opportunities, push for the resurfacing of Pinewood Drive and work with his fellow councilors to reduce utility costs on city residents by responsibly growing the city’s tax base. He also looks toward innovative solutions to the city’s housing shortages. Campbell, an Army and Florida National Guard veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, is the dean of students at Suwannee Pineview Elementary School and a Realtor with Poole Realty. A member of The Orchard Church, Campbell is the father of two children, Coby, a senior at Florida State; and Maci, a junior at the University of Florida. “I am deeply committed to the youth of our community and grateful for the opportunity to play a role in their growth and success,” Campbell said. Voters and city residents can reach out to Campbell at 386-590-0852 or matthewcrealtor@gmail.com with questions or concerns.

District considers half-cent sales tax for facility projects By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Suwannee County schools could get a helping hand from voters this fall. The Suwannee County School Board will consider Tuesday placing a referendum on the general election ballot in November to seek a half-cent sales tax increase for capital improvement projects and security upgrades at the school campuses. The board’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the district office, 1740 Ohio Avenue South in Live Oak. Superintendent Ronnie Gray said the district, like many other fiscally-constrained districts in rural counties, need the additional help to maintain and upkeep aging facilities due to a loss of state funding in those areas in recent years. “For more than a decade the PECO funding that used to be there to help support your infrastructure has been gone,” Gray said. “As those dollars have been gone and you look at how do you continue to upkeep facilities and where you are financially, this is a mechanism that Referendum would be placed on November ballot for voter approval. provides that opportunity for us. “Every rural, fiscally-constrained county in Florida either already has this or is going after this.” According to the resolution the school board will consider approving to support the sales tax referendum, the funding from the tax would go toward construction, renovation, replacement or renewal of district facilities and campuses, including land improvement, design and engineering costs that go along with those improvements; school security systems; and technology upgrades. The district expects the tax, which would be in place for 10 years beginning on Jan. 1, 2027, to generate approximately $4 million annually. Those funds would be split among all the district’s campuses in both Live Oak and Branford. If approved, the district also would institute a citizens oversight committee that would help determine what projects to fund with the sales tax revenue and report on those projects to the school board. Gray said that committee, which it has not been determined how many members it will have or how often it would meet, is an important part of requesting the sales tax. “You actually have the citizenry that is voting this in get some input and say,” he said. “I like that idea a lot. I like that if you’re going to go ask the county to support this, which I believe they will, then you’re asking them to sit in oversight so they can go and say, ‘No, these dollars are going to this, this and this.’” This is not the first time the district had considered seeking sales tax funds for the facility improvements. Gray said officials discussed the item before the covid-19 pandemic but tabled those plans once pandemic funding was received by districts across the state. Similarly with the expansion of the vouchers available to students across the state to use for homeschool or private school education has pulled students away from the district and dollars tied to enrollment figures to help support capital projects have also started to wane. “That would not have been the appropriate time to go out (and request the sales tax),” Gray added. The district also could have chosen to increase its millage rate to generate additional capital project funding on property owners’ tax bills. However, the sales tax allows those improvements to be funded, in part, by out-of-county visitors and shoppers. “You could almost say the lion’s share of this will go on people stopping off out there at I-10, a large percentage of it,” Gray said. “This is a much better route to go.

Hingson, Griego join administrative team By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com A familiar face is returning to lead Suwannee County’s emergency management office. Sharon Hingson, who previously ran the department for 18 years, has been hired as the county’s new emergency management director. Hingson, who currently works for the Suwannee River Water Management District, is set to begin for the county on May 4. “She brings a wealth of experience and leadership,” County Administrator Jason Furry said Tuesday night in announcing Hingson’s hire to the County Commission. “She will be a great addition to our leadership team with the county.” Hingson, who previously worked in the county’s emergency management department both when it was previously county-operated as well as under the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, said that the return to that position is a return home for her. “My heart has always been in emergency management,” Hingson said Wednesday. “I love helping people. No, I hate the disasters but I love the opportunities that come afterwards to be able to help people when they’re at their most vulnerable and they need help. “That’s always been my heart.” A group of county residents thanked Furry, and the commissioners, for bringing Hingson back into the fold to run the department. The county took over the emergency management operations from the SCSO earlier this year following an independent audit last year into the department showed potentially as much as $38 million in grant funding was missed as well as potential fraudulent spending in that office under the direction of Chris Volz, who left the county before the audit began. “That was the best decision,” Kin Weaver said as he was joined by Virginia Yetton and Bo Hancock at the dais. “She is professional, she serves with integrity.” Hingson said with her past experience and connections around the state — which have included several calls welcoming her back into the emergency management family — she expects to hit the ground running when she returns in May. She added that she already has begun work on lists of things she hopes to get accomplished within her first 30 days all the way up to 180 days. Among those are working with Furry to advertise and find an assistant director as well as working to rejuvenate the county’s Community Emergency Response Team, a volunteer organization that assists the emergency management and first responders during emergencies and other events. “I’m excited to get back in there and get our CERT team back up and running,” Hingson said, adding she is unaware of how many current active volunteers are a part of that team. “The recruitment, the training, the training schedule. I’m excited about that.” Hingson, though, is not the only addition to the county’s administrative team. Furry also introduced Will Griego, the county’s new grants and project manager, to the board. Griego has already begun work for the county in a new position that is consolidating the assistant manager position that Furry previously held as well as an administrative position that was filled by Shannon Roberts, now the director of the North Florida Water Utilities Authority. “We got a two for one here,” Furry said. “He’s doing a great job so far. He’s been trying to get into my brain and figure out what I’ve been doing on these projects.” Griego is a 20-plus-year military veteran and said that experience has helped prepare him for his new job with the county, pointing in particular to a job with the National Guard in which he handled project management. “That’s real important to me, a passion of mine,” Griego said of being a steward of the people’s money. “I like to look at things from a value engineering perspective. I wouldn’t want to spend that money if it was my own money, so I’ll look at it from a way of making sure we are good stewards of the money.” Griego said he’ll make sure to conserve money where he can on county projects moving forward rather than spend just because money could be available. “There’s a lot to do,” he said. “I look forward to serving the community because I am part of this community too. You won’t be, disappointed.

County, Suwannee Iron Works dismiss suits By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Suwannee County and a former job producer in the county are dropping dueling lawsuits against one another. The Suwannee County Commission unanimously approved dismissing its lawsuit against SEMC Properties, the company that owns Suwannee Iron Works, stemming from a code enforcement action last August. The company, in turn, will drop its suit against the county as well that it filed when the county shut down its operations last year. Suwannee Iron Works has since moved operations to Hamilton County following the board’s vote in September to deny a special exception to continue operating its metal manufacturing business in an agricultural-zoned property off County Road 49 in O’Brien. “That litigation has now, functionally, run its course,” County Attorney Adam Morrison told the board. “This is a good thing. This is the end of the litigation.” In addition to the county denying the special exception last fall, Third Circuit Judge Mark Feagle entered an injunction against the company from continuing commercial activity on the property. Morrison, in a summary to the board ahead of Tuesday meeting, said there is no longer impermissible commercial activity happening on the O’Brien property. Rather the buildings on the site are now used for “bona fire agricultural purposes.” “As the goal of the litigation has been accomplished —  stopping the impermissible commercial activity —  and there are no actionable violations of the LDRs, there is no reason to continue with any litigation,” Morrison said in his summary. In an April 13 letter to County Administrator Jason Furry, SEMC Vice President Ernesto Caparelli said the buildings are now being used to store farm equipment and feed and as a repair or workshop for the farm. “SEMC understands that prior to commencing any industrial and/or manufacturing activity on the SEMC PROPERTY in the future that SEMC will be required to obtain permits for the same from the COUNTY and possibly other governmental authorities,” Caparelli wrote in the letter. Caparelli requested the dismissal of the lawsuits with both sides covering their own costs and attorney’s fees. O’Brien property now used only for ag purposes. JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter Suwannee County Attorney Adam Morrison told the County Commission that both sides dropping the lawsuits in the Suwannee Iron Works cases was a good thing.

Commission fighting litigation threat By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Suwannee County is not backing down from a threat of litigation. The Suwannee County Commission unanimously authorized County Attorney Adam Morrison telling a Jacksonville law firm demanding an additional payment for a tree company to be thankful for its initial check because no more money is coming. Morrison told the board that following a fire late last year that Suwannee County Fire Rescue responded to, firefighters called a tree service to come cut down a branch hanging over the residence from an impacted tree to help out the home owner. “It was not if this branch was going to fall and destroy the home but when,” he said. When the company — Lake City-based Kari’s Tree Service — responded, Morrison told the board that one of the firefighters signed the invoice from the company, leading to the county being billed. Morrison said despite his belief that the county was not obligated to make the initial $4,500 payment, which he described as “a ridiculous price to begin with,” due to the firefighter not being authorized to sign off on the county’s behalf, County Administrator Jason Furry decided to do so to be done with the issue. “The main reason was for nuisance value,” Morrison said, noting the county is only liable for validly executed contracts. However, after the payment was sent the county received a letter from Mercer Kutch, the Jacksonville firm representing the company, demanding an additional $3,000 for interest and attorney’s fees. Morrison responded to that request with a denial, telling the firm that the initial payment was en route and was that “nuisance payment.” However, the firm responded with the threat of a lawsuit unless the additional funds were paid as well as they would be seeking the county also paying attorney’s fees. “If we’ve made one payment just trying to get it over with, they’re trying to say then you’ll give us a little more to get it over with,” Morrison said. “The other issue here is the problem with being a doormat is you get walked on. My position was, ‘This is a bunch of, I think BS is the technical term for it, so I’d like to respond with a letter that says, ’No. Be happy you got what you got.’” He got that authorization from the board. “It sounds to me like they’re trying to bluff,” Commissioner Clyde Fleming said.

04/14/26 City Council Meeting and Candidate Forum 

Mixed-use development denied annexation

Community outspoken against plans near Suwannee Coliseum By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The land intended for a mixed-use development near the Suwannee County Coliseum won’t be fully in the City of Live Oak. The annexation request on 13.74 acres along 11th Street SW in Live Oak failed for the lack of a second during Tuesday’s Live Oak City Council meeting. The Council previously tabled that vote from its March meeting. After attorney Tommy Reeves presented the request on behalf of Live Oak Investment 2 LLC, seven residents spoke out against the potential annexation into the city, including City Clerk John Gill, mostly due to concerns stemming from the proposed development plan for the full 31-acre property a year ago. At that time, developers presented plans at a community open house for a hotel, apartment complex and convenience store on the property. “Those plans have changed,” Reeves said Tuesday. Still, there were concerns aired Tuesday about both the traffic impact from the parcel as well as drainage issues. The Tara Trace subdivision that is next to the proposed development was under water following Hurricane Debby in 2024. Still, during his presentation to the council ahead of the public comment, Reeves said any potential development plans for the parcel weren’t what should be discussed or considered Tuesday. Rather, Reeves said the council should be looking at whether or not it wanted the property in the city limits. “We intend to try and develop the property but that’s not what this is about,” he said. “If it turns out we can’t comply with the Land Development Regulations and those applicable rules, you just have another property in the city that pays taxes and all that.” Some residents, though, said the easiest way to stop the mixed-use plans that drew a lot of pushback during that open house, was to just deny the annexation. Moses Clepper compared it to a rodent. “If you let the head of that mouse or rat in there, it will get that whole fat, ugly body in there,” Clepper said. “This is the easy opportunity to block this thing.” Adam Collins, who was speaking as a city resident although he also serves on the city’s planning and zoning board, agreed that the time was now to prevent the development from occurring. “You grease the wheels and I use term to point out that it starts the process,” he added. “Every time you move it along the process, more money gets put in… as money gets spent, pressure starts getting exerted.” Others focused on the lack of compatibility the proposed development has with the surrounding community. That included Gill, who grew up on adjacent parcels and said he would be in favor of single family housing but not the apartments and hotel. “This is not something that we need,” Gill said. “What we’re talking about doing is a strain on the roads, the community, the fire, the police, everything that is looking to do is more than the city can handle.” Elsy Cerritos, who lives behind the proposed development’s property, said she was worried annexations and developments like what are proposed will change the “unique” small town culture that exists in Live Oak. She added that it wasn’t the right spot in Live Oak for that kind of development. “This will set the precedent for what we’re going to do in the future,” Cerritos said. “It’s not just this one lot. We’re going to have a Miami if we start doing that.” David Chandler, who lives in Tara Trace and was speaking for the homeowners in that neighborhood, said if the development happens, he and his neighbors will have to see it and live with it every day. He also asked for everybody at the meeting who opposed the project to stand, which included the great majority of the full council chambers. “We love the lifestyle we have here,” Chandler said. “We’re for responsible growth. This is not the way to go.” Reeves said the project could still happen without the annexation, although it may look a bit different. He said the reason for the desire to be entirely in the city was to have to go through one permitting process moving forward rather than have to coordinate aspects with both the city and the county. “We think it would be better for everyone if just one body were hearing this development application,” Reeves said. “If you have part in the county and part in the city, we have to please the county for the part in the county and we have to please the city for the part in the city and may not end up with what either side wants totally. “We’ve gotta please two masters at that point.” The council, following the residents in attendance, did not want the development or the land inside the city. Chandler, during his remarks, agreed that the annexation didn’t guarantee the development would occur. But he said the annexation itself wasn’t right, either. “This is wrong,” Chandler said. “All of us know, your moms, your dads, your Sunday school teachers told you ‘There is no right way to do a wrong thing.’”

Live Oak hires labor attorney for fire shift changeBy JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The City of Live Oak has found a labor attorney to help alter the work schedule for the Live Oak Fire Department. The Live Oak City Council unanimously approved retaining Robert Larkin of Allen Norton & Blue as its attorney for negotiations with the Live Oak International Association of Firefighters Local 2481 after the union requested in March to switch its work schedule from 24 hours on, 48 hours off to 48-on, 96-off. The city has utilized Larkin previously for negotiations with the fire union with “good results,” according to City Attorney Todd Kennon. Kennon advised the Council that it was necessary to find expert counsel to advise it on the issue. “I have never been involved in a union negotiation,” Kennon said, although he said he wasn’t sure how much the work would end up costing the city as he was recommending a workshop first with the council before entering negotiations and then finalizing the deal. “Those types of specialties are hired out.” However, Kennon said with the union fully in support of the shift change, as well as city administration, he hoped it would be a quick negotiation. “It is encouraging that all the active employed firefighters are in agreement with the proposed new shift,” he said. “That makes me optimistic the negotiation part would be relatively quick.” Thomas Anderson, the union president, told the council in March that the local firefighters were unanimously on board with a six-month test of the schedule changed and determining after that trial period whether or not to make the change permanent. “We have 25 years of research done into firefighter mental health, physical health and family health, showing that the 48/96 schedule is more productive for us to live longer, to last longer, to serve the public better,” Anderson said in March. “It helps us out better in the long run to serve the community.” During that same March 10 meeting, City Manager Larry Sessions said city administration also supported the move and he believed in addition to benefitting the firefighters, it also would save the city money in the long run with reduced forced overtime.

Council approves raise for Sessions By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Live Oak’s city manager is getting a raise after two-plus years on the job on a full-time basis. The Live Oak City Council approved raising Larry Sessions’ salary from $102,000 to $115,000 by a 3-2 vote during Tuesday’s nearly three-hour long meeting. Tommie Jefferson and Vanessa Brown Robinson opposed the raise. Council President Matt Campbell initiated the discussion on boosting Sessions’ pay, saying it was necessary to not only reward the current manager for his work but also to keep the city attractive and competitive in the future should Sessions depart at some point. Sessions, who worked for nine months as interim city manager before being named the permanent manager in January 2024, started out at $98,500. “If we want to be competitive and maintain high-level city managers then we’re going to have to be competitive in rewarding performance and hard work and dedication to the city,” Campbell said. In introducing the item, Campbell said the city’s pay rate for its top administrator lagged far behind other comparable cities around the state. While Sessions made just $102,000, Campbell said the city manager in Madison, despite being only half the size of Live Oak, made $110,000. Others around the same population or slightly higher all easily dwarfed that pay rate: Perry, $120,000; Palatka, $140,000; Alachua, $160,000; and Lake City, $165,000. “If you look at comparable towns and cities around our area, our city manager is underpaid whether we want to like it or not,” Campbell added. Jefferson, though, said he wasn’t in favor of providing any pay increases during the middle of a budget year, noting they should be approved as part of the city’s budget process. He also had requested an item be discussed that also would block any new hires outside of public safety positions. During Tuesday’s meeting, Jefferson also said the vacant public works director position needed to be filled. “Since our budget has already been passed…all that stuff has been set to carry on for the fiscal year,” Jefferson said. “Can we justify raises? Can we justify spending more money? We’re spending it like we have an open checkbook.” However, Sessions’ contract with the city requires he be evaluated around his anniversary date in January. The city has, for at least a decade with previous managers Ron Williams and George Curtis, made salary adjustments for that position following those evaluations. Campbell said Sessions’ evaluations came back with highly effective grades, although only Campbell and Councilman David Alford completed the contractually-required evaluations on Sessions. It was also the first time Sessions was evaluated. “We have an opportunity to remain competitive with area cities and towns to maintain a highly-qualified individual who is performing at a high level,” he said. “There’s no other evidence proven, given on the record that states Mr. Sessions is not a highly-qualified individual.” Robinson said it is up for debate on how good of a job Sessions was doing. “I’m not saying right now Mr. Sessions is deserving of a raise or that he’s not deserving of a raise,” she said. “We have our difference of opinion as whether he’s highly effective, effective or not effective, but in July we start preparing for our budget, that’s where we give raises. “We can’t just, at will, start handing out raises.” Campbell tabled a discussion about the possible promotion of a current city department head into a newly created assistant city manager position until budget workshops. Sessions had broached that position at the end of the council’s March meeting. Sessions added Tuesday that creating that position would allow him to delegate some of his responsibilities to that promoted employee, which would help the city run smoothly if he is out of the office as well as prepare someone for the future. “We’ll then have someone in place who knows what’s going on,” he said. Sessions also said, in response to Jefferson’s desire to not make changes after the budget had been set for the year, that the city is currently below budget when it comes to personnel, noting the vacant public works director position and a reduced salary for the new finance director. “I have the money in the budget to do anything to enhance a position like an assistant city manager Sessions said.

