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Lake City News 2021
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Posted July
20, 2021 11:55 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – City Clerk Audrey Sikes, once
the apple of most folk’s eye in Lake City and
Columbia County, has come under heightened
scrutiny lately by her coworkers and the public.
The most recent issues: public records access
and City agenda preparation.
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Posted July
15, 2021 01:30 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Monday’s City Council special
meeting had hidden deep in the agenda the
approval of the final resolution authorizing the
removal of City Manager Helfenberger from
suspension to the ranks of the unemployed.
Delays by City Attorney Fred Koberlein, Jr. and
the City Council cost thousands.
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Posted July
15, 2021 01:30 pm
AKE
CITY, FL – After
squandering over $10k due to delays
during the removal of City Manager Helfenberger,
three members of the City Council want to spend
another $10k plus on a head hunter to run an
advertisement and collect resumes to fill the
vacant City Manager position. Advertising for a
City Manager is something the City HR Department
should be able to do in its sleep.
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Posted July
12, 2021 07:15 am | (1
comment)
LAKE
CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On June 21,
2021, the City Council voted to suspend
its City Manager and install its just
terminated HR Director as Interim City
Manager. Tonight, the City Council will
discuss the process moving forward.
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Posted July
6, 2021 09:34 am | updated 10:55 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – A 2018
structural assessment of Lake City City Hall
lacks any mention of maximum wind forces that
the aging building can sustain. However, the
City has installed a net around the building to
catch falling bricks.
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Posted July
1, 2021 06:48 am
LAKE
CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Tuesday
afternoon, June 29, City Manager Joe
Helfenberger responded, through his attorney, to
the City Council’s allegations which suspended
him for 45 days, pending a final resolution of
termination.
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Posted June
29, 2021 06:51 pm
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On June
21, the Lake City City Council voted to suspend
its City Manager Joe Helfenberger after City
Councilman Todd Sampson read a laundry list of
complaints from a statement.
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Lake City Utilities back in the game
Posted
June 25, 2021 04:45 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Begun in 2006,
Plum Creek, now Weyerhaeuser, began the
plans for a super-duper mega industrial
park (Industrial Park) on East U.S. 90
in Columbia County. Fifteen years and millions of public funding
dollars later, there is still no water or sewer
at the 2,500-acre site.
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Posted June
23, 2021 09:35 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
On Monday night, Lake City City Manager Joe
Helfenberger was suspended for 45 days, pending
a final resolution for his removal. City Manager
Helfenberger has the right to ask for a public
hearing. If he doesn’t, the City Council can
adopt a final resolution removing him.
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Posted June
18, 2021 10:25 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia County is
rewarding the Town of Fort White with $75,000
over three years for the privilege of providing
Fort White residents with clean water. The
$75,000 is an infusion of cash into the town's
coffers as it tries to extricate itself from its
financial difficulties. It is not clear whose
idea the $75,000 payoff was.
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Posted June
15, 2021 09:40 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Late yesterday morning, Third Circuit
Chief Judge Mark Feagle advised the
Circuit that based on the latest
Administrative Order by FL Supreme Court
Chief Justice Charles Canady, courts
would be resuming in-person court
proceedings.
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Posted June
14, 2021 09:55 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
This past Thursday, June 10, on his third try,
City Manager Joe Helfenberger Terminated Ami
Fields, Lake City’s new HR Director. Mr.
Helfenberger gave this reason, “I…have
determined that you are not a good fit for our
City.”
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Posted June
9, 2021 07:30 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Monday night’s City Council meeting was
ill-attended; even the mainstream media didn’t
show up, although it attended virtually, along
with three other virtual attendees. The
performance of the City Council, City Manager,
City Attorney, and City Clerk over the last two
years is an indicator of the confidence in the
electorate and the performance of the public
body.
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Posted June
6, 2021 09:15 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On February 4, 2021,
businessman and community activist Sylvester
Warren told the Columbia County 5, "There is a
huge disconnect and distrust between the black
community and law enforcement. I think everybody
should be in favor of the citizens' review
board." County Chairman Rocky Ford said, “I
don’t oppose it.” On Thursday evening, June 3,
things changed.
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Posted
June 2, 2021 11:15 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – With
over $10 million invested in the
facility over the previous six months to
upgrade surgical robotics, additional
inpatient imaging technology, and expand
the Medical Center's inpatient capacity,
the hospital is announcing an additional
$36 million for further growth.
