Bronson Passes Resolution Protecting Right to Bear Arms

County Commission Chairman John Meeks, representing Sons of Amvets Post 88 in Bronson, receives permission to place wreaths on the graves of veterans at Jim Milton Cemetery.

By Terry Witt Spotlight Senior Reporter

Bronson is officially a town where the right of its citizens to bear arms is protected.

The Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to adopt a resolution declaring the town a Second Amendment Stronghold.

Levy County Commissioners will consider a similar resolution Tuesday at their regularly scheduled 9 a.m. meeting, but their resolution would declare Levy County a Second Amendment Sanctuary.

Bronson was planning to use the county’s wording until Town Attorney Steven Warm suggested changing the word “sanctuary” to “stronghold” to avoid misinterpretations. Warm said sanctuary has religious meanings and is also associated with immigration issues.

Large cities in the United States have declared they are sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.

Councilman Jason Hunt said the town’s resolution means that if the federal government ever decided to take the firearms of Bronson residents, Bronson wouldn’t participate.

The resolution cites a number of court cases relating to the right to bear arms, but also notes the Florida Constitution states, “the right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and the lawful authority of the state shall not be infringed,” except that bearing arms may be regulated.

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, “a well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Mosquito Control Ditch Vanishes

Councilman Berlon Weeks convinced the council it should challenge the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s mistake in removing a mosquito and flood control ditch in Bronson from its online flood hazard map.

At Weeks’ insistence, the council instructed Warm to write a letter to the state, which enforces FEMA Floodplain regulations, to ask why FEMA has created an online map that doesn’t show the ditch as existing.

“You want me to write a letter saying what the hell is going on?” Warm asked.

The council said that’s exactly what they wanted him to do.

The flood and mosquito control ditch runs along the west side of Bronson behind its business district. It was constructed by Civilian Conservation Corps, a public works program created by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 as part of the New Deal. The CCC program lasted until 1942. The program was designed to give young men jobs and relieve financial stress on families struggling during the Great Depression.

In Bronson, the ditch carries floodwaters away from the town and out to large swamps to the north and west and south to Chunky Pond on the south and east. The ditch, for those familiar with it, is an essential floodwater and mosquito control ditch for Bronson.

When the county contacted Bronson to ask if the town wanted the county to handle its floodplain management, Weeks discovered the error on the online federal flood hazard map. The online map doesn’t show the ditch as existing. A 2012 FEMA flood map does show the ditch. The town wants FEMA to use the 2012 version of the map as its online version.

Town Clerk Shirley Miller had been instructed to work with the state to correct the online mapping error, but she said FEMA hasn’t shown any interest in correcting its mistake. She said the FEMA flood hazard map on paper does show the ditch.

Weeks, frustrated with the lack of progress, slammed his hand on the dais when he didn’t feel Miller was giving him good answers as to why the flood hazard map wasn’t corrected. Miller said she was doing as much as she could but FEMA wasn’t cooperating. Weeks later apologized to Miller for slamming his hand on the dais.

The letter from Warm is intended to spur more interest on the part of the state and FEMA in correcting the mapping error. Weeks said the online flood hazard map currently shows the area on the west side of town as a floodway without a ditch.

Weeks battled FEMA for years when the federal agency mistakenly labeled the aging ditch as a tributary of the Waccasassa River. The agency eventually relented and removed the tributary designation, but the latest error allowed the ditch to disappear entirely from FEMA’s online flood hazard map.

Poor Old Bucket Truck

The town recently picked up its bucket truck from an Ocala repair shop after a year of being out of service, but the overhead boom still doesn’t work despite the town spending $23,000 on repairs.

“It’s just a garbage bucket truck,” Weeks said.

Curtis Stacy, who is filling in for resigned public works director Erik Wise, said he drove the truck back to Hydropower in Ocala and told the company that hydraulic overhead boom still doesn’t work.

Parks and Recreation Director Curtis Stacy, who is substituting for the resigned public works director, said the town's bucket truck isn't functioning despite $23,000 in repairs. — Parks and Recreation Director Curtis Stacy, who is substituting for the resigned public works director, said the town’s bucket truck isn’t functioning despite $23,000 in repairs.

Stacy said the company told him the problem was an auxiliary generator on the truck. He said company officials said they hadn’t been instructed to do repairs on the generator. Councilman Aaron Edmondson said the hydraulic boom should operate off the truck’s engine. The generator is for auxiliary power.

Warm agreed to write the company a letter to avoid the possibility of a lawsuit and encourage additional repairs. Warm said a lawsuit would delay matters and there would be no guaranteed outcome. The council isn’t interested in paying additional money for repairs.

Miller said the City of Chiefland has agreed to provide a bucket truck on Tuesday to allow the town to mount Christmas lights along U.S. 27A. A truck with a hydraulic boom is needed to reach the top of power poles to attach the lights.

The council is frustrated with Hydropower’s inability to get the hydraulic boom working. Stacy said the boom would work for about 45 minutes to an hour and quit.

Council members were also made aware that four of the five security cameras the town purchased for James H. Cobb Park have remained mothballed because there is no bucket truck to mount them in elevated positions. One camera was installed by Wise.

Veterans Wreaths

County Commission Chairman John Meeks appeared before the council to request permission on behalf of Sons of AmVets Post 88 to place wreaths on the graves of veterans at Jim Milton Cemetery, the only city-owned cemetery.

Meeks heads the Wreaths across America program for Sons of AmVets Post 88. He said the organization places wreaths at the Rosemary Hill Cemetery every year. They want to make sure veterans’ graves in Jim Milton Cemetery are given wreaths.

Councilman Aaron Edmondson asked how Meeks knows where veterans’ graves are located at the cemetery. Meeks said they have a list from previous visits but they would appreciate any help Edmondson and the town could give them. Miller said she has a list of about 20 graves.

Edmondson said his father is a veteran who is buried at Jim Milton Cemetery. The council gave Meeks permission to place wreaths on the graves of veterans at the cemetery.

Hunt’s motion to give $100 to the Wreaths across America program passed unanimously.