By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Farm Share is coming to Chiefland on the weekend before Thanksgiving.
The annual food distribution event is set for Saturday, Nov. 19, from 8:30 a.m. until the food runs out, usually at 11 to 11:30 a.m., at Charles Strickland Park in the north part of Chiefland.
Tri-County Community Resource Center Director Beverly Goodman announced the event at Monday’s Chiefland City Commission meeting. She received permission to close the street that runs past Strickland Park from 120th to 140th streets to accommodate the event.
Farm Share is a food bank that works in cooperation with farmers to ensure no food is wasted. Last year Farm Share distributed 30,000 pounds of food from Strickland Park.
“This year the food insecurity is so tremendous,” Goodman said. “I hope they bring us twice the food.”
Commissioner Rollin Hudson asked if the food was intended only for Levy County residents or if tri-county residents could receive food, meaning Levy, Dixie, and Gilchrist counties.
“We don’t turn anyone away,” Goodman said. “All the food is allocated for Levy County. Anyone can come from anywhere. We have a lot of tri-county residents that come. It’s probably 95 percent from tri-county. We get a little trickling because of food insecurity – people who follow Farm Share and come from other areas, but more than 50 percent will be from Levy County.”
Goodman said the food provided by Farm Share is predominantly fresh and frozen food. There may be some packaged food. Farm Share owns food plants and works with farmers. Sometimes cereal and pasta is provided.
“If there ever is canned food thrown in, it’s a surprise to me – very nutritious,” she said.
She said commissioners are welcome to be volunteers at the event. She said it takes 50 volunteers to put on Farm Share. Goodman said she can be reached at her Tri-County Community Resource email if someone wants to volunteer or has questions.
Planning Contract
The city uses the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council for planning services. Commissioners approved spending $7,000 to hire the council for another year of services.
Writing Off Utility Bad Debt
Commissioners voted 4-1 to write off $61,953 of utility debt from water, sewer, and garbage accounts. The bad debt has accumulated since 2007. The city’s accounting firm, Beauchamp and Edwards, recommended taking it off the city’s financial records.
Hudson voted against the motion.
City Manager Laura Cain said the bad debt can still be collected.
“I think we should look at collecting the money rather than writing it off,” Hudson said.
Researching Policing Requirements
Commissioners postponed sending in paperwork for a Small Communities Block Grant they applied for until city staff can sort through six different resolutions the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity wants them to
review for possible adoption.
One resolution that caught the eye of Police Chief Scott Anderson requires recipients of federal funds to adopt and enforce a policy “prohibiting the use of excessive force by law enforcement agencies within its jurisdiction against any individuals engaged in nonviolent civil rights demonstrations.”
Federal law already says federal grant recipients must comply with the U.S. Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 requiring federal funding recipients to adopt and enforce applicable state and local laws that prevent police from physically barring entrance to or exit from a facility or location where a non-violent civil rights demonstration is taking place.
The resolution appears to be a reminder that federal and state laws already on the books can’t be breached and the city should take a look at what it has on file for city ordinances to make sure city laws comply with federal law. DEO wants the city to send any changes it makes to its code of ordinances back to the state for review this week before any site visit can take place related to the grant.
City Attorney Blake Fugate said he doubts the state wants the city to adopt an additional 30-40 pages of regulations cited in the six resolutions that DEO attached to the grant paperwork. He said the city may be able to look at the laws it has on the books and amend them if necessary to meet the block grant requirements.
Meter Deposits
Commissioners increased the water meter deposit for residential customers from $150 to $200 and commercial customers from $200 to $300. The city wants to reduce the amount of bad debt from residential customers. It rarely has bad debt from commercial customers.
The city reserves the right to adjust the commercial deposit to the size of the business coming into the city by comparing it to existing businesses of similar size and type and examine how much water those businesses consume.
Under current rules, Walmart has the same water deposit as Mom-and-Pop stores. Walmart stands alone in Chiefland as the largest business in the city. There is nothing that compares to Walmart.
Police Union Contract Approved
Commissioners approved a contract with the North Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents city police officers, giving them the same $4 per hour pay raise as other city employees.
——————————-
City of Chiefland Regular Meeting September 19, 2022; Posted September 2, 2022
