Williston Police and Fire Department Suffers From Infrastructure Issues as Rep. Johnson and Amy Trask Compete for State House Seat
LEVY COUNTY - On October 21, Florida House of Representatives District 22 candidate Amy Trask held a press conference in front of Williston City Hall regarding several different infrastructure issues at the police and fire building.
Trask is running against incumbent Chad Johnson (R). Today, voters in District 22, which includes Gainesville, will decide if Johnson should remain in his seat or if Trask should take over.
Press Conference and Appropriations Requests
Trask said fixing unseen issues gave her motivation to run. She said she hoped to accomplish that by highlighting the infrastructure issues within the police and fire station.
Trask explained that years ago, the public safety building was built on a sinkhole that was mitigated. Around 2015, mold mitigation work was done on the property. “For the last few years the problems have exacerbated, prompting the [police and fire] chief to take our [elected officials] on a tour of the facility to highlight these issues,” she said. “There is mold. Parts of the ceiling fall. There is wastewater intrusion… Now, a significant amount of termites. Folks have come out to measure any settling that’s been done… Per those officials, if they weren’t holding on to their measuring stick, it would’ve fallen through. Officials have stated to me that they are in fear for their health and safety, including the fear of falling through the floor."
Trask said she found that the legislature was largely unaware of the issues, and discovered why upon reading the appropriations applications for a new Williston Public Safety Headquarters that were sponsored by Johnson.
Appropriations applications are a formal request to spend government money for a specific purpose.
Johnson submitted two requests for appropriations, one in February 2025 (Fiscal Year 2025-26) and the next in November 2025 (Fiscal Year 2026-27). Both applications said that the police and fire station would be relocated to the Williston Regional Airport. Both applications were filed by Williston Fire Chief David "Lamar" Stegall. He signed the attestation form for the earlier report, while then City Manager Sue Beaudet signed the attestation form on the second application. Only lawmakers can make the final submission and publish an appropriations request.
The earlier application asked for a one-time appropriation of $10 million in fixed capital funds, no grants or other funding sources. The request form included no mention of the infrastructure issues. The attestation form suggests the current facility is not up to standards for life safety and wind codes but does not go into much detail. The application does not expand on this topic.
“It reads as a travel brochure,” said Trask. “Calling it a ‘one stop shop,’ stating that after the hurricanes the department gives out ice and waters.”
Trask said that Johnson had the opportunity to strengthen his case with the November filing, but he didn’t. “Application 2 contradicted Application 1,” Trask said. “He copy and pasted the problematic narrative block."
The second application asked for a 5+ year project with the Phase 1 appropriation at $4 million. In a letter of support attached to the attestation form, Beaudet acknowledged some of the issues with building size, roof insulation and wastewater issues. "The toilet adjacent to the holding cells is inoperable, so prisoners must be transported to bathrooms reserved for staff," she wrote.
Beaudet's statements are not expanded upon in the request form. The request form indicates issues with size and safety at the current facility but avoids great detail, stating “new and safe” facilities would be beneficial, and that the new location would provide “much needed room.”
Trask said that Johnson “claimed over a $300,000 match but omitted where it came from, and from my conversations with multiple county and city officials it didn't come from there. There weren’t any mentions of operational limitations. No attached studies. No mention of coordination, site plans or county support. There were no attached structural engineering reports, assessments, cost estimates, mold reports, OSHA concerns or hazard information... No justification…”
The Fiscal Year 2026-27 application outlines that $362,000 (roughly 8% of the proposed funding) would be coming from "local" but doesn't say anything more.
Both of the appropriations requests were denied.
Trask said she has spoken with Williston officials and members of the legislature about the issue and advocated for resolutions of support for new infrastructure studies. She said the sinkhole should be designated as active if that is indeed the case. She called for adding evidence to move the appropriations request from the bottom of the list to the top.
Interview: Fire Chief Lamar Stegall
Soon after the press conference, GnvInfo conducted a brief interview with Stegall.
Stegall mentioned that the fire department employs 35 individuals but only one is a full time employee.
Q: How long have the infrastructure issues been going on here?
Stegall: Well, about 15 years ago we had the sinkholes. Those were mitigated. They [came] in and did bores down to the bedrock. The police department has had mold issues in the past. They have been treated for that. Here recently we’ve had some concrete settling out here, and very recently we had found termites…
Q: How bad is the termite infestation?
