The Alachua City Commission met Monday and discussed several subjects that will affect the city’s future.
Decisions regarding the Alachua County School Board’s rezonings, a solar power purchase agreement, Cleather Hathcock Community Center’s construction plans, an annual budget increase and more were weighed.
School rezoning
The school board discussed plans to close several elementary schools, including Irby and Alachua, at a Feb. 26 workshop.
Irby and Alachua’s potential closures were again brought to light during Monday’s meeting, where commission members discussed their thoughts on the matter. Commissioner Dayna Williams said the Gainesville and Alachua County commissioners made sure the school board knew the plans felt rushed, and that unanswered questions demonstrated the school board’s lack of information.
Williams said she spoke at the workshop as a citizen of Alachua and not representing the city’s commission board. She said she expressed some parents’ concerns about Alachua’s history and unique K-second and third-fifth grade elementary schools.
If Irby and Alachua were closed, Mebane Middle School could serve K-eighth grade. Commissioner Jennifer Ringersen said the potential of having five year olds and 12 year olds interacting on the same campus is mind boggling.
The school board will have another workshop on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and a meeting to finalize rezoning plans is currently scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m.
A letter was drafted by Commissioner Jacob Fletcher and addressed to the school board requesting it to stay rezoning decisions to a later date, to which the commission board unanimously agreed to send.
Solar purchase
The city entered a solar power purchase agreement on June 26, 2023, and the agreement underwent three amendments by July 28, 2025. Interim City Manager Rodolfo Valladares said the agreement had three goals: economic, environmental and community benefits.
Initially, the solar agreement was estimated to provide predictable energy costs and long-term savings, he said. The power purchase rate was projected to be $45 per MWh at the time of the agreement, which was lower than the average rate in all but five months from June 2023 to June 2025.
Valladares said recent programming revisions by the Trump administration would more than triple the power purchase rate to about $150 per MWh and have a 3% annual escalation rate.
He said that due to these increases, the solar agreement no longer aligns with economic goals. However, the environmental and community goals would still be reached, he said.
The solar agreement was projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 5,808 tons and gasoline usage by 653,539 gallons in its first year, which is equivalent to the annual gas consumption of 1,355 cars, he said.
The commission board unanimously voted to terminate the solar agreement due to its altered economic impacts.
Cleather Hathcock Community Center
The Cleather Hathcock Community Center is a city-owned facility that has been used for community events. The city commission has discussed options for the building as the construction of a new facility has developed.
Valladares said the options included demolition or repurposing. He said Monarch Design Group evaluated the facility's condition and identified significant structural deterioration and several code compliance deficiencies.
He said rehabilitation of the building could cost over $500,000, and demolishing and relocating the facility could cost up to $300,000. He said the city’s staff recommended that the commission authorized the demolition and moved forward with current design plans of relocating the facility.
The commission voted 4–1 in favor of demolition, and the facility is now scheduled to relocate. Fletcher was the only commissioner against the changes.
He said he voted no because the Cleather Hathcock Community Center facility update was not on the public’s version of the meeting's agenda. For that reason, he was unable to conduct enough research to make a firm decision, he said.
Budget increase
The Alachua Police Department received a $14,841.25 grant award from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The grant prompted an amendment to increase the city’s budget by $14,842, which was unanimously passed by the commission.
The purpose of the grant was to purchase a trailer, two pepperball launchers and two pistol shields. Any extra costs to acquire the equipment will be paid for by the city.
Land use and zoning change
Also discussed at Monday’s commission meeting were the future land use designation and zoning district of a four-acre property located south of U.S. Highway 441 and west of NW 173rd Street.
The city’s commission unanimously voted to approve its land use and zoning from agricultural to commercial.
