City of Groveland City Council: August 17, 2026

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (5 of 5 members present) Duration: 7:06 PM to 10:47 PM Location: E.L. Puryear Building, 243 S. Lake Avenue, Groveland

Attendance

• Present: Mayor Keith Keogh, Vice Mayor Barbara Gaines, Council Members Amy Jo Carroll, Michael Jaycox and Stephen Shylkofski
• Staff Present: Interim City Manager Timothy Maslow, Clerk Ginny Wright, Sergeant-At-Arms Deputy Chief Armando Loney, Interim City Attorney Richard S. Geller; also appearing, Senior Planner Alan Booker and Director of Public Works and Transportation T.J. Fish

Agenda Items

Presentation: Avalon 2.0 (Avalon Park Group)

• Type: Other (development concept presentation)
• Location: Downtown Groveland and City-owned property along Sampey Road
• Applicant: Avalon Park Group; presented by Beat Kahli, Founder, President & CEO
• Request: The minutes record that Mr. Kahli "emphasized that no action was requested from the City Council this evening." The concept described is a potential property exchange and redevelopment strategy: approximately 94 single-family homes with healthcare facilities (an urgent care center and emergency room), an academic village, a hotel and a mixed-use building. The original downtown proposal contemplated approximately 530 residential units, 45,000 square feet of commercial space and a 25,000-square-foot community center.
• Action: No action requested
• Notable Discussion: Mr. Kahli estimated the overall investment at approximately $200 million and named the next steps as a working session, appraisals, due diligence, a non-binding term sheet and continued discussion of the downtown vision and the Sampey Road property. In his report, Mayor Keogh noted that the concept "would reduce the proposed residential component from approximately 530 units to 94 homes."

Item 4: Resolution 2026-44, Traffic Signal Development Agreement (Rock Green Valley, LLC)

• Type: Development Agreement (traffic signal)
• Case Number: Resolution 2026-44
• Location: Intersection of Green Valley Boulevard/Galaxy Drive and State Road 50
• Applicant: Rock Green Valley, LLC (developer)
• Request: Approve an agreement under which the developer provides "up to $300,000 toward the cost of design and construction of the traffic signal"; separately, the City has a pending agreement with FDOT for FDOT to take the lead on designing and constructing the signal.
• Action: Motion passed (moved from the Consent Agenda to New Business)
• Vote: Motion passed with all council members present voting aye
• Conditions: Council discussed revising the budget impact language to state that the City would have no financial obligation; staff supported that amendment. The motion carried "the condition that there is no impact to the budget."
• Notable Discussion: A resident questioned why the developer was required to contribute $300,000, citing the FDOT-funded signal at Villa City Road and State Road 50.

Item 5: Ordinance 2026-13, Sampey Road Parcel 2 Small-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment (First Reading)

• Type: Comp Plan Amendment (small-scale, future land use)
• Case Number: Ordinance 2026-13
• Location: Sampey Road Parcel 2, Sampey Road, north of State Road 50, east of Phelps Street and west of Beverly Drive
• Request: Amend the Future Land Use Plan designation "from City of Groveland Established Neighborhood, Agriculture, and Conservation to City of Groveland Employment Center and Conservation" on 15.41 +/- acres.
• Acreage: 15.41 +/- acres
• Staff Recommendation: Approve (Senior Planner Alan Booker)
• Action: Motion passed (first reading)
• Vote: Motion passed with all council members present voting aye
• Notable Discussion:
  • Interim City Manager Maslow advised that Ordinances 2026-13, 2026-14 and 2026-15 would be presented together and voted on separately.
  • Mr. Booker explained that the requested designation "would allow for development consistent with the applicant's proposed light industrial/flex space concept."
  • Council Member Carroll asked why the existing future land use and zoning were inconsistent; Mr. Maslow said the reason "could not be determined from the available historical records" and that the applications would bring the designations into alignment.
  • Council Member Jaycox asked about the City's spray field; Mr. Booker said the property sits on a different portion of Sampey Road. On the transition to nearby homes, Mr. Maslow said the agricultural portion on the northwest side would remain as a transition.
  • Four residents spoke. Three raised children's safety, truck traffic on Phelps Street, cut-through traffic, sewage, drainage and flooding; one of them suggested access from Sampey Road to the bypass. One credited staff for incorporating the Future Land Use Map, saying the approach had "come a long way."

Item 6: Ordinance 2026-14, Sampey Road Parcel 2 Rezoning (First Reading)

• Type: Rezoning
• Case Number: Ordinance 2026-14
• Location: Sampey Road, north of State Road 50, east of Phelps Street and west of Beverly Drive
• Request: Change the zoning "from City of Groveland Agriculture, Light Industrial, and Conservation to City of Groveland Light Industrial and Conservation" for the property the ordinance title describes as "owned by Jon Jones."
• Current Zoning: City of Groveland Agriculture, Light Industrial, and Conservation
• Proposed Zoning: City of Groveland Light Industrial and Conservation
• Action: Motion passed (first reading)
• Vote: Motion passed with all council members present voting aye
• Notable Discussion: Public comment: none.

