After their contract ran up with Gainesville Regional Utilities, county and city officials are developing a plan for their emergency broadcast radio system.
The region’s springs and rivers were left relatively dry in the proposed budget of Gov. Ron DeSantis and any hope for more money for programs and land conservation now lies with the Florida Legislature, advocates said.
Ryan Smart of the Florida Springs Council said a disproportionate amount of money raised statewide for water projects is once again going south to the Everglades.
“Springs and North Florida’s waters are being left behind by the DeSantis administration,” Smart said. “They are proposing $473 million for Everglades restoration, a $150 million increase over last year but not one extra cent to protect springs and rivers.”
Gainesville Regional Utilities has recently renewed its request for approval of funding for smart meters, estimated to cost over $47 million in the first two years during implementation.
The Gainesville City Commission considered the item during its Feb. 4 meeting. Sadly, news coverage of this important issue was quickly sidelined by a needless distraction, the arrest of a local attorney for failing to keep his face mask on during the meeting.
The meeting video discloses that the attorney’s mask slipped twice under his nose and that he apparently became frustrated with it and pulled it off while addressing the commission, saying to Mayor Lauren Poe, “I’m not going to put my mask on so I can be heard” and “I am more than six feet away.” (The video discloses no problem being heard.)
Home/Environment/Gainesville Utility Advisory Board Wants To See A Cleaner 2022 Energy Plan For GRU
Utility Advisory Board Vice Chair Wes Wheeler discusses his views of the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan and voices his support for more sustainable practices. (Courtesy of City of Gainesville)
Gainesville Utility Advisory Board Wants To See A Cleaner 2022 Energy Plan For GRU
By Lawren Simmons
January 28, 2021
Gainesville’s utility is not going green fast enough for the city’s Utility Advisory Board members.
The board, which advises the City Commission on Gainesville Regional Utilities issues, met Tuesday to discuss a document known as the 2019 GRU Integrated Resource Plan. Within minutes of the meeting beginning, a push for more progressive sustainable practices at GRU became the theme.