Seth Johnson
The Hawthorne City Commission voted to approve the city’s first strategic plan at a regular meeting on Tuesday and delayed a contract with Alachua County about code enforcement.
The city commission also decided to move forward on a new mural for the side of City Hall.
City Manager John Martin presented the strategic plan that has been in process for nearly a year. He said the plan started with a town hall meeting where staff compiled community input on goals for the city.
The strategic plan has four key areas to help the city realize its vision of achieving “world class quality of life by actively collaborating with our community towards a fulfilling and inspired future for all.”
The four areas are economic development, housing, infrastructure and cultural, community and recreational development. The city then has several initiatives within the four areas as steps to further the plan.
These initiatives include developing a plan to seek businesses, find ways to support current business, boost the city’s visibility for tourists and potential residents, apply for housing grants, improve water quality and develop wayfinding signage.
“I think it’s wonderful that we have a strategic plan that we can build from and work with, and hopefully the community will work with us as we try to develop Hawthorne and to grow it and to make it a better city than what it is,” said Commissioner Randy Martin.
Commissioners said they wanted reports to keep track of progress, and the plan can be updated each year to adjust to city goals and achievements. It also considered designating a commissioner to each of the four areas to follow progress more closely and assist staff as needed.
In January, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved a plan for the county’s code enforcement to begin inspections in the city of Hawthorne. The cities of Waldo and Archer dropped from the discussion.
Martin told the BOCC then that Hawthorne hasn’t had dedicated code enforcement for around three years, resulting in a backlog that could take six months to clear before demand for code enforcement leveled.
That backlog concerned Commissioner Raymond Cue because of the potential cost to the city.
Under the agreement before the council, the county will take over all fees and liens once a code enforcement issue is taken to a special magistrate. Greta Moreau, interim director for the county’s code enforcement office, said the property owner would need to ignore the county’s warnings and not fix the code error to arrive before the special magistrate.
But Cue said most cases will be small issues like a junk car that must be moved. He said residents will easily be able to comply, and Moreau said the county is willing to work with homeowners over several months if they’re fixing the problem.
All cases that get resolved before needing the special magistrate will generate a fee for the county’s services that only the city can pay. The contract presented on Tuesday showed a $70 charge for each code enforcement visit to the property—with a minimum of two visits per violation.
With a backlog of small violations, Cue said the contract could cost Hawthorne a significant amount.
“I just think the $140 for the first six months to a year is going to be extremely high over that period of time,” Cue said. “I just think we need to negotiate to at least get through the first year, some way, at a reasonable thing that works for them and works for us.”
Mayor Jacquelyn Randall agreed with Cue, and she also noted that the $70 fee per visit is the standard used across the county. Randall added that the BOCC knows of the city’s financial constraints.
Martin also said the county indicated that there could be some flexibility in the pay structure. He said both the county and city want residents to comply with codes in the end.
Martin said he hopes people will proactively comply when they hear the county will start getting involved. Martin said he planned to notify residents of complaints before reaching out to the county.
The City Commission voted to delay an agreement on the contract until it meets with the BOCC in a joint meeting already scheduled for April.
Randall said she’s hopeful the board will find a resolution and said she can’t imagine the BOCC being contrary on the issue.
“I think that we need to have a more in-depth discussion board to board,” Randall said. “They know the constraints.”
The city has started the process to replace the City Hall mural. Martin said the mural was done by the bank who owned the building at the time, not the city.
Randall said she asked the original artist if she was interested in modifying the mural to include other prominent Hawthorne citizens, but the artist declined. The city sent out invitations and heard from three muralists. Randall said only one completed the process.
The mural sketch was shown on Tuesday for feedback. After some editing from the dais, the council voted to approve the mural at a cost of around $6,150. The commission voted to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover the cost before getting reimbursed by the Community Reinvestment Area.
The new mural takes elements from the original—a train, fishing, a lake and oranges—and adds other Hawthorne distinctives like the museum building, Moore Hotel and a Hornet, the mascot of the local middle/high school.
The new mural will include notable Hawthorne figures like Chester Shell, DeLoris Roberts and Jane Segal while keeping Mr. Moore who also appears on the original mural.
How Wonderful to hear we are putting in more thoughts on Hawthorne as a Growing City . While also preserving what we have and up keep of our city. Nice .