By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Williston City Manager Scott Lippmann said Tuesday the new City Hall is on schedule to be completed by October 1.
He anticipates Oelrich Construction will add the metal roof next week. The walls, already in place, consist of a type of sturdy styrofoam reinforced with concrete and metal rods on the interior.
The new City Hall is just under 13,000 square feet and includes the space formerly occupied by the old Community Building.
City council members approved the latest payment of $317,000 to Oelrich Construction at the meeting, but the money will come from the loan rather than the city’s reserve dollars.
Lippmann said the building is to the point where some of the spaces look really small, and some of the spaces really big, but that will change when sheetrock is added to the interior walls.
The company is standing by its Oct. 1 completion date but has built in added time for contingencies. One contingency that may never happen, and most people hope doesn’t happen, would be a hurricane. None are in the forecast yet but the National Weather Service is predicting an above average year.
One interior change is that a door has been added that gives the mayor direct access from his office to the council chambers. There is room for an interior expansion at some future date, according to Lippmann.
Council President Nancy Wininger wondered if the council chamber chairs had been picked out. She said the current seats for residents attending council meetings aren’t comfortable. She also wants comfortable seating for council members.
Lippmann said they looked at using some of the old chairs from the school auditorium for audience seating but they need eight chairs per side and 10 rows of chairs. The auditorium seats don’t appear to be working out.
As for the council member seats, Lippmann joked that they don’t want to make them too comfortable.
“We don’t want you to extend council meetings into the night,” he said.
OLD WILLISTON HIGH Levy Schools
Lippmann said BluRock Development, the company planning to purchase the old Williston High School, hasn’t made a final decision on whether to purchase the 11 acres of the school property.
The company is continuing its “due diligence” in examining the property before making a final decision on whether to make the purchase. The closing would occur in March of 2019.
Lippmann said the company has a relationship with firms that build motels and hotels and expressed an interest in bringing a hotel to Williston during his one conversation with company officials.
BluRock has offered to purchase the school site from the Levy County School Board for $1.5 million. The company has given the school board a deposit to hold the property until they make a final decision on whether to purchase.
CD BLOCK GRANT
Council members instructed Fred Fox of Fred Fox Enterprises to apply for a $700,000 Community Development Block Grant for an upgrade of the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
The plant is in need of improvements. There is the potential for second and third phases which would involve applying for a larger Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant.
UNDER BUDGET
Steven Bloom, the city’s financial analyst said the city has cash investments of $4.1 million, with $3.86 million of that money invested in CDs.
He said all the departments in the city were under budget in April, the most recent month he is reporting.
It was Bloom who recommended the city begin making payments on City Hall with loan money rather than dipping further into reserves. The city has spent about $1.1 million on the new facility with all but $317,000 coming from reserves.
Most financial advisors prefer to keep sizeable reserves on hand in case of emergencies, unexpected expenses, or recessions when revenues can drop.
City of Williston Regular Meeting June 19, 2018
Posted June 21, 2018