Council OKs 10-year lease on dealership By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The Live Oak City Council agreed to changes, and suggested another, to the deal on its new home for public works. Following the council’s request to seek a longer term for its lease agreement with Tara Mott on the former Walt’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership on the west side of the city, which was extended from a one-year term to 10 years with the option for one-year renewals, the council approved unanimously the addendum to the agreement with one additional change: putting into writing the minimum payment the city will make to the Mott family every month pending the amount of upgrades the city does to the property. The lease agreement calls for $5,000 monthly payments. However, City Manager Larry Sessions told the council that the necessary improvements to the building that the city will make will be deducted from those payments. Councilor Vanessa Brown Robinson asked what would happen should the city make more than $5,000 in improvements during any specific month. “We will have to spread it out,” Sessions said. “I’d like to make sure they have a minimum of $2,500 a month. That allows them to still get some income, so they want to keep leasing it to us.” The council, led by Robinson, requested that be added to the agreement. “Not only does this seem beneficial and necessary for it to be in the contract for us but for her as well,” Councilman Matt Campbell said. Also in the addendum that the council approved Tuesday was the city, on top of the $5,000 monthly lease payment, will offset any differences in the tax bill on the property that is a result of the improvements made. According to the agreement, should the tax bill go up $1,000, the city will pay that difference in 12 monthly payments of $83.33. “We will pay only the increase,” City Attorney Todd Kennon said. BID PROTEST POLICY BACKED The council unanimously approved a formal bid protest policy for the city moving forward. Kennon said the policy was crafted by himself and Danielle Adams from the Folds Walker firm. Its creation comes after a company protested a pair of grant administration bids that had been awarded. The council rescinded those bids Tuesday as well following a re-bid of those projects, which were then awarded to Cornerstone Community Partners during Tuesday’s meeting as well. “The protesters must adhere to this policy in order to eventually, if appropriate, come to the city council,” Kennon said. “We do not have a formal bid protest procedure that includes timelines…” According to the new bid protest policy, the written protest should be addressed to the city manager within two business days of the notice of the decision, while also stating the legal standing for the protest, including all grounds for the protest. The protester must also post a protest bond of $5,000 or 1% of the contract’s estimated value, whichever is larger. The initial protest hearing will be held in front of the city manager, who will render a decision on the protest. After that decision, the protest can be appealed to the city council for any contracts that originally required their approval. That appeal must be made within three days of the manager’s decision. Following the council hearing of the protest, any judicial action challenging its decision must be filed within 30 days. GENERATORS APPROVED WITH EYE ON STREETS The council also unanimously awarded a bid for two new natural gas generators for the City Hall and City Hall Annex to Native Electric for $74,434 during Tuesday’s meeting. The city originally budgeted $450,000 for that project. Robinson said Tuesday that she wanted to set aside the difference in the bid and the budget toward three future street repaving projects: Pinewood Drive, Helvenston Street and Mussey Avenue. “That’s what it be tagged for and then when we come up with the budget next year, we add more so we can get those roads paved Robinson said.

CANDIDATE FORUM

Growth, improving streets and utilities top goals ByBy JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Infrastructure improvements and economic growth are key priorities for the candidates seeking office on the Live Oak City Council. The two incumbents — Matt Campbell and Tommie Jefferson — and three challengers — Bobby Brady Jr., Adam Collins and Robintina Reed — seeking the Districts 1 and 4 seats on the council spent roughly 90 minutes Monday at Live Oak City Hall answering questions and addressing nearly 50 potential voters and interested residents during the Suwannee County Voters’ League’s Meet the Candidates forum. The non-partisan group holds the forums ahead of elections — the Five council candidates answer questions ahead of May 5thelection. City’s election will be held May 5 with early voting running from April 27 to May 2 — in addition to holding get out the vote drives. Near the end of Monday’s forum, after the candidates all gave brief introductions to the voters and answered a host of questions submitted to the Voters’ League, they all were presented with a query on what were their top three priorities. Brady, Collins and Campbell all pointed to infrastructure and economic growth among those priorities. It’s a point they all made during their opening statements and also addressed at various other parts during the Q and A session. “It takes some innovative thinking (to solve the infrastructure problems),” Collins said about infrastructure improvements, while also noting he wanted to improve efficiency in government operations and bringing activity back to Hale Park in downtown Live Oak such as pickle ball courts. Campbell added: “Infrastructure would be at the top of the list. There’s some outside the box thinking that needs to happen.” Brady said: “Growth is here. We can pretend we don’t want it or it’s not going to happen, but it’s going to happen, so we have do our best to shape it.” Reed, who previously sat on the council as the first woman and black woman elected in the city, identified public safety through additional lighting added in areas of District 1, while also wanting additional police patrols and also to find shelters for homeless individuals. Jefferson, too, noted the rising homeless population in the city, adding that a group were congregating near his home in District 1. “People have to go somewhere,” Jefferson said about addressing that issue, adding another priority was infrastructure. “We don’t have any shelters here in this city. Think about Lake City and shipping people off there.” Infrastructure, namely the condition of city streets and how they could be improved was also asked of the candidates. Campbell said that the streets will remain, largely, in the condition they are currently in until the underlying infrastructure can be addressed. “As soon as the roads are paved and nice and smooth, if we have a water main or something bust, they have to dig that road back up and we don’t patch it back very well,” he said, adding that the city is seeking a large grant that would address the aging pipes in the city’s utility system. While Jefferson agreed that the city needed to fix the aging lines in the ground, he said there could still be ways to address the streets. “There is a difference between paving and resurfacing,” Jefferson said. “Resurfacing is a whole lot cheaper than repaving.” However, Collins, an engineer, said that would lead to the same repeated problems over time. “If you have structural issues in the base of the pavement, it doesn’t matter how many times you repave it, it’s going to get a pothole in the same place every time,” he said. “You have to redo the structural base of it to make the road last anyway.” The candidates also were split on whether or not the city and county should consider consolidation of some services, including fire departments. Brady and Jefferson were against the measure, while others were willing to at least have discussions. “I think it’s an awful, awful proposition,” Brady said, adding he also wanted to get a Dalmatian for the department. “It’s not free. We’re always going to lose money if we go to the county.” Campbell, who proposed holding a workshop on the topic in the past, added he still was willing to have discussions on the matter to see what worked best for the city and its residents. “I think it is a viable option if there’s a way to do it without taking away from the services we currently have,” he said. “I think it’s worthy to be considered.” Collins agreed with that point. “It all should be looked at,” he said, noting he was a problem solver and believed he could identify inefficiencies within city operations rather easily. “We need to look at the numbers and really scrutinize these things and see what is the best option for the city and county.” All five candidates were in favor of eliminating homestead property taxes while the three challengers also addressed potential annexation of property near the Suwannee Coliseum. Brady and Reed said they weren’t familiar with the request and didn’t want to speak without a better understanding. Collins opposed adding the land to the city without other issues first being addressed. “I’m really for no new annexation until the city can figure out how to work with what they’ve got,” he said. “Let’s figure it out before we bring in new development.” Campbell and Jefferson declined to answer the question since it was a matter that was to be voted on by the council on Tuesday. “The Sunshine Laws prohibit us from discussing things,” Campbell said.

04/07/26 BOCC Meeting

Stevia capital of the world’ By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com A Suwannee County development agreement could be the start to North Florida becoming “the stevia capital of the world.” The Suwannee County Commission unanimously approved a development agreement with Plant Path Inc. on Tuesday that would give the company 68.25 acres at the Catalyst Site industrial park on the west side of Live Oak to produce American-grown, including locally-grown, stevia, a natural sugar alternative. According to the agreement, the county is selling the property to the company for $466,786.32 but would forgive that mortgage after five years if the company meets two separate benchmarks: $2.5 million worth of improvements to the property within 36 months and creating 40 full-time jobs in the county. “We consider that a win in our book,” Suwannee County Economic Development Director Jimmy Norris said, noting the company’s economic impact in the county is projected to be $107 million annually with 66 indirect jobs also created from its development here. Added Suwannee County Chairman Franklin White: “This is a big win for Suwannee County. I don’t know how big this gets but I know it has the potential to be really huge. There is real potential here for this to be a very, very big project for Suwannee County moving forward. I’m tickled this got done. I’m proud they’re coming to Suwannee County.” The commission also approved a business incentive grant agreement with the company — Project Newton under its code name — as part of its consent agenda Tuesday night. The county previously approved a temporary deal with the company until the development agreement could be finalized that provided access to the county property to store equipment. Norris said Tuesday that the $4 million worth of equipment is already sitting on the land adjacent to the Binderholz saw mill just to the east of the county’s rail spur into the park. That was necessary because of the fast-moving nature of the county’s pursuit of Plant Path. Norris said Tuesday that the first conversations with the company’s representatives began in late December after being connected through a Suwannee County farmer who was already growing stevia. Norris told the board Tuesday that 90% of the global stevia market comes from China. From there, company officials visited Suwannee County in mid-January and met with county staff and White on January 19 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In February, the company switched their plans from building a facility in North Carolina to wanting to move to Suwannee County. “He said, ‘When we had the conversations about why are you growing in Florida and shipping to North Carolina to process and I started thinking about that logistically in dollars and cents of what that looks like, you’re absolutely right and your location is perfect,’” Norris said. The location’s suitability includes rail access at the Catalyst Site as well as the proximity to Interstates 10 and 75 for distribution. Norris noted the local climate is also ideal for growing the stevia plant and the company’s existing relationship with one farmer and the possibility of that growing to other local producers. White said that also made the company an ideal fit for the county, noting it would allow local farmers to diversify their crops as well. The fast-moving nature of the pursuit meant a lot of work in a short period of time for county officials and consultants to answer questions and finalize the agreements. Norris and White said County Attorney Adam Morrison helped move both sides past an impasse around the mortgage owed to the county and the company’s need to find additional funding to help construct the facility, which will include two phases now and, potentially, two more phases in the future. That solution from Morrison involved the company paying off its mortgage early to the county with those funds being retained in his trust account, releasing that obligation for seeking the other funding. It then would be paid back to Plant Path should it meet the contract benchmarks. “It became necessary to try to work out some creative solutions,” Morrison said about the negotiations. “It was a way of moving the chess pieces on the board that worked for everybody.” Morrison added the agreement with Plant Path also allows it to buy out the county’s reverter clause provisions, which are being included in the property deed, by paying $1.4 million to the county should it not meet those benchmarks. That was necessary, he said, in order to help protect the county’s interest and goals in the property at the Catalyst Site. “The deed is our ultimate source of security here,” he said. “We were OK with that as an out because if someone is willing to pay $1.4 million to keep the property, then there’s been a significant investment in the real property to show it’s being turned into a productive source of industry there in the Catalyst Site. So either way the county’s goals are being accomplished. “I don’t know that there’s a way for the county to be more secure in what we’re doing.” Moses Clepper, an outspoken Suwannee County resident, even said Tuesday that he was in favor of the project and the county’s approach to it. “If the conditions are met or not met, the taxpayers win on this one,” Clepper said. “I like that. “It’s a win-win.” Norris said Tuesday that the $2.5 million improvements to the property required by the agreement is strictly for the foundation. He said the first two phases of the project, which will include a 100,000-squarefoot facility to dry locally grown product this year and then leading into processing next year will be roughly $40 million. There are two additional phases planned for the future as well that would “significantly ramp up the operation,” Norris said, noting that sweeteners are a $120 billion business globally with $800 million of that in stevia. That number is projected to grow to $2 billion by 2030. “They’re thinking it could be even more,” Norris said, adding that Pepsi, Coke, Nestle and others are seeking alternatives to sugar. That is where Plant Path has focused its energies for the past decade. While currently most of the stevia sold comes from China, Norris said the company has researched stevia for 10 years, devising new breeds of the plant that eliminate the bitter aftertaste that it has had. “That’s what is so exciting about this plant,” Norris said. “There’s a lot of people interested in this.” White added that the plant grown locally and processed at the Suwannee County facility will be superior to what is currently available. Norris said that currently there will be a few hundred acres in Suwannee County growing that plant, which will turn into a few thousand and then thousands more as Plant Path begins operations. “The goal here is for Suwannee County to kind of become the stevia capital of the world,” he said. “If it grows to the threshold that we’re hoping, it won’t just be Suwannee County. Other counties will be working with this company in the future.”

Suwannee hires bond counsel By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Suwannee County officially has a bond attorney on retainer. The Suwannee County Commission unanimously approved executing a retainer agreement with Bryant Miller Olive to serve as the county’s bond counsel as it considers issuing bonds as a way to fund infrastructure improvements, including the construction of a was discussed that the bond financing could also include other infrastructure projects if the county desired, including a stormwater pond at the Catalyst Site, additional water lines at the site, an elevated water tower for the park that it received some state funding for as well as expanding the sewer plant at County Road 137 near the White Springs exit off interstate 75. wastewater treatment plant at the Catalyst Site industrial park. The county approved last month to temporarily utilize $8.3 million in a line of credit or its own reserves to cover a grant funding shortfall on the $13.4 million plant construction but is pursuing other options, including bonds, as a better longterm financing option. The commission previously directed County Attorney Adam Morrison and County Administrator Jason Furry to begin discussions with Bryant Miller Olive’s Kareem Spratling toward what the bond process would look like for the county. Spratling is the managing shareholder at the company’s Tampa office. Morrison said those discussions showed “infinite possibilities” when it comes to structuring the bond agreement, which led to the need to putting the firm on retainer to have those more in-depth discussions. Morrison said Furry was provided a homework sheet that is “very labor intensive.” “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done and they need to be formally retained so they can make an appropriate recommendation to us,” he said. “They have to be your lawyer before they provide those legal services.” Morrison told the commissioners that the agreement with the firm, which has offices around Florida as well as Atlanta and Washington DC, will not cost the county anything at the moment. Rather, it is a contingency fee contract which only pays the company once the county has issued the bonds and received its funding. He said the only exception to that would be if the county terminated the agreement and hired somebody else to finalize the bonds utilizing the work Bryant Miller Olive has already done. “Ultimately, this is a contingency fee agreement to make sure they’ll get paid once the bond is in place and the county gets the benefit of that public financing,” Morrison said. Commissioner Travis Land added the agreement states the company will submit a fee proposal to the county for approval before actually going to out to obtain the bonds. “I think this is step 1,” Land said. “And step 2 will come back to the board and step 3, etc., etc.” During the board’s March 17 meeting, it 

Suwannee courthouse dome repairs approved on piggybackBy JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The Suwannee County Courthouse dome is finally ready for its repairs. Following the recommendation of Facilities Director Mark Durham on Tuesday, the Suwannee County Commission unanimously approved rejecting the second set of bids the county received toward repairing the courthouse dome that was damaged by Hurricane Helene in 2024. Instead the county is going to piggyback off a Suwannee County School District contract with O’Neal Roofing to complete the work. “That’s the nuts and bolts of it,” Durham said Tuesday. When it came time to move forward with that contract last year, Commissioner Leo Mobley requested the county instead bid out the job in hopes of lowering the cost from the $349,054.17 total figure from O’Neal. That has not occurred. Durham said the first round of bidding only had one response, which was more than $400,000. The second round still didn’t bring the project cost down with the low bid of $456,000. Rather, Durham said the move to use the piggyback contract will save the county $77,508 over the low bidder. “This piggyback bid has proven itself time and time again,” he said. “I’m not saying take it for what it’s worth every single time but we’re seeing where the market is going. Construction costs have done some crazy things in the last five years. “It has proven itself and it proved itself one more time.” The board agreed. Durham added that he will research projects in the future before bringing the board a piggyback contract for approval to make sure that it is a good deal for the county. The hurricane damaged two of the four clock faces on the courthouse tower and peeled off some of the copper from the dome of the historic courthouse. While the clock faces have previously been damaged, the damage to the dome was something that had not been witnessed previously. And while only a few sections of the dome were damaged, Suwannee County officials said last year that the entire outside of the dome would have to be replaced due to the look of the copper, which patinas over time. Durham added last year that the original dome was made out of a better grade of copper than what is available now, so there would be no way to have a matching look even once the new portion would patina. The work on the dome is only on the copper itself as the support structure was determined to be sound.

$275K SEWER PLANT DESIGN CHANGE ORDER APPROVED After a lengthy discussion in March about a change order from North Florida Professional Services and Barge Design Solutions for design services on the Catalyst Side industrial park wastewater treatment plant, the board unanimously approved paying a reduced amount on that change order with few comments Tuesday. During the March 17 meeting when the commission and NFPS and Barge representatives discussed the requested $330,000 for the additional and expedited work on the project design, the board asked to reduce that amount to $275,000 since both parties were partially at fault. After discussions with Barge leadership, the company agreed to that amount, which was approved by the board Tuesday night. “They ain’t happy, we ain’t happy so I figure that’s a pretty fair deal,” Commission Chairman Franklin White said Tuesday. “That’s how I roll with things and how I deal with life in general when I have to deal with things like this. There’s usually some ground in the middle.” Commissioner Travis Land, though, said he still had a “bad taste in his mouth” that Barge wanted time to consider the offer since they are a subcontractor for NFPS. Land said that should have been worked out between the two consultants. “I felt that was a nut that needed cracked between you guys,” Land said. Land also reiterated Tuesday that both sides had roles to play in the awkward situation that originally began with a request for $545,000 in additional payment since the county didn’t promptly get started on the project. However, he noted the county’s consultants needed to be more forthcoming with the added costs ahead of time. “From now on, we will end work until we get all that stuff worked out,”

Live Oak voters can meet and hear from candidates for the City Council next week. The Suwannee County Voters League is hosting a “Meet the Candidates” forum Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Live Oak City Hall in the council chambers at 101 White Avenue SE. The forum is for candidates running for the city office. The municipal election is set for May 5 with early voting running from April 27-May 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. Five of the six candidates seeking two seats on the Live Oak council are expected to attend the forum, which will include an introductory period in which the candidates can outline their background, qualifications and perspective on why they are seeking public office. A moderated question-and-answer session will follow with public questions submitted in writing to the moderator at the start of the forum. “This forum is offered to help residents meet the candidates and learn their positions, not to serve as a debate,” the Voters League said in a release. Terry Richardson, a candidate for the District 1 council seat, will not be in attendance due to previous obligations Monday. The other three candidates running for the District 1 seat will participate, including incumbent Tommie Jefferson. Robintina Reed, a previous council member, and Adam Collins, a member of the city’s planning and zoning board, are also vying for the position. Matt Campbell, the current District 4 councilor, will participate as will challenger Robert Brady Jr. Mayor Frank Davis and City Clerk John Gill, who are both unopposed for re-election, also will attend and address the public with brief remarks on city matters, according to the Voters League. The Suwannee County Voters League, a non-partisan organization, continues its longstanding mission to promote civic engagement through    

community forums, voter registration initiatives, and Get-Out-theVote efforts. Residents and concerned citizens are encouraged to attend and take advantage of this opportunity to hear directly from local candidates. For more information, contact the Voters League at suwannee.voters. leagues@gmail.com.

