The Gainesville City Commission got its final approval to hold a special election in November over control of Gainesville Regional Utilities.
Despite the GRU Authority Board threatening legal action against the city if it moves forward, the city commission will place the issue back on voters’ ballots.
The meeting also provided more clarity on how recent cuts will impact RTS workers and services.
Gainesville Regional Utilities
The Gainesville City Commission passed the second reading of an ordinance that will allow Gainesville citizens to vote on who controls Gainesville Regional Utilities.
The vote passed 6-0 with Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut absent. The commission also filed a motion for an official proclamation of a special election Nov. 4.
This is the final approval before the special election is held. The first reading passed unanimously at a meeting June 5.
In a GRU Authority Board meeting June 11, Derek Perry, the GRU Authority Board attorney, urged the board to file a motion to challenge the city’s second referendum.
The motion passed unanimously.
The GRU Authority Board has controlled the city’s utility since the Florida House Bill 1645 was signed into law in 2023, despite 73% of Gainesville residents voting in favor of city control on the referendum during the 2024 election cycle.
The referendum was blocked on April 2 by Judge George M. Wright of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, who ruled the referendum’s language was misleading. He also ruled that the city had the right to amend its charter, which allows the referendum to be placed back on the ballot in November. The GRU Authority Board is appealing the ruling.
GRU Authority Board Director Jack Jacobs said in a meeting June 11 that the board lowered GRU’s prices during its time in control, bringing it from one of the most expensive utilities in Florida to a more competitive rate in the state.
“By every single metric, GRU has improved over the last two years since the board’s here,” Jacobs said. “Our debt has gone down, our interest rates have gone down.”
Jacobs also addressed public comments that were critical of the authority board. Janice Garry, a 72-year-old Gainesville resident, said statements made by the authority board suggested the board thought votes from students weren’t valid, she said.
“The quality of the utility is due to this community and our leadership, not you,” Garry said.
Jacobs said he had voting records from the election, noting that about 26% of Gainesville residents and 37% of GRU customers voted on the referendum.
He said students may be impacted by the utility but are temporary residents, and what they vote for will remain after they’re gone. He added that he hasn’t spoken to someone from Tallahassee since he’s been elected. He’s there to help GRU pay its debt as a citizen, not a political operative, he said.
Mayor Harvey Ward said in a city commission meeting June 12 that he saw pushback from the GRU Authority Board meeting and has read some of the comments and letters from the Authority Board. He said the lawsuit process is already moving, even though the board isn’t required to appeal.
“They presented it as if it were inevitable that an appeal to Judge Wright’s decision would be moved forward,” Ward said, “Appeals are not inevitable, they are a choice.”
Ward said the authority is choosing not to listen to the vote by continuing to bring the issue to the courts.
Regional Transit System
During presentations about the budget for the 2026 fiscal year, RTS Director of Transportation Jesus Gomez offered insight into how RTS will be affected by recent cuts.
Due to changes in its contract with the University of Florida, RTS will lose $2.9 million, nearly 23% of its funding. Its federal grant revenue will decrease by 13.8%, losing $715,000 and earning $4.5 million. Insurance premiums and pension obligation bond payments increased by a combined $913,000.
As a result, UF will see bus service reduced by 30,789 hours and 12 buses. City routes will lose 18,648 hours and four buses. RTS will also eliminate a vacant Transit Marketing and Communications Supervisor position. Gomez said Routes 5, 8, 15 and 43 will see a decrease in frequency, running every 90 minutes instead of their previous 45.
“We’re talking about 50,000 hours of service,” Gomez said. “It’s pretty much 20% of our service we need to cut to meet the budget.”
New RTS revenue streams were built into the 2026 fiscal year budget. Shelter and bench advertising could raise an estimated $300,000 but would require an update to city ordinance. Leasing buses not actively in service could bring in an estimated $270,000 and renting out empty office spaces could bring in $50,000.
Citizens Field redevelopment
The city commission heard two options for the future of Citizens Field and its 8th Avenue and Waldo Road complex. The city hopes to make improvements to the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center, Dwight H. Hunter Pool and Citizens Field.
Laurie Hall, an NV5 Infrastructure Florida contractor, presented the city with two options for the redevelopment, one of which being a proposal that didn’t include a new stadium.
The Citizens Field stadium program ranged from 3,000 to 5,000 seats and would include new support facilities like locker rooms, restrooms and concession stands.
Hall said the field’s future is uncertain due to the school board's potential involvement, which could impact how it will be funded. The Alachua County School Board expressed intent to redevelop Citizens Field in a meeting May 6.
The cost of the stadium could range from an estimated $11 million for minor renovation, $20 million for a major renovation and $35 million for a brand new stadium.
The proposal that didn’t include Citizens Field offered four multipurpose fields instead of two, which was the alternative.
Hall said they received feedback that the MLK center was undersized from the community and those who run the facilities. Both proposals turned the 19,000-square-foot facility into a 55,000-square-foot facility. The cost to create a new, larger multipurpose center was similar in cost to renovating the facility, Hall said.
The new multipurpose center would cost $35 million.
Dwight H. Hunter Pool was replaced in both proposals. The nearly 50-year-old pool is at the end of its useful life, Hall said. Proposals saw the addition of two new pools, a $4.5 million competition pool and a $2.5 million community pool. There would also be a $5 million pool support facility with bathrooms and locker rooms.
The proposals also included two new outdoor basketball courts, 250 paved parking spaces and an outdoor lawn area with a playground.
Scenario one, which would include space for a stadium, would cost over $85 million. The cost of a new stadium was not included in the total. Scenario two, which would not include a stadium or space for one, would cost over $88 million.
Commissioner Ed Book said the city can’t currently afford to fund the entire project now, but the city commission wants to start the project’s early phases. It currently has $18.7 million earmarked for the next 36 months to begin the project.
Book said he didn’t want to negatively impact Wild Spaces & Public Places projects or other Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area projects but wanted to get the project rolling.
“$18.7 million can start us on some big things right now,” Book said.
Commissioner Chestnut moved to have the city manager return on July 17 with options for moving forward with the first scenario and the earmarked funding. The motion unanimously passed.
Contact Logan McBride at lmcbride@alligator.org. Follow him on X @logandmcbride.
Logan McBride is a journalism junior and the Summer 2025 city commission reporter. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows or playing basketball at Southwest Rec. He is also a big football fan and will die for Dak Prescott.