Stegall: Bad, very bad.
Q: Do you know where [they are]?
Stegall: What you have here, you got to understand that you have two buildings. You got a metal building on the outside. Then you have two wooden buildings built inside of it. The termites are in pretty much the wood upstairs here, bad, very bad inside the fire station and a lot, you know, they're in the police station, but not quite to the extent they are here on the fire station.
Q: [Trask] also mentioned [the] issues with wastewater. What problems are resulting from that?
Stegall: When they did the mitigation for the concrete sinkholes, they had a wastewater problem on the police side. They had a line that got crushed in there and it could have been the building settling some more after that [which] made it worse.
Q: [Trask] also mentioned mold, has mold affected the health of employees at all [with] long-term exposures to that?
Stegall: Not to my knowledge...
Q: She also talked about the sinkholes. [Has] that issue resurfaced?
Stegall: Well, there's been some concrete settling… An engineer [came] out and [took] a look at that… We wanted to make sure it wasn't sinkholes and they'd come across as being just concrete settling.
Q: Do you feel like the legislature has been largely or mostly unaware of the issues here?
Stegall: I don’t know that we fully made them aware of the issues. I do know that they've known a little bit about it, but I don't think that they've known it to the extent. And now, and when you talk about that, when you talk about the mold and stuff, that was mitigated. Now, did it come back? I think it has. The termites are a new issue that's sprung up over the last year... I'm more than willing to say there's a good chance they don't know about all the issues that we've run into recently.
Q: Amy was critical of some of the appropriations reports filed by her opponent and incumbent Chad Johnson… Do you agree that there [are] any issues with the reports?
Stegall: From my understanding… I made a mistake on some of it… The city made some mistakes. I do know that Chad tried to assist in getting it back where it needed to be. I don't think anything that happened on this issue was his fault…
Q: Do you think he had any knowledge, or knowledge to the extent of the issues at the time he filed the reports?
Stegall: No…
Q: What do you think he and the Florida legislature should do ASAP to alleviate some of these issues?
Stegall: Well, if they can find a way to help us with some funding... We're going to have to do something about the fire station. We're gonna need to get out of here. So whatever it takes to help us do that… Appropriations would be nice. We just need to refile it and go from there.
Interview: Interim City Manager Terry Bovaird
On October 28, GnvInfo conducted a brief interview with Williston Interim City Manager Terry Bovaird over the phone.
Bovaird said he would answer whatever he could but that his office and the mayor’s office are not in control of the Williston police and fire departments.
Q: From your understanding, how have the infrastructure issues developed over the years… the mold, the ceiling, termites, et cetera?
Bovaird: I will tell you about the mold; I used to be the deputy chief over there... You can’t hold me to this because I don’t know when the actual year it was, but I know it was sometime around 2020ish that they basically found some mold… There was a company that was called in to remediate it, which did exactly that. As far as I know, there’s no more mold up there, unless somebody has climbed up there taking a look. Like I said, I don’t work there no more, and it’s not [something I have control over]. Unless the chief of police or somebody else has taken a gander up there to look at it, I was [making] the assumption that it’s still fine…
Q: When I was talking to the fire chief he indicated that it was back, but hopefully that gets taken care of… Have you gotten the opportunity to tour the facility at all or take a look at any of the issues recently?
Bovaird: No… You gotta understand the dynamic of the Williston government. I don’t control the fire department or the police department. I have no authority over them. They get their budget from the city, they handle their own budget; they do everything. There’s no reason for me to go tour the facility. If there’s an issue over there, the expectation would be in my mind that either one of the two chiefs would look at it, and say... “We got a little problem over there.” I mean like, we just—they just found termites over there... What I’m assuming is they were found by the fire department ‘cause that’s where they’re mainly located at. I did have my maintenance guy go over and take a look at ‘em, and we’re looking at quotes to go remediate the termites.
Q: Have you gotten the chance to look at the appropriations reports that were filed?
Bovaird: I seen them. Yes somebody show them to me.
Q: Do you have an opinion on them? Like as to why—
Bovaird: I do not. No I do not. My opinion would be is that you probably need to contact the chief of the fire department or the chief of police to ask them what their opinion is... They were the ones that assisted in submitting those appropriations letters.
Rep. Johnson Responds to Trask
Prior to publication, GnvInfo reached out to Johnson with questions about his knowledge regarding the infrastructure issues. An email was not received back, but Johnson did issue a public response on his Facebook account.
