What's Going On In Suwannee

7/2/26 Update

• See Articles for Audit update 

6/9/26 Regular Meeting

• 6 people spoke at the Public Concerns from Flock cameras to cutting off water when bill is not paid, to opposition to a development on 129.
• Mayor Davis spoke via phone with recommendation for appointment to the historical commission which was approved 5-0 with little comment, he also gave his support to put a moratorium on Data Centers which was approved 
• It was decided to have a workshop item of forgiving overdue water bills, however a date was not set.
• An ordinance prohibiting vaping and smoking in public parks was approved 5-0
• Mr Campbell spoke about the new Dollar General across from Winn Dixie seems to have created a flood problem. The city attorney will get with city engineers to determine if there are any code violation to runoff water and report back.
• Mr. Campbell brought up patching of roads pot holes and repairs are not being done to the best of our ability and wants more accountability in this area.
• Mr. Campbell discussed the possibility of hiring an assistant city administrator for the 2025-26 budget. No action was taken at this time 
• A  code enforcement lien was given by a 5-0 vote.
• A lengthy discussion took place regarding a planning and zoning decision to deny a proposed 3-duplex development at 1401 Ohio Ave. The council reversed the decision by a 5-0 vote.
• Planning and zoning fee schedule changes was approved.
• A 5-0 vote to temporarily put a moratorium on Data Centers.
• June 29 was selected for Audit presentation.

5/26/26 Special Meeting

• As expected Chairman Campbell discussed the gas tax sharing between the county and city, and his thoughts that the city's amount needed to be adjusted. At this point there was no option other than to approve the current rate and be prepared to discuss details after the budget and audit with the county later in the year at a joint workshop.
• Meeting was all of ten minutes long in my option because the two talkers: Robinson and Jefferson were not present, guess they didn't think this was important.
• Click on Articles for 5/28/26 Update

05/12/26 City Council Meeting

• No public comments were made
• Mayor Davis suggested that water bills for senior citizens in the rears be discussed at budget hearings
• Hampton Inn ground breaking was discussed
• MS Owens asked about ADP doing payroll, and Mr. Sessions explained that they could not do the job correctly and he fired them and now the accounting department has taken over, he also discussed payrolls that were incorrect will be made whole the next payroll period.
• High school student council presented the merit of stopping smoking and vaping at city parks , and asked the council to pass the ordinance which was voted 5-1 to implement.
• Resolution 2026-21 to authorize the relocation of funds was discussed , with Mr. Jefferson interrupting and asking about resurfacing roads in the middle of the vote, however the measure was passed.
• The lien amnesty of a property was discussed and approved 5-0
• A short discussion took place regarding providing water and sewer to the new Hampton Inn which was approved 5-0
• No discussion was had regarding the sale of obsolete property owned by the city was passed 5-0
• A resolution to approve the city manager contract for LAST year was approved 5-0. Jefferson again talked about the evaluations and he did not do one because he was confused what form to use. The city attorney had to explained AGAIN this was discussed a few meetings ago and the old form was to be used. Of the five members only Campbell and Alford did a review an met with Mr. Sessions to discuss it. Evidently the other three can't bring themselves to do their duty and submit an evaluation in January, yet there are constant complaints about the city manager from Jefferson and Robinson. 
• Resolution 2026-4 was to renew Mr. Session contract back dated to January 9, 2026. The item was passed 4-1 with Robinson being the na vote.
• Resolution 2026-26 was to give Mr. Sessions a raise to $115K which passed 3 to 2 with Robinson and Jefferson Na. Perhaps an evaluation should take place for the three that didn't do their duty in January
• Chairman Campbell brought up the gas tax distribution to the city from the county and felt it should be increased , the city attorney was asked to contact the county attorney to see if the city could get a better deal.
• See ARTICLES page for more detail.

