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City And County At Odds Over Ownership Of Old RTS Facility

A photo featured in a letter to Mayor Braddy from the Alachua County Comission of the former RTS Administration and Operations Center. (Photo courtesy of the city of Gainesville)
A photo featured in a letter to Mayor Braddy from the Alachua County Comission of the former RTS Administration and Operations Center. (Photo courtesy of the city of Gainesville)

A recent dispute over ownership of a former Regional Transit System facility will move forward this week when the Gainesville City Commission convenes for special meeting to discuss the conflict.

The land, located at 100 SE 10th Ave., was originally given to the city on October 3, 1981 to use as a RTS facility, but has sat dormant since September 2015.

According to the terms stated in the deed, the property should have been immediately returned to the county when it was no longer in use, as noted in a letter from Lee Niblock, County Manager.

A letter from County Attorney Michele Lieberman to City Attorney Nicole Shalley claims the county has received no written response from the city following their injunction filed April 22 that would prohibit any activity on the property.

The letter from Lieberman also states the city has disputed the county's ownership as discussed in a telephone message from Assistant City Manager Paul Folkers to Deputy County Manager James Harriott.

According to a resolution by the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, the county plans on abiding by the Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act, which states that "conflicts between governmental entities be resolved to the greatest extent possible without litigation."

Gainesville City Commission will meet Thursday at 1 p.m. at City Hall Auditorium, 200 E. University Ave., to discuss the dispute.

Abigail is a reporter for WUFT News and can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.