Johnell Gainey returned to the Alachua County Commission Tuesday evening with the same request he’s had for the past seven years: to get rid of the “dump” in his residential neighborhood.
“We deserve better. We deserve better,” he said.
Gainey is just one of the many people supporting the closure of the Florence Construction and Demolition Landfill. The landfill has been in the middle of East Gainesville, a predominantly Black community, for 30 years.
He and dozens of other opponents of the landfill spoke to the Board of County Commissioners and urged them to take action.
But the commissioners announced they could not make any decisions Tuesday. Board Chair Charles Chestnut said they could only hear the public’s comments and concerns.
So residents and supporters of the closure took to the lecterns to voice their frustrations.
Jessica Rockstein is a public school teacher and resident of the Kincaid Loop. She said the well by her home recently tested high for lead and arsenic.
Her family, including her two children, had been drinking this water with no filter.
Rockstein urged commissioners to consider if they would let their grandchildren drink the same water or play next to the landfill. She said they had an opportunity to end what she described to be environmental racism in Southeast Gainesville.
Water contamination was one of the main concerns of residents. The landfill is unlined, which puts the groundwater and neighboring wells at risk of contamination.
Zach Whiteman is an architect and resident along the Kincaid Loop. He said the landfill is located near the Alachua sink, where water for North Central Florida reenters the water table, goes into the groundwater and comes back into the natural springs.
The toxic chemicals and demolition debris from the landfill are thus entering the sink and springs, according to Whiteman.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection previously approved expanding the landfill to nearly double in height. The extension elicited protests from residents and community groups.
“This impacts the water table for everyone in the region, and will continue to impact them,” he said.
Residents and advocates for the closure of the landfill were also concerned about possible health risks. The landfill is said to emit hydrogen sulfide gas, which has a strong “rotten-egg smell.”
The “dump dust” from the landfill also affects nearby homes, plants and wildlife.
“It’s a direct threat to the health, safety and dignity of our community,” Marilyn Wende said.
Wende lives less than a mile from the landfill. She said many of the homes in the area rely on well water, and the landfill resides only about 400 feet from these homes.
Above: This map shows the location of the Florence Landfill in Southeast Gainesville.
She grew up near the Love Canal in New York — a site where toxic waste poisoned families and homes, according to Wende.
The situation is similar to the one in East Gainesville, she said.
Wende spoke about the government officials in Niagara Falls who dismissed the concerns of the people.
“Those government officials who ignored their pleas are remembered in infamy.”
She said the Florence landfill is an opportunity for the commission to stand with the people of East Gainesville.
Her speech was met with resounding applause.
Brackin Camp took to the lectern and said she went door to door with fellow advocates and received 218 signatures for the closure of the landfill. She and Kelly May were just two of the people working alongside Gainey, making up his “band” of advocates.
Their motto: “Dump the Dump.”
Patrice Boyes represents Southeast Landholdings, Inc., the construction and demolition company that owns the Florence Landfill. She said her client is doing everything they can to be a good neighbor.
“Their honor has been disparaged tonight,” she said.
She said her client in “very good faith” negotiated a settlement agreement with the leaders of the neighborhood group.
“It is not a dump,” she said. “It’s a licensed C&D landfill under the state statute.”
Boyes said there are no ongoing violations as of Tuesday night concerning air or water, and there is no real justification for asking for an early closure. She also proposed to meet with staff to see if they can do anything to calm the community’s emotions and avoid further “adversarial” conflict.
Southeast Landholdings operates under Florida emergency orders, bypassing county input with the use of state statutes. The property owner used the state emergency order for the subtropical system Nicole to extend the landfill’s contract. It expired in August 2024 but includes a 24-month additional period.
While the board reiterated they could not make any decisions Tuesday, Commissioner Anna Prizzia urged residents to take their signatures to lawmakers in Tallahassee. She said the state has not given them the opportunity to find different solutions for the waste.

Commissioner Ken Cornell also proposed a motion after hearing public comments. The board carried out a six-part motion outlining temporary resolutions for East Gainesville residents.
Some of those resolutions included working with the health department to implement an air monitoring program, directing drywall debris to a different facility in Palatka and directing county Environmental Protection Department staff to restart graphing of all groundwater data.
Cornell also said they would have the chair letter forward the petitions and information to the governor, local delegations and other environmental legislators.
He and the board agreed to direct landfill staff to utilize their best efforts to review the current closure plan and come back to present it to the commission. He said they have 90 days to do so.
Marlee Pricher said the motion felt like Cornell had been actively listening. She said the residents were always dismissed in previous meetings, but she trusts that after the Tuesday meeting, they proved strength and community.
“As much as we want everything to happen at once,” she said, “I did feel we proved something.”