Alachua County School Board delays vote on Citizens Field redevelopment

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Alachua County School Board members delayed a vote on the future of Citizens Field during a meeting Tuesday night and are looking at different ways to pay for the project, possibly funding it using a method called a certificate of participation.

A plan to redevelop Citizens Field could soon move forward. The proposed project would transfer ownership of Citizens Field from the city of Gainesville to the Alachua County School District, while also opening the door to millions of dollars in improvements.

Some board members needed more time to review the proposal. No vote was taken even though some board members wanted to go through with it.

Wednesday’s workshop focused on how the district could pay for Citizens Field and several other major facility projects across the county. Board members Janine Plavac and Tina Certain said district leaders reviewed possible funding options during the workshop.

“I was ready to vote because we did have the first phase of this, would be for the environmental work to be researched. And if something was reported back, we could cancel and not move forward,” Certain said.

“I would say we don’t want to be antagonistic. We really would like to be cooperative and just everybody sit and talk and we’re not committing either way. You know, we would just want to. I mean, it’s to the benefit of the children,” Plavac said.

Those options include using revenue from the district’s 1.5 mill property tax revenue or Certificates of Participation, often called COPs, which function similarly to bonds.

Board members also touched on a separate issue during Tuesday’s meeting involving using district buildings to address student homelessness. A proposed letter from board chair Thomas Vu to city and county leaders was delayed after some members said its tone needed to be changed.

Board members are expected to revisit the Citizens Field proposal and other facility projects during their June 16 meeting.

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