By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                The Chiefland Watermelon Festival Parade will take place on June 5 as planned but the parade route won’t be as long as usual due to ongoing the construction of Chiefland Middle High School

            Chiefland City Commissioners Monday approved a plan offered by Interim City Manager Laura Cain to line up the parade on NW 12 Drive instead of at the high school. The parade will travel from NW 4^th Ave. to U.S. 19 and go south on U.S. 19 to SW 2^nd Ave.

            “It does shorten the parade a little but I didn’t see any other alternative,” Cain said.

            She said Chiefland First United Methodist Church, which stands within sight of the CMHS parking lot, offered to allow the parade to line up behind the church but Cain thought that would inconvenience homeowners in the neighborhood.

            “My fear was that all those floats and all the people would try to line up in people’s yards,” Cain said. “I thought that might be a little frustrating for those folks.”

            Bulletproof Vests

            In other business, commissioners gave Police Chief Scott Anderson permission to apply for a Florida League of Cities and Florida Municipal Insurance Trust Matching safety grant to purchase three bulletproof vests.

            Anderson said the grant will pay for 50 percent of the cost and he will use money from his existing budget to pay the balance. The vests cost $800 each.

            New Fire Engine

            Fire Capt. Dwayne King told commissioners construction of the city’s new fire truck is almost finished and the fire department anticipates taking possession of the engine in June.

            The fire engine cost around $496,944

. It holds 1,258 gallons of water. The truck is the first new fire engine for the city in a couple of decades. The city has used aging fire truck equipment for some time.

            Landscaping Agreement

            Commissioners voted to approve a landscaping agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation to plant shrubbery in a median on the south end of town and one on the north end. The city will maintain the medians.

            Cain said one median is across from the Dodge dealership on the north end of the city and the other is across from Andrews Land and Timber on the south end of Chiefland.

            City Manager Hopefuls  

Two city employees are applying for the job of city manager. Laura Cain said she is finishing her resume and Water Superintendent Shane Keene is applying for the job as well.

            The city is also advertising the position.

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City of Chiefland Regular Meeting April 12, 2021; Posted April 12, 2021