03/26/26 City of Live Oak Update

Davis, Gill unopposed for city positions By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com 

Four vying for District 1 council seat, two running in district 4.Two Live Oak officials are back for another four-year term. Two members of the Live Oak City Council, though, will face opposition in their hopes to remain on the city’s governing board. Following the city’s qualifying period last week, Mayor Frank Davis and City Clerk John Gill were both re-elected without opposition. District 1 Councilman Tommie Jefferson and District 4 Councilman Matt Campbell both qualified but also will be opposed in May’s election. Davis will be serving his third term as mayor, also going in unopposed four years ago. He previously had served as a city councilman. Gill will serve as the clerk for a fifth term, the past three times running without opposition. Jefferson, who has served one term representing the city’s northeast district, is facing multiple other candidates to remain on the council. Robintina Reed, who preceded Jefferson as the District 1 councilor, is running for election again. Jefferson defeated Reed, who became the council’s first female member after defeating longtime councilor John Yulee in 2018, to win the seat four years ago. Also running for the District 1 seat is Adam Collins, who currently sits on the city’s planning and zoning board; and Terry Richardson. Campbell is also winding down his first term on the council, representing the city’s southern district. Robert Brady Jr., who ran for State Representative against Chuck Brannan in the 2024 election despite the district not including Suwannee County, is opposing Campbell. The city’s election is Tuesday, May 5. Early voting for the election runs from April 27-May 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. The final day for a city resident to register to vote in this year’s election is April 6. If there is a runoff for the District 1 seat, the runoff election is set for June 9 with early voting from June 1-6. The books close for that election on May 11.

CRA plan update eyes new priorities By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The draft of the Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency plan update received strong support Tuesday night. Inspire Place making project manager Meagan Barrow presented the draft plan update to the CRA board at its Tuesday meeting to provide an overview of the plan, receive feedback and start the process that will also include staff feedback before the plan is finalized, including what should be prioritized for the short term and the long term. Barrow said the update, which was necessary since the CRA is expanding its district, also allowed the board and staff to also refocus on any changes in the goals they want to accomplish in the past 10 years. The city’s CRA plan, which was originally adopted in 2009, was last updated in 2017. “Things change in 10 years, priorities,” Barrow said. That update, particularly some project ideas that Inspire identified as possible areas to improve the CRA and bring more visitors to the city, was well received. “I’m encouraged by this,” CRA Chairman Matt Campbell said. “A lot of great ideas, stuff I never would have imagined or thought of.” Added CRA Director Nicholas Frigiola: “I’m a fan of the plan and what it is right now and what’s in there.” Using public feedback as well as data and analysis on the city’s history, streets and infrastructure, flood zones and housing inventory among other categories, the Inspire team crafted the plan that is built around three goals: unity, spirit and knowledge. Each goal includes a handful of strategies below them and action items inside each strategy sub-category. Under the unity goal, which is to connect neighbors and neighborhoods across social and physical barriers, Barrow said the strategies include:  Complete streets and connected mobility;  Parks, public spaces and streetscapes;  Safe, clean and code compliant neighborhoods;  Quality housing and infill; and  Resilient utilities and stormwater. The spirit goal, which centers around the notion that the CRA should develop a “shared yet diverse identity whose high self-esteem attracts attention from inside and outside the community,” includes the following strategies:  Downtown and corridor platemaking and branding;  Destination readiness and promotion;  Small business growth and storefront vitality; and  Market ready catalyst sites. To meet the knowledge goal, which is a more internal goal to make sure staff operates with a culture of directed, purposeful conversation and collaboration; the CRA aims to enact the following strategies:  Organization capacity and governance;  Data, performance and grant readiness;  Community engagement and partnerships;  Business and homeowner education; and Policy and regulatory alignment. With those goals and strategies in mind, Barrow identified nine potential projects that the city could focus on for the next 30 years, the length of its plan, starting with the Heritage Square redevelopment area that already is a main focus for the group. In addition to continuing to build on that “signature” development in the heart of the city’s downtown, Inspire proposed the city could look to extend the existing Heritage Trail that runs alongside the old rail line just east of downtown and connect it through some existing neighborhoods to Ohio Avenue (U.S. Highway 129). “When you have a trail on the edge of the city, it’s recreational,” Barrow said. “But when you bring it closer to where people live, they will use it more.” That isn’t the online trail that Inspire wants the city to focus on as a way to increase access and connect ability throughout the district. The plan also proposes another walking and biking path added along Howard Street on the west side of Live Oak near Goldkist Boulevard to help provide safe access for people to reach businesses on that side of the city. The plan also calls for pedestrian and bike improvements along Pinewood Drive, both near the Suwannee County School District campuses and the commercial development west of the schools; as well as a multi-use path along Walker Avenue to help increase walking and cycling. The proposed trail that most intrigued the CRA board was a potential U.S. 90 Sun Trail to help extend Heritage Trail along Connor Street or Fifth Street in the heart of downtown next to U.S. 90. Barrow said Sun Trail is a state program that helps fund greenway projects. “If the state picks up the tab, that would be way better,” Campbell added. Other proposed projects in the plan include implementing design standards within the CRA district for future developments to help improve the streetscape, as well as branding and a potential Heritage Gateway on U.S. 90 on the east side of the city right near the Heritage Trail with signage and potential artwork or shade. “You can have something that says, ‘Welcome to Live Oak.’ It’s something where people can stop and take pictures,” Barrow said. “That may sound trivial, but it’s not. People start spreading the photos, spreading the news about this cool place. “I think this could be a real cool project.

03/17/26 BOCC Meeting

County aims to lessen change order fee By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Admitting Suwannee County’s own blame for the situation, the Board of County Commissioners is looking for a compromise on a costly change order request. Following a lengthy discussion at Tuesday night’s board meeting with representatives from North Florida Professional Services and Barge Design Solutions about a $330,000 change order request for work performed on the wastewater treatment plant project at the Catalyst Site industrial park, Commission Chairman Franklin White instead offered up a $275,000 payment. Barge Vice President Kevin Kennoy said he would have to take that offer back to his boss. The $330,000 request was previously reduced from an initial $545,000 ask. “I feel like the county is somewhat responsible,” White said. “So my thought is we’re 50% wrong and you’re 50% wrong. “I think that’s fair.” NFPS and Barge requested the change order, the first on the project, after the time period was condensed to get Sons of American Revolution dedicating tree at Heritage Park. JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter Joseph Carroll, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, told the Live Oak City Council last week that America’s 250th anniversary is a historic event, one the group plans to help celebrate with a Liberty Tree dedication Saturday. COURTESY Members of the Mayo Correctional Institution K9 team, which won the Region 2 team competition, include Sgt. Matt Tompkins, Sgt. Mike Schreck, Sgt. Taylor Fain, Sgt. Kevin Koch, Andy Lamb, Bill Barger, Clay Wimberley and Harvey Lashley. K9 continued on 7C LIBERTY continued on 7C 111th Suwannee Fair opens Friday, runs 9 days FAIR continued on 7C COURTESY Suwannee County Fair Manager Lynn Touchton helps a child with an animal at a previous year’s Suwannee County Fair. The 111th annual fair opens Friday and will run for nine days, celebrating fair, family and freedom. NFPS, Barge want $330K for completing sewer design on condensed timelinethe plant engineered and designed. The design schedule was compressed from 12 months to three months with the construction portion also tightened from 24 months to 11 months. The timelines were reduced due to deadlines on utilizing grant funds. Additionally, according to the change order request form, three major equipment packages were pre-purchased to help meet the tight schedule and the initial bid was rejected and repackaged and re-bid, causing additional work as well. “Grant completion schedules were not revealed to Barge at the time of contract negotiation, schedule and price negotiations required for the grant agreement with the County included the initially agreed upon timelines,” according to the change order request. “After the agreement was reached, the timelines for both design and construction were shortened by 75% or more due to no fault of the Engineer.” White, and other county officials, admitted that was accurate, noting the county delayed getting started on the project. Still, the commissioners were taken back by the amount of the change order request, especially when it first came in at $545,000. “I have no doubt you have done work and you are owed monies for,” Commissioner Travis Land said. “My problem is the work got done before the county knew that the bill was getting astronomically (high).” Land noted that the county’s change order procedures dictate that they are made in writing and be approved before the work is performed. He also asked if anybody ever alerted the county of how much the sped-up process was going to end up costing. Tori Humphries, the project manager for Lake City-based NFPS, told the board that she did not have that conversation with the county. But Humphries added that there wasn’t time to have a change order approved before resuming work either. “The county’s direction was to get the job done and that’s what we did,” Greg Bailey, the president of NFPS, added. Wayne Hannaka, a Suwannee County resident who worked in construction, recommended the board have County Attorney Adam Morrison look at the contract with the engineers on the project, suspecting that it requires change orders to come in writing. “There’s absolutely no reason in the world that you should not have had something in writing that said there’s additional costs,” Hannaka said. “I know we all want to be fair and we all want to keep relationships going because that’s important, but I would look at the contract and if it says notify in writing, I’m sorry but I wouldn’t pay that $330,000.” Fellow Suwannee County resident Moses Clepper agreed, noting that on the first job he ever bid in his career, he lost money on. However, Morrison told the board that while the contract indeed did require a written change order, he also believed the case would fall under the legal precedence of quantum meruit, which states that if you accept a benefit, you have to pay for it. “Where this gets real, I believe the legal term for it is icky, is the county was asking for things to change, the contractor was accommodating it,” Morrison said. “We accepted plans that anticipated that change.” Eventually, White made his offer to split the burden with Barge. But White also noted at the end of the meeting that the county’s policy has to be followed moving forward. “It’s been a problem since I’ve been a commissioner as far as change orders go,” he said. “From now on, we have a policy for that and it needs to be followed. It will be followed or we won’t be paying the bill from here on out.

$13M sewer plant bid awarded By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com With five months left on a state grant to construct a wastewater treatment plant at the Catalyst Site industrial park, Suwannee County has awarded a bid to begin the work. The Suwannee County Commission unanimously approved awarding the $13.398 million bid to Music Construction at its meeting Tuesday night. The board also approved planning to utilize $8.3 million in a line of credit or its own reserves to offset the grant funding shortfall on the project as it pursues bonds as a better financing option. “We can’t back up at this point,” Commissioner Travis Land said about awarding the bid to Music, noting some of the infrastructure has already been in put in place with other items already purchased for the project. “We’re halfway there, we can’t back up from it now.” Most of the discussion on the matter, though, revolved around the financial plan to pay the contractor. County Attorney Adam Morrison, at the direction of the board at its previous meeting, had reached out to a friend who is a bonding attorney about the possibility of that funding working for the project, he advised the board Tuesday. Morrison said the feedback he received from Kareem Spratling, the managing shareholder at Bryant Miller Olive’s Tampa office, was that bonds would make a lot of sense for the county for multiple reasons. One, the overall wastewater treatment plant is a $22 million project and the county has no pre-existing bonds. “In nobody’s living memory in government has Suwannee County taken out a bond,” Morrison said about the county’s ‘credit score’ in terms of bonds. “We’re about as high a credit rating as you could get in terms of getting a bond, especially for, in the grand scheme of things, a very low amount of money.” He added that it’s possible the county could get an interest rate for its bond amount as low as 1%. Morrison added at that low rate it could potentially be worth County Administrator Jason Furry and Economic Development Director Jimmy Norris having discussions about any other projects at the site that may need to be financed as well and take out a larger amount. He added the grant funding could be used to prepay some of that amount to lower the interest amount on the county as well. The board agreed to have Morrison set up a consultation meeting with Spratling and county staff to further discuss the overall scope for the site as well as how the bonding opportunity would work for the county. Furry added that there are plenty of other infrastructure projects that the county could use additional funding for if it wanted to pursue a larger bond amount, including a stormwater pond at the Catalyst Site, additional water lines at the site, an elevated water tower for the park that it received some state funding for as well as expanding the sewer plant at County Road 137 near the White Springs exit off Interstate 75. “There’s plenty of infrastructure projects we could add to this,” Furry added.

Board approves April as Emotional Support Animal Awareness Month

Ashlee Combee, the founder and president of Paw’sitive Change National Foundation and Miss Northeast Florida’s Teen. the board approved her proclamation recognizing April as ‘Emotional Support Animal Awareness Month

Suwannee board approves letter opposing Water First project By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Suwannee County is officially opposed to the Water First North Florida project. In its meeting Tuesday night, the Suwannee County Commission unanimously approved a letter addressed to Suwannee River Water Management District Executive Director Hugh Thomas opposing the aquifer recharge project that would pipe 40 million gallons of Jacksonville wastewater treated to reclaimed water status to help restore flows to the lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee rivers. The district is hosting a public town hall meeting Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center – Suwannee Valley, 8202 County Road 417, to further answer questions and present information about the project. People can drop in at any point during that open house. The board had previously directed County Attorney Adam Morrison to draft the letter after SRWMD officials presented the $1.1 billion plan to the county. The letter was signed by all five commissioners, who weren’t just voicing their “strong objection” to the plan themselves individually but also “on behalf of all citizens of Suwannee County.” In the letter, the county commissioners admit that the Floridan Aquifer needs to be healthy in order to provide adequate water supply for local residents, farmers and visitors to the state and is critical to sustaining the people that live here as well as the economy. However, the board said in the letter that it doesn’t agree with the district’s assertion that the process of taking the 40 million gallons of reclaimed water and treating it further in a treatment wetlands before being injected back into the aquifer has been “proven” in other treatment wetland projects, notably the Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Gainesville or the Black Creek Water Resource Development project in Clay County. “That is simply not true as both of those projects use wetlands to cleanse run off — not chemically ‘treated’ water,” the letter reads. “To be blunt, those projects are not receiving sewer water like you are planning to use for the Water First North Florida Project. Even if they were similar projects, the difference in scale compared to Water First North Florida negates any reasonable comparison.” The county, according to the letter, also took offense that the district’s representative at the county meeting could not answer questions about the science behind the project but still tried to assure the board, and the county’s residents to “trust that the water will be safe.” “That is not a risk North Florida can afford to take,” the letter concludes. “Once the spigot is turned on, it is impossible to predict the consequences which will impact literally every person in the area. Our citizens should not suffer the consequences of such hubris.” Residents in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting applauded when the letter was approved.

County approves ordinance, but ban not likelyBy JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Suwannee County can now ban outside burning. However, Fire Chief Dan Miller told the Suwannee County Commission as it was deciding to approve an ordinance that would allow a burn ban to be implemented that he didn’t expect to have to take that step. “I think we’re going to start getting into the spring, the rainy season, I don’t think there will be a need for it,” Miller told the board after Commissioner Don Hale asked if one was likely to be enacted. A burn ban has been in place in Columbia County since early February and Lafayette County since early February as well due to ongoing drought conditions across North Florida. According to the March 12 U.S. Drought Monitor map, all of North Florida is in extreme drought. Suwannee County issued a “strong recommendation” to residents last November not to burn yard debris or trash due to the dry conditions. However, the county did not have an ordinance in place that would allow it to put a ban in effect at that time. County Attorney Adam Morrison told the board, and the public in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting at the Judicial Annex, that the county was just following the guidance of the Florida Department of Emergency Management in approving the ordinance to allow for a burn ban. FDEM told counties several months ago to do what they could to restrict burning because of the dry conditions. “It gives us the mechanism when situations require it to actually have a ban, not a mere suggestion which is what exists right now,” Morrison said. The ordinance passed by the commission Tuesday allows the county the ability to be “nimble” as Morrison described it while still limiting the power of the county fire chief. Morrison said the fire chief can quickly respond to changing conditions under the ordinance by implementing a burn ban or ending a ban at his discretion. However, any change the chief makes would then come to the board at its next meeting to ratify or overturn. “We’re nimble and can move quickly as the public safety conditions require it,” Morrison said. “But, ultimately, since everybody reports to you guys, you guys have the authority to say, ‘Yay or nay’ to any changes to the status quo.” That was something the commission was glad to hear. “No offense chief, but one person having a say on that, that would disturb me,” Chairman Franklin White said. “But since it has to come back to the board for approval, I’m OK with that.” Under the ordinance, a violation of the burn ban when in place would result in a second degree misdemeanor for someone who knowingly violated it. Still, several residents had concerns about the county implementing additional regulations on the people. Steve Fontana, saying he wasn’t necessarily against the ordinance or the ability to implement a ban, questioned what changed to suddenly make the county feel the need to have one when it hasn’t previously. Morrison responded that it was the direction from the state to do whatever it could. Moses Clepper, meanwhile, felt like there should be an exception provided for people to burn their own trash or debris if they are monitoring the fire with a hose or extinguisher handy. He said he has witnessed more liberties being taken away in recent years than he’d like. “The law book’s pretty thick already,” he said. Morrison and Miller said that it isn’t really about people monitoring their fires, but a safety issue because of fires spreading out of control quickly. Miller said three weeks ago, a house burned as well as 60 acres from a fire pit in which the person had a tractor and a garden hose handy to control it. “It’s not that we don’t trust people,” Miller said. “When you have a burn ban like this, the conditions are so extreme and the fire moves so fast, even if you’re standing there, you can’t get it to stop.” Morrison added: “When the conditions are this bad, what you can’t control is when the ash goes up, that’s still on fire. If it comes down, even a mile away, when it’s really, really dry, that’s how you get fire escaping.”

