VOLUME 4 ISSUE 39
Wild West Show
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Pg B1 SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 5, 2023
MCPS gets the ball rolling on two new elementary schools
FDOT announces expansion of Interstate 75 through Marion County
By Lauren Moorish lauren@ocalagazette.com
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committee has selected an architectural firm and construction companies to implement new elementary school’s “X” and “W” into the Marion County school district. This committee was assembled with the purpose of performing the “Professional Services Selection Process” that MCPS, Marion County Public Schools, has conducted for 20 years now. It consists of eight figures total, including two principals in the county and School Board Member Sarah James. MCPS Director of Public Relations Kevin Christian shared the district’s comments that said, “committees are formed for each new school design so these two schools will be the only projects for this particular committee.” The purpose of these two additional elementary schools is to aid growth in the school district. Christian said the projects will not alleviate overcrowding though with the flood of families relocating to Florida. Data tallied of student population has already proved to increase in size. The MCPS Membership Summary Table for 2023-2024 displays that the projected total of students enrolled in elementary schools will be 21,366 for the year. On the first day of school, Aug. 10, 18,541 students were counted present, but as of Sept. 11, the 20th day of school, 21,228 students were in attendance. In just 20 days the membership grew by 2,687, nearing the projected total and possibly meaning numbers will pass the estimated population. Establishing the school’s “W” and “X,” swiftly and efficiently to support congestion, required selecting the correct companies out of many entrees. This selection committee started work in June of this year selecting Hepner Architects, Inc. for design and creation management for both schools. The process started with 10 competing architectural firms submitting for hire. The entries were narrowed down to four companies, each presenting prototype schools to display. The committee members then visited and gauged the designs to select the best-fit layout for the elementary schools to be modeled after. The other three final contending businesses included SchenkelShultz Architecture, Rowe Architects, and See New, page A3
File photo of traffic on I-75 at a standstill after the March 12, 2022 tornado tipped over a couple of semi trucks. [Alan Youngblood/Special to the Ocala Gazette]
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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he Florida Department of Transportation has announced a nearly half-billion-dollar project to expand Interstate 75 through Marion and Sumter counties. Officials from FDOT, the Florida Highway Patrol, Marion County and Sumter County gathered in the Marion County Commission Chambers Tuesday to announce the I-75 project as well as another key project, expanding U.S. 301, as part of the Moving Florida Forward Infrastructure Initiative from Gov. Ron DeSantis. “I’m very excited to announce that as part of the moving forward afford
initiative, the widening of I-75 from State Road 44 to State Road 326 will officially begin construction in the spring of 2025,” said FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue. To widen the interstate, auxiliary lanes will be added to each direction of I-75. An auxiliary lane is the portion of the roadway that separates traffic entering or exiting the highway to allow drivers to speed up or slow down. The project will cost a total of $479 million, funded by FDOT through Moving Florida Forward. Modifications to interchanges on I-75 between S.R. 44 and S.R. 326 will also be made, in addition to acquiring land for future widening of the interstate, if need be, according to FDOT.
FDOT estimates that the project will take three to four years to complete once construction begins, said District 5 spokesperson Cindy Lane. Local officials said they hope the project will help alleviate many residents’ concerns about traffic in Marion County, given the large amounts of growth that the area is seeing, said Craig Curry, chairman of the Marion County Board of County Commissioners. “Florida is experiencing around 1,000 new residents a day. Marion County is experiencing about 200 (new) residents a week; that’s a pretty good portion of that 1,000,” Curry said. The project is also intended to increase See I-75, page A2
County adopts budget of $1.4 billion for 2023-24
File photo: County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes speaks during a Capital Improvement Project Workshop in the County Commission auditorium at the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala on Monday, March 21, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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he Marion County Board of County Commissioners has adopted the 2023-24 fiscal year total budget of over
$1.4 billion and a millage rate of 4.29 mills. The total budget includes the countywide budget of $998,957,168 and a budget of $409,601,684 for various noncountywide entities. This new budget, approved Sept. 21, will
go into effect at the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. The adopted millage will stay the same at 4.29 mills. Last year, the county commission decreased the millage rate from the 2021-22 fiscal year’s rate of 4.42 mills. The millage rate is the amount of tax that will be paid for each $1,000 of property value. In the coming fiscal year, Marion County property owners can expect to pay $4.29 per each $1,000 of their property’s value. Residential home owners are eligible for tax exemptions, including but not limited to the homestead, widow, disability and veteran exemptions. The adopted budget is an increase from the current year’s budget, which was $1.2 billion. The increase is partially due to funding public safety, said Commissioner Kathy Bryant in the first of two public hearings on Sept. 7 to finalize the budget. While the countywide millage rate will stay the
same, there will be a 10.76% increase over the rolled-back millage rates for the general fund, a 10.76% increase for the fine and forfeiture fund and a 10.78% increase for the Marion County Health Unit Trust Fund. This tax increase is intended for specific purposes. Within the general fund, there will be an increase of $5.24 million in funds for the sheriff ’s jail operations for inmate medical services and an increase of $3.38 million for ambulance services. While this is a significant increase in costs for the county, it is an expense that the commission cannot avoid, Bryant said. “I mean, the inmate medical is completely out of our control. It’s something that we are mandated by state statute to provide for inmates when they go into the county jail,” she said. The increase of $3.38 million See County, page A3
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