Item 7: Ordinance 2026-15, Sampey Road Parcel 1 Small-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment (First Reading)

• Type: Comp Plan Amendment (small-scale, future land use)
• Case Number: Ordinance 2026-15
• Location: Sampey Road Parcel 1
• Request: Amend the Future Land Use Plan designation "from City of Groveland Established Neighborhood and Conservation to City of Groveland Agriculture, Employment Center and Conservation" on 14.77 +/- acres.
• Acreage: 14.77 +/- acres
• Action: Motion passed (first reading)
• Vote: Motion passed with all council members present voting aye
• Notable Discussion: Public comment: none.

Item 8: Resolution 2026-54, Clean Water Facilities Plan, Groveland Utilities North Water Reclamation Facility

• Type: Other (utility facilities plan for State Revolving Fund eligibility)
• Case Number: Resolution 2026-54
• Location: A 25-acre City-owned site; the facility would serve the City's northern wastewater service area, "generally consisting of the area north of the Palatlakaha River"
• Request: Adopt the facilities plan prepared by Woodard & Curran so the City remains eligible for FDEP State Revolving Fund loan or grant assistance.
• Action: Tabled to August 20, 2026
• Vote: Motion passed with all council members present voting aye
• Notable Discussion: Mr. Fish said the facility would provide capacity "for existing customers as well as properties for which the City had already made development commitments through annexation, Future Land Use designations, and zoning approvals," and that the selected alternative was estimated at approximately $101 million. Council Member Jaycox said he had not reviewed the revised July 30, 2026 version and moved to table. The resolution title cites a plan dated June 30, 2026; the resolution text and the discussion cite July 30, 2026.

Public Hearings Summary

• Number of speakers: Four residents on Ordinance 2026-13; one on Resolution 2026-44; none on Ordinances 2026-14 and 2026-15.
• General sentiment: Mixed on Sampey Road; concern about traffic and safety alongside one speaker crediting the revised approach.
• Key concerns:
  • Truck traffic and children's safety on Phelps Street
  • Cut-through traffic already using Phelps Street
  • Sewage, drainage and flooding north of State Road 50
  • Why a developer pays toward a signal FDOT funded elsewhere

Key Signals

• Sampey Road moves toward light industrial on first reading. Ordinances 2026-13, 2026-14 and 2026-15 each passed with all council members present voting aye: Parcel 2 (15.41 +/- acres) from Established Neighborhood, Agriculture, and Conservation to Employment Center and Conservation future land use, with Light Industrial and Conservation zoning; Parcel 1 (14.77 +/- acres) to Agriculture, Employment Center and Conservation. Staff describe the applicant's concept as light industrial/flex space.
• A downtown partner proposes a smaller residential program. Avalon Park Group's Avalon 2.0 concept replaces approximately 530 downtown residential units with approximately 94 single-family homes plus healthcare, education and hotel uses, tied to a potential exchange for City-owned Sampey Road property. No action was requested.
• Utility capacity for committed growth reached the Council. The North Water Reclamation Facility plan (Resolution 2026-54), estimated at approximately $101 million, was tabled to August 20, 2026; staff tied its capacity to development already committed through annexation, land use and zoning approvals.
• The State Road 50 signal at Green Valley Boulevard/Galaxy Drive advanced with a developer contribution of up to $300,000 and a condition of no impact to the City budget.

Raw Notes

• Consent agenda (July 29 workshop and meeting minutes, August 3 minutes, Resolution 2026-46 single source agreement with Ferguson Waterworks for Neptune water meters, Resolution 2026-52 wayfinding signage MOU with Community Health Centers, Inc.): approved with Resolution 2026-44 moved to New Business; motion passed with all council members present voting aye. A resident raised sight lines for wayfinding signage at Groveland Farms Road and State Road 50.
• Old Business: Ordinance 2026-16 (Council meeting time of 6:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m. adjournment, public comment near the start, and "applicants seeking to amend the future land use or zoning of real property or seeking another development order shall have up to 10 minutes for an initial presentation and 5 minutes for rebuttal"), first reading, passed; Resolution 2026-33 (procurement policy) tabled to September 8, 2026; all seven qualified applicants appointed to the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee.
• Scrivener's issue as found: under Item 4 (Resolution 2026-44) the minutes print the motion as "moved to approve Ordinance 2026-14 Sampey Road Parcel 2 Rezoning - First Reading, with the condition that there is no impact to the budget." The item under consideration was Resolution 2026-44; Ordinance 2026-14 carries its own motion under Item 6.
• Presentations: Community Health Centers overview; coercive control advocacy awareness; recognition of a youth workforce program with Butcher Block Kitchen.
• General public comment touched the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, the Police Chief's lawsuit, campaign signs, and water capacity (one resident cited permitted water use of approximately three million gallons per day against projections of about six million within five to ten years).
• Reports: Council Member Jaycox cited approximately $112 million owed in the Utility Fund and said the proposed North facility "appeared to add approximately $103 million." Interim City Manager Maslow reported approximately $4.8 million in proposed expenditures identified for reduction or postponement and a final budget workshop on August 25, 2026.
• The minutes text is an OCR layer (letter substitutions such as "Gity," "Sampev," "lndustrial"); quotations above are normalized to the words the text plainly intends. The 1.6-million-character agenda packet was set aside; the minutes carry the items.