  2/19/26

 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

 Let’s get the facts straight Live Oak : Live Oak City Manager Mr.  Larry Sessions is being accused  of theft and mismanaging funds  without any facts to support  those accusations.  Well, here are the facts, not: I  guess, I believe, or maybe he did  this. If you really want to know  what happened read on and  become informed.  In February of 2025, $481K  was stolen from the city via a  wire transfer the same as you or  I would do at any bank to pay a  debt, make a purchase such as  property, home etc. A scammer  mirrored the company receiving  the payment and intercepted it  undetected at first. There was a  impossible. The city insurance  company reimbursed $350K.  Bottom line is the city man ager had no involvement in the  theft; anyone claiming differently  is just full of nonsense, and too  lazy to go get the truth, or just  wants to spread lies. second payment in the process  in excess of $200K which was  halted by the finance director  when the first payment account  was closed, the red flags went  up, payment stopped, and the  Live Oak Police Department was  notified and began an investi gation and in turn notified the  Secret Service, FBI and asked  city officials to keep the infor mation confidential while their  investigation was ongoing.   Captain Jason Rountree stated  the trail went through multi ple banks and states until the  last stop was in Chicago prior  to going international and the  trail went cold at that point. He  stated the likelihood of finding  the money overseas is next to  As for the $60K spent on a res idence at 215 Meadows Street, I  have reviewed a log kept regard ing the sewer backup due to a  hole that opened up in front of  CVS on 129.  The city manager and pub lic works could not determine  why the sewer backed up after  DOT had repaired the hole,  not informing the city that they  had injected foam which seeped  into the city sewer causing sew age backups in the area. Mr.  Sessions responded to the own ers of 215 Meadows believing  the city had caused their house  to be flooded with sewage which  also turned into taking multiple  loads of sewage from the system  by truck to prevent any further  damage.  The 215 Meadows house was  initially cleaned and repaired by  Serve-pro at a cost of approxi mately $7K , however the sewer  issue continued and additional  cost were incurred at multiple  times, all well within the spend ing limits of the city manager.  Unfortunately the cost added  up to $62,104.68 before it was  determined the foam injected  by DOT was the culprit. No one  handed the home owners $60K  or wrote their self a check there  are logs and documents support ing these findings all of which  are public record. The city man ager advised city council at the  2/10/26 meeting they could sue  DOT however legal fees may  exceed the reimbursement. The  council took no action to pro ceed with legal action. Bottom line is the city man ager responded quickly by  stopping any further theft by a  scammer and doing what was  the right thing for a citizen. Isn’t  that what he is supposed to do? Wayne F. Hannaka Concerned Citizens of  North Florida 

02/17/26 BOCC Meeting

Residents, commissioners express concerns over aquifer recharge project

By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The Suwannee River Water Management District is looking for a wave of support for its $1.1 billion aquifer recharge project. Concerns, instead, are pouring in from Suwannee County residents and officials. Troy Roberts, the district’s communications and outreach office chief, presented the plan — which is a joint effort between the SRWMD, the St. Johns River Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and utility groups like JEA, Clay County Utilities, Gainesville Regional Utilities and St. Johns utilities — to the Suwannee County Commission on Tuesday as part of an ongoing effort to provide awareness about the project. Roberts added it also allowed opportunities to answer questions and combat mis- information. JEA has committed $400 million toward the project with an additional $120 million committed by the SJRWMD and additional funding earmarked for it by the state. The project, which is in its infancy planning stag es currently and will take more than 13 years until any water is being put back into the aquifer as part of it, would take 40 million gallons of reclaimed water from Jacksonville daily and using it to recharge the aquifer to combat the need for additional water use in the future. That water, which would already be treated to reclaimed water status, would then also be funneled through treatment wetlands in the SJRWMD area before being piped to locations in this area for recharge. The location of the wetlands and the recharge sites are not yet known Hailey Hall, a geologist from O’Brien, said the concern of many is the Suwannee Valley area becoming a ‘dumping ground for Jacksonville.’ COURTESY “We don’t want to get to a point where we can’t provide water for our citizens,” Roberts said early during his presentation, which included a short video and then became a question and answer session. “This project helps with that. It secures our long-term water security. We have confidence in this project.” One question that the commission — and some residents — asked repeatedly was if local residents, or governing bodies, had a vote on whether the state project became a reality. Roberts said there would be no vote of individual commissions or councils, but noted they all have the option to express support or concerns. “Obviously, we want support of our community All The Water First North Florida project calls for piping reclaimed water from Jacksonville to treatment wetlands for further treatment before it gets placed back into the ground for aquifer recharge in the Suwannee River Water Management District area. ties,” he said. “We would love to have our coun ties behind this project because I think that means a lot for a project like this advancing. We want that support, we need that sup port to have this project thrive and exist. “This is not something that would require county approval or city approval.” The project comes after more than a decade’s worth of studies that examined more than 800 potential projects. It was chosen due to its project ed positive impact on the aquifer as well as its cost effectiveness. Roberts said desalination projects that included the same volume of water cost 2-3 times as much. He added many areas have been trying already to conduct their own recharge projects. “We need something that is a regional large project to address this issue,” he said. The purpose of the project is to help restore Minimum Flows and Levels for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee rivers, which currently are not being met, Roberts said. Still, many in the packed Judicial Annex wanted to know if the reclaimed water and recharge project was such a benefit, why didn’t Jacksonville keep the water in its own area instead of piping it to the SRWMD. “If it’s already being taken care of over there, why are we going to get it?” Stephen Patak, who lives on the Suwannee River, said. “I hope there’s something this board can do because this is wrong.” Live Oak resident Marion Fowler added: “If it’s so safe and so good and it’s such a wonderful thing, then why isn’t Jacksonville just keeping it over there?” Roberts said the recharge benefit is greater in this area due to the geo logical makeup than in the St. Johns area. Additionally, Roberts said if the water remained there, the local area would not get any ben efit in the future for its own growth and development. Commissioner Travis Land, on the heels of Commissioner Leo Mobley asking if there was any financial benefit for any one to take this reclaimed water in locally, wanted to know how much benefit there would be locally for that growth and development. “Is there talks with JEA or St. Johns River Water Management about a per gallon usage back to the Suwannee River district as far as a fee based,” he asked. Roberts said he was unaware of any amount being allotted to the local communities. “What’s in it for us?” Commission Chairman Franklin White asked. to Subscribe Most of the concerns, though, stemmed about the safety of the water before its placed into the aquifer. Despite concerns about it being wastewater, Roberts said repeatedly that it is not wastewater but reclaimed water, meaning it has gone through additional treatments to reach that higher standard that makes if safer for recharge. He added that the treatment wetlands will further treat the water before it also goes back into the ground, noting they have been used across the state for decades. “Water does not go back into the ground unless it meets those standards,” Roberts said. “We all live here too. We want to make sure our water quality is clear. We want to make sure it’s clean and we want to make sure we have an ample supply, not just for today but into the future.” That still didn’t satisfy some, noting that there are problems that occur at wastewater treatment plants that lead to spills and other issues. The recurring problems with wastewater spills in Valdosta, Ga., were mentioned by several. “Our issue is not treatment wetlands, we want local wetlands to better deal with our own waste here,” said Hailey Hall, a geologist from O’Brien. “Our issue is our area becoming a dumping ground for Jacksonville. We’re already downstream of Valdosta, we don’t want to be downhill of Jacksonville too.” Hall added that a bill passed five years ago in the legislature mandated that JEA has to stop dumping water into the St. Johns River by 2032, thus leading to its push for Water First North Florida

Former commissioner will fill out Perkins’ term until election. By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The Suwannee County Commission is full once more. Clyde Fleming, a former commissioner, was appoint ed to fill the vacant seat on the Commission by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday. Fleming was then sworn in by Suwannee County Judge Jennifer Griffin at the outset of the County Commission meeting Tuesday and took his seat on the dais for the remainder of the meeting. Fleming was appointed to fill out the rest of the term of Maurice Perkins, the District 2 commissioner, who passed away in November after a bout with pancreatic cancer. “There’s a song that’s called, ‘the second time around is better than the first time,’” Fleming said Tuesday night at the end of the commission meeting about his appointment. “I guess I’ll find out. “I thank God for the appointment, for the governor looking at little ol’ me, a country boy.” Following the meeting, Fleming said it’s been a whirlwind from hearing from state officials, including a call from DeSantis’ office, to learning of his appointment on Friday. He also thanked countless county officials and resi dents for their support and well wishes since his appointment was announced. Fleming, who served on the commission from 2010-22 before not seeking re-election to a fourth term, was really close friends with Perkins. “He was dear,” Fleming said Tuesday. “God knows what he meant to me.” Commissioner Travis Land, who was joined by the rest of the Commissioners Don Hale, Leo Mobley and Franklin White in welcoming Fleming back to the board, said that knowing how close Fleming and Perkins were, he was sure Perkins was proud to see who got to replace him. “I know what he meant to you and you know what he meant to us,” Land said of Perkins. “I know, without a doubt, that my buddy Perkins is up top, looking down, and he’s proud that you’re in that seat representing him because I know how close you were to him and he was to you. “I know you’ll do him right and he’s proud that you’re there and that the governor, the good Lord and all the stars aligned.” During Fleming’s first tenure on the board, he was the recipient of the Florida Association of Counties Trailblazer Award. A former technician at W.S. Badcock Corporation, Fleming is also a member of the Suwannee County Quarterback Club. “I thank the community for accepting me once again,” Fleming added. “I just appreciate it. I’m kind of an emotional guy.” Fleming will serve in the position until after this fall’s election. Currently there are a pair of Democrats who have filed for that seat, Cynthia Robinson and Billy White Sr.

County settling ‘is this a road’ question

By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Suwannee County is looking to solve a long, ongoing problem of identifying which roads are actually county roads. During its meeting Tuesday night, the Suwannee County Commission unanimously gave consent to County Attorney Adam Morrison and Public Works Director Brenda Flanagan to continue work on creating a list of all the roads that the county maintains. Morrison said that list would come back for a vote by the board in the first of a two-step process to definitively declare which roads are true county roads and which are not. “There is a lot of ambiguity and questions,” Morrison said about what currently is or isn’t a county road, particularly when people called either the Property Appraiser’s Office or Public Works. “It’s kind of absurd that people can call the county and ask is this a road and the county doesn’t know the answer to that.” Part of the problem, Morrison told the commission, is that the county could have maintained a road at some point in the past. If it was constructed by the county and maintained for at least four years, Florida Statutes dictate that it is then a county road. If it was constructed by someone else or maintained for seven years, it also becomes a county road. So, if something was maintained years ago but nobody remembers it, technically it is still a county road. “That creates title issues,” Morrison said, adding it is a ques tion that comes up regularly. It has happened so often that Morrison said he has created a form letter to send back when people request the title opinion on the various roads. “The answer is, ‘I dunno,’” he said. “Because I don’t. I can’t go back in time.” Morrison said by creating a list and declaring that list as county roads, it gives a clear answer moving forward as to what is or will be a road. Morrison said Flanagan has already done a great job of creating that list, utilizing work logs that show which roads have been maintained every day over the past few years. That list, he said, is seven pages long, single spaced. “I think it’s a good idea,” Commission Chairman Franklin White said. “You have to know what you have to know.” Flanagan said she would like to have the individual commissioners review the list of their respec tive districts to make sure that no roads were missed. Once the commission declares that list by resolution in a meet ing, Morrison said the second part would come a month or so later when it issues a disclaimer on any rights to any other road being a county road. “We declare that anything not on the list is not a county road,” he said, noting that Property Appraiser Ricky Gamble was in full support, wanting to know why the county had not created the list previously. “That gives the certainty of it’s a road, it’s not a road. We can say yes or no to that question and gets rid of the ‘I dunno know question.

Covid isolation building underway By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com  Work is underway on constructing a handful of new Suwannee County facilities. Crews have begun assembling the walls of a covid isolation building near the Suwannee County Fairgrounds, while site prep has begun on other projects, both in Live Oak and just north of Branford. “The block walls are going up,” County Administrator Jason Furry said Tuesday. “It’s pretty big. It’s hardened to be a shelter. We have to come up with a name, Community Shelter, County Shelter, something. “It’s supposed to be used for covid isolation for five years.” All of the projects are grant funded and need to be completed by the end of the year. The covid isolation building, which will be around 20,000 square feet and include a paved parking lot, is the furthest along as work has begun on the actual building. “We’re looking at the beginning of September,” Furry said, adding that will allow some leeway for the county complete paper work and make sure all the details are completed on the grant funding. The other projects are to replace the John Hale Community Center in Live Oak, construct a new build ing at the Douglass Center as well as constructing a new community center at the rodeo arena just north of Branford. Site work has begun on those projects. The Branford facility will be larger than the other two new community centers and will include a new classroom, telemedicine room, computer lab and multi-purpose room to provide health, education and workforce development benefits to southern Suwannee County, a “historically underserved area.” The county has already demolished the Hale Park Community Center, which was built in 1957. It will make way for a new metal building. The new building at the Douglass Center will be through an African American Cultural and Historical Grant through the Department of State and will be similar to the new Hale Park Community Center. “They’re all working on site prep, scraping, putting down pads,” Furry said. “Metal buildings for those, they’re trying to time it. “They’ll move pretty quick. They’re smaller.”

Morrison: Developer didn’t properly sub-divide parcels. By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com  Some new Suwannee County landowners may be stuck with unusable land. During the Suwannee County Commission meeting Tuesday night, County Attorney Adam Morrison alerted the commissioners to some potential dirty land deals that have occurred in recent months. Morrison said Development Services Director Ron Meeks first noticed the problem, which could impact 14 parcels around the county. “It’s spread out throughout the county and you may get some very angry constituents calling you,” he told the commissioners. All of the impacted property owners are new to the county, Morrison said. Morrison said Meeks planned to send letters to the impacted property owners that alerts them to the fact that their new proper ties are non-conforming within the county’s Land Development Regulations and, thus, can’t be built on. He said the letter also planned to advise them to seek legal representation. “We have some innocent pur chasers here,” Morrison said. “Since we know it’s a problem, it’s better for us to let them know now than have these individuals find out when they come to the building department that this was a problem and we knew about it. “We have to enforce our LDRs, it’s that simple.” The problem, according to Morrison, was a developer/investor had purchased larger tracts of land — such as 20 acres in one instance — and then subdivided them into four equal portions and sold those five-acre lots off, making a significant profit on the deal. However, the individual — who Morrison would not identify — did not properly subdivide the property. The county’s LDRs dictate that any acreage that is subdivided must be at least five acres in size. But if the land is subdivided into more than three parcels, it must go through the subdivision process. These did not. “The investor/developer seemingly tried to circumspect those by basically buying property and then parceling it out in five-acre lots,” he said. County staff identified the problem after one person had applied for and was granted a building permit. Suwannee County Attorney Adam Morrison warned the commissioners about a string of land deals the past few months that have left 14 property owners with non-conforming land that can’t be built on .Morrison advised that one individual will be allowed to build and the county could “make that work.” “Technically, that one’s going to work because they were first,” Commissioner Travis Land said. Land also asked if there was a way to put any checks and balances in place to prevent something like it from happening again in the future, including any third-party companies that did work connect ed to the properties. Morrison, though, said the deals were all done through the developer as owner-financed mortgages. The developer also devised the contracts, he said, noting that individual has com plied with the county’s regulations previously on different projects. “When you buy real property, get title insurance,” Morrison said is the best protection against a similar deal in the future. “This developer knew exactly what they were doing.

January 13, 2026 City Council Meeting

Robinson rescinds motion to terminate; Council agrees on manager evaluation form By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The full Live Oak City Council is now set to evaluate its city manager’s job performance. A f t e r more than 40 minutes of discussion Tuesday night, a failed vote on one step forward with an acceptable evaluation form and a motion and second being rescinded to terminate City Manager Larry Sessions, the council unanimously approved using the city’s managerial evaluation form to conduct the annual job performance review on Sessions. The unanimous vote also came after the back-and forth bickering between the councilors led to rows of residents leaving the meeting for a second straight month. “You all can get up and walk out if you like, but this is you trying to become the victim,” Councilwoman Vanessa Brown Robinson said as people left City Hall as she talked through Council President Matt Campbell’s repeated banging the gavel to try to restore order to the meeting. “I’m not out to fire Mr. Sessions. I’m out to try to set this council the way it’s supposed to be run, the right way…The way he handles some of the city’s business is not great.” Robinson’s proclamation that she was trying to make sure the council — and the city — operated correctly followed her opening the discussion on Sessions’ contract, which City Attorney Todd Kennon said didn’t need to be voted on for renewal since it automatically did so, by making a motion to fire Sessions, who was hired in 2023. After rescinding the motion following discussion among the council and Sessions in regard to the evaluation process and the form to be used, Robinson said there was never an agreement between the manager and the council on what that form would be, as his contract states. Campbell and Councilor David Alford both said they conducted their evaluations after Sessions sent out the city’s current form. They both gave Sessions glowing reviews as well. Alford, who completed his evaluation on Jan. 6, scored Sessions as a 50 out of 55 total in the 11 categories. Campbell, whose evaluation was completed Monday, scored him a 52. “We haven’t done an evaluation that we both agreed to,” Robinson said. “The original form was the form done by someone else, not by this council, the five people who sit on this council. “This councilor right here wants a little bit of input on the categories that we use.” Councilman Tommie Jefferson, who seconded Robinson’s motion to terminate Sessions, said the whole discussion of firing Sessions was inappropriate and not following the right process. “This item shouldn’t even be on the agenda,” he said. “We have not done an evaluation and everybody getting out there and talking about this and that, but this shouldn’t even be brought up until we actually do his performance review.” Jefferson said the email from Sessions about his evaluation didn’t “make a hill of beans to me or some sense to me.” That form, Sessions said, was a comprehensive evaluation that included 11 different areas of the manager’s job duties for the councilors to mark his performance on a scale of 1 to 5. The city form also includes areas for the council to expound on their thoughts on the performance, which Campbell said he took advantage of. Kennon said the council could use either that form or could also choose to utilize an evaluation form from the International City/County Management Association that was presented to him by Robinson. However, Campbell and Sessions said that form would not be appropriate to judge Sessions’ work on since he is not an ICMA member. Kennon added that the form mentions the ICMA Code of Ethics, which probably would need to be altered to the Florida code of ethics since Sessions isn’t governed by the ICMA’s ethics since he’s not a member. “It’s like we’re re-inventing the wheel for absolutely no reason whatsoever,” Campbell said. “It seems a little staged, a little not in good faith to be quite honest.” A vote to use that form as an addendum to the city form died by a 2-2 vote with Campbell and Alford against. Councilwoman Gladys Owens was absent from Tuesday’s meeting due to a “pretty serious medical condition.” That eventually led to the unanimous vote to move forward with the current city form for the current evaluation with the council wanting to hold a workshop before next year to devise a new evaluation form to follow. No matter what tool the council uses to rate Sessions’ job performance, the overwhelming majority of residents who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting were solidly behind the city’s top administrator. Seven individuals, including a pair of developers, urged the council to retain Sessions for an additional one-year term, citing his ability to get things done and accessibility to address issues. Only one person, Anita Williams, spoke out against Sessions’ performance as city manager. “He gets more done by accident than most people do on purpose,” Harry K. “Kin” Weaver Jr. said. Both Cheryl Pruitt, a Live Oak resident, and GSMS Developers’ Milton Smith praised Sessions for his availability to answer questions or to help solve issues when they arrive. Don Wainwright, who owns the property along U.S. Highway 129 north that is currently busting with new activity and construction including the Chick-fil-A and Ellianos Coffee, said Sessions has been vital to that development because he jumped in to help make sure the infrastructure was in place. “I’m appreciative of where the city is right now, but it isn’t by accident,” Wainwright said. “Larry Sessions has been the leader we need.” Wayne Hannaka, with the Concerned Citizens of North Florida, added: “You hired the man to do a job, let him do his job. We need consistency in the city and we need someone that cares about it. He certainly does.” Wainwright and Virginia Smith, another local resident, both called for cooler heads to prevail when it comes to deciding whether to keep Sessions in place. Smith urged the council to follow the golden rule and treat others as they want to be treated. “This is taught in kindergarten, but apparently some missed class that day.

