High Springs voters reelected Tristan Grunder to City Commission Seat 3 and voted to pass an amendment to an alcohol ordinance, lifting restrictions on which businesses can sell alcohol on Sunday.
Grunder received 587 votes, about 68% of the vote, defeating his opponent, Julie Ann Tapia-Ruano, who earned 279 votes, according to the High Springs election page.
“I feel like I have unfinished business,” Grunder said. “I made a lot of promises coming in. We fulfilled some of them, but before I get out, I want to fulfill them all.”
Tuesday’s election had five proposed charter amendments and one proposed code amendment on the ballot, as well as High Springs City Commission Seat 3.
Sections 10-2(c) through (e) of the City’s Code had previously only allowed businesses that derive 51%t of their gross revenue from the sale of food and nonalcoholic beverages to sell alcohol on Sundays.
The new code amendment will allow breweries and businesses that manufacture malt beverages on-site to sell alcohol on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
High Springs voters also passed all five charter amendments, which focus on updating city procedures and leadership structure.
- Amendment 1 updates commission seat information.
- Amendment 2 updates the city commissioners’ salaries.
- Amendment 3 updates term limits for the mayor.
- Amendment 4 updates notice for special called meetings and definition of special and emergency meetings.
- Amendment 5 prevents an individual from being both the city manager and city clerk.
In 2021, voter turnout for the High Springs Seat 3 election was about 60%. As of 2024, High Springs has a population of 6,806.
Tristan Grunder is a lifelong High Springs resident and the town’s mayor. He is currently a sergeant with the Gainesville Police Department. His biggest accomplishment as mayor so far was working hard to protect the springs and natural resources in the town, he said.
