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Lake City News 2021
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Posted
November 29, 2021 04:35 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Lake City's City Council digs
in, jettisons City Charter and Florida statutes,
and heads off to court to keep City Council
member Befaithful Coker from taking the City
Council seat to which it appointed her. That
Lake City continues to be a standing joke in
Florida is inconsequential to the four members
left on the City Council and the City Attorney,
its legal counsel.
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Posted
November 17, 2021 08:25 am
LAKE CITY, FL – A twelfth-hour request on
Monday evening by City Attorney Fred Koberlein
for a “shade” meeting or litigation session
brings to the forefront public record issues and
litigation issues which continue to plague Lake
City during its recent dysfunction.
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Posted
November 10, 2021 02:05 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – The two-month saga of the
Lake City City Council to fill its vacated seat
continued on Monday evening. Once again, the
Court got involved as Lake City’s City
Attorney-Parliamentarian and candidate for
Circuit Court judge, Fred Koberlein, Jr., guided
the City through the process.
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Posted
November 8, 2021 01:15 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – In the civilized world,
filling a vacated city council seat should be a
simple matter. There would be a written
procedure, and the municipality’s elected
governing body would follow it. In Lake City,
Florida, the governing body is the City Council.
There is no procedure, unless one counts “flying
by the seat of your pants.”
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Posted
November 3, 2021 09:33 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Befaithful Coker met all the
requirements to fill the vacated City Council
seat of Chris Greene: she filed a council
approved application; she stood before the
Council and answered "all' the councilmen’s
questions; by majority vote, the Council voted
to appoint her to the seat; and she filed her
sworn Oath of Office with the City Clerk. In the
civilized world, that would have been enough. In
Lake City: nope.
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Posted
October 28, 2021 07:40 am
LAKE CITY, FL – On Tuesday evening, October
26, Befaithful Coker demonstrated that
stick-to-itiveness pays dividends as she became
only the second woman Lake City Council member
of the 21st century. It was a cliffhanger until
the very end. Ms. Coker proved both the local
mainstream media and her critics wrong when Lake
City's remaining four Council members voted 3-1
to have her fill the seat suddenly vacated by
Chris Greene on September 9.
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Posted
October 26, 2021 07:40 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Tonight at 6 pm, the Lake
City, City Council will again attempt to select
a candidate to fill the vacated City Council
seat of Chris Greene. With the withdrawal of
Abbie Chasteen first thing last Thursday
morning, the field is now down to three. What is
the Council’s plan? It doesn’t have one.
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Posted
October 20, 2021 01:28 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Monday afternoon, October 18,
2021, Befaithful Coker, a candidate for the
vacated City Council seat of Chris Greene, sued
the City. Ms. Coker claimed that the City
Council violated the Florida Sunshine Law by
doing a secret tally of the ballots of the
Council members and illegally voting to award
the vacated seat to Stephen A. Douglas.
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Posted
October 14, 2021 09:35 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Last night, the Lake City,
City Council left residents shaking their heads
in disbelief as it hemmed and hawed its decision
to fill the Council’s vacated seat. After almost
no debate, the Council gave up the issue and
resorted to a secret ballot as City Attorney and
the Council’s de facto parliamentarian, Fred
Koberlein, the wannabe circuit court judge,
stood by and let the secret ballot happen.
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Posted
October 13, 2021 08:55 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Tonight, beginning at 5 pm,
the City Council will select another member to
fill the vacated seat of Councilman Chris
Greene. Five candidates are vying for the
position: three men and two women. Presently,
the Council is made up of all men.
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Posted
October 9, 2021 05:45 am
LAKE
CITY, FL – On October 13, 2021, at 5 pm,
for the first time in decades, the Lake
City City Council will choose a
candidate to fill a vacated City Council
member seat. After interviewing five
candidates, the Mayor and three
Councilmen will vote to see which one
gets the nod.
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Posted
October 7, 2021 07:45 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Monday’s evening’s City
Council meeting had front-and-center on the
City agenda: Permit application from the
Blue Grey Army, Inc., to hold the Olustee
Battle Festival…on Friday, February 18,
through February 19, 2022.