01/133/26 Special Meeting and Budget Workshop

• After 3 hours the budget workshop was delayed for a vote until next weeks regular meeting on 7/20/26 at Suwannee County @ 9:30 AM
• Suwannee County proposed donation is $496K plus $50K in emergency funds for a total so far of $1,276,000.
• Columbia County donation will be $496K plus $100K emergency fund.
• At the beginning of the meeting Director Roberts the following items are not in the budget (take note there is a conflict later in the meeting): Fort White Sewer Plant (water is included in the budget), * I 75 Sewer Plat for Busy Bee, Welborn Water treatment plant, Suwannee Waster water plant (it doesn't exist)
• Some items were not broken down such as Lobbyist which was stated to be $65K by Roberts
• Details were slim
• At this time there are 5 employees with benefits and and anticipated 1 full time and 1 part time to be added this year. 
• As the meeting went on one item stuck out THE WATER AUTHORITY WANTS TO ELIMATE SEPTIC TANKS AND FORCE ALL SYSTEMS TO BE CONNECTED TO THEIR SYSTEM.
• As the meeting progressed into the rate study by Raftelis it was evident the new proposed rates would increase substantially for existing customers as an example: Ellisville residential water only would go from $40.25 to $63.62 and commercial from $265.02 to $521.04, Suwannee County Commercial Water form $224.47 to $521.04 these are all base rates with addition charges for water used.
• Imagine this Suwannee County the septic system you have paid for and water well will be eliminated and you pay $141.95 minimum with extra for additional water usage over 3000 gallons PER MONTH
• * When asked why did Mr. Roberts state the Busy Bee system is not in the budget yet Raftelis study included it, Mr Roberts responded with a BS answer that only part was excluded yet no real explanation  given.
• Please click on the NFWUA page for the full budget and Rate study it will shock you.

07/09/26 Update

• Columbia County appointed two citizens to replace county commissioners on the board.

For more detail click on MAIN PAGE BREAKING NEWS

06/16/26 NFWUA Regular Meeting

• Financial: bills this last month $95,136.12, Revenue $391,150
• Delinquent accounts were discussed and Mr. Dicks asked if the authority had a delinquent bill policy, Shannon replied quickly that he did not know, but it was evident there is none. Mr. White stated that collections need to be #1 priority and Shannon needed to bring it to the top of the list. Mr. Dicks also stated they need a policy.
• On the item Authorized Organization Representative Shannon admitted he had signed on behalf of the authority for a grant Suwannee County was applying for and that time was of the essence to execute the grant application. A motion to designate Shannon to sign agreements (just a little late after the fact) that are time sanative however he is to bring it to the board at the next regular meeting.
• Shannon's review was discussed at lenth and a decision to have the attorney reach out to other authorities to see what their review documents look like for adoption of this authority. A suggestion to change reviews to one year was discussed but never made it to a vote.
• On the item of budget workshop a long discussion took place to at leaset establish July 13th @9:30AM location to be determined as a workshop and immediately after a special meeting to adopt the budget.
• Asset Transfer was discussed at length after the attorney gave a long list of item that would have to take place for a transfer such as: surveys, evaluations, estimated value, Grants, modify the interlocal agreement etc. A motion to at least establish goals and set a date for a plan of transfer was established as October 1, 2026. Citizens cautioned about rushing the process and having issues at a later date.
• There was some concern that citizens could not attend the meeting at 9:30AM on Monday and that that be changes to 5:30 which the board advised Shannon to make happen.
• Stew Liker questioned why video of the meeting was not done so that people who can not be at a meeting can watch the proceedings. He stated Suwannee has an excellent system but it is not being used and Columbia also has a system in the meeting room. All commissioners were in agreement to implement video of the meeting, but no vote took place to make it happen.
• There seems to be a lot of discussion but no direction at these meetings, and they last between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours

For more detail click on NFWUA Page

05/18/26 Regular Meeting

• Three citizens spoke about the utility and asked does it really make sense anymore with Columbia County not really committed due to the fact that they just sold their mega site plant to the city of Lake City.
• Financial report from Powell and Associates show expenditures of $77, 968.86 for the month,  a gross profit from October 1, to April 30 shows an amount of $1,044,037.57 however that amount is misleading since $651,010.45 is contributions made by Suwannee and Columbia Counties , in fact the profit is only $393,027.12
• Continuing service contracts to two seperate engineering firms were approved 5-0 
• Commissioner White questioned the sale of the Mega site water and sewer utility to the City of Lake City and why the Authority was not informed prior to the sale. He questioned Columbia Counties commitment to the Water Authority. That lead into a long discussion/argument  between Rocky Ford who was against the sale and Tim Murphy. At some point in the back and forth Columbia County Commissioner   Robby Hollingsworth  got up and told the board they need to get politics out of it and let people that are experienced in water authority sit on the board, he also said the Mega site sale was a financial decision only and he supported it. Mr Murphy then gave his version of the sale and stated that was the intent from the beginning to sell to the city and that is was all about dollars only. He also stated that communication to the Water Authority was poor and needed to improve.
• I spoke to Mr Ford after the meeting and he was still furious about the sale , stating they don't know what they did.