More parking coming to downtown
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 40
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OCTOBER 4 - OCTOBER 10, 2024
Sober living facility seeks to expand at Ocala church Neighbors express concerns to city officials about the Lake Weir Avenue location.
Zion’s Army works to help parents of Down syndrome babies This year’s Zion’s Army Memorial Workout of the Day is set for Oct. 12 at Tier One Crossfit in Ocala as well as other locations around the world. By Marian Rizzo Correspondent
J File photo: Compassion United Methodist Church, the old Druid Hills United Methodist Church, is shown on Southeast 17th Street in Ocala on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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he owners of Compassion United Methodist Church have applied for a zoning change for the property that would allow Open Arms Village to expand its sober living program and utilize the church for a 16bed halfway house for women. Neighbors of the 1712 SE Lake Weir Ave. property have expressed opposition to this proposal, as there are singlefamily neighborhoods to the east and west of the church, and it is near South Ocala Elementary, Eighth Street Elementary, Osceola Middle School, St. John Lutheran School and Blessed Trinity Catholic School. The applicants hope to change the zoning from institutional to limited community business. The first public hearing before the Ocala City Council was held on Sept. 9, with the city council again discussing it on Oct. 1. A final public hearing will be held on Oct. 15, where the council will vote. Open Arms Village has its main location at 1839 NE 8th Road in Ocala, which serves men in Marion County by extending time spent sober, improving psychiatric symptoms and reducing the likeliness of future costs to the hospitals and legal system, according to Open Arms. “Compassion UMC is the future home of a holistic recovery program for women, which includes housing, therapy, resume preparation, job skill development, driver’s license and transportation assistance, education, family reunification, case management, and recovery services,” according to church officials. The church used to be the Druid Hills United Methodist Church until its closure due to lack of membership. For many years, it was the site of one of the largest and most popular “pumpkin patch” locations in the region. See Open, page A3
Joshua and Bobbi Sarmiento, with their son, Josiah, 15, center, hold a photo of their late infant son, Zion Joe Sarmiento, who passed away on Oct. 8, 2021, as they pose for a photo at their Marion Oaks home on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.
osh and Bobbi Sarmiento literally held their breath for four months while their newborn baby fought for his life. Born on June 15, 2021, Zion Joe Sarmiento was diagnosed with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect. Over the next four months, he endured five open heart surgeries, went into cardiac arrest, was placed on life support three times, and needed dialysis for kidney issues. After the fifth surgery, doctors said he would likely need open heart surgery but would not be ready until he was 3 years old. Despite their efforts to save Zion’s life, he passed away on Oct. 8, 2021. The pastors of Ignite Ministries in Ocala, the Sarmientos had posted their son’s battle on Facebook and were surprised by the amazing response from complete strangers saying they would pray for Zion. “We got testimonies from people about how Zion led them to the Lord,” Bobbi said. “I got a map and See Zion’s, page A2
School district takes final preparatory steps before construction on new SW Marion high school By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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s the beginning of construction on the new southwest Marion County high school is fast approaching, the school district and county needed to first address concerns between the school’s project location and the neighboring county project for a future Interstate 75 flyover. At a technical working group meeting on Sept. 13, staff from Marion County Public Schools, Marion County, the city of Ocala, and other local municipalities met to discuss a number of items in accordance with their interlocal agreement—the most pressing being the High School CCC project that is scheduled to begin construction in November. The county granted the school district a special use permit for the property, which required them to provide a comprehensive site plan to the county before construction begins. The school district is continuing to work with the county to ensure that all standards are met and the school can begin construction as planned, said MCPS Director of Operations Barbara Dobbins. “The site plans were submitted to the county with the note that they limit the
review to the requirements as per Statues 1013.33 to the adequacy as it relates to environmental concerns, health, safety and welfare, and effects on adjacent property,” Dobbins said. Certain standards and conditions of typical projects that the county would provide a special use permit for do not apply to the building of schools, as they would for a project like a strip mall, the district exemplified. “Only the site plan was required for the cursory review, but we felt the entire civil set would give the county a better understanding of the entire scope,” said Dobbins. Ahead of the submission of the site plan, the county expressed concerns that traffic from the school around drop-off and pickup times might back up the surrounding road of Marion Oaks Manor, which will provide access for the school, said Assistant County Administrator Tracy Straub. “Westport High School is a great example, where the parents are stopping and dropping kids off on the side of the road, and they’re stopping and picking up kids on the side of the road. It happens,” said Straub. The county is in the preliminary stages of a project to extend Marion Oaks Manor to create a flyover for Interstate 75. Marion Oaks Manor will be four-laned and will be extended east to a flyover over I-75 to allow
traffic to travel to the east side of the county. The project will span from Southwest 49th Avenue to County Road 475. The district set out an ambitious timeline with the high school project, with the goal of opening in August of 2025 for the beginning of the school year. The project faced delays after controversy over which construction firm should be awarded the $120 million dollar contract for the school. In April, a district selection committee chose Wharton–Smith Inc. as the winning bidder for the project. In the days and weeks following, competing firm Ausley Construction and School Board member Sarah James were accused of tampering with the procurement process by violating the “cone of silence” policy and issuing threats to school district staff, another board member, and Superintendent Diane Gullett. An external investigation by the GrayRobinson law firm substantiated the allegations. The contract was eventually awarded to Wharton-Smith in July. The county asked the school district at the technical working group meeting not to officially set a date for the school’s groundbreaking until the site plan was reviewed, so as to not violate the special use permit. See Construction, page A3
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