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Posted
May 28, 2021 06:35 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Kayaktivism
event scheduled for Saturday, May 29, on
the Santa Fe River is the fourth
kayaktivist paddle that Our Santa Fe
River has staged on the iconic Santa Fe
River in front of the Ginnie Springs
Outdoors Campground.
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Posted June
14, 2021 09:55 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
This past Thursday, June 10, on his third try,
City Manager Joe Helfenberger Terminated Ami
Fields, Lake City’s new HR Director. Mr.
Helfenberger gave this reason, “I…have
determined that you are not a good fit for our
City.”
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Posted June
9, 2021 07:30 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Monday night’s City Council meeting was
ill-attended; even the mainstream media didn’t
show up, although it attended virtually, along
with three other virtual attendees. The
performance of the City Council, City Manager,
City Attorney, and City Clerk over the last two
years is an indicator of the confidence in the
electorate and the performance of the public
body.
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Posted May
15, 2021 01:15 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
This evening, Lake City, City Councilman Todd
Sampson revealed his ideas and a two-part plan
for civilian oversight of the Lake City Police
Department. Councilman Sampson said,
“Transparency and accountability are the
purposes of police oversight. The more trust and
community spirit we can build, the better off we
will all be."
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Posted May
13, 2021 08:45 am |
go to Part I
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Saturday’s Lake City Police Advisory Review
Board Workshop finally happened. While Police
Chief Argatha Gilmore and the City Council sat
and listened, they got an earful; most of it
wasn't pretty.
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Posted May
11, 2021 2:30 pm
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
The departure of Lake City’s IT
Department Director Mandy Rand left a
big hole in the ability of Lake City’s
IT to post its Zoom meetings without lag
time. Under the former direction of Ms.
Rand, the Zoom meetings made it to the
net generally within minutes.
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Posted May
4, 2021 07:30 am | Part II
LAKE
CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The
recent departure of Mandy Rand, Lake
City’s IT Director, not only speaks
volumes about the disarray in the top
management of Lake City, but the second
class treatment of many women in North
Florida.
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Posted
April 30, 2021 08:45 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Green Life Farms
announced it has commenced construction
on its second hydroponic greenhouse in
Florida on a 24-acre parcel of land in
Lake City. Using state-of-the-art
hydroponic technology, Green Life Farms
will grow leafy greens in oxygenated
water – without soil – then harvest and
package them in a controlled
environment, reducing the risk of
contamination and preserving flavor and
freshness.
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Posted
April 26, 2021 10:59 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – With
City worker morale at an all-time low, a budget
crisis looming, and IT security at a premium,
Lake City's IT Director Mandy Rand quit. She
told the City Manager, “Before I came to Lake
City, the City received nationwide attention
when it was attacked by ransomware… another
attack, while I was IT Director, would destroy
my IT career and jeopardize the City and my
family.”
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Posted
April 15, 2021 03:30 pm
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – After over
11 years on the job, Lake City Police Chief
Argatha-Rigby Gilmore cannot say that Lake City
is safer than when she began. While the LCPD has
gotten various accreditations on her watch, many
of Lake City’s residents are afraid to call the
police.
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Posted
April 7, 2021 10:59 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Olustee
Park - Monument controversy, now in the lap of
the Columbia County 5 (the County Commission),
had Columbia County’s newest commissioner, Robby
Hollingsworth, signing up to speak at Monday’s
City Council meeting. Why? Olustee – Second
thoughts.
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Posted
March 31, 2021 11:59 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Monday’s
emergency called City Council meeting didn’t
have to be an emergency. City Administration and
City Attorney Faux Pas have once again caused
disarray, consternation, and confusion.
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Posted
March 26, 2021 09:28 am
LAKE
CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The North Florida Mega
Industrial Park needs a gas supply. Lake City
Utilities are the County gas experts. Yesterday,
the County and City sat down to discuss gas, a
necessity for industrial economic development.
They met in the County Economic Development
Office.
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Posted
March 24, 2021 06:30 pm | Op-Ed
Mr. Helfenberger [Joe Helfenberger, Lake
City, City Manager], It is with great regret that I must
tenure my resignation. Coming to work for
the City of Lake City, my hometown for the
past fifty years, was a great honor for me.
I was hopeful that I could do well in this
position and was looking forward to the
challenges that lay ahead. I was not aware
of pitfalls that are associated with working
for the City of Lake City.
