If you care about the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink, or underground caves, or surface creeks, or the Santa Fe River, or government transparency, please go to the Alachua City Commission meeting tonight, 6 PM, Monday, June 9, 2025.

That’s at James A. Lewis City Commission Chambers, 15100 NW 142 Terrace, Alachua, FL 32615.

Or call or write them:
https://www.cityofalachua.com/government/city-commission/meet-the-commissioners

Ask Alachua City Commission to investigate resignations 2025-06-09 of planners and City Manager, Tara Forest & Mill Creek Sink

Thanks to Vickie Bashor for this cogent explanation:

3 planners with over 50 years experience at the City of Alachua resigned earlier this year within a 2-week period. One of the planners, Justin Tabor, sent an open letter to the Alachua City Commission alleging that he and the other planners resigned after undue pressure from the City Manager to approve the Tara development’s plans to build over the Mill Creek Sink cave system. The City Manager abruptly resigned 2 weeks ago.

The City Commission has an opportunity to vote for an investigation tonight, but it’s not on the agenda. We are urgeing the commission to do the right thing and get to the bottom of things by voting to investigate the undo pressure at City Hall.

It’s a very light agenda, with items for Comments from Citizens near the beginning and near the end, so there is no reason the Alachua City Commission can not listen to its citizens.

II. COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS ON SUBJECTS NOT ON THE AGENDA
PDF

Mill Creek Sink is behind Sonny’s BBQ off US 441 at I-75 exit 339.

Map: Mill Creek Sink in the WWALS map of the Suwannee River Water Trail (SRWT)

The few acres there owned by the National Speleological Society (NSS) and the City of Alachua are dwarfed and surrounded by the land owned by Tara Forest, Inc., on top of Mill Creek and the underground Mill Creek Stream Cave System, in and above the Floridan Aquifer.

Map: NSS Mill Creek Sink — Alachua Property Appraiser

Map: City of Alachua Mill Creek Sink — Alachua Property Appraiser

Map: Tara Forest Llc — Alachua Property Appraiser

Jennifer Cabrera, Alachua Chronicle, March 12, 2025, Former Alachua City Planner releases open letter accusing City Manager of ignoring staff concerns about developments,

ALACHUA, Fla. — An open letter from one of the three City of Alachua Planners who recently resigned alleges that City Manager Mike DaRoza allows former City Manager Adam Boukari to have significant influence over development decisions.

Justin Tabor, who worked for the City for over 17 years, wrote that he and two other senior staff members resigned within two weeks because recommendations from the City’s planning staff were ignored and they were instructed to bring forward projects that were not ready for consideration.

Tabor wrote, “Most of the issues within the Planning Department are a result of outside influence on leadership. Specifically, the influence that former City Manager Adam Boukari has had on current City Manager Mike DaRoza. In my opinion, it appears that former City Manager Adam Boukari never relinquished control of the City Manager’s position and has been essentially co-managing the City with Mr. DaRoza, while representing developers’ interests in a private capacity.”

…

Tabor wrote that an instruction from DaRoza to place the Tara April Special Exception Permit on the agenda for the February 11 Planning & Zoning Board meeting was the final straw when he knew he “could not in good conscience remain employed with the City.”

He specified that as a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, he must uphold ethical standards to serve the public interest in the planning process, and continued, “In THIS MOMENT I knew that I was being asked to put the interests of a developer above the interests of the public.”

…

The City Commissioners also plan to appoint an interim city manager, after Mike Deroza resigned on May 26.

Alyssa Perry, WCJB, June 9, 2025, 7:45 AM EDT, Alachua city commissioners will meet and have interim city manager discussions,

…

“The assistant city manager is accused of being involved in the same stuff that surrounded former city manager Adam Boukari and Mike Daroza, behavior that many say led to the resignation of nearly the entire planning staff earlier this year. Monday’s meeting could be a turning point in this ongoing story.”

…

Sounds like the Alachua City Commission has many questions to answer.

Alachua City Commission, https://www.cityofalachua.com/government/city-commission/commission-meetings

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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