Council rehashes pros, cons of Flock cameras By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Public privacy concerns were aired about the Live Oak Police Department’s use of Flock safety cameras. The LOPD, in partnership with the Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency, installed eight of the cameras, which capture photos of the license plates and other vehicle attributes like bumper stickers that could help identify and locate them, around the city six months ago. The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office has also installed cameras around the county as well. Their installation has sparked invasion of privacy concerns among residents, leading Councilwoman Vanessa Brown Robinson requesting information at Tuesday’s council meeting on how the city got to this point. “How did they get here without discussion,” Robinson said. “For the public, who would like input about their privacy, it would be something we should have done before.” The council, as members of the Live Oak CRA board, did discuss the Flock cameras during a CRA budget workshop last May. Additionally, the purchase of the cameras was approved in both the CRA and the city budgets last year, a point Police Chief Keith Davis made Tuesday night. “Once the budget was approved, that’s when we went ahead and purchased the cameras,” he said. LOPD Capt. Jason Rountree said the agency followed the city’s purchasing policy in purchasing the cameras, but also said the discussion about the use of the technology is not new. “We’ve been pursuing this technology since about 2017 or 2018,” Rountree said, noting the information gathered from the cameras is deleted within 30 days. “Our idea is we want to pursue the bad guy and bring them to justice as quickly as we can.” That hold back for most of that time was the recurring annual cost in operating the cameras. The CRA is footing the bill for four of the city’s cameras since they reside in the CRA district. The LOPD is covering the others. Rountree added for that annual cost — $12,500 to lease the four that the LOPD is responsible for — some have suggested the city just hire an additional police officer. “Imagine now that that position is now eight positions for 24 hours, seven days a week around town because that’s what the cameras do,” he said. That work has already paid off. Rountree said officers were able to make an arrest in a domestic situation where a GPS tracker had been placed on a victim’s car with assistance from the cameras to locate the suspect. Last February, a murder suspect from Gadsden County, Dominic Caroway, was stopped in Live Oak as he fled because of Flock cameras finding him on the interstate. Caroway was later shot and killed by Live Oak police officers after he opened fire on them and had also wounded a Suwannee County deputy. Stolen vehicles have also been recovered with help from the camera system. “It’s been an invaluable service to us so far,” he said. Still, Rountree admitted there are privacy concerns, some he shares as well. But he also compared their use for investigations by officers to security cameras and doorbell camera footage that is obtained when crimes occur as well. Addison Snyder, a Live Oak resident who has spoken out on the Flock cameras previously, said he was “disgusted” by the fact there was no council discussion of the cameras prior to their installation. “I don’t think our founding fathers would approve of mass surveillance but whatever,” Snyder said. “I think they were unilaterally installed by the police department. I don’t think anybody was notified and nothing was discussed. That disgusts me. “A lot of arguments against these Flock cameras will probably be met by police with some sort of pinky promise or ‘you can trust us for your safety.’ In my eyes, they have completely broken that trust when they installed these without bringing it up to the City Council or to the public for input.” Virginia Smith, another local resident, added that she felt the cameras were an invasion of privacy. However, Rountree said the LOPD have policies in place to, hopefully, prevent bad actors from misusing the system as Robinson pointed to a case in Echols County where the cameras were used to stalk somebody. He said the system is audited by himself and Davis monthly and any inquiries placed into the system by an officer have to be signed off on by administration. Photos by JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter Live Oak Police Capt. Jason Rountree said Tuesday night that the Flock cameras installed around the city have already helped solve several crimes. He added the LOPD has policies in place to make sure the cameras are not misused as well. LOPD: Approved cameras have solved crimes.

City finance director hire delayed achter@lakecityreporter.com Live Oak’s hiring of a new finance director will have to wait a month. Despite a recommendation from Live Oak City Manager Larry Sessions to promote Tammie Girard to that position, the Live Oak City Council didn’t approve the hiring at Tuesday’s council meeting. A motion to table Girard’s hiring failed by a 2-2 vote with Council President Matt Campbell and Councilman David Alford voting against. Councilwoman Vanessa Brown Robinson made the motion to table the vote until Sessions could provide resumes for the eight applicants, who interviewed last week. “What I’m looking for is an even playing field,” Robinson said after questioning Sessions on his statement that Girard’s credentials were better than the other applicants but unable to recite them at the meeting. “He gets up here and speaks about ‘she was the most credentialed’ but can not tell me what her credentials are.” Sessions also told the council that Girard was hired last February to work with and learn from the city’s long time Finance Director Joanne Luther, who retired in December. That included going through the city’s full audit process. “I’m just doing my job, trying to move the city forward,” Sessions said. However, the council requested in December that the city do a full search to try to find the best candidate for that position. Sessions said that search did attract some good candidates. However, after conducting interviews, he said Girard was that person. “I really feel like Ms. Girard, with what she’s learned and with her credentials, she will be the best fit for the next finance director for the City of Live Oak,” he said. Robinson, though, said she wanted to see the credentials of the applicants herself. Girard, who has been the city’s assistant finance director for 11 months, previously served as the finance officer at the Suwannee River Water Management District and has worked in accounting departments at various financial institutions. She also has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in accounting. The only other applicant to have those degrees withdrew from consideration due to pay. One other applicant has a master’s degree, in public policy, while one had a business management bachelor’s degree. Campbell said he felt the council needed to trust Sessions and his process of identifying staff since he was in charge of the city’s day-to-day operations. “I feel like this is where we go backwards once again,” he said. “Either we have faith in our city manager or we don’t have faith in him. Either we have faith in what he’s done and what’s going to happen in the future and his judgment or we don’t. “I feel like we get to the point sometimes where we’re becoming hindrances as a council member and/ or a micromanager out of our field.” Both Campbell and Sessions said there were opportunities for council members to reach out and have discussions with the manager ahead of the meeting to get an update on the search process or to have concerns addressed. Robinson, and Councilman Tommie Jefferson, said that is a twoway street and Sessions could also reach out to the individual councilors to provide that information as well. “The problem we have here is a lack of communication going both ways,” Robinson said. “I’m not trying to turn this into a circus, but it goes both ways. The lack of communication with this council and the city manager that is where the problem is.

By JAMIE WACHTER on Friday, January 2, 2026Subhead

Furry contract calls for $135K salary.

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• Jason Furry, Suwannee County’s interim administrator, is set to become the county’s permanent administrator. The County Commission will vote on his proposed five-year contract Tuesday. (FILE)

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LIVE OAK — Suwannee County could have a permanent administrator as soon as Tuesday.

The Suwannee County Commission at its 5:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday at the Suwannee County Judicial Annex, 218 Parshley St. SW, will be discussing and possibly approving a contract with Jason Furry, the interim county administrator, to give him that job full time.

Furry has served as the county’s interim administrator since Greg Scott retired at the end of September. Furry previously had been the assistant county administrator since May.

According to the draft agreement up for a vote Tuesday, Furry would be paid $135,000 annually on the five-year contract should the board approve it. The agreement also has an automatic five-year renewal as part of the deal. However, any commissioner also could reject the automatic renewal and instead place renewing the deal on a board meeting agenda.

The commission voted unanimously in December to have Chairman Franklin White enter into negotiations with Furry for the permanent job after he was pegged as the top candidate for the position by the Florida Association of County Managers’ search committee, which helped the county in the search process.

“I’m proud of my service to the county and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve in a different manner,” Furry said in that December meeting. “I look forward to working with the board and the public as well. Thank you for the opportunity.”

Furry has worked for the county 32-plus years, starting in parks and recreation and becoming its director in 2022 when Scott moved to county administration.

That longevity of service to the county was part of why the County Commission has confidence that Furry is the right person to lead them into the future.

“What it doesn’t say in that report and what we don’t know is a man’s character,” Commissioner Travis Land said in that December meeting. “I know Mr. Furry’s character. His resume stacks above all the rest of them based on what those folks told us. I’m 100% confident he’s the right guy for the job.”

According to the contract negotiated by White, Furry also would get a salary increase should all county employees receive an across-the-board raise.

However, the board can also determine that he deserves a raise based on his performance.

Furry’s starting salary is lower than what Scott was making as the county’s administrator although he also was serving as public works director. The board decided in December to separate the two positions. It voted unanimously to make Brenda Flanagan the interim public works director until a search could be conducted. She had already been handling day-to-day operations in that department.

Per the agreement, Furry also would have use of a county vehicle as well as a cell phone and a computer and the county will pay for any professional associations and organizations that is “necessary and desirable for his professional participation, growth and advancement” as administrator.

Should the county decide to terminate Furry at some point, it must give Furry 60 days written notice and pay him a lump sum severance equal to 20 weeks of his salary. He could elect to leave earlier than that termination date, the contract states, but would forfeit the severance pay.

If the board elected to try to reduce Furry’s pay at any rate above an across-the-board reduction for all employees, he can resign with a written two-week notice and also could be paid severance.

If Furry resigns voluntarily, the contract calls for a 60-day written notice.

12/3/25 BOCC Special Meeting:

LIVE OAK — Mismanaging $38 million in potential grant funding — and possible fraudulent spending — are leading to changes in emergency management.

The Suwannee County Commission is sending state and law enforcement officials the full report into the missed opportunity and flagged potential misspending to state and law enforcement officials. The commission also is taking control of emergency management away from the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office.

During a three-hour special meeting Wednesday to review an independent audit by Cherry Bekaert Advisory into the grant management and financial operations of the EOC, the commission unanimously agreed to send the SCSO a 90-day written notice of pulling back oversight of emergency management. The board also unanimously approved sending the 110-page audit report from Cherry Bekaert to Sen. Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee), Rep. Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe), Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, the criminal division of the Department of Financial Services, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and any other appropriate law enforcement agency. Cherry Bekaert also was unanimously authorized to release all information gathered during its inquiry into the EOC’s operations to those state and law enforcement officials if requested.

“I don’t see how we don’t take it back,” Commissioner Travis Land said, noting he didn’t want it under one department but rather see it be responsible to the entire county. “We have to do better than what’s been being done.”

The county, which plans to set up emergency management as its own stand-alone department, also was given the green light by the commissioners to begin either requesting proposals from consulting firms, or to find a contract to piggy-back on, for assistance in setting up that department and to devise the job description for a new emergency management director and assistant director.

Dan Miller, the county’s fire chief, will serve as interim director once emergency management is turned over by the SCSO after 90 days if a new director has not yet been hired.

The county engaged Cherry Bekaert to perform the audit in April after then-Emergency Management Director Chris Volz accused county administration of costing the county nearly $7 million in grant funds at a commission meeting.

In that meeting, Volz said he had made repeated requests for assistance in securing those grant funds from the county but was denied.

According to Cherry Bekaert’s Kathleen Kizior, that did not happen.

During Wednesday’s special meeting, county staff played a recording of a virtual interview between Cherry Bekaert staff and County Attorney Adam Morrison and Commission Chairman Franklin White. During that interview, Morrison asked Kizior, the grant management solutions manager for Cherry Bekaert, if there was any evidence that Volz had sought that help as his two-person department attempted to navigate the aftermath of three hurricanes in 13 months.

“We found no evidence to support that version,” she said, adding she requested emails or voice recordings of those attempts to find help.

While Volz claimed nearly $7 million in grant funding had been lost, the audit said the amount of grant funding that was lost determined on one’s interpretation of that word, lost.

GRANTS MISMANAGED

• The audit said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had designated $13 million for Suwannee County in disaster remediation funding following Hurricane Idalia in 2023. An additional $25 million was earmarked for the county following Hurricanes Debby and Helene in 2024. That funding would be reimbursed to the county based on project expenses for approved disaster remediation work.

• The county originally was seeking $6.2 million from Idalia but withdrew that application “mostly due to limited staff capability and the inability of EOC to complete applications for both the Idalia and Helene and Debby funding at the same time,” the audit report stated.

Those projects were instead submitted for Helene and Debby funding. However, no funding has actually been received by the county for any remediation work.

Morrison asked if those hazard mitigation or remediation projects could have included something like addressing the known flooding problem in downtown Live Oak following heavy rains.

“Absolutely,” Kizior said. “Those are the types of projects they would have done.”

FUTURE PLANS

Moving forward, Cherry Bekaert’s team recommended the county, revisit its FEMA funding agreement with the EOC to improve grant administration if it didn’t take over oversight of that department. The auditors also suggested the county develop a comprehensive hazard mitigation readiness plan, establish a grant oversight committee (including representatives from the ECO, county administration, finance department, Clerk of Courts, municipalities and external experts), formalize grant administration policies, increase staffing and training, improve interagency communication and leverage external expertise strategically.

Live Oak Police Capt. Jason Rountree, during public comments in the meeting, suggested a collaborative approach to running emergency management. It was an idea also supported by Tracie Daniels with Suwannee PAWS.

Rountree said the various emergency support functions that take part in emergency response could all be part of a committee that would steer the county’s emergency management moving forward.

“That would give you oversight in the areas pertaining to the professional response,” he said.

The county instead chose to bring emergency management into its own department within the county.

“We owe that to every one of you out here to do our very best,” Commissioner Don Hale said.

LEADERSHIP SEARCH

Multiple members of the more than 100 residents packed into the Judicial Annex for the meeting requested the county keep Heather Henderson-Scheu as director and Gia Edwards as assistant director. Henderson-Scheu was elevated to director in July after Volz departed for a job with the Verizon Frontline Crisis Response team. Edwards was then hired as assistant director.

Henderson-Scheu also pleaded with the board for her and Edwards’ jobs.

“My No. 1 priority for this county has been the community and the citizens of this county,” she said. “I can work with anybody in this room. I care about the citizens of Suwannee County and I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

“You have a tremendous team that runs it now.”

Land and Interim County Administrator Jason Furry both said Henderson-Scheu and Edwards would be considered for those positions if they apply. Currently they work for the SCSO and not the county. Land noted the county has a hiring process and he didn’t want to begin cherry picking people for positions without going through a search.

“I would lose respect as a commissioner if I started finger pointing and placing people as department heads without other people having to go through the process,” Land said. “If the cream rises to the top through the process, and whomever those people are, the process produced them.”

Furry said he hoped the two current EOC employees would seek those positions with the county.

“They have been great to work with since they’ve been in the position,” he said, noting he hoped to move quickly to bring in that consultant and to get the job for a director advertised.

SHERIFF’S RESPONSE

During his brief comments, Sheriff Sam St. John assured the board that his office would help make sure a transition was seamless if the board pulled emergency management back.

“I fully respect and support that decision,” St. John said. “We will ensure a smooth transition and orderly transition under the board’s direction with no interruptions of service that our community relies on.”

Quoting St. John from a release by the SCSO last week when former finance director Megan Corbin was arrested and charged with credit card fraud, Suwannee County resident Bo Hancock told the sheriff he needed to resign from his job.

“He has failed at that,” Hancock said after St. John said in the release that he holds everybody in his office accountable. “If he’s going to require it from his employees, if he’s a leader. A leader, please. He has failed. He has demonstrated his incompetence. He cannot manage people.”

POTENTIAL FRAUD

In the other portion of the audit, Cherry Bekaert found several instances of potential fraud, including missing equipment that the Florida Department of Emergency Management gave to the county during the response to Idalia, possible fake vendors and invoices and potential payment of services completed for personal use. The EOC and sheriff’s office also co-mingled credit cards and finances, according to the audit.

• After Idalia, FEMA provided 40 RV trailers to the county for displaced families to stay in. Currently, 14 of those trailers are in possession of the SCSO but the rest are gone and nobody knows what happened to them. According to the audit, which recommended additional research into those trailers, the missing trailers had a combined value of $625,000.

• Cherry Bekaert also is recommending additional research into travel expenses, noting there were limited information provided related to $80,408 in travel expenses, including a flight from South Dakota to Tallahassee that had no other related expenditures from that trip.

• The audit also noted that there were three vendors identified in which possible fictitious invoices may exist or funds may have been misused. There were other transactions that the auditing firm said it couldn’t properly identify the related expenditures in the department’s general ledger.

• According to the report, $400,000 was reportedly spent in three months with one vendor, but invoices showed only approximately $41,000 worth of work performed there. Still, Cherry Baekert recommends obtaining additional invoices from FDEM with that vendor for further examination since Henderson-Scheu informed the auditors that the invoicing was done through the state.

• Another vendor believed to possibly provide fake invoices was one alleged that Volz was using for personal use. The audit said one check was paid to the company before the invoice was dated, noting it could be fake, while an invoice numbered 1155 was dated prior to the invoice numbered 1147, and was formatted differently than other invoices from the company.

According to the audit, some of those invoices were paid using a grant fund account set up in a Quick Books general ledger in January. The audit adds that the SCSO and emergency management finances were normally operated out of ledgers using American Data Group software.

Chairman Franklin White, in his summary calling for the special meeting, referred to the second ledger as a “slush fund” set up by Volz.

When asked by Morrison why a second ledger would be set up, Cherry Baekert’s Jodi Lewis said she couldn’t “determine why.”

Morrison also asked about one of those invoices that was paid in February, making sure that was after Corbin had left the agency.

Lewis, the company’s risk advisory manager, confirmed it was.

• The report listed significant overall deficiencies within the operations of the EOC, including a lack of financial oversight and internal controls, federal and state grant compliance risks (110 transactions — or 20% — of the Emergency Management Performance Grant were possibly unallowable or have questioned costs of $35,749.20 primarily related to equipment purchase, fuel and vehicle maintenance), technology challenges, lack of an effective emergency management agreement, lack of collaboration and teamwork, and no formal emergency management policies and procedures in place during declared emergencies.

In addition to addressing those issues, the report also states the county should adopt policies that govern the use of county equipment and clearly prohibiting personal use, including all EOC equipment and resources. An appendix notes that there were reports of county commissioners using the EOC equipment for non-county use

11/26/25  

Arrest of Former Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office Finance Director

The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office is sharing the following information regarding the arrest of former Finance Director Megan Corbin.

In early 2025, Ms. Corbin was removed from her position as Finance Director due to performance concerns and was reassigned within the agency. After a new Finance Director assumed responsibility for closing out the fiscal year, inconsistencies were identified that suggested possible misappropriation of funds.

Sheriff Sam St John was immediately notified of the findings. When Ms. Corbin was confronted with the allegations, she resigned from the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office then reported the matter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which opened a criminal investigation.

FDLE’s investigation was paused pending completion of the agency’s annual fiscal reconciliation and the routine yearly audit conducted by Powell and Jones as part of the countywide fiscal review. Completing this process required considerable effort due to significant irregularities and improper accounting entries documented in the prior fiscal year’s records.

Once the reconciliation was finished, all relevant records were sent to FDLE to support the ongoing criminal investigation. Powell and Jones also completed their annual audit and submitted their report to the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners as required by Florida law.

FDLE proceeded with its investigation using agency records, criminal subpoenas, and financial documents obtained from multiple sources. As a result of the independent investigation, FDLE determined that probable cause existed to seek a capias for Ms. Corbin’s arrest.

On November 25, 2025, Megan Leigh Corbin, 38, of Live Oak, Florida, was arrested in Taylor County as a result of FDLE’s investigation. She faces eight counts of Grand Theft and two counts of Fraud: Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card. All case-related questions should be directed to FDLE.

Contrary to recent rumors, this matter was never hidden or ignored. It was identified internally, reported to FDLE immediately, and handled through appropriate legal, financial, and auditing channels. Financial investigations of this nature require time due to audits, reconciliations, document recovery, and evidentiary procedures. The Sheriff’s Office followed every required step to ensure the case was handled correctly and with full transparency to oversight agencies.

Sheriff St John has not been able to comment publicly while the criminal investigation was active to protect its integrity and allow investigators to proceed without interference.

