The Cedar Key Junior FFA (Future Farmers of America) Chapter opened Tuesday`s meeting of the Cedar Key City Commission by performing an opening ceremony as part of their preparation fo upcoming competitions in which they will participate.
The first item of interest comprised a presentation by Michelle Jones and Roland Senecal, representing US Census 2010, who were seeking the city`s cooperation on conducting the 2010 census. The Census Bureau want to use local people for this task, but there has been a marked lack of interest in Levy County, especially in Cedar Key.
An accurate count is important as Levy County loses $3,600 in funds per year for each person not reported. Four teams are required, each of 20 - 21 people. Jobs are initially available for a period of eight weeks but this is likely to be extended. Salaries for persons 18 and over are more than $11.00 per hour and mileage is also paid. Mayor Colson then announced some good news for Cedar Key. The Suwannee River Water Management Board has agreed to provide $14,000 to replace toilets in city buildings and at the school. Eleven AM on February 3rd will see Cedar Key receiving its award for being Florida Rural Community of the Year.
The city should also know something about grants for Broadband service by February 17. On the down side it was noted that another large amount of grease had been deposited on the dock last week. The Commissioners then moved on to a discussion on Cedar Key`s arrangements for July 4 fireworks. It is hoped that these can be held on the same site as last year. Eleven thousand dollars will be needed to fund the event, of which the city has allowed $5,000 already. There are funds left over from last year but there will be a need to raise more money. An active discussion then followed on from Levy County Election Official Connie Asbell`s request to move the venue for the elections on August 24 and November 2 from city hall to the community center.
Some Commissioners and members of the public felt strongly that such a move would further contribute to the city losing its heritage but Mayor Colson was able to reach a sensible compromise by suggesting that city hall should be closed to non-electoral activities on these two days. Her motion to that effect was carried unanimously. A considerable amount of time was then spent over a presentation by the city attorney and subsequent discussion of financial calculations prepared by Waste Pro for different options for handling waste collection and recycling.
Discussion initially centered on methods for disposing of yard waste; a proposal for collecting and mulching yard waste has been received from Bill Campbell but it was agreed that other potential contractors including Waste Pro should be allowed to compete.
Discussion of waste collection and recycling for residences and commercial properties received considerable attention, particularly with respect to possible complications in the commercial tariff and whether Waste Pro has provided their best competitive proposal. Concern was also expressed about any need for competitive bidding. | 
