In its meeting Tuesday, the Alachua County Commission discussed the continuation of its gun violence prevention and community health worker programs and proposed an amendment allowing permitted restaurants to brew their own alcoholic beverages.
Alcoholic beverage production
The Alachua County Commission considered an amendment to its Unified Land Development Code, which designates different zones in the county for specific uses. Zoning codes sort the county into categories of land use such as agriculture, health and medical facilities or food and beverage uses.
The food and beverage category contains restaurants, bars and mobile food sales.
In its Tuesday meeting, the commission considered adding another subcategory: small-scale alcoholic beverage production facilities.
The proposed amendment would allow restaurants and bars to integrate alcoholic beverage production for on-site consumption with the proper permit.
According to a presentation delivered by Medhi Benkhatar, the county’s development services planner, a small-scale alcoholic beverage production facility is one that produces no more than 465,000 gallons of beer or cider, 100,000 gallons of wine or mead and 15,000 gallons of spirits per year.
While eight micro-breweries, including First Magnitude and Swamp Head, already exist throughout the county, Benkhatar said all are within the City of Gainesville and other municipalities. By amending the land code with the new subcategory, micro-breweries and other small-scale alcoholic beverage producers could exist in unincorporated areas of the county and in cities that don’t already have zoning for them.
Commissioner Mary Alford brought up concerns of safety during discussion on the topic. The process of distilling hard liquor requires high pressure and heat, she said, and additional requirements might need to be added to ensure micro-distilleries are located in places that won’t pose a risk to others.
Benkhatar said he and other county staff members would look into regulations.
“I know that the [Florida] Department of Business and Professional Regulations issues permits,” he said, “so we can look into what kind of safety issues there would be.”
Following commissioner discussion, the board unanimously voted to advertise a public hearing for the proposed code change. No hearing date has been set yet.
Community health workers
Alachua County's Community Health Worker Program works to increase county residents’ access to healthcare and mental health services, said Cherisse Britton, a Florida Department of Health program administrator.
In its current form, the program’s community health workers are Alachua County community support services employees. The program is administered by a Florida Department of Health employee.
Britton proposed two other options for the extension of the program.
One option offered at the meeting would have employees hired and managed by the county’s community support services directly.
Another option would be to transition the program’s key functions to the Mobile Integrated Healthcare Team, a community-based program currently funded to address substance abuse.
The program connects clients with mental and physical health resources and provides education programs. It also provides peer support specialists for telehealth programs.
Commissioner Anna Prizzia said she’d want to see a combination of all three options moving forward. She said she hopes the program’s extension will help provide community members “not just a safety net, but a safety harness that keeps people from falling in the first place.”
Prizzia moved to have staff look into a combination of the three options, with Alachua County Fire Rescue facilitating the health workers. Commissioner Mary Alford seconded the motion.
“I think this could just be an amazing model for other communities if we can swing this kind of combination deal,” she said.
The motion was passed unanimously.
The details of the program’s extension and budget will be discussed at a future meeting. The program will function in its current form until Sept. 30.
Gun violence prevention
The commission also discussed how to move forward with its gun violence prevention initiative following a potential loss of funding from Cure Violence Global, an organization aiming to prevent violence and promote public health.
Alachua County, Santa Fe College and the City of Gainesville had united to address the issue of gun violence.
According to County Manager Michele Lieberman, the City of Gainesville denied funding from CVG in the city, resulting in the organization’s withdrawal from the county as a whole.
Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler said the city and county might be “holding each other up” and preventing true progress in the initiative. Commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting said while Gainesville had already organized a plan of its own, the county isn’t making much progress.
“Do we need each other as a team in order to get these things done?” Wheeler asked.
Despite the struggles for funding and plans, Commissioner Alford said the work was too important to give up on.
Commissioner Ken Cornell proposed no longer working with CVG due to their negotiation struggles. If the county were to continue to contract the organization, it would need to do so without the City of Gainesville.
The board moved to continue its alliance on the issue with Santa Fe College and the City of Gainesville. The motion passed 3-1, with commissioner Chuck Chestnut absent and commissioner Anna Prizzia choosing not to take a position.
The commission will continue to discuss potential funding for the initiative.
Federal funding cuts
Before the meeting’s morning session ended, county manager Michele Lieberman briefly addressed a recent executive order cutting federal funding for a variety of community-based programs.
Lieberman said the county will have to “wait and see” how the county will be affected by the budget cuts. As of Tuesday, she said, business in Alachua County will continue as usual.
Commissioner Alford said she wanted to talk to the commission’s federal lobbyists about the potential cuts. Commissioner Prizzia requested a list of the programs affected by the cuts, which Lieberman said she would email to the commissioners.
“This is not our decision,” Commission Chuck Chestnut said. “That is the federal government's decision.”
Contact Bailey Diem at bdiem@alligator.org. Follow her on X @BaileyDiem.
Bailey Diem is the Spring 2025 Metro Editor and a second-year journalism major. She has spent past semesters reporting for the university and metro desks. In her free time, Bailey enjoys playing guitar or getting lost in a book.
