Prompted by an unsolicited proposal, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) directed staff to issue a request for proposals that would remove nutrients, like phosphorus and nitrogen, from Newnans Lake.
Alachua County will analyze the proposals and recommend a top option to move forward. Though, the BOCC isn’t required to enter into a contract with any of the applicants.
The unsolicited proposal, sent by Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), addresses the impairment at Newnans Lake that Alachua County has faced for years. The state has set reduction goals for Alachua County and the city of Gainesville concerning nitrogen and phosphorus levels at the lake.
The proposal is heavily redacted to exclude details about how RES plans to reduce nutrients. The entire sections concerning estimated cost and payment schedule are all redacted.
“Recognizing the ‘heavy lift’ that has been placed on the County to provide solutions to reduce nutrients in the regional surface water system within the Newnans Lake watershed, RES developed a plan for a turnkey solution, implemented through the [public-private partnership] statute, for improving water quality and conserving and preserving the natural system for a sustainable, long-term outcome,” the proposal reads.
RES is a national company based in Texas with several regional offices in Florida.
Stephen Hofstetter, director of the county’s environmental protection department, said the request for proposals will ask for projects that accomplish the same goal of reducing nutrients in Newnans Lake, but the method that each applicant uses can differ.
Hofstetter said the RES proposal wouldn’t actually occur at the lake but further upstream.
Alachua County has known that it needs a large-scale project—upwards of $19 million—to meet the state’s demands. During the past legislative session, the county asked for $1.5 million to begin planning.
According to agenda backup documents, the county has $1.1 million from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to use for the unsolicited proposal along with another $400,000 from the stormwater management fund.
During public comment, Tamara Robbins critiqued allowing heavily redacted proposals. She’s also questioned past proposals, like the Alachua County Sports and Event Center, for redacted information.
“We are paying for it; we should be able to see what it is,” Robbins said. “What is the big trade secret? You don’t want to play by the public rules, then don’t ask for public money to provide your service.”
She also noted that earlier this year state legislatures critiqued the redacted nature of a solar agreement that Gainesville Regional Utilities had entered.
Alachua County Attorney Sylvia Torres said state statutes don’t clearly define trade secrets. She said the county tends to redact anything reasonable that a company claims trade secret protection on.
Torres said the county will push back on some items.
The 70-page proposal has large sections that show the RES team members, experience and comparable projects. But when it talks about the actual proposed project that the company would plan and implement with the county, redactions keep any information on the project hidden.
“The plan produces a wide range of environmental benefits…” the proposal says before redacting multiple lines.
The proposal says RES will reduce costs in addition to its “highly cost-effective innovative design techniques” but redacts exactly how.
However, the project will focus on Hatchet Creek, looking to restore stream function and floodplain connectivity.
Hofstetter said reconnecting the floodplain in areas would also help with flood management.
The city of Gainesville recently finished a stabilization project on Little Hatchet Creek. The project prevents the erosion of the creek banks with its phosphorus-rich soil, keeping the nutrients in place instead of sending them down to Newnans Lake.
Alachua County and Gainesville have partnered on other prevention efforts through the Gainesville Clean Water Partnership.
In February, Alachua County personnel said it has investigated projects that will restore wetlands in the area, stream restoration on Hatchet Creek, and floodplain restoration. The county has also looked into the feasibility of using a chemical process to bind phosphorous to the wetlands’ roots, preventing it from reactivating.
Chair Mary Alford asked if the evaluation process would include looking at the company credentials to ensure it can do the job. She said it the company has sent 15 unsolicited proposals across the state, then it could be strained if all 15 get accepted.
Assistant County Manager Tommy Crosby said those checks are included in the scoring criteria for the projects. Crosby said the unsolicited proposal is currently for the planning and development phase.
Dear BOCC: Please jump on this unsolicited proposal. I have invented an innovative super magic secret box the size of a microwave that will solve all pollution if dropped in Hatchet Creek. The insides are double secret trade secrets, so I cannot tell you how it works, but I dream big and know that your $1.5 million public investment in my private company will do great things. I have the world’s greatest experience at building magic secret boxes thru work at my former billion dollar company Theranos. I look forward to a successful Private Public Partnership with Alachua County. Unfortunately, I must work remotely only until 2032, so until then mail checks to me c/o the Bryan Texas Federal Women’s Prison.
Good for Tamara!
Surely this company must have a track record of how they have done this in the past. Maybe a little investigative digging could reveal some of the documents redactions in terms of methods and costs?
Alford was in full support of the Biomass plant that has Gville in financial peril they will never get out of. Why not double down on sinking the county ? It will require multiple projects to match the Billion dollar Biomess . Please reelect her so she has more time.
85% of Newnans Lake’s problems are generated within the lake. The organic sediment is and has always been overflowing into Prairie Creek. Over the years, all the work at the SR20 bridge site has elevated the bottom to the point of holding back more organics, to the level that the organic goo has moved into the shallows and prevented most aquatic spawn and baking in the sun, releasing massive amounts of nutrients into the water. Prairie Creek is the Problem and is the only cure. It must be suction dredged from the mouth of the creek to just beyond the rails to trails bridge the original clay creek bed. Currently, the creek bottom is about 3 feet higher at the bridge than at the lake’s mouth. This act alone would improve the water quality in Newnans Lake with the most minor expense and the most remarkable result.
During the summer months, the shallows experience alarming temperature spikes, exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat accelerates the decomposition of organic matter, leading to nutrient release and subsequent algae blooms, which degrade the water quality, turning the lake green and sour. To mitigate these issues and restore the lake’s health, I propose a solution: the removal of just 10 to 15% of the organic sediment. This targeted approach would alleviate the burden on the shallows, allowing for a natural retraction of sediment and a remarkable improvement in water quality by up to 100%.
Why are ppl so clueless and narrow minded? Our nature should not be part of any political or bureaucratic bs. Why would anyone want to destroy our Eco system instead of improving it? 🫣