Johnson said that City of Williston officials and staff were not involved in the press conference and that appropriations requests must be submitted “exactly as sent” by the applicant. “The applicant is responsible for providing the information of the request and is required to sign an Attestation Form agreeing to the accuracy of the information in the filed document,” he said.
Johnson called the press conference a “poorly conceived political ruse” that “basically undermines the City of Williston’s credibility, lack of adequate fiscal responsibility and budgeting for its Public Safety Department, as well as a lack of collaboration and support of its Police and Fire, which implies a lack of concern for its citizens and its First Responders.”
Johnson acknowledged that he was made aware of the issues on February 12, 2025, which is one day before he submitted the appropriations report for Fiscal Year 2025-26. Johnson said that he examined the property with Stegall, Senator Stan McClain, Williston Police Chief Mike Rolls and Mayor Charles Goodman.
Johnson continued, “Chief Stegall and then Public Works Administrator Donny Barber presented on behalf of City of Williston both stating they were not the mayor. Chief Stegall stated [the] building was well beyond its lifespan. Thirty-five-year-old building with uneven floors, sporadic sewer pipe issues, mold issues, inadequate AC, limited dry storage and lack of personnel space. Chief Stegall mentioned filing previous Appropriation request in the past. I know prior to my term in office the city filed an appropriations request for the 2022 Legislative Session for Public Safety structure in the amount of $6,000,000 and it was not funded either.”
Johnson went on to say, “I visit Williston regularly, and was at the Fire station most recently on [October 2, 2026]. Senator McClain and I had an official tour the fall of 2025. This assessment was done with the intent to help the city improve their lack luster and incomplete application from the 2025 session. The city filled out the 2026 appropriation form asking for less funding and submitting an intent to provide $362,000 in local funding. The city of Williston has had issues with their facility for quite some time based on their claims. A records request of the City of Williston’s meetings will show this. Their city budget has doubled in 5 years, increasing by 14 million, that’s approximately a $3500 per person increase. In those 5 years, and the only line item, budgets for Police or Fire Capital Improvements, were for Police dispatch and Police vehicles.”
Johnson then said that the City of Williston has “failed to allocate” any of their own funding and that he is not aware of them applying for any grants. Johnson said he has an “open-door policy” but “Chief Stegall, Asst. Chief Willis, Utility Director Bishop and former City Manager Sue Beaudet are the only directors from the City of Williston” who contacted him about the station.
Johnson brought up the high turnover rate of Williston city managers and how the mayor, clerk and a councilwoman have served as Williston officials for many years. Seemingly directed at GnvInfo, Johnson said, “Maybe you should reach out to any of them and ask why no [city] Public Safety Financial information regarding current building cost of repair, construction drawings, estimated costs, and other pertinent documentation necessary for a complete application was not included in either of the requests, as well as information regarding the funding spent to address quite a few of these concerns in 2014. This information should have been provided BY the City of Williston, NOT a Public Safety Chief, and it is not information a legislator would have access to unless the City of Williston provided it to them.”
Trask Responds
In a text to GnvInfo, Trask said the press conference was for public knowledge. “It would be improper of me to ask electeds to stand behind me, as if it were a candidate endorsement publicity stunt, rather than me sharing what I found for public knowledge.”
Trask interviewed with GnvInfo over the phone on Monday, the last day before the election. She said Johnson did not respond to her after she previously challenged him to a debate.
Trask said she wasn't disputing the local funding source of $362,000 but that there was no record, outline or specification of where it was coming from.
"Typically you would write out where it's coming from because you're asking for an appropriation," she said. "When you're asking for an appropriation, you need to show that you have exhausted all other resources… There was no record of where it was being requested or where it was being sent from."
Trask said that regardless of who signs the forms, Johnson is the one who submits the application. Trask argued that Johnson had "a duty to tell [the] stakeholders that the application is not in its best format." She said that "both applications were submitted without a real justification for the appropriations request."
Trask said she met with police and city officials and that "no one had heard from Chad about this request since the request was made; like a year and a half of being in the dark." Trask said they told her they "were unaware of" the state of the application and that they "were outraged" when reading the language about hurricanes and the "one stop shop."
