Hello Commissioners,
I called in to comment on this issue and was dropped from the call.
I have lived on the East Side by Newnans Lake for the past decade. I am white, I am educated (with 2 graduate degrees, including a law degree, & 30 credits towards an LL.M. in Environmental Law), but I'm old, on disability, and poor (largely due to Lyme disease).
Making the Waldo Corridor MORE industrial is not the answer. Please do NOT allocate funds for yet another study. (I note you voted yes on this despite Byerly's well-founded objections. WHY? I'm appalled because I think of what those funds COULD be used
for in my community!)
Take a look at Depot Park and what South Main St. was like before. It was industrial and nobody wanted to live there. Now people flock to the park.
What the East Side needs is NOT ways to attract the "middle class." That is gentrification.
The East Side is relatively low income compared to other areas in Gainesville. What we need are businesses that serve our interests.
Walmart is the only grocery store east of Main St. That is ridiculous, forcing east side residents to have to drive further than wealthier residents. There are virtually no doctors, no vets, no shops, no post office, no health & fitness centers, hardly
any stores of any kind, no movie theater, no restaurants - no areas like Thornebrooke or Celebration Pointe.
Creating another industrial area will not help. It will make things worse. Having yet another study will not help. No study can tell you what people here want. Canvass the residents. Make inviting places for them to go to. (How about outdoor walking/eating
areas adjacent to Walmart for starters?)
Where I live -- Lakeshore Homesites -- there are no streetlights, there are no culverts to divert rainwater -- but our property taxes pay for both of those amenities that benefit
other communities. There is no place for people to hang out with their kids or walk or get together, even tho the lake is right there. That is appalling.
Cone Park does not serve my community -- it serves Duval and Eastside (the immediate adjacent areas). Cone Park is a step in the right direction, however.
Another issue is that both East University past the Hawthorne Rd. fork and Waldo Rd. are high speed zones. People don't want to stop or slow down in those corridors. (A small restaurant next to a funeral home on East University not far from Morningside Park
failed last year or so b/c nobody stopped there.)
The area on East University between Waldo/Williston Rd. and the fork with Hawthorne Rd. has poor development, the wrong kind of development.
What you need to do is expand shopping and community areas that provide what people here need and want (and can afford). You do NOT need to bring in outside businesses or "create" jobs out of whole cloth.
In Lakeshore Homesites I would like to see a bicycle path along County Rd. 329B and Lakeshore Rd. I'd like to see a
real park and playground by the lake and walkways along the lake. How about outdoor art shows, festivals, theater, and concerts at Cone Park?
How about outdoor acoustic concerts and theater on or by Newnans Lake?
There is a 200-foot wide median strip of land between SE 73rd Terrace and SE 72nd St. (from East University all the way to the end of these streets) that is wholly undeveloped. It is owned by the "trustees" who owned this entire area previously but the county
does not want to buy this strip of land to make use of it for this community. Why? A park, a playground, a walkway, a community center, a place for musicians and artists? Why not??
When we were hit by Hurricane Irma, both entry roads (329B and Lakeshore Rd.) were flooded for weeks. I was trapped here without power, without electricity, without water (since I'm on a well). The county did NOTHING about this. You had literally no concern
whatsoever for the residents of my community. I had no way to get food or water. I could have died. Fortunately, a local resident got some private individuals to start donating water, ice, food. I also care for 15 cats -- all Operation Catnip cats. No help
with that either at that time! Nobody even came out here from the county to see if we needed help. GRU would not fix the power lines because they were concerned that the flooding might have undermined the road. They did not want to bring their big
trucks out.
But did the county fix this road afterwards? Nope.
Most of the people in my community do not wish to engage with county officials in any way. Many are uneducated. They wish to be left alone
because they feel ignored and oppressed. They do not feel heard or regarded or cared about. They mistrust and dislike officials, gov't, law enforcement, and educators. This is truly sad and is a big obstacle.
Forcing jobs or development on these people (and with the insult of making yet another "industrial" area on this side of town for us) is NOT the way to go. Make some spaces these people could use and enjoy.
(A resident here who owns 40 acres was giving late night amplified concerts on his land. This is NOT proper use because of the noise, but it gives you an idea of what people want. People were flocking to those concerts, even out in the middle of nowhere. There's
a fine line here that needs to be walked.)
Finally:
I want to add that I read the amended airboat ordinance and I commend you and hope you pass it. (I will try to join the call again.) Well done!
Sincerely,
Gwendolyn W. Stone (formerly Jennifer Van Bergen)