Katherine Weitz will represent Alachua County’s outlying municipalities during a one-year term on the Gainesville-Alachua County Joint Water and Climate Policy Board.
The board’s six current members appointed Weitz by a vote of 4-1 today, with Mayor Harvey Ward absent.
The seat has been vacant since early 2023 following the departure of Hawthorne’s Patricia Bouie-Hutchinson, then a City Commissioner and now Vice Mayor. Former High Springs Commissioner Byran Williams briefly filled the role in September 2024, but left before the board’s next meeting.
County staff attributed the lack of interest from outlying municipalities to the fact that most elected officials in the region work full-time in addition to their municipal duties and are unable to attend the board’s daytime meetings.
Following a renewed recruitment push from board chair Anna Prizzia this summer, four nominees vied for the spot. They were: Waldo City Council Member Shannon Boal, Micanopy Town Commissioner David Massey, Alachua City Commissioner Jacob Fletcher and High Springs City Commissioner Katherine Weitz.
Weitz, a chemist, joined the meeting as a board member immediately following her appointment.
“Living in High Springs, obviously we have unique geology there and protecting the spring water, the groundwater is pretty critical, so it's a passion of mine,” she said. “Always has been.”
The City of Gainesville and Alachua County created the Joint Water Policy Committee in 2015 and expanded its scope to include climate change in 2020. The board advises municipalities within Alachua County on climate resilience and water management. It doesn’t have the authority to make final policy decisions.
The board created the Citizen Climate Advisory Committee in 2020 and oversees its work with staff on the county’s climate action plan.
Alachua County began drafting its climate action plan in 2022, making it the first inland county in Florida to do so. The Alachua County Commission is expected to vote on the final plan ahead of the county’s Climate Festival on Nov. 15.
The board also appointed five new members from 13 candidates to its Citizen Climate Advisory Committee.
“Looking at all these advisory boards, it's so often that you have a hard time filling them,” said Gainesville Commissioner James Ingle. “So to see that we're in a position where there's that many people that want to be involved and that many people that are passionate about lending their voice to it, I think is very encouraging.”
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 6.
