Council approves Garden Street developer agreement; city to accept donated water infrastructure and county to handle road widening

LAKE CITY — The Lake City City Council adopted Resolution 2025-033 on March 17 approving a developer agreement with Garden Street Community Southeast LLC to share costs for certain public improvements tied to a proposed residential subdivision.

City staff and the developer described the deal as a cost-saving arrangement in which the city provided materials already purchased — roughly $130,000 worth of pipe and control valves — and the developer agreed to install the remainder of the water infrastructure and eventually donate the mains to the city. During discussion, staff said the city had previously considered paying about $368,000 to loop a main but chose a hybrid approach that reduces the city’s immediate cash outlay.

Developer and city staff said the plans include two ingress/egress points for the development — one near the ball fields and one off Marvin Burnett — and that traffic studies and coordination with Columbia County were part of the project. City staff said the road-widening work on the adjacent county road is a Columbia County project under the county’s program and will not be a city expense.

Mr. Brown, speaking for the project team, told the council the arrangement will “save almost $228,000” compared with other options and that the developer will install an 8-inch main through the subdivision and donate it to the city after construction. City Manager Rosenthal said the materials were already on the city’s laydown yard and that turning the installation and donation into city property made the overall effort a “win–win” for the city and the developer.

The council moved and seconded the resolution and approved it by roll call.

Ending: City officials said they will complete coordination with the county for road revisions and finalize contract execution and recording.