Ocala Civic Theatre
ANNOUNCING SEASON 74!
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 17
$2
2024-2025
APRIL 26 - MAY 2, 2024
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Ocala’s processing of fire fee refunds leaves questions
July 14–16, 2
By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
W
ith the deadline fast approaching for Ocala Electric Utility customers to receive and cash court-ordered refund checks
for illegally assessed fire service fees, attorneys for Ocala and the customers have agreed to pause a provision of the agreement calling for any uncollected refunds to revert to the city. According to a May 2022 court order, refund checks totaling almost $80 million
in illegal taxes collected by Ocala need to be cashed by April 30, 2024 or the funds will stay with the city. As previously reported by the “Gazette,’’ city records show as of December 2023, almost 18,000 people had not cashed refund checks totaling more than $7 million.
NEW SPRINGS HEAD
November 7–24, 2024 Silver Springs State Park has a new park manager, who brings two-plus decades of experience to the job. By Marian Rizzo Correspondent
S
ilver Springs State Park has gone through many transitions over the last several decades, including a theme park with boat rides and live animal attractions, a movie making venue and, more recently, a backto-nature experience with walking trails, kayaking and the iconic glass-bottom boats. Now, a new park manager has come on board. Longtime Florida Parks Services employee Matthew Bledsoe has filled the vacancy left by Sally Lieb, who retired on Dec. 31, 2023, after 30 years of service. A graduate of the University of Florida, who majored in recreation, parks and tourism, Bledsoe has served at several Florida Parks Services locations since 2002. He brings with him a host of experiences and accolades, including an award for overseeing the construction of an American Disabilities Act kayak launch at Gamble Rogers State Park, which used donated and natural materials that saved the state $80,000. Prior to coming to Silver Springs State Park, Bledsoe was manager of Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park in Tallahassee, where
O
cala Fire Rescue’s nationally recognized Community Paramedicine (CP) Program provides at-home medical visits for patients like James Brown, who needed wellness to come to him. Brown, 78 and an Army veteran, said he nearly lost his legs in civilian life due to a delay in treating an ulcerated vein ailment. “I would have lost both legs if not for (OFR) Capt. Chris Hickman and the program,” Brown said recently.
BOCC votes 4-1 to approve 312unit apartment complex at On Top of the World December 4–15, 2024
March 20 – April 6, 2025
Februar
An unusual hearing May 1–18, 2025 included a pre-meeting prayer, food trucks, and discussion of vested development rights in a mix of developer 4337 E. Silver Springs Blvd. O SUBSCRIBErepresentatives, AND SAVE! (352) 236-2274 • ocalaci county Matthew Bledsoe, the new park manager of Silver Springs State Park, poses for a photo by the main spring at Silver Springs State Park in Silver Springs on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024. staff and OTOW seniors. he also supervised kayaking, rowing clubs, running teams and other popular recreational activities. As manager of the 4,400-acre Silver Springs State Park and its 5.4-mile river, he will oversee many similar projects. After being denied an interview with Bledsoe by the Florida Parks Service, the “Gazette” agreed to an email Q & A in which Bledsoe shared the following: Q. What is your impression of Silver Springs State Park? How
does it compare with your past park experiences and what might be the first thing you’d like to do here? A. My first impression of Silver Springs State Park was the crystal-clear headsprings. I could tell a lot of work had been put in to restore that area of the park, which I was not necessarily expecting since that area had been an attraction for so many years. I am eager to build on the past See New, page A2
Ocala Fire Rescue brings care to residents through Community Paramedicine Program By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
A March 11, 2024 temporary court order approving the parties’ stipulation was entered allowing those who paid the fire fee tax in their utility bills from Feb. 20, 2010 through 2021 time to contact the July 19–21, 2024 city. Those eligible for a refund should September 5–22, See Fire, page A62024
Brown is among many residents who can credit the OFR-CP program with enhancing their lives. Launched in 2020 and coordinated by OFR Capt. Jesse Blaire, the program is conducted in partnership with AdventHealth and is administered by the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County. Brown served as an Army combat nurse in the Vietnam War and worked at Walter Reed Army Hospital. A captain when he was discharged, Brown said he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and he had a service dog.
A native of New York where his family remains, Brown moved to Ocala in June 2023. He was homeless for five months, living outside near the Ocala train station. Brown has congestive heart failure and diabetes. He said law enforcement and Hickman first checked on his well-being while he was still living unsheltered. By December 2023, local agencies helped placed Brown in a southeast Ocala group home. But Brown said he continued to encounter difficulties navigating available healthcare and lacked a primary care physician. The OFR-CP program visits continued after he
moved into the group home. Hickman confirmed Brown’s medical history of congestive heart failure and diabetes causes “circulation issues with the lower extremities.” Currently, Blaire and Hickman are the full-time CP paramedics. Six OFR staff members also handle CP calls. Hickman stated in an email about the program he “oversees all the community visits that are chronic illness/ social barrier in nature while Captain Blaire oversees the Coordinated Opioid Response Program with multiple other providers.” “The combination of both See Hickman, page A2
By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
A
public hearing on April 22 for rezoning of a parcel near the entrance to On Top of the World had several unusual aspects, starting with a prayer from Marion County Commission Chair Michelle Stone that asked for wisdom, patience and acceptance of the outcome even if “we do not agree.” Stone’s prayer previewed the 4-1 vote by the commission to approve the request to rezone the parcel from B-2 (business) to a planned unit development (PUD) put forth by OTOW and apartment complex developer Continental Properties. Stone was the sole dissenting vote. The county emailed opponents on Friday, April 19, reiterating that the developer’s vested rights do not allow the commission to deny the request. The day was also unique in that the county brought in two food trucks in anticipation of extensive attendance and public comment from the affected senior residents from OTOW. Big Rascal BBQ and Chick-fil-A food trucks set up in the parking lot, and the seven-plus-hour meeting had a formal lunch break.
County attorney and staff previewed vote County Attorney Guy Minter gave a 20-minute report focusing on the legal concepts of vested development rights and Vested Development of Regional Impact (VDRI) that were involved with the rezoning request. “Regular legal standards may not apply,’’ he said. “There are certain legal aspects of what we’re dealing with today See OTOW, page A3
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Hospital District........................... A3 Honorable Mentions.................... A4 Baldwin Angus Ranch................. A5 Calendar......................................... B5 Cartoons......................................... B7
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