Santa Fe College buzzed with students Thursday on their first day back for the spring semester. 

Mayors, representatives, city managers and commissioners also crowded onto the college’s Northwest Campus to participate in the Alachua County Legislative Delegation meeting.  

Leaders lobbied before the five delegates who will represent Alachua County in Tallahassee for the upcoming session of the Florida Legislature.  

The delegation includes: state Sen. Stan McClain, R-Ocala; state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island; state Rep. Chuck Brannan, R-Macclenny; state Rep. Chad Johnson, R-Chiefland; and state Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, D-Gainesville. 

Local requests ran along several common themes: inflation-caused budget struggles, wastewater infrastructure, and general funding for projects. 

State Attorney Brian Kramer said the state should provide general revenue funds to support victim advocate positions. He said victim advocate positions were grant funded, but the federal grants—issued through the Victims of Crime Act Fund—have dried up.  

Kramer said he’s down to six advocates instead of a full complement of 12. He said the community now expects these services and the state should finance it.  

Public Defender Stacy Scott said the state’s past funding of attorneys in her office has reduced staff turnover issues.  

“I’ve seen an impact,” Scott said. “I can see a light at the end of the tunnel where, one day soon, I might be fully staffed if no one else leaves.” 

She said public defenders across Florida will ask for an increase to the due process fund used to pay for expert testimony, competency evaluations and other evidence used in trials.  

Scott said the fund for the entire state sits at around $19 million annually. The public defenders estimate that the fund needs a 5-6% increase to break even with expenses. She said all the services have risen in cost, but the fund hasn’t increased in five years.  

Newly elected Sheriff Chad Scott asked for increases in deputy wages to help improve retention. A similar request came forward at the last delegation meeting as the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office works to fill vacancies. 

Scott also supported the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) request to conduct a study of the county jail. BOCC Chair Chuck Chestnut IV said the facility needs renovating and updating to modern standards.  

In the past couple of years, the sheriff’s office and BOCC have worked to implement free phone calls for inmates, but the infrastructure of the jails, along with staffing shortages, have hindered the project.  

The BOCC also asked for funding to improve water quality at Newnans Lake. The funds would go to a Phase 1 study for reducing nutrients at the lake, which is considered an impaired waterway by the state of Florida.  

The cities of Alachua, Archer and Hawthorne asked for aid in wastewater treatment. A request also important to the city of Newberry in the past few years. 

The city of Alachua recently received wastewater funding and finished a treatment plant expansion with state support. However, City Manager Mike DaRoza said the city is requesting more funds for wastewater to improve the plant it built in 2011.  

DaRoza said the plant is already at 60% capacity despite a projection to last 30 years. The city wants to get ahead of the curve, he said, to meet state guidelines.  

The city of Archer asked for support to provide wastewater services to its residents for the first time. Archer’s population is around 1,200 residents, and the whole city is on septic tanks.  

Archer Commissioner Fletcher Hope said the area needs to join a modern wastewater treatment system. In a partnership with Newberry, Archer plans to build a force main to pump its wastewater to Newberry’s advanced treatment plant, which is fully designed and ready to begin construction.  

Hope asked for help to make the plan possible. He said that over 40% of the city’s residents live below the poverty line, and Archer can’t provide the wastewater services itself. Hope said the city had plans drawn up in 1994 for wastewater service but could never finance the project.  

The city of Hawthorne has wastewater service but needs upgrades. The system was built around 50 years ago, according to new City Manager Robert Thompson.  

Thompson said the city is too far to piggyback off another system like Archer. He said the city wants to address the problem before it gets out of hand. 

“We’re not quite at a dire state, but we’re pretty close,” Thompson said. 

Hawthorne has asked for aid to harden its lift stations for the last couple of years. 

Mike New, city manager of Newberry, said wastewater costs have increased tremendously since he started working in the area. The costs, he said, have risen from $2.50 per gallon to $65 per gallon. 

Newberry is seeking state grants to finish the funding for its advanced wastewater treatment plant. New said the city’s request is for $500,000 for repairs at Champions Park. He said the funds will be part of around $2 million in repairs needed over the next five years.  

Other requests included:  

• City of Gainesville: Funding for SW Public Safety Center, expansion of SW 47th Road, and a new police building for property and evidence. 

• Alachua County: Funding to expand Archer Road to four lanes until Parker Road. 

• School Board of Alachua County: Increase base student allocation by 5% and remove 90-day limitation to intervene when students miss over 10 days with unexcused absences. 

• Property Appraiser: Freeze assessed value of properties for low-income seniors (approximately 2% of parcels in Alachua County). 

• Santa Fe College: Funding to continue Blount Campus expansion. 

• University of Florida: Increasing performance-based funding allocations, supporting larger IFAS workload with financing, furthering UF Health’s mobile stroke unit. 

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to say the proposed assessed value freeze for low-income seniors would apply to 2% of parcels, not 2% of the population.