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Posted
March 22, 2021 02:00 am
LAKE CITY, FL – There is an insurrection
mounting in Lake City against City Manager Joe
Helfenberger’s latest pick for Assistant City
Manager, Daniel Sweat. Mr. Sweat began his
employment with Lake City on November 2, 2020.
Complaints against Mr. Sweat have been serious,
and until recently, have been brushed aside by
City Manager Helfenberger.
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Posted
March 18, 2021 11:01 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
On Monday night, March 15, 2021, during
a 12th-hour walk-on by City Manager Joel
Helfenberger, he announced that a legal
opinion solicited by the City stated
that Columbia County owns Olustee Park.
The Park is home to a Confederate
Monument.
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Posted
March 16, 2021 06:59 pm
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – A milestone
was reached by the City Council last night when
it reconfigured its Utility Advisory Committee
to include two County commissioners and two
high-ranking County staff members, giving the
County equal footing on the committee.
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Posted
March 4, 2021 06:59 am
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
The age old utility war between Columbia
County and Lake City has reared it head
once again. Recently, with the City and
County huffing and puffing, the real
issues for the tax payers are being
obscured by chest beating and trash
talk. If the leaders don’t sit down and
resolve their issues soon, it is going
to get expensive for everyone in the
County.
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Posted
February 4, 2021 01:59 pm
LAKE CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The first
two hours of Monday night’s Lake City, City
Council meeting seemed at times like an event
being held at the Roman Colosseum. Agitated by
recent events, the community's black residents
showed up in force to take a stand for
meaningful oversight of the Lake City Police
Department.
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Posted
January 22, 2021 03:40 pm
OLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – Last night, Lake
City's Vice Mayor / City Utility
Advisory Committee Chair, Chris Greene,
made a surprise visit to the County 5.
Despite Mr. Greene's announced
closed-mindedness, the County agreed to
join Councilman Sampson's reconstituted
City Utility Advisory Committee.
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Posted
January 15, 2021 11:59 pm
Lake City, Columbia County, FL – Thursday
evening's Utility Sub-Committee meeting brought
out many of the movers and shakers of Lake City
– Columbia County. After years of bickering,
territorial disputes, and myopia, it appears
that the City and County are ready to begin
talking seriously about the utility future of
Lake City – Columbia County.
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Posted
January 7, 2021 11:05 am
Lake City, Columbia County, FL – The City
Council's problems with being heard continued at
Monday's Council meeting in the School Bd.
Admin. Auditorium, although listening on Zoom
was a little better. Once again, there were
issues with City Attorney Fred Koberlein, Jr.
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Posted
January 4, 2021 01:20 pm
Lake City, Columbia County, FL – Last
Tuesday's Lake City Utility Committee meeting
lasted two and a half hours. Lake City's new
Assistant City Manager Daniel Sweat, a man with
neither water nor wastewater background, nor any
institutional knowledge of Lake City utilities,
announced that the City Utility is not
interested in being Columbia County's regional
utility provider.
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State
of the Art Green House Coming to Lake City.
Green Life Farms Will Grow 3 mil Pounds of
Environmentally Friendly Produce Yearly
Lake City Police Chief
Argatha Gilmore Makes It Clear, She Answers to
Nobody in Lake City
Olustee - ‘Second Thoughts’:
Commissioner Robby Hollingsworth Shows Up At
City Council, “It’s kinda’ strange, but here I
am.”
Lake City Utility Advisory
Committee Back on Track Again. City
Administration and Attorney Faux Pas Cause
Consternation – Confusion
Lake City – Columbia County,
Utility Progress: While They Met About Gas – The
Theme Was Cooperation
Lake City’s Assistant City
Manager Under Investigation: Will he dodge the
bullet again?
Lake
City Legal Opinion: Olustee Park – Home of
Confederate Monument – Owned By Columbia County
Lake City & Columbia County
Finally Smoke a Utility Peace Pipe. Agree to
Cooperate
Lake
City Turns Back the Clock on Utility Cooperation
– Digs In For a Utility War: Is it too late for
cooperation?
Lake City Vice Mayor Appears Before the County 5
to Discuss City Utility Policy & the City
Budget: His Appearance Not Sanctioned by the
City Council
Lake
City & Columbia County:
Finally, On the Cusp of Getting Their Utility
Act Together
Lake City's Resolutions,
Ordinances Have Issues: City Attorney Koberlein
Invents New Legal Term
Lake City Not the Regional
Utility Anymore: It's Now Up To the City Council
Decide What It Wants the Utility to Be - Time Is
Running Out