Statement from Sheriff Sam St John

“I am deeply disappointed that the trust placed in a member of this office was violated. The public expects honesty and integrity from every employee of the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, and I expect nothing less. When concerns were identified, we acted immediately, turned the matter over to an independent law enforcement agency for investigation, and cooperated fully throughout their investigation. I hold all employees accountable for their actions, and I will always take swift and appropriate steps when that trust is broken. We have also implemented internal safeguards to strengthen our financial oversight and ensure that something like this cannot happen again. The people of Suwannee County deserve to know that their Sheriff’s Office will always do what is right, even when it is difficult.” – Sheriff Sam St John

11/18/25 BOCC Meeting

Suwannee board honors Gwinn’s legacy

By JAMIE WACHTER on Wednesday, November 19, 2025

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New fairgrounds building will be named for farmer.

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Gigi Gwinn, the widow of Donnell Gwinn, is pictured with Suwannee County Commissioners Leo Mobley (from left), Don Hale, Chairman Travis Land and Franklin White after they passed a proclamation in her late husband’s honor. The county also plans to name a new building at the fairgrounds after Donnell Gwinn. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

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A legendary Suwannee County farmer’s legacy will be honored at the Suwannee County Fairgrounds.

During Tuesday’s Suwannee County Commission meeting, the board unanimously approved a proclamation in honor of Donnell Gwinn, who passed away in August. As part of the proclamation, the board committed to naming a new building at the fairground complex in honor of Gwinn.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude for this honor,” Gigi Gwinn, Gwinn’s widow, said prior to the board’s vote. “Donnell was born and raised right here in this county and it shaped the man he became. He believed in giving back and showing up and serving the community that poured so much into him throughout his life. Whether it was through his work, his time or his willingness to lend a land whenever somebody needed help, Donnell lived his life with humility, integrity and a genuine love for people.

“Our family is deeply moved and we are grateful that his legacy will continue to be remembered in the community he cared for so deeply.”

Gwinn, who operated Gwinn Brothers Farms with his family for more than 40 years, growing it from 200 acres to more than 1,000 acres, has previously been named Outstanding Agriculturalist of the Year by the Florida Association of County and Agricultural Agents. He also has held leadership positions with the Florida Peanut Federation and the USDA Farm Service Agency for Florida. Gwinn’s trailblazing agricultural career also included becoming the first black farmer in Florida to be awarded a license to grow medical marijuana.

“It’s a wonderful family and we appreciate everything all of you have done,” Commissioner Don Hale said.

Added Commissioner Franklin White: “Donnell was a good neighbor, a good friend. I always though a lot about him. If you needed something, he’d help you with it or loan it to you. Very proud of what he accomplished.”

EXPANDING COMMUNITY PARAMEDICINE PROGRAM

The board also provided Suwannee County Fire Chief Dan Miller consensus to begin moving forward with plans to use additional opioid settlement funding to expand the county’s community paramedicine program.

Miller said the county currently has one community paramedic through Suwannee County Fire Rescue as well as a couple casual paramedics, which are currently assisting 400 individuals in the county for treatments from the opioid epidemic.

Miller is seeking to add an additional five full-time positions to that program, utilizing the new funding, which is more than enough for the first few years of their salaries.

The county is set to receive $775,000 this next year with leftover funds rolling into future years, which will hit $193,750 in 2028 and then remain at that level for a dozen years.

Miller, though, said he hopes to have the new positions — which will cost $467,722 — fund themselves through various other contracts his department can enter into though other partners, such as HCA Suwannee ER, the Suwannee County Health Department and doctor’s offices.

Miller added the expanded program will allow SCFR to provide assistance to patients in between hospital stays and being entered into rehab facilities.

“Its primary use is for emergency response to overdose or suspected overdose cases,” he said. “This money is going to help us expand it to provide medical assisted treatment.”

The board supported the plan but both Land and Hale expressed concerns with the long-term financial impact of the new positions should those other contracts not occur. Hale asked Miller to bring a detailed financial plan back to the board.

NEW CHAIR, VICE CHAIR APPROVED

At the outset of Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved new leadership for the next year.

Starting in December, White will serve as the board’s chairman with Hale serving as vice chairman. Land has served as chairman the past two years with White as the vice chairman.

County buying 100 acres for future complex By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Suwannee County now has the home for a future county campus to expand government offices. At Tuesday’s Suwannee County Commission meeting, the board unanimously approved the purchase of approximately 100 acres along U.S. Highway 129 just south of the Live Oak city limits to house a public safety complex, including a new emergency operations center. The property could also be the future site of additional government offices as multiple departments or constitutional offices are running out of room in their current locations. Land said the property appraiser and tax collector, who are both housed in the Courthouse Annex, have expressed concerns about space. The Third Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office, which is adjacent to the courthouse as well is also in need of additional room. “With what all it offers, it checks all the boxes at what I think is a fair price,” Commissioner Franklin White said during the discussion on purchasing the property which recently went on sale. Travis Land, the commission chairman, negotiated the purchase with county staff for $11,750 per acre for a total approximate purchase price of $1.175 million. Land pointed out, both in the meeting and in a summary in the backup material for the meeting, that a property adjacent to the land the county is purchasing is asking for $22,413.79 per acre. “We may be overpaying a little bit for that property but due to its location and proximity to the city limits…if we buy it, 20 years from now the boards will look back and say, ‘That was a pretty good move,’” Land said. “At least I hope so.” The rest of the board, though, didn’t think it was too high either. Nor did members of the public. Bo Hancock, who lives in eastern Suwannee County, told the commission that he thought the purchase made a lot of sense, noting the board had been looking for the site of a county campus for more than 10 years. “Y’all have an opportunity, a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy something,” he said. “You’re not going to find this again. The good Lord isn’t making any more property. “If you don’t jump on it now, you’re going to cost this county and its citizens in the future 10 times as much money. You have to do something.” Land added that previous board members told him that the land the county was looking to buy was previously identified as a great location for the county to expand its services and operations. However, it had not been for sale. So when Land heard that it was on the market, he said he acted quickly to try to lock it up and then seek board’s approval on the negotiated contract. Land said its location made it ideal for the future county plans. It sits across the street from the Suwannee County School District office, which is its operations center during storms, and is close to the Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative headquarters, making it a great spot for the public safety complex. Its location just south of Live Oak’s city limits allow it to already have access to sewer and water from the city as well as keep government employees and visitors close to businesses in the city to not negatively impact their economic viability. “It would hut the businesses significantly,” he said about moving offices away from Live Oak while also noting the majority of the county’s residents also live south of Live Oak so it would be better for the bulk of government offices to be on the south side of the city rather than the north on the Project Summit property. Hancock also told the board that the property is also big enough that it could alleviate another county problem in the future: the jail, which is also located in downtown Live Oak. “You could put the jail out there or a jail facility,” he said. “It’s also an ideal spot for another fire station.” In addition to approving the purchase, the board also authorized staff to fund the purchase out of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) funding that the county still has in its budget. That $8 million budget line had been set aside to help fund the wastewater treatment plant at the county’s Catalyst Site industrial park on the west side of Live Oak. However the board decided to use that funding now and address the wastewater plant in the future when that project is ready for a contract to be awarded.

Legislators await tax plan By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com During a recent shopping trip, Sen. Corey Simon picked up more than just hardware. Rather the Tallahassee Republican also obtained more concerns from constituents about Florida’s property tax problem at that hardware store. “An older couple stopped me and said if we don’t do something about these property taxes, they’re going to lose their home and their home is paid for,” Simon said during Wednesday’s legislative delegation hearing at Suwannee County’s judicial annex. “That’s a problem. There’s no question that’s a problem. “At some point we have to stop renting spaces that we paid for.” Both Simon and Rep. Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe) addressed a question from Moses Clepper, an outspoken Suwannee County resident, seeking where they stand on the issue about if they support Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan or the handful of proposals put forth in the Florida House by representatives who Clepper called “RHINOS.” Simon and Shoaf both said they are in favor of property tax reform. They also are still awaiting to see a written proposal from the governor’s office to start comparing it to what has already been put forth by House members. “I’m glad that it’s now become a major issue,” Shoaf said. “Now comes the hard part of putting pen to paper, explaining how we pay for it. “As soon as that plan comes out, that’s when we will the hard look at what’s the impact.” Simon agreed. “We need to put some bullet points, some fine points to it so we make sure we’re not bankrupting the state long term and not killing communities,” he said. Shoaf also disagreed with Clepper’s belief that the proposals currently filed in the House are meant to make sure no measure gets approved on the 2026 ballot by Florida voters. He said it won’t be a “pick your favorite” contest. Instead if multiple measures are on the ballot, voters could vote for all of them. “It’s yes or no on all of them and should they pass, then we come back and implement them,” Shoaf said. But no matter what proposals are put forth for discussion, Simon said the job of the legislators will be to make sure Florida residents aren’t negatively impacted either, particularly those in rural communities like Suwannee County. That is the same thing Ricky Gamble, the county’s property appraiser, has noticed as he has studied the proposals already filed and tried to devise plans of his own to submit. There is no Band-Aid fix that works for everybody. “We all recognize there’s a problem, we’ve recognized it for years,” Gamble said. “I probably wrote up 8-10 of my own proposals to send back to you and the problem I keep running into is you go, ‘Man, this is going to work, this is great.’ Then you get down here and it’s, ‘Oh no. If we do it this way, it’s going to mess somebody up over here.’ “If you help A what does B have to pay for? I don’t know the solution.” Gamble added he was willing to provide whatever information the legislators needed to come to a successful solution on the matter. He added about $55 million was collected last year through ad valorem taxes across the county with the majority of that going to the Suwannee County School Board and then the county. Shoaf said while there may be ways for some places to eliminate waste and tighten their belts some, there isn’t a way to overcome the loss of up to 40-60% of the budget. “We’re working through different options that won’t bankrupt towns and cities, our fiscally constrained counties, that’s who we represent,” he said. “We can’t do something that’s going to wipe out their budgets. It’s not going to happen.” Simon added: “How we make those fiscally constrained counties whole at the end of the day is important because you all don’t generate enough revenue for the services that you need. There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered but I’m glad we’re having the conversation.” Clepper said state and local officials were using “scare tactics” that weren’t true in trying to defeat tax reform. “Scaring everybody that if they remove property taxes, how are we paying for everything,” he said. “With the fraud and abuse and tightening up the strings and the excessive salaries, there’s ways.”

Simon: Mental health needs addressed before campus carry By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com It’s an image that Sen. Corey Simon won’t soon forget. In April, shortly after the shooting on the Florida State University campus, Simon watched the video of the two murdered victims being shot alongside law enforcement officers. So while Simon, a Tallahassee Republican, said he supports the Second Amendment and people’s right to carry firearms, including his own, he told the full room at the Suwannee County Judicial Annex during Wednesday’s legislative delegation hearing that he wants to see a more robust bill put forth before he considers supporting legislation to allow the right to carry firearms on college campuses. “After just going through the hardship of losing two people at Florida State University, it was the right thing to do,” Simon said after being blamed for a previous bill allowing campus carry failing by Suwannee County resident Moses Clepper during Wednesday’s hearing, adding that there was no companion bill in the Florida House so the bill wasn’t going to move forward. “Until you see somebody’s head get blown off in person and you’re looking at that film with law enforcement and you’re seeing the aftermath of the students on that campus, until you see that, please,” Simon continued. “I’m not interesting in talking points, I’m talking people. I’m talking real life and what I saw on that film on that day on that campus…I still see it. I still see it.” Clepper said that all law-abiding citizens, even those on college campuses, should be allowed to carry firearms and be able to defend themselves, adding that gun-free zones are “soft targets for mass shootings.” A big part of an improved campus carry bill that Simon wants to see would address mental health problems, especially among teenagers and young adults. Simon said the state and nation is facing an “epidemic” when it comes to mental health and behavioral health. “I think there are much deeper issues we’re dealing with with our young people,” he said. “I think we need to fix that problem, desperately, before we are putting a bunch of guns on our college campuses. “If that bill comes up and has those components where we’re strengthening the mental health capacity of what’s going on on our campuses…then we may be able to get there. But I’m not there right now.” Julie Ulmer, coordinator of career and technical education with RIVEROAK Technical College, agreed with Simon about the mental health epidemic that is occurring in the country. She told the legislators that mental health concerns were part of a healthcare roundtable discussion with U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack that occurred at the college in September. Rep. Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe), who said he is in favor of campus carry, agreed that the mental health crisis is a real problem but said the state’s recent ban on cell phones in schools during instruction periods was a huge step in the right direction on improving mental health for teens. “One hundred percent banning phones was the right thing to do,” Ulmer said, adding it’s something noticed at RIVEROAK not one with high school students but also with adult students. Simon said young people, like his 22-year-old son, need to understand that what they see on social media isn’t real life, that most young adults aren’t rich like the influencers they see on their phones while scrolling through social media. “The pressure for them to succeed is heightened because they’re comparing themselves to something that’s not real,” he said. That all needs addressed, Simon said, as part of the larger problem before he would consider moving forward with a campus carry bill. Suwannee County resident Harry “Kin” Weaver Jr., a longtime law enforcement officer with the Florida Highway Patrol, agreed with Simon that campus carry isn’t the answer to solving problems like the shooting at FSU or other campuses across the country. Weaver said the officers that quickly responded and arrested the suspect, 21-year-old Phoenix Ikner, have all undergone extensive training that helps them run toward the gunshots rather than away and not put others in harm’s way. “We’re trained, that’s the difference,” Weaver said. “If they go through all the training, that’s a different subject.” Weaver, too, added that he understands where Simon is coming from when it comes to the lasting mental image of those two victims —  Tiru Chabba and Robert Morales —  on the FSU campus. Weaver said he can still remember the first deceased person he encountered during his law enforcement career. “That stuff hangs with us all our lives,” he said. “It stays in my mind too Corey. I get it. It’s horrible. But when you’re there, you smell it, you feel it, it’s visceral.”

Delegation still holds concerns with CRAs By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com While the City of Live Oak is planning to expand its Community Redevelopment Agency district, CRAs aren’t completely safe at the state level. During Wednesday’s Suwannee County legislative delegation hearing, Live Oak CRA Director Nicholas Frigiola sought support from Rep. Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe) and Sen. Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee) in protecting the city’s district and others like it around the state. Shoaf and Simon, though, both expressed concerns with the wasteful spending that has occurred in other areas by the agencies instead of trying to combat slum and blight as they are supposed to do. “I just want to make sure the little bit of money that comes into these communities in tax dollars are being spent correctly,” Simon said. “When we were going through that whole exercise last year with CRAs and hearing some of the horror stories…it’s concerning. “I said this in my comments last year in the Senate committee, this is the shot across the bow to clean up operations across the state that aren’t doing things the right way.” Both asked Frigiola why a CRA is needed, rather than the tax funding that supports CRA projects be handled at the county level instead of through a CRA. Shoaf, who said he was a proponent of the CRA in Port St. Joe when it existed, said Frigiola could do the same job through the county. “I do find it funny that city and county governments are always making it clear to us that they want local control,” he said. “This is a local control issue between the city and county. “I think the more we legislate how your local dollars must be spent, I think we’re kind of being hypocritical.” Frigiola agreed that it could work through counties but also said CRAs, specifically the one in Live Oak, are focused solely on the growth and development of those areas within the city that have been neglected or have deteriorated. He said that would be necessary to make sure that still occurs if CRAs are abolished by the state. “We get to provide small businesses with grants that they reinvest that money they pay in taxes back into that district,” he said, noting the Live Oak CRA has awarded 60 grants the past two years that have totaled $500,000 of local tax revenue back into the community through growth and development. He said the city has had three straight years of growth within the district. Frigiola said the Live Oak CRA is also currently working on plans to help with residential growth of 100-plus homes by helping fund infrastructure improvements within the district. “I make every dollar stretch,” he said. Frigiola, who agreed with the legislators that there has been dollars misspent by some CRAs across the state, said eliminating all of the districts for the misdeeds of a few is an overreaction. “It’s cutting down a tree when you have a bad branch,” he said. “You have a branch with disease and you’re cutting down the whole tree. “Get rid of wasteful dollars and spending.” JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter Nicholas Frigiola, the Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency director, speaks with the Suwannee County legislative delegation Wednesday about CRA

Citizen Concerns by Wayne Hannaka

Mr. Hannaka voiced the need for more DOT funding so that road repairs could be completed rathen a portion of a road , For example CR49 is being widened and resurfaces for approximately 6 miles but the last 3 miles would not be done due to funding shortages. He also stated that the city needs infrastructure funding so that their roads could be repaired after water and sewer was updated and repaired. The last thing of concern was the North Florida Water and Sewer Authority and the fact that they have been funded $1.5M over two years with no return in sight and excessive spending. 

11/4/25 BOCC Meeting

Six apply for Suwannee county admin role

By JAMIE WACHTER on Wednesday, November 5, 2025

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Furry, Harden, Williams have Suwannee ties.

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Suwannee County’s vacant county administrator seat has attracted six applicants, including three with local ties.

The position closed Friday with the county sending the list to the Florida Association of County Managers, which is helping guide the search for the county for a $5,000 fee. The FACM’s hiring committee will vet the candidate and send back a list of recommended candidates to consider.

That list was, hopefully, going to include seven possibilities. But the county only received six applications, including Interim County Administrator Jason Furry. Bill Harden, who was the Suwannee County Airport manager for three years, also applied as did Eric Williams, who was the Vice President of Tri-County Irrigation in Live Oak for for 30-plus years. Other applicants are George Dickens III, a deputy fire chief in Georgia; Christopher Edwards, who previously worked in city and county governments across Florida; and Roger Omenhiser, who recently retired after a career in the Coast Guard.

The county is seeking a county administrator after Greg Scott’s retirement at the end of September. He had served in that role for nearly three years and promoted Furry to assistant county administrator earlier this year. Furry has worked for the county for more than 30 years, spending all of it before his move to county administration in the parks and recreation department, including two-plus years as the director.

“I bring a deep understanding of our community’s operations, a proven record of leadership, and a steadfast commitment to public service,” Furry wrote in his cover letter. “Suwannee County deserves a leader who kings its history, understands its challenges, and is ready to guide it forward.”

Williams said his decade as the Vice President of Tri-County Irrigation before it was sold several months ago honed his skills in setting goals, implementing policies and developing procedures along the lines of budgeting, capital project management, economic development and grant acquisition at the county level.

“Suwannee County’s commitment to growth through strategic projects resonates with my professional ethos,” Williams wrote in his cover letter, which is dated Monday although his application was received by Friday’s deadline. “My ability to work collaboratively while maintaining a focus on detailed analysis will contribute positively to your team’s objectives.”

Harden worked as the manager of the Suwannee County Airport from 2020 to 2023 before leaving for the same position at the airport in Habersham County, Georgia. During his previous stay in Suwannee County, his resume said he increased the airport budget by $100,000 and rewrote 10- and 15-year outlook plans. He also was the assistant airport manager Williston and worked for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a biologist.

Dickens is a deputy fire chief in Midway, Ga., as well as working for the Savannah Fire Department and serving as a state fire inspector. He also has a master’s degree in public administration and is currently attending law school.