When asked if she thought there was a contradiction between Johnson's statements in his Facebook post and Stegall's statements in his interview, Trask said it absolutely was. In the post, Johnson said he was aware of the issues when he submitted the requests. In the interview with Stegall, he indicated that he believed Johnson was unaware of the issues when submitting the applications.
When asked about Johnson accusing the city of neglecting police and fire amid budget increases, Trask said, "I think it's more than that." Trask argued there was a lack of communication between Johnson and the city, stating that "even members of the police had no idea where we were."
"I think there's a breakdown of communications," said Trask. "Certainly, I think we needed to have done more to make sure we were up to code this entire time, I think there is a valid point there. But again, if no one knows that there's a problem, how do you fix something you don't know about?"
Trask continued, " I think my biggest argument is, if Chad has walked the building and seen the issues, he's allowing for not one, but two applications to go through for appropriations with no seemingly justifiable reason, because there's no mention of the issues in the application... He's putting forward stuff that's incomplete, and he's not talking to the other major stakeholders. I mean, that's a huge part of why appropriations weren't given, and why people didn't know. If he had gone in 2025 to the Levy County Commission and said, 'Hey, we need to do a workshop,' which is what I did… We need to figure out how we're going to address X, Y, and Z. Do we have extra funds that we can appropriate? Can we do a lot? Can we take out a loan? What options do we have locally before we make this appropriations request? If he had done that, then all of these stakeholders would have been brought in the loop to try to put their heads together to solve the problem."
Trask said she isn't aware of any recent police/fire grants the city has applied for but that Bovaird told her he would try to find money for a new study.
"To my knowledge, after my press conference, some calls had been made from the Board of County Commissioners to start thinking up ways to get money into the issue, but no official steps had been taken to my knowledge," she said.
Trask said, "[Johnson] wrote 1,500 words passing the buck and blaming the community that voted him in. Blaming the community that he's supposed to represent. That's cowardice… He acknowledged in his own Facebook post that a lot of the things I said were right without mentioning me. Matches, loans, grants, attachments. Those are all things that can help strengthen and bolster [the success of] appropriation requests… When we make mistakes as leaders, we own up to it. We apologize, and we do better, and that just doesn't seem to be something that he has chosen to do."
Trask continued, "I think if I wanted to say one thing to Williston constituents, and Levy County voters as a whole, is that competency matters, and accountability matters. When it comes to protecting our emergency personnel, our first responders or constituents, your party doesn't matter, and it shouldn't matter. What matters is the health and safety of the people in that community, and that should come first. I will do everything in my power, as I've done thus far, to talk to the people in leadership and the people in Tallahassee and get the ball rolling and actually fight for this issue. I will meet with the stakeholders. I will justify an appropriations request in the application. I will ensure that I'm working with the stakeholders one on one to make sure that each application is in its very best format."
In her closing argument to District 22 voters, Trask said, "I think that words and rhetoric are things that we see a lot of and hear a lot of, but I would encourage everyone to just look at the voting record. As a constituent with no backing and no foothold in Tallahassee, I put ten bills into the legislature this year, including two senate priorities, and wrote a bill that became a law... I've proven that I know how the system works, and it seems like Chad is still figuring it out... Look at the bills that he's sponsored. He voted against farmers. He voted against home rule. He voted to give developers more privileges and rights than our local communities… He's voted against home rule at almost every single junction. He's been horrible to our constituents. He voted to make it easier to remove FEMA survivors and families living in motel-hotels… I would never ask anyone to switch parties, but I would ask that people look at my values, and look at what I've put forward and put to the table, compare our legislative records, and then vote with what you identify with."
GnvInfo attempted to contact multiple other Williston city officials for comment, including the mayor and police chief, but they did not respond in time for publication.
Editor's Notes: This article was published just after 6:00 a.m., on Election Day. Just after 10:00 a.m., the article was updated with the paragraph that contrasts the interview between Stegall and the statement from Johnson.
There are other apparent contradictions in interviews. For example, Bovaird said that the city manager's office is not involved in the police and fire departments and would have no reason to examine the facility. On the other hand, his predecessor signed the attestation form for one of the appropriations applications and indicated she was aware of the issues.
Trask fully stated the mold was back. Stegall indicated the mold was back. Bovaird denied that the mold was back, though he admitted he hadn't toured the facility.
Between 11:30 p.m. and noon, one of the quotes and a paragraph were updated to more accurately reflect the speaker's full statement.
