Christian Peterson
On Tuesday, July 7, the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners met for its regularly scheduled meeting.
The meeting began with the board approving the minutes from the Tuesday, June 16, Grant Administration Tabulation Meeting and subsequent regular meeting.
County Attorney Adam Morrison then made a presentation regarding data centers and their construction in Florida, specifically relating to Senate Bill 180 and Florida Statute 163.26. He began by telling the public that, the previous week, the commissioners had traveled to Orlando for the Florida Association of Counties meeting. The main topic that dominated that meeting was data centers. He explained that, at the same time, he attended the Florida Association of County Attorney’s conference next door. This was also dominated by a discussion regarding data centers and the seemingly at-odd rules of Senate Bill 180 and Florida Statute 163.26.
He first discussed Senate Bill 180, specifically section 28, which reads, “Each county listed in the Federal Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Helene, or Hurricane Milton, and each municipality within one of those counties, may not propose or adopt any moratorium on construction, reconstruction, or redevelopment of any property damaged by such hurricanes; propose or adopt more restrictive or burdensome amendments to its comprehensive plan or land development regulations; or propose or adopt more restrictive or burdensome procedures concerning review, approval, or issuance of a site plan, development permit, or development order, to the extent that those terms are defined by s. 163.3164, Florida Statutes, before October 1, 2027, and any such moratorium or restrictive or burdensome comprehensive plan amendment, land development regulation, or procedure shall be null and void ab initio.”
Morrison explained that the term “void ab initio” translates to “void from the beginning.” This means any rule made in violation of Section 28, no matter if it wasn’t disputed after its creation, would forever be void, even 20 years or longer from the day.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 484, which created Florida Statute 163.26, discussing local government’s ability to regulate “large load” land uses. A large load customer is defined as land use with “anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more.” The statute reads, “Local governments shall maintain the authority to exercise the powers and responsibilities for comprehensive planning and land development regulation granted by law with respect to large load customers.”
Morrison explained that this has caused concern for many. Section 28 of Senate Bill 280 says local governments cannot regulate, while Florida statute 163.26 says that they can. This led Morrison to discuss another legal concept known as “repeal-by- implication.” This means that a law can be repealed by a court when in conflict with another law. However, he cited several instances of case law that show courts do not favor repeal-by-implication and will do what they can to avoid such a result.
This leads to the question whether there is any reading of the two statutes that would give complete effect to both. Morrison stated that there was, as one had a deadline of Oct. 1, 2027. Ultimately, he stated there is no definitive answer until the situation is litigated in courts. However, in his legal opinion, Suwannee County does not have the authority to regulate data centers at the time.
Before opening the floor to public comment, the board move into its time-specific items, beginning with an application by Dennis and Edith Martin to amend the Official Zoning Atlas of the Land Development Regulations by changing the zoning district from Agriculture-1 to Commercial Neighborhood. Development Director Ronald Meeks explained that the roughly four-acre property was located on County Road 250 and State Road 51. He added that the planning and zoning department recommended its approval. The board agreed and approved the item.
The next two time-specific items were taken up in conjunction, as they were related to each other. The first was to amend the future land use map of the comprehensive plan, changing the land use classification on a 64-acre piece of property on 169th Road from Agriculture-1 to Industrial. The second item was amending the official zoning atlas in the same way. Both items were approved unanimously.
The final time specific item was a request from Leo Mobley to vacate Lot 8 of Southridge Farms. Commissioner Mobley recused himself from voting, as this was his item. The board voted unanimously approve the item.
The meeting then returned to public comment. First to speak was Susan Cordero, who told the board that more than five counties have placed a moratorium on data centers. She then went into detail about a conversation she had with AI, where it agreed that it was the current biggest threat to humanity. She asked the board to place a moratorium on data centers in Suwannee County.
Next was a resident who voiced his concern about the upcoming decision regarding the fire and solid waste assessment rates. He requested that, if they were going to raise rates, the citizens get a little more for their money. He suggested that those who pay for the dump decal should be able to access the springs for free.
