Town of Bronson Said No to Buying Gym for One Dollar?

By Linda Dean Cooper

Sources say that approximately 20 years ago the Town of Bronson turned down the opportunity to buy the H. A. White gym for a dollar from the school board. The refusal to buy was due to the high cost of insurance.

Twenty-plus years later insurance is still too expensive, county government owns the gym which sits in the middle of a government complex, not a school campus. Where would the county get the money if $1.4 million is a true estimate for the renovation? A grant is virtually impossible for a project that is in such disrepair and old as the gym. Grants are easier to obtain for new projects.

Commissioner Kennedy Sites Fiscal Responsibility to All Taxpayers

Commissioner Charlie Kennedy said it wasn’t an easy decision to demolish the building, but he said a gym really doesn’t have a place in the county government center. He couldn’t envision telling the residents in other parts of the county that he voted to spend $1.4 million of tax dollars to renovate and repair a gym that wasn’t needed for county government business. He said spending that much money on the gym wouldn’t be fiscally responsible.

4-0 vote to Demolish 1950s Bronson High School Gym

According to the February 4 agenda packet and subsequent press release, the gymnasium is in disrepair due to a lack of maintenance in recent decades. Water is entering the building from multiple locations, the building is deteriorating at a rapid rate. The public was provided documents including pictures of the deterioration of the gym. A 1950’s building surely has asbestos, lead paint, defective, outdated electrical, lighting, and plumbing.

After a lengthy discussion by commissioners and emotional pleas from Bronson residents to keep the gym for a community center, the BoCC voted 4-0 in favor of demolishing the H. A. White gymnasium. Commissioner Rock Meeks was absent.

Bronson Has No Police Department – County Residents Pay For Deputy Presence

Bronson has no police force and depends on the sheriff’s department to handle police matters that all county taxpayers fund. That means every time a call is dispatched for the Town of Bronson a deputy is pulled away from his duties as a county deputy. County taxpayers finance the town of Bronson law enforcement through the Sheriff’s Department.

Bronson Middle High School Has a Taxpayer Paid Gym – Share It!

The Bronson Middle High School has a gym. The Bronson community should partner with the school board to resolve the issue for children who need a place to play basketball and hold events. Is it that complicated to schedule or find a way for a place for those same children who are already at that school?

Perhaps the county and the school board could work together to apply for a grant to build a secondary facility for the children on the existing 78 acres the school board owns.

County Manager Harper Have a Master Plan?

Perhaps County Manager Mary Ellen Harper has a master plan to move county departments to more sensible locations. The road department facility on Alt Hwy 27 is an obsolete, dilapidated buildings, and an eyesore that needs to be replaced. It makes more sense to move the road department to the Department of Public Safety complex on CR 343. DPS has no use for the 40 acres and several outbuildings. The State owns the property but the county leases it. BoCC could reach out to the State of Florida to purchase the property. The county doesn’t need to improve property they do not own if the county decides to move the road department with fleet management there.

With the road department moved, the county could build a community center, and a new animal control facility with perhaps a library to complete the community project using grant funding. That location is easily accessible to the public. That makes more sense to me than renovating the gym on a government complex.

Clerk of Court Records Deed Show Sale As Ten Dollars

News articles stated that BoCC paid $1.5 million for the property. Deed OR BK 1469, Pg 922, September 21, 2018, shows $10 “in consideration of the sum of Ten and 00 dollars.

Property Appraiser Records – Sale As $100

The Property Appraiser office has it listed as parcel 0650200000 sales as $100 dated September 21, 2018. The property appraiser’s website lacks consistency and basic information the public should be able to access with confidence it is somewhat accurate. At this time it is not a true picture of properties in Levy.

BoCC Claims It Paid $1.5 Million for Bronson Property

Apparently, the government is not held to the same record-keeping standards as the taxpayers. Where’s the paper trail for the 1.5 million dollars? Did the BoCC pay the $1.5 million? You wouldn’t know by doing a basic county records search. Records on the Clerk of Court and Property Appraiser differ on the purchase price.

BoCC and City of Williston – Building Permits Process Ignored?

The BoCC did not pull building permits for the demo of the Gym but has since applied for that permit. Records request to the City of Williston regarding permits for demolishing the old Pesso Pawnshop by Tractor Supply and the partially collapsed building behind the old Citizen’s Bank on Noble Avenue in Williston were promised by 4:00 Thursday but at the time of this article have not been received.

The government should be held to the same standards and rules as citizens!