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Posted
October 5, 2021 11:55 pm
LAKE
CITY, FL – Monday night’s City Council
agenda included the following item:
Permit application from the Blue Grey
Army, Inc., to hold the Olustee Battle
Festival…on Friday, February 18, through
February 19, 2022.
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Posted
October 4, 2021 07:05 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Lake City Growth Management
Director, David Young, resigns effective October
15. While City Policy requires a 30 day notice
for directors, Interim City Manager Mike
Williams waived the 30 day requirement for Mr.
Young.
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Posted
September 29, 2021 10:55 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Lake City's rising crime and
shootings have given the local mainstream media
and community activists a never-ending supply of
sensational news. In the background, the
Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the union
representing the LCPD, has been working hard to
bring stability and fair pay to the LCPD and the
Lake City community.
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Posted
September 22, 2021 10:55 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Monday night, the City
Council unanimously approved an employment
agreement between former LC Chamber of Commerce
president Mike Williams and the City. Mike
Williams became the second Interim City Manager
since the resignation of Joe Helfenberger on
July 12.
.
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Posted
September 20, 2021 02:45 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Lake City’s continuing
interim city manager saga continued at 5:41 pm
Friday evening when the City Clerk updated the
City’s Monday evening agenda material to include
a resume by Mike Williams. Mike Williams was
chosen out of the blue this past Wednesday to
run the City.
.
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Posted
September 16, 2021 12:25 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – The City Council met in
special session yesterday morning to act on
Interim City Manager Ami Fields' resignation and
discuss and “possibly” appoint an Interim City
Manager. Out of the blue, Mike Williams, Ex
Chamber of Commerce President, without setting a
foot in the building, got the nod on a 3-1 vote.
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Posted
September 15, 2021 06:45 am
LAKE CITY, FL – The saga of Ami Fields'
interesting relationship with the City of Lake
City came to an end late yesterday afternoon,
revealing structural weaknesses in Lake City
itself.
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Posted
September 8, 2021 11:55 pm
LAKE
CITY, FL – On Tuesday night, once again,
Lake City played to a packed house. Residents
and City Council members alike witnessed the
drawing back of the sheets on what seemed to be
a well-orchestrated plot to unseat Interim City
Manager Ami Fields.
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Posted
September 7, 2021 07:15 am
LAKE CITY, FL – Thirty-plus-year veteran Lake
City Fire Fighter Randall “Randy” Burnham lost
his fight against the COVID this past Sunday.
Chief Burnham spent his 30 plus year career with
the Lake City Fire Department working his way
through the ranks to become chief.
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Posted
August 31, 2021 03:45 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – The City Council’s
devolvement into confusion continued late
yesterday afternoon at its delayed 12th-hour
so-called budget workshop. One item settled was
that all City workers would get brought up the
$15 hr minimum wage ahead of the state-mandated
schedule. However, Councilman Greene was unclear
on what he wanted to do about the minimum wage
for school crossing guards and a few other low-wage
workers.
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Posted
August 30, 2021 10:15 am
LAKE CITY, FL – At 4 pm today, Lake City's
delayed $60,000,000 budget hearing is on the
docket. As at the last meeting, there is no
space for public comment. With state-mandated
deadlines approaching fast and the triumvirate
of Mayor Witt, Councilmen Greene, and Jefferson
more interested in obstruction than getting
something done, anything is possible.
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Posted
August 19, 2021 11:30 am
LAKE CITY, FL – The malaise facing Lake City
continues where a lack of leadership from the
City Council has Lake City reeling
directionless. With a room full of citizens and
city workers looking forward to addressing the
City's important fiscal issues, Councilman
Greene got sideways because his tentative City
taxes increased by $26.59.
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Posted
August 4, 2021 02:05 pm
LAKE CITY, FL – Monday night in City Hall
again had Interim City Manager-City Manager
issues front and center. The City Council
considered Interim City Manager Fields' contract
and the search for a permanent city manager.
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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