Ocala Approves 15 New SunTran Bus Shelters as Marion County Settles NW 49th Street Land Deals: Oct. 6 Recap

Both of Ocala's local governments met on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. At its 4 p.m. meeting, the Ocala City Council approved new bus shelters and accepted state and federal money for SunTran. At its 9 a.m. meeting, the Marion County Commission signed off on land purchases for two major road projects and authorized an appeal against the U.S. Forest Service.

Two of the day's biggest items have their own stories: the city's first vote to repeal the business tax receipt, and the county's approval of its first agricultural enclave on SW 80th Street. This recap covers the rest.

Ocala City Council

15 new bus shelters: $317,515

Council voted 5-0 to hire Genesis Construction & Management, Inc. of Ocala to build 15 bus stop shelters for up to $317,515, according to the city's meeting synopsis. That is Genesis's bid of $288,650 plus a 10 percent contingency of $28,865 for change orders. The city received eight bids in July; one lower bid was rejected as non-responsive, according to the bid tabulation. The shelters are paid for from a federal transit grant the city accepted in 2024, according to the staff report.

The city's list of shelter locations includes stops near:

• City Hall and the Citizen Service Center, 250 SW Watula Ave.


• The county offices at the McPherson complex, 503 SE 25th Ave.


• The hospital at 351 SW 16th St.


• The Health Department and route transfer point, 2001 SE 32nd Ave.


• HCA Florida Maricamp Emergency, 2897 SE Maricamp Road


• Ocala Ritz Veterans Village, 1150 NE 2nd St.


• Marion County Veterans Services and the county offices and library on East Silver Springs Boulevard (2730 E. Silver Springs Blvd.)


• Publix and nearby shops at 3500 E. Silver Springs Blvd., and Six Gun Plaza at 4699 E. Silver Springs Blvd.


• The Silver Springs Post Office, 3050 NE 55th Ave.


• CareerSource at 2703 NE 14th St. and the Center for the Blind at 2211 NE 14th St.


• Winter Woods and the Center for Independent Living, 2755 SE 17th St.; Healthcare Options, 3035 SW 27th Ave.; and shopping at 1813 NE 2nd St.

Federal and state money for SunTran

Council also adopted two budget resolutions for SunTran, the Ocala/Marion County bus system, each 5-0. The two overlap: the federal grant budget counts the state money and local matches as part of its total, so the figures should not be added together.

• $4,694,694 under the Federal Transit Administration's urban-area formula grant program. The staff report says the money covers both operating and capital costs, including rebuilding engines and transmissions on two 35-foot buses, fuel and major repairs.


• $2,057,098 in state operating money and local matches: $837,458 from the Florida Department of Transportation, $788,775 from the city, $210,865 from Marion County and $220,000 in fares, passes and advertising. Under the city-county agreement, the city pays 75 percent of the local share this year and the county 25 percent, according to the staff report.

The city is SunTran's policy board, and a contractor, RATP Dev, runs the daily operations. Council also approved an update to SunTran's 2026-2029 Title VI plan on its consent agenda. Routes and fares are in our Ocala public transportation guide.

Beer and wine for a new Circle K on West Highway 40

Council approved, 5-0, a permit for Circle K #6867 to sell beer and wine in sealed containers for off-premises consumption at its new store under construction at 4755 W. Hwy. 40. The application describes a 5,641-square-foot store with 24 parking spaces that will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No drinks will be sold by the glass or consumed on site, and alcohol sales are still limited to the hours in the city code.

Peoples Gas franchise, first reading

Council introduced Ordinance 2027-3, a new franchise agreement with Peoples Gas System, a division of Tampa Electric Company, to run natural gas lines in city rights-of-way. It replaces a 2012 agreement that has expired, though both sides kept following it. The new deal has about the same terms, and the city gets about $622,000 a year in general fund revenue from the franchise fee, according to the City Attorney's summary. A final vote is set for Oct. 20.

Also at City Hall

• A $190,000 agreement with the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership for business creation, retention and attraction (5-0).


• Resolution 2027-2, adopting the city's Transportation Improvement Plan for fiscal 2026-27 (5-0).


• A $62,180 work order with Kimley-Horn for more design work on the Northeast Eighth Avenue project (5-0).


• On the consent agenda: a $98,000 contract to rehabilitate the Suggs Cadet-Hopson residence at 631 W. Silver Springs Place, and a $61,500 slide for Fire Station Six.


• Tasha Neasman and Michael Bray were appointed to the Ocala Municipal Arts Commission.


• Ordinance 2027-2, updating the city's flood-damage rules, had its first reading.

The City Manager's report listed the State of the City on Oct. 21 at the Reilly Arts Center, a Haunted Trail on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at Fort King National Historic Landmark, and the Ocala Fine Arts Festival downtown Oct. 24 and 25. Council next meets Oct. 20 at 4 p.m.

Marion County Commission

Four commissioners voted on each item below, and every vote was 4-0, according to the action record in the county's meeting file. The written minutes are still in draft. The three NW 49th Street items and the 80th Avenue resolution below were part of the consent agenda, which Commissioner Michelle Stone moved and Commissioner Craig Curry seconded.

NW 49th Street Phase 3: two settlements and a new resolution

The county is building a new four-lane road from the intersection of NW Hwy. 225A and NW 44th Lane east to NW 49th Avenue, then widening the existing two-lane NW 49th Street to four lanes, with a 5-foot sidewalk and a 12-foot multi-use path. It ends just west of