June is
Pride
Ausley Construction is no stranger to government bid controversy By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
A
usley Construction has informed the Marion County School District it will not submit a new bid for the $120 million high school project, the largest construction contract in school district history.
The decision follows a May 27 investigative report by the law firm GrayRobinson that substantiated claims that Ausley had violated the district’s “cone of silence” procurement policy by communicating with the superintendent, district employees, committee members, and school board members See Ausley, page A6
Rooted in Florida
Ocala artist curates an exhibit of works by his contemporaries.
David Campo III, the guest curator, left, and Jacqueline Bozman, the gallery coordinator, right, look over “Always Looking In,” a stoneware artwork by Karina Yanes, in the “Grafted Roots: Artists Flourishing in the Sunshine State” exhibit at the CF Webber Gallery at the College of Central Florida in Ocala on Thursday, May 30, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.
By Lisa McGinnes lisa@magnoliamediaco.com
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howcasing a diverse array of artists and mediums, the “Grafted Roots: Artists Flourishing in the Sunshine State” exhibition is on view at the College of Central Florida (CF)
Webber Gallery through July 18. Around 100 people, including many of the local artists represented, attended an opening reception on May 31 to view textile, sculpture, painting, drawing, digital and mixed media works. “The aim of the show is to showcase the diversity of Florida-based artists working
across varied media and to highlight the growing artistic landscape within the Sunshine State,” said David Campo III, the exhibit curator, who is originally from Orlando and has called Ocala home since 2020. “I thought it was very important and significant to highlight artists in Florida who are thriving and also have a broader connection, whether that’s connecting from their hometown or their cultural heritage.” Campo, a textile artist and ceramicist who celebrates his Colombian and Puerto Rican heritage, said he “wanted to give the Ocala community something different to look at” and was excited to solo curate his first show. “Every city in Florida is part of the greater whole of Florida,” Campo said, “and I thought, How can I bring all these new pieces from my experiences and my travels to Ocala and share that with the city? It’s an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, we have people who live here and this is what they represent, what they think about; this is their style.’” Campo, who works as an exhibit technician for the City of Ocala Cultural Arts Division, earned Master of Arts degrees in museum studies from University of Florida and art history from University of Georgia, and said putting together this exhibit was an opportunity for him to reconnect with 10 diverse artists now based in Ocala, Gainesville and Jacksonville. “I’m so grateful to all the participants See Grafted, page A2
County secures funding for next phase of NW 49th Street project for I-75 interchange By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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arion County has received funding necessary to purchase the land needed to begin road projects surrounding the future Interstate 75 interchange project at Northwest 49th Street. Right of way acquisition for the west side of the Northwest 49th/35th Street project, from Northwest 70th Avenue to Northwest 44th Avenue, is underway and being funded by a $1 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation. The entire project,
$2
Month
JUNE 7 - JUNE 13, 2024
Hardhats are shown under an Ausley Construction sign during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new elementary school that will be built at Winding Oaks Farm off Southwest 49th Avenue Road in southwest Ocala on Thursday, March 21, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/ Ocala Gazette] 2024.
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 23
including extending and building county roads to connect to the interchange, is anticipated to cost $121,279,072 in federal, state and local funds, according to the Ocala Marion Transportation Planning Organization. The FDOT grant was approved by the Marion County commission on May 21 and adopted into the budget on June 4. “The roadway will be a four-lane divided road with a grassed median, a sidewalk and multiuse path and will be 3.4 miles in length. This project will provide a critical link between the new I-75 at Northwest 49th Street interchange and the Northwest
80th/70th Avenue corridor in Marion County,” according to the grant. “The project involves constructing a new four-lane road from NW 70th Avenue
west to where it meets the existing NW 49th Street; the existing section of NW 49th Street (approximately 0.5 miles) is to be widened from See I-75, page A5
I-75 is shown on the left. Northwest 44th Avenue is on the right. On the east side of I-75 is the area were the new Buc-ee’s will be built along with the 49th Street off ramp. It is shown Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in Ocala, [Alan Youngblood/Special to the Ocala Gazette]
City council votes to return $7 million in uncashed fire fee checks to general fund By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
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he Ocala City Council has decided to return to the city’s general fund roughly $7 million in uncashed refund checks, money that was supposed to go to Ocala Utility customers who for years had been subjected to illegal fire service fees. The vote was not included on the agenda for the council’s May 21 meeting but came up during the city attorney’s report. The council voted to return the money to the city, with the promise that the funds be used for the city’s fire service. According to a May 2022 court order, refund checks totaling almost $80 million in illegal taxes collected by Ocala for many years needed to be cashed by April 30, 2024 or the funds would 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. At the May 21 meeting, City Attorney William Sexton, along with the rest of city staff, encouraged the council to let the money left over from uncashed refund checks revert back to the city. Councilmember Jim Hilty asked about the city’s representation that they had tried their best to deliver refunds. Sexton said he would tell the judge that city staff tried their best to make sure the mail returned undeliverable was checked for alternative addresses, but that the city had otherwise complied with the order. Derek Schroth, the attorney in the class action attorney, has asked the court to grant an extension of time for people to obtain reissued checks. An evidentiary hearing of his motion for an extension has been set for Aug. 27 at 9 a.m. before Circuit Court Judge William Hodges. Sexton told the council that the city has a higher rate of success See Fire, page A2
Judge Robert Hodges listens to a citizen speak during the $80 million City of Ocala Fire Fee lawsuit hearing at the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
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Veterans Recalling D-Day........... A3 Remembering Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens.... A4 Sexual Identity.............................. A5 May Real Estate Closings........... B1 Calendar......................................... B7
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