By Terry Witt – Spotlight on Levy County Government

Representatives of the company planning to purchase the old Williston High School property met with City Manager Scott Lippmann Tuesday and favorably impressed him.

“I think they are interested in doing something that will benefit the city,” Lippmann said in a statement to the city council Tuesday. “Everything I saw today gave me a reason to believe we will have a good project.”

BluRock Development LLC has signed a contract to purchase 11 acres of the former school site from the Levy County School Board for $1.5 million.

Lippmann said he wasn’t expecting to meet with representatives of the company but he said the surprise meeting was productive. They established a good working relationship.

The closing on the purchase will take place in March of 2019.

Lippmann said the company has a lot of contacts. He said they can “bring things to Williston.”

FIRE ASSESSMENT

In an unrelated matter, council members instructed Fire Chief Lamar Stegall and Jeff Rackley of Government Services Group to return with more information about a proposed fire assessment for Williston.

Williston residents currently don’t pay a fire assessment. The city uses property taxes to fund the fire department. Nearly half of the city’s fire funding comes from a Levy County Commission fire assessment. The county pays Williston to fight fires in the rural areas surrounding Williston.

Stegall said he is looking for a stable source of funding for the fire department. The assessment would provide a reliable funding source.

The council didn’t commit to imposing a fire assessment. They want additional information to make an informed decision.

A fire assessment is a charge imposed on property to pay for the fire services of a local government. It is not a tax. Unlike taxes, assessments must benefit the property.

Government Services Group developed the fire assessment used by the Levy County Commission. Residents in the unincorporated areas of Levy County have paid the fire assessment for years.

Rackley didn’t come to the meeting with any information on how much the assessment might cost Williston residents and Williston businesses.

The two main methods for billing residents would be to add the assessment to the property tax bill or mail it as a separate bill to residents.

The initial study of the city to pin down how much the assessment would cost would be less than $20,000, but if the city wanted to hire GSG to place the assessment on the tax bill it would cost about $10,000.

There would also be legal fees. GSG is affiliated with the law firm of Nabors, Giblin, and Nickerson, which is used by the Levy County Commission and County Attorney Anne Bast Brown for legal advice.

USDA GRANT

Council members accepted a grant of $75,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the purchase of two police cars and a truck. The city provided $32,000 of matching money to obtain the grant.

HELICOPTER AMBULANCE

Phi Air Medical, a company that provides airborne ambulance services, is finalizing plans to establish a medical helicopter at Williston Municipal Airport. A spokesman estimated the company will be licensed to operate in a month.

Photo by Terry Witt: Government Services Group representative Jeff Rackley explains fire assessments.

City of Williston Regular Meeting June 5, 2018
Posted June 6, 2018