Moses Clepper was the following public comment. He asked Morrison to investigate a Florida statute regarding economic damage to see if the county could combat data centers that way. He also requested that the Cherry Bekaert audit of the sheriff’s office have a public announcement of its findings. Clepper then claimed Commissioner Travis Land used scare tactics to get people to vote against Amendment Three, which will be on the ballot in November.
Ken Weaver was the final public comment. He stated that sometimes he agrees with Clepper, other times he disagrees with Clepper. He then thanked Morrison for his detailed explanation about the data center controversy.
The next item on the agenda was a presentation from Powell and Jones about Suwannee County’s 2024- 25 financial audit. There were a total of six findings. Three were for the sheriff’s office regarding inadequate segregation of duties, potential credit card abuse and disallowed FEMA expenditures. Another finding was from the supervisor of elections, showing a need for bank reconciliation timeliness. There were also two findings in the tax collector’s office regarding inadequate review and approval of cash reconciliations and due/due from balances between funds that did not reconcile. After a lengthy discussion, the board was told that, aside from the findings, the county was in good shape from that audit.
The board continued, approving its consent agenda for the evening. It then called for staff items.
Grants and Projects Administrator Will Griego stood up first. He updated the board about a couple of grants he was chasing, including a USDA-CV grant to get a Volvo loader and a boom truck, and a rural infrastructure fund grant which would provide more funding for the catalyst site. He also said the application for an EDA Florida Economic Grant had been sent in. Griego continued, stating the COVID building was about 85% done, and was on schedule to be done in August.
Fire Chief Dan Miller was the following to report. He told the board that Station 6 had its soft opening and would hopefully have its grand opening in August. He also announced that the county had received a $750,000 grant for the McAlpin station.
The meeting then turned to its general business. The first item was a discussion regarding the naming of the COVID Isolation Building. Robert Ford stood up to speak on the subject. He told the story of Private First- Class Thomas E. Jefferson and Corporal Dennis Smith. Ford told the board and public that Jefferson had served in the Korean War and was killed in action at 20-years- old. Smith served in the Vietnam War and was killed in action at 27-years-old. Both soldiers died with no children or spouses, and Ford argued that it was left to Suwannee County to create a legacy for them by naming the COVID Isolation Building after them.
After a brief discussion between Ford, Commissioner Clyde Fleming and Gary Caldwell about the proper procedure regarding such an item, it was also requested that the new community center by the Douglass Center be named after late Commissioner Maurice Perkins. A motion was made and approved to direct staff to name the two buildings after the individuals and bring a resolution to the board for approval.
The next item was to set the maximum preliminary rate for the fire assessment. County Administrator Jason Furry explained that this was the temporary maximum rate; it was not final, and there was no intention to raise the fire assessment rate this year. He told the board that, in the future, he would do better with the paperwork to make it clear this was preliminary and not official, as the board can always come down from the preliminary rate but never go over it. The maximum preliminary rate was then set at $155. Commissioner Land reminded the board that if Amendment Three on the upcoming ballot passed, the board would have to discuss the raising of rates such as these to make up for the loss of money.
The next item for discussion was the solid waste assessment maximum preliminary rate. This time, the board discussed how the county puts $500,000 to offset some of the cost. Chairman Franklin White asked how much it would cost to alleviate the cost to the county, to which Furry replied the solid waste assessment would go up $30 per person. The board decided to set the maximum preliminary rate at $275.
Next was an additional agenda item regarding the approval of a change order with Blackwater Construction Services for extending a gas line at the COVID Isolation Building. The cost was $5,915.29 and would be paid from grant proceeds. The board approved the item unanimously.
Furry then gave updates on things happening around the county. He told the board that there would be a large change order coming regarding the COVID Isolation Building due to the large amounts of clay. He continued, pointing out that the finance department had worked well with the auditors and was grateful for them. Furry added that the water utility workshop was scheduled for Monday, July 13, at 9:30 a.m., followed by the regular meeting on Monday, July 20. He ended by asking for prayers for families across Suwannee County who had suffered recent losses.
The commissioners then each gave their closing comments before the meeting was adjourned. The next regular Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 21, at 5:30 p.m. in the Judicial Annex, located at 218 Parshley St. S.W., in Live Oak.
Discover more from Riverbend News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.