“I am seeking the opportunity to serve in a new capacity with greater responsibility and personal accountability,” Dickens wrote in his cover letter. “I am competent, capable, and prepared for the opportunity to serve this community. I am highly motivated and ready. I have been waiting for this opportunity to demonstrate my knowledge, skills, and abilities in service.”

Currently the owner of Align Business Logistics in Daytona Beach, Edwards worked from 2020 to 2024 as the economic development and Community Redevelopment Agency director in New Smyrna Beach. He also worked for the City of Tallahassee as a business advocate and the deputy director of the Office of Economic Vitality and worked in economic development for both Marion County and Leesburg.

“In my role as County Administrator, I would assert my core values of integrity, accountability, professionalism, and productivity into providing the County Board of Commissioners, county personnel, businesses, industries, and overall community citizens/stakeholders with incomparable customer service and competent management,” Edwards wrote in his cover letter.

Omenhiser recently retired after 24 years of experience with the Coast Guard, including the past three years as the commanding officer at Coast Guard Base Miami, overseeing a $5.5 million budget. He previously worked as the executive officer there and was a division chief at Coast Guard headquarters as well.

“I am excited by the prospect of applying my leadership experience, strategic thinking and passion for public service to benefit Suwannee County,” he wrote in his Sept. 30 cover letter. “I am excited about the prospect of setting down roots with my family in Suwannee County.”

I-10/129 improvements to begin in December

By JAMIE WACHTER on Wednesday, November 5, 2025

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$15M project should be done by Dec. 2027.

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Improvements to the Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 129 interchange north of Live Oak are set to begin in December. (FILE)

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The upgrades at the main Suwannee County interchange will begin in time for the holidays.

A $15 million improvement project at the Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 129 interchange on the north side of Live Oak, which will include adding traffic signals at the interstate exit ramps and at the Busy Bee just north of the interchange, is set to commence in December.

David Tyler, the transportation planning manager for the Florida Department of Transportation told the Suwannee County Commission at its meeting Tuesday night that dirt will start moving on the project next month and should be completed in December 2027.

The project will include the signals at the I-10/U.S. 129 exit ramps as well as a left-turn lane at both the eastbound and westbound off ramps. During the work, the right-turn lane for the I-10 westbound on ramp will be extended as well as the left and right-turn storage lanes at both off ramps, and the left-turn lanes on U.S. 129 in both directions.

In addition to the work at the interchange, DOT is also looking to widen U.S. 129 from two to four lanes north of the interstate to the northern entrance for the Busy Bee Travel Center, which also will get a traffic signal.

According to DOT, sidewalks and bicycle lanes will also be added to U.S. 129 within the scope of the project.

Tyler also said Tuesday that resurfacing work on U.S. 129 will also be conducted in conjunction with the interchange improvements, both from U.S. Highway 90 in downtown Live Oak to the interchange as well as north of the interchange to the Hamilton County line.

Other U.S. 129 resurfacing projects are coming in the next few years as well according to DOT’s tentative five-year-work program report for 2027-31. The public commenting period on the work program is open through Nov. 20 before it will go to review by the Florida Legislature and the governor’s office before being adopted next July.

That plan currently has U.S. 129 being widened and resurfaced from 208th Street to County Road 252 in 2027 at a cost of $6 million with another resurfacing planned for the roadway from the Gilchrist County line to U.S. Highway 27 in 2029. The total project cost for that is nearly $3 million, including engineering.

Tyler also advised the board that the last phase of the County Road 250 resurfacing, from the Lafayette County line to 193rd Road, is planned to be occur in 2028. That phase has a $7.8 million cost.

The first phase of that project is under design and about to be bid for construction from 193rd Road to State Road 51.

Currently, Anderson Columbia is widening and resurfacing a portion of County Road 49 from U.S. Highway 90 south toward CR 252. Commissioner Leo Mobley asked about that project and Paul Webb, local programs engineer with DOT, said it won’t reach all the way to CR 252 due to funding but the department is hopeful that it can be included in a future phase.

“Worst case, the county may need to request a third segment,” Webb said.

Those county road projects are utilizing state funding from DOT’s Small County Road Assistance Program and Small County Outreach Program, which Webb said had a pool of approximately $36 million for District 2 in the current year. The projects submitted across the 18-county district to be worked on totaled $201 million.

“My only complaint with SCOP and SCRAP is there’s not enough funding,” Tyler said. “It’s the lifeblood of these rural communities.”

Travis Land, the board chairman, said residents should help lobby local legislators to increase the funding for those programs, which would speed up the process for getting road improvements conducted.

“It’s not DOT’s fault, the legislature is telling you how much money you have to work with,” he said.

Legislative delegation meeting set for Wednesday 11/12/25 Staff report Suwannee County’s legislative delegation will be in town Wednesday to hear from their constituents. S e n . C o r e y Simon (R-Tallahassee) and Rep. Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe) will hold their annual legislative delegation hearing at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Suwannee County Judicial Annex, 218 Parshley St. SW, in Live Oak. The annual meeting gives local residents, and public officials, a chance to request legislation or state f u n d i n g during the upcoming legislative session , which convenes Jan. 13, 2026, in Tallahassee. Residents and officials can also express their opinions on issues that will be considered by the legislature.

Zoning, land use changes approved By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The Suwannee County Commission supported a zoning and land use change that could help spur a housing subdivision on the west side of Live Oak moving forward. During its meeting Tuesday, the board unanimously — Commissioner Maurice Perkins was absent with an illness — approved a land use classification and zoning change on 97 acres on two parcels of land for Frier Finance from Agriculture-2 to Residential Single Family-1. Ron Meeks, the county’s development services director, said the change would allow the density for development to go from one dwelling unit per two acres to one acre. Meeks said the plan is for the property to be developed into a neighborhood similar to Old Sugar Mill Farms, which lies directly across State Road 51 from where the new subdivision would be. Meeks added that it’s possible in the future there could be a secondary access from the development to 129th Road. Travis Land, the county commission chairman, said he supported the plan for the site and the change to promote it. “If this community is going to provide housing for any families or the elderly, where do you want one acre lots at? Do you want them next to town, closer to the services that government provides whether that’s sewer, water, 911, sheriff’s office,” Land said. “Do you want them there or in Luraville? From where I sit, I’d rather have them closer to town. You don’t want one-acre lots scattered all over the county.” As part of any development of the parcels into a subdivision, Meeks said new paved roads would have to be installed by the developer. Those roads would have to meet county standards. The board also unanimously supported a land use and zoning change on 29 acres of land from Conservation to Agriculture-1. Meeks said the land was previously owned by the Suwannee River Water Management District before being surplussed and sold in 2012, which led to the Conservation zoning. Meeks said the current land owner, Anthony Boggess, who has used it for hunting, is looking to sell the parcel but with the current zoning there could be no development on the land. “If you were to buy it with a Conservation land use, you couldn’t build any Meeks said.

10/21/25 BOCC Meeting

Potential fraud among issues audit finds at sheriff’s office By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office has deficiencies in its financial management according to the county’s independent auditor. Brad Hough with Lake City-based Powell and Jones CPA delivered the county’s 2023-24 financial audit to the Suwannee County Commission on Tuesday night, an audit that included just eight findings county wide in all departments and constitutional offices. All eight were in the SCSO’s operations, including potential fraudulent use of a credit card that is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as well as a pair of repeat findings, including an inadequate separation of duties within the office’s finance department. Sheriff Sam St. John and Michelle Emmons, the SCSO’s previous finance director who is again overseeing that department for the sheriff, said the office is in the process of implementing changes to meet the auditor’s recommendations. “We’ve corrected quite a few of the problems he’s mentioned and we want to do better,” St. John said Tuesday at the meeting, adding Wednesday morning in a phone call with theReporter that the issues are not a recurring problem for his agency. “This is not the way we do business. “I take the blame for it all. I’m the sheriff, so I take the blame for it. I want to apologize to the people of Suwannee County for this occurring. It falls back on me.” According to the audit report, Powell and Jones noticed numerous credit card charges that appeared to be potentially wasteful or fraudulent on several user’s accounts. That included the previous finance director, Megan Corbin, whose credit card charges were turned over to the FDLE. That investigation is still ongoing according to the report for a total of less than $10,000. Part of the problem, according to the audit, is there were no documentation to explain how the purchases were for governmental use and the purchases were not independently being reviewed or approved after the fact, so there was no effective oversight of the use. That also tied into the inadequate separation of duties finding, which was a repeat finding for more than a second time. It also noted that checks are printed pre-signed, eliminating a safeguard to require all purchases have two signatures. Additionally, the SCSO finance director has full control to the accounting system and can initiate, approve and process payments without independent review. Chairman Travis Land asked Hough if the lack of addressing that issue potentially allowed the credit card issue to occur. “I can’t definitively answer that,” Hough replied. “What I can say is we’re a risk-based company. We say if you had implemented those, the risk would have been significantly reduced.” The other findings identified by the audit were a repeat finding of insufficient training on the accounting software leading to unreliable and inaccurate statements, not updating fixed asset listings to reflect disposed assets, not preparing budgets for all funds, a lack of completing bank reconciliations, inaccurate netted amounts and backwards accounts and “significant” weaknesses in grant management processes. St. John said the issues all stemmed from the previous finance director being “inexperienced” as well as the “perfect storm” of the three disasters encountered by the county the previous two years in Hurricanes Idalia, Debby and Helene, a personnel transition with Emmons moving to Human Resources in 2022 followed by Heather Henderson Scheu transitioning to the Division of Emergency Management in October 2023, and the software conversion as well. He said when Emmons previously served as his finance director there weren’t any problems. He added her return earlier this year when problems were identified with Corbin has coincided with addressing the shortfalls. “For six years we didn’t have anything,” he said Tuesday night, before adding Wednesday in a phone call with the Reporter, “we did our job, we did it right and everything. All the stars aligned and it just caught us. There’s no denying it. It caught up with us. “This is not a pattern for us at all.” Land, though, disagreed with St. John, in part. He pointed out that several of the findings were repeat offenses. St. John said Wednesday that the repeat finding of the lack of separation of duties was first noted on the 2021-22 audit when Emmons was finance director but not as a finding, but as a recommendation. St. John added the previous five years of clean audits Emmons also was solely overseeing the duties of the finance department. Commissioner Maurice Perkins asked Hough if there had been discussions with the sheriff’s office on how to make the necessary changes. Hough said there were ongoing discussions during the audit process about what needed to occur. Franklin White, the board’s vice chairman, said he’d like for the board to be alerted when the SCSO finished implementing the recommendations from the auditor. St. John said that would happen. He said Wednesday the recommendations will be fully implemented and verified by an independent third party by the time the commission meets again in November. That wasn’t enough, though, for some residents. Bo Hancock called for change at the SCSO. “Sheriff, you need to resign,” he said. “You cannot manage the sheriff’s department, period. You have demonstrated that. I’ve supported you in the past, I will not support you for dog catcher in the future.

Link to the 2023/2024 Audit: Suwannee County Report Final FY2024.pdf

County bumping salaries, changing titles By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com Lower paid Suwannee County employees are going to receive a pay increase. How the county addresses compression issues caused by those raises as well as future salary increases to position the county better for recruiting and retaining employees will be further discussed moving forward by staff and the Suwannee County Commission. During Tuesday’s commission meeting, the board unanimously approved adopting proposed reclassifications to realign the job title with the functions being performed, updating the existing classifications to reflect the work being done and adopting the new market-responsive pay plan, including implementing pay increases to bring all staff up to the pending minimum wage requirement. Those increases impact 117 employees across the county, totaling $320,000 in wages and an additional $98,000 in benefits, according to Interim County Administrator Jason Furry. Those increases were recommended as part of a compensation and classification study performed by Evergreen Solutions earlier this year for the county. It was the first study the county had done on its wages in 30 years. “Let’s not get in that position again,” Furry said, adding the company suggested doing another study in 3-5 years, although he believed that may be a little quick. “There’s been no rhyme or reason in some cases (for employee salaries). We need a plan to work in.” The increases, which are all being funded by the individual departments out their previously approved budgets for the current fiscal year, will cause some compression issues that also need to be addressed, Furry said. He said across the county, a first glance at salary compression identified 94 employees that need to be looked at for an additional $383,000 for salaries and benefits. The commission budgeted $250,000 to help with the minimum increases and compression issues. Furry said some of the compression issues can also be funded by the departments, leaving $170,000 that would need to come out of that $250,000 pot. Furry added those raises could be addressed in the coming months after the county fills its vacant administrator position. “There are several upper level, not department heads, staff that, in my opinion, need an adjustment based on the market,” he said, noting there are some other positions where the county should look at individually to possibly rectify under-funded employees. “There are some positions historically have not been brought up in their field.” The board had no problems with the departments addressing the compression issues but did want to see updates on what positions were addressed and by how much. The study also recommended the county start using a consumer price index annual salary increase to employees to deal with cost of living adjustments as well as look into merit-based raises as determined by evaluations. The suggestion by Evergreen was for a 0-3% CPI increase annually, while Furry said he was thinking more along the lines of 0-2%. Currently, the county provides all employees a 50-cent raises as well as 1% for longevity. Furry said the county already is supposed to do annual evaluations on all employees, however there were no pay increases tied to those evaluations. The board, though, wasn’t ready to make any determination Tuesday on how to provide those raises. Rather, they preferred to see numbers on what those raises — both COLA and merit-based — would look like across the entire county with data to look at. “I like merit-based, I don’t believe in handing someone something just because they show up every day,” White said. “There’s a minimum for that. “I’d like to see some figure what that may cost the county before we do anything.

 State officers raid Mills repair shop By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com State officers raided a Live Oak business Tuesday and issued a pair of subpoenas to Suwannee County government offices. Officers with the Florida Department of Financial Services or Florida DOGE executed a search warrant at Mills Gas and Diesel Repair on E. Howard Street on Tuesday, while also delivering subpoenas to the Suwannee County Public Works office and Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management, seeking 18 months of records. County Attorney Adam Morrison updated the County Commission about the state agency’s actions during Tuesday night’s commission meeting. “They actually physically, without warning, took the items from Mills Gas and Diesel Repair,” Morrison said. “The government agencies, the county and the EOC, were served with a subpoena.” Morrison said both the county office and the EOC have 20 days to timely respond with the records sought by the subpoena. The state is seeking records from the county offices on any transactions made from Jan. 1, 2024, to June 1, 2025, with Mills Gas and Diesel for work performed on behalf of the EOC and the county. He said both the county and the EOC have indicated that they will be able to meet the timeline provided by the state. “How they were paid, that sort of thing, related to those issues,” Morrison said. “I just wanted the board to know that we have been served with a subpoena in conjunction with that search warrant earlier today. “We will timely reply.” 

10/7/25 BOCC Meeting 

County offers to offload roads to city By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The Suwannee County Commission is looking to remove one possible roadblock on infrastructure improvements within the City of Live Oak. During the commission’s meeting Tuesday night, it unanimously authorized County Attorney Adam Morrison to send a letter to city officials offering to give the city all county-owned roadways inside the city limits. “We’ve all had our districts touch the City of Live Oak and we’ve heard, ‘why isn’t his road paved?’ or the road situation,” Chairman Travis Land said as he brought up the discussion. “Why do we even own roads inside the city limits? That’s their sandbox.” Land said he wanted to see what the other commissioners thought about the idea after having been approached by several residents in his district wanting to know why the county hadn’t repaved Helvenston Street. Land said it wasn’t a new issue either. Rather, it’s one all the commissioners have dealt with at times, both now and on previous boards. But Land said, in this case, it didn’t make sense for the county to repave Helvenston Street because the city had infrastructure beneath the street and it needed to be repaired or replaced before money was spent on a paving project. “Why don’t we just give them the roads and then they can pave them or not pave them or close them, whatever they want to do with them,” he said, repeating that he didn’t know why the county owned what he believed should be city streets. “I just think we need to get out of the way.” The other commissioners agreed. Morrison said the logical step would be sending a letter to gauge the city’s interest in taking over ownership of those roads. “They could just say, ‘no,’ in which case we’re up a river as it were,” he said. If the city is interested, Morrison said there would then need to be negotiations on what that conveyance looked like, including which party would be responsible for getting a survey done on all the roadways being transferred. That survey work would be extensive, according to Morrison. Land questioned why there was a need for a full metes and bounds survey on roads that have existed in the community for more than 100 years. “Accurately describing it wouldn’t be saying, ‘Helvenston Street,’” he said. Using Helvenston Street as an example, Morrison said the survey is necessary to fully identify where rights-of-way exist. He said the county technically owns 40 feet of the parcels that line that street on the south side of downtown Live Oak from when that roadway was established and then given to the county by the state. “I’m telling you that as a matter of passing title, you have to have a metes and bounds description, just saying ‘the road’ doesn’t cut it,” Morrison said. Morrison noted there is another option the county could pursue if it didn’t want to fully turn over the roads to the city and get the required surveys that go along with that. Instead, the two parties could entertain an interlocal agreement that would give the city control over the roadways. But under that agreement, the county would still legally own them. Land added that he thought transferring ownership of the roadways to the city could also benefit the city as it continues to seek grant funding to update its aging infrastructure as it would be able to show ownership over those areas and wouldn’t have to come back to the county for permission to do work. Commissioner Maurice Perkins, whose district includes a large portion of the city, noted that those city residents are also still county residents. He said he would still be interested in helping making improvements to the roadway infrastructure in the future even if they are no longer county owned. “I will come back and ask for some help to repair some new roads,” he said. Land agreed. “I’m not opposed to helping them whatsoever; I just don’t know why we want to own the roads in the city,”

SCSO adds ‘useful tool’ in Flock cameras By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office has unveiled a new ‘useful tool’ to help solve crimes. The SCSO is in the process of installing 18 Flock Safety cameras, which read license plates, at select locations across the county. Sheriff Sam St. John told the Suwannee County Commission on Tuesday night that those are the only cameras his office is currently planning on utilizing. The City of Live Oak also has installed some of the Flock cameras. “We’ve got them placed out in different areas of the county where we think will be most beneficial to us,” St. John said. According to St. John and a release from the SCSO, the sheriff’s office is utilizing the cameras as a way to strengthen public safety and help speed up investigations. The cameras are used throughout the state and country by different law enforcement agencies. “The reason that we got them is to solve crimes,” St. John said. “They’re a very useful tool. “I know there are some concerns about them being Big Brother and watching where you’ve come and where you’re going, but it’s not that.” St. John said the cameras have already proven beneficial to his deputies. He said during a recent vandalism of a church on River Road, a camera at the church was able to get a clear image of the getaway vehicle but not the license plate number. Deputies were able to utilize that image of the vehicle — a blue Ford Ranger with an off-color door — to find the tag number once it drove past one of the cameras and arrest the suspect. He said the system has also helped lead an ongoing theft investigation to a possible suspect in St. Johns County. “Some aren’t even online yet, but the ones that are online have been successful in finding missing persons and solving crimes,” he said. “That’s our use for it.” The Flock system also helped lead authorities to track Dominic Caroway, a suspect wanted in Gadsden County from a shooting at a convenience store, to Live Oak in February. Caroway shot Suwannee County Deputy Justin Dalton after being stopped in Live Oak. Caroway was later shot and killed by Live Oak police officers after he opened fire on them. Dalton, meanwhile, has recovered and returned to work. “It’s a very useful tool for us and, so far, it’s been very successful for us,” St. John added. St. John also noted the cameras don’t use facial recognition software, instead only capturing license plates and vehicle attributes. He added the information obtained from the cameras is deleted within 30 days. “It’s not an invasion of privacy or following people where they come or go, what we put in there is what we get back out,” St. John added.

Board supports no wake on lower IchetuckneeBy JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The push to idle down speeds on the lower Ichetucknee River has unanimous support from the Suwannee County Commission too. After the Columbia County Commissioners backed a citizen petition to request a no wake zone as part of a springs protection zone from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission last Thursday, the Suwannee board followed suit at its meeting Tuesday. “I’m a thousand percent in support of the no wake zone, a thousand percent,” Chairman Travis Land said. The board had plenty of support for their decision as well. After Alden Rosner, the county’s parks and recreation director, told the board that FWC was looking for input from the county on the request, which was filed by Linda Weseman, a Columbia County woman who lives on the Santa Fe River, the board heard from 11 different individuals from southwestern Columbia County, southeastern Suwannee County and northern Gilchrist County pushing for the support. John Quarterman, a Georgia man who is the Suwannee Riverkeeper, also urged the board to back the push. Most of those pleas from the area residents dealt with public safety and the fact that fast-moving boats — or personal watercraft which Weseman was requesting restrictions on their presence on the shallow, narrow river — are dangerous due to the number of swimmers and floaters on the Ichetucknee. Cathy Rieker, who lives in Three Rivers Estates in Columbia County, said she has not been on the river for a year after nearly being hit by a jet ski or wave runner three or four times in her kayak. “I would love to safely go back on the river and enjoy myself where I call home,” Rieker said. Larry Cyrier, who lives in northern Gilchrist County, mentioned similar concerns to the Suwannee Commission on Tuesday. He said he witnessed a family in a canoe pulling a paddle board when a boat came around a corner and cut in between them, which drug the paddle board beneath the boat. Cyrier said just moments earlier a young child had been riding on the paddle board. “I just want to protect what we have,” he said. “The Ichetucknee is a jewel.” The board agreed with that too. Franklin White, the commission co-chairman who represents the southern portion of Suwannee County, asked Rosner about the belief that there already is a no wake designation on that waterway. Rosner said there is no actual designation for that, although many believe it already exists. “Well it just makes common sense,” White said. “You just have to have a little respect. It’s a sad day that we’ve got to do things like that.” Land added: “Clearly there’s some folks out there that lack common sense.” But Rosner, after all the public comments on the topic, reminded the commission that FWC wasn’t considering public safety as it decides whether or not to grant the designation. Instead it would be basing it off of environmental concerns, which Weseman had noted at the Columbia County Commission meeting include shoreline erosion, disrupting turtle basking as well as stirring up dirt and sediment that limits the sunlight from reaching the aquatic vegetation that feed the animals in the water. James Mullis, who lives in Fort White, mentioned similar concerns to the Suwannee Commission on Tuesday, while adding that he also believes it is a public safety issue as well. “The habitat for the animals is no longer there,” Mullis said, noting there have been fewer fish in the area due to the issues caused by the boats and personal water craft. Added Merrilee MalwitzJipson: “For the next generation, it’s important now that we do something to protect it.” While the commission did fully support the no wake zone being placed on the lower Ichetucknee, the Suwannee commissioners, much like the Columbia board last week, weren’t fully on board with the restrictions on personal watercraft like jet skis or wave runners. White, Land and Commissioner Don Hale all said they weren’t sure how FWC could enforce a restriction on the personal watercraft, such as limiting how far up the river they could ride. So, following Morrison’s advice, the board directed Rosner to alert FWC that the board was unanimous in its support of the no wake zone but was offering no opinion on the PWC restriction. “How do we make it safe for everybody and enjoyable for everybody,” Commissioner Maurice Perkins said.

The Suwannee County Commission approved a proclamation declaring National 4-H Week in Suwannee County during its meeting Tuesday.The commissioners also heard from UF/IFAS Suwannee County Extension 4-H Agent Katie Jones and members of the county’s 4-H Council, which represents 13 clubs. In Suwannee County 4-H serves more than 1,500 youth annually.

By JAMIE WACHTER on Wednesday, October 1, 2025Subhead

Roberts: ‘Everything is happening just like it did yesterday.’

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• NFWUA Executive Director Shannon Roberts said the transition to having the authority provide utility services went smoothly when the switch-over officially began Wednesday morning. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

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The North Florida Water Utilities Authority officially began operating utilities in both Columbia and Suwannee counties on Wednesday.

Not that anyone would be able to tell the difference, according to NFWUA Executive Director Shannon Roberts.

During the NFWUA board’s meeting Wednesday morning, Roberts said as far as the utility clients in both counties, there was no real difference between Tuesday and Wednesday other than the new date on the calendar.

“Everything is happening just like it did yesterday,” he said. “Yesterday, all the water service in both counties was handled and everything got done. Today, the same thing is happening except we’re overseeing and managing it all.

“The date has changed. Some of the personnel will be under new management and organization but the service is working.”

With the NFWUA, though, taking over operations and maintenance on the utility systems for the counties on Wednesday, Roberts is no longer the lone NFWUA employee. There are now three authority employees with a fourth coming over once the billing system is up and running. He also is looking for a fifth member to fill an opening.

One of the tasks Roberts is trying to tie up around the operations of the utilities is switching the power at the water and wastewater plants in both counties to the NFWUA. He asked permission of the board Wednesday to pay deposits to both Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative and Clay Electric Cooperative in order to do that. Roberts said both required the deposits to new customers without a five-year history.

Steven Dicks, the at-large member on the NFWUA board, asked if he had sought a waiver. He then also requested Roberts seek a waiver from those co-ops’ boards.

“One thing is policy but another is the board can make a decision,” he said. “If they say no, we have to pay it but the bottom line is trying to save a few pennies.”

Roberts said he would go back and seek that waiver from those governing boards. But the board also approved Roberts paying $11,550 in those deposits should waivers not be possible.

EYING GRANT FUNDS

When asked by Vice Chairman Franklin White, Roberts also told the board Wednesday that he is applied for a $5.1 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for an extension at the wastewater plant at the County Road 136 and Interstate 75 interchange near White Springs.

Roberts said the grant would allow sewer lines to be extended both to north of the interchange where there had been inquiries about possible developments as well as to further east to the Suwannee-Columbia county line where a couple of RV and trailer parks reside. Roberts said the grant would also help fund taking up to 108 septic tanks offline to convert to sewer.

“All of that was wrapped up in that $5.1 million ask,” he said.

MEETING CHANGES

During September, the board decided to shift its meetings from the beginning of the month to the middle in order to get a better current financial update from consultant Richard Powell.

With that decision, the board approved its meeting dates and locations for the upcoming year Wednesday.

The NFWUA will meet in Lake City at the Tourist Development Council conference room at Duval Place, 971 W. Duval Street, on Nov. 17 and Dec. 15 this year, as well as April 20, June 15 and Aug. 17 next year.

The authority will meet at the Judicial Annex, 218 Parshley Street SW in Live Oak, on Jan. 19, Feb. 16, March 16, May 18, July 20 and Sept. 21 next year.

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LIVE OAK CITY COUNCILE WANTS TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE OLD CITY HALL BUILDING

By JAMIE WACHTER jwachter@lakecityreporter.com The historic Live Oak City Hall building and home to the Suwannee County Chamber of Commerce may soon have a new name. The Live Oak City Council provided consensus to City Attorney Todd Kennon to draft an ordinance to rename the 1908 structure after former Councilman John Yulee Sr. Yulee, who passed away in August, served on the council for 16 years and during that time was instrumental in saving the historic building. “Each of you are in a position to not only offer words but to take action,” Live Oak resident Gary Caldwell said in support of the idea, which was brought up for discussion by Councilwoman Gladys Owens. “John did not serve in his position for recognition…But it is our responsibility as citizens, as councilwomen, as councilmen, to show our appreciation for those who gave such of their time and dedication as John W. Yulee did.” Only Councilwoman Vanessa Brown Robinson voiced disagreement with naming the building after Yulee among the council. Both Council President Matt Campbell and Councilman David Alford said they didn’t personally know Yulee, but still supported the idea after hearing from multiple residents during Tuesday’s council meeting. “Your testimony spoke volumes about who he was,” Alford said. Councilman Tommie Jefferson noted that it wouldn’t be the first time a former civic leader had been honored with a naming recognition in Live Oak, pointing to John Hale Park. “I think this would be a tremendous thing and a great honor to honor someone who has done so much for this city,” Jefferson said. In addition to Caldwell, Robert Ford and Shanae Wilson spoke in favor of honoring Yulee for his service to the community. Mayor Frank Davis also spoke glowingly about the way Yulee went about his business as a councilman. Davis served alongside Yulee on the council before becoming mayor. “He was kind a mentor to me, he probably didn’t even realize that,” Davis said. “I watched him and listened to him. If Mr. Yulee was for something that indicated to me I voted right.” Ford grew up with Yulee, graduating from Douglass High School one year before the former councilor. He said Yulee’s contributions to the city are easily noticeable and a testament to the legacy he has left behind. In addition to helping renovate and save the old City Hall building, Yulee also cast the deciding vote to move forward with the Heritage Park and Gardens project around the Crapps mansion. He also was a driving force for adding “In God We Trust” to the city seal. “I respectfully submit that naming the old City Hall building in his honor would be both fitting and just,” Ford said. “The old City Hall stands today because of Mr. Yulee’s vision and efficacy. It serves as a symbol of city pride and historical continuity. I submit that this tribute would reflect on Mr. Yulee’s tireless dedication and will inspire future generations. “It would stand as a lasting beacon of gratitude, remembrance and inspiration…A measure of a life is not in its duration but in its donation. Councilman Yulee donated his life to the City of Live Oak.” Wilson said the honor would also be fitting for Yulee because he was a public servant, a soldier, a law enforcement officer and a community activist. “John W. Yulee Sr. developed a passion for serving the community, which he regarded as an extension of his family,” she said. Not everybody, though, was in favor of honoring Yulee by naming the building after him. Former Councilwoman Lynda Williams said that while she too was friends with Yulee, she believed naming the old City Hall after him would be “opening a can of worms.” Williams said when she sat on the council, she had to tell other people that the city ordinance didn’t allow for naming buildings and streets after them. The city does have an ordinance — 1322 — that outlines the criteria for the council to consider in naming a street or building after somebody. The guidelines for that public recognition includes: ■The honor should only be bestowed upon those with a history of serving with the community; ■ Any naming or renaming should be done by ordinance with the two public hearings on the matter; and ■ The city appropriately notice the hearings. Still, Williams said she didn’t think it was right, instead requesting that the council instead dedicate a wall of fame or honor and list names of local legends there as their recognition. “There are so many people who need their names on things, who would like to have their names on things,” she said, noting there have been some who served on the council for 37 years — Bennie Thomas —  and who have not been recognized in the same way. “I love him and his family. That’s not what I’m fighting. “Look at other ways to do this.” The city intends to hold those public hearings on the renaming at its October and November meetings.

By JAMIE WACHTER on Wednesday, September 3, 2025Subhead

Raftelis finally has ‘momentum’ on assignment for Utility Authority.

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• Matthew Ori, a senior consultant with Raftelis, talks to the North Florida Water Utilities Authority board on Wednesday about the status of the rate study being performed by the group. (JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter)

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LIVE OAK — A rate study is on the horizon for the North Florida Water Utilities Authority.

A pair of representatives from Raftelis, which was hired to put together the rate study by the NFWUA board in January for $130,000, told the directors at their Wednesday meeting that there is “momentum” currently on finalizing the study. The study initially was expected to be completed in eight months.

Matthew Ori, a senior consultant with Raftelis, said he was looking to conduct weekly conference calls with a “committee” from the group in order to keep that momentum rolling. Shannon Roberts, the NFWUA director, said he thought that group would involve himself, NFWUA Attorney Grady Williams and county staff, and most likely Columbia County Manager David Kraus and Suwannee County Assistant County Administrator Jason Furry.

“We’ve got some momentum now,” said Henry Thomas, a senior vice president with Raftelis. “We want to keep that up so we can get to the finish line.

“I’m reluctant to commit to (when will we reach the finish line) just yet, but in a couple months we should have the final cases for you to look at.”

That momentum, he said, has been the result of Roberts fully taking the reins of the NFWUA three months ago. Since then, the group has finalized its Suwannee County independent study and is trying to wrap up its independent look at Columbia County. Roberts said one additional piece of detailed financial data is needed to help Raftelis on that component.

Once that is completed, Ori said the group will then do a combined study for what it recommends the NFWUA set as its rates.

According to Ori, after the rates have been established, Raftelis will then also dive into miscellaneous fees like tap fees and connection or capacity fees that should be charged on future hookups.

Ori and Thomas also said the company planned to do periodic check-ins with the authority in the future to make sure the rate study was still being effective, especially on projections on inflation and other factors.

“Our recommendation is every two-three years, a temperature check,” Ori said.

Thomas said those checks could come earlier than the two-year check-in initially proposed by Ori due to the start-up nature of the fledgling utility.

During those future calls, Ori said all parties will help answer some other questions for Raftelis as it devises the rate study, including what to do with and debt owed on the utilities. There is no debt on Suwannee County’s utilities, which were all grant funded. Columbia County, meanwhile, owes a small amount of debt on its utilities in Ellisville, Kraus said.

There is additional debt on the wastewater treatment plant at the North Florida Mega Industrial Park, but that utility is currently operated by the City of Lake City as part of a two-year contract.

“Discussions I’ve been involved with is any debt the counties have right now is they would keep paying on that debt,” Chairman Rocky Ford, a Columbia County commissioner, said.

 SHERIFF ON THE HOT SEAT AT BOCC MEETING  

Board irked over communication problem on financial, EOC audits AUDIT Suwannee C Photos by JAMIE WACHTER/Lake City Reporter Suwannee County Commission Chairman Travis Land points at Sheriff Sam St. John and Deputy Emergency Management Director Heather Henderson-Scheu as they discuss the sheriff’s office and emergency management office’s response to audits during Tuesday’s commission meeting. Sheriff Sam St. John said the emergency management office, which is under his control, has complied with all the requests from Cherry Bekeart, which is audit provided to Suwannee County as a whole for being late on turning in its audit because one department hasn’t gotten its paperwork in. “I don’t mean to sound pissed off but I’m pissed off.” He was not alone. On both sides. After trying to explain what caused the problem leading to Tuesday’s confrontation, both Sheriff Sam St. John and Heather Henderson-Scheu, the deputy emergency management director, took exception to the commission’s continued pursuit of the issue. The board unanimously approved sending a pair of letters to St. John giving a 10-day window to get the information submitted or to appear at the July 15 BOCC meeting to further explain why it wouldn’t be provided. “Some of that, I don’t agree with at all,” St. John said about the reported issues with the emergency management complying with audit requests. “We are complying chairman. We’ve complied with everything they’ve wanted.” Henderson-Scheu said she felt she had provided all the information to Cherry Bekaert, the auditing firm the commission agreed to pay $108,000 in April to examine the operations of the county’s emergency management office, that she could. She said providing the home addresses of both her and Chris Volz, the county’s emergency management director, was not permitted under Florida statutes. “I’ve given her everything she has asked for and then some,” she said. After back and forth between Henderson-Scheu and himself, Land finally called for a board vote on how to proceed, noting they could otherwise be there all night. He added that if the ongoing difference of opinions between Henderson-Scheu and the auditors on if the information has been provided continues, the board may have to bring in another independent party to settle that dispute. “I don’t know where we from there, DOGE, the governor,” he said. Morrison said it would be referred up to the governor’s office. Several county residents believed it was already time to do that. “I’m appalled,” said Kin Weaver. “Call the governor. Let’s get it over with.” Bo Hancock said he felt setting additional deadlines was pointless as it had been proven that the sheriff’s office wouldn’t meet them since it hadn’t yet. He also said he wouldn’t stop just at seeking assistance from the governor’s office. “I think you need to contact the governor’s office and have him assign FDLE to come in and investigate the entire sheriff’s department as well as EOC,” Hancock added. “They’re stonewalling. They’re not going to do anything any different and I’m like you Travis, I’ve had enough of it.” In addition to the addresses, which County Attorney Adam Morrison explained was requested by the auditing firm as a way to make sure no fraud was being committed through the use of contracted vendors that could be associated with an employee, Cherry Bekaert said among the other roadblocks it has ran into include: n refusal to provide listing of all vendors that received funding from emergency management; n failure to provide specific policies and procedures for the Emergency Operations Center; and n refusal to provide access to WebEOC reports. The firm also said its efforts to talk to Michelle Emmons in the SCSO’s financial department had been refused. Henderson-Scheu said Emmons was busy trying to rectify the annual audit for the agency after a change of financial officers, so she was handling the audit for her department, which is overseen by the sheriff’s office. Land, though, noted the county’s request for that audit said it was to be the top priority for all county staff, asking Henderson what gave her the authority to determine otherwise. She said she didn’t, but St. John did. St. John, when asked if he had ordered Emmons to not speak with the firm, said he did not even when it was mentioned that Volz had said otherwise in an e-mail. “The only thing I know is he may have misunderstood what I said,” St. John said. The audit into the emergency management office began due to miscommunication and a misunderstanding involving Volz. He appeared at the board’s April 15 meeting to provide an update on emergency management which turned into accusations against County Administrator Greg Scott costing the county millions in grant funds by sabotaging the agency’s efforts for 17 months and then lying to the board. Scott was not at that meeting as he was recovering from an April 1 heart surgery. Land also wasn’t at that meeting. That wasn’t the only breakdown in communication between the SCSO and the commission. Land said all constitutional officers were instructed in January to have their financial information to Powell & Jones by March 15 to ensure a timely completion of the annual audit. St. John said Tuesday night that his office had just completed it Tuesday. He said the delay was caused by the previous agency financial director becoming overwhelmed with the responsibilities as well as the impact of the hurricanes last fall. “It was just kind of like a perfect storm that made it happen,” St. John said, noting there also then were issues with bank reconciliations on the department’s finances — which all came back accurate he later said — as well as issues with new software the county is using. Still, the board wasn’t pleased with the lack of help requested or just communication about a problem. “We talked about it before with the Mr. Volz situation that we have a communication problem. When in the hell are we going to fix that?” asked Land, who began the discussion quoting Thomas Jefferson. “It irks me that you or nobody from your office can tell us what the heck is going on over there until we go through all this mess to talk about it. Communication and we wouldn’t be here today. “Thomas Jefferson said this, obviously I’ve been doing some soul searching but Thomas Jefferson said, ‘In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.’ Today guys, I’m asking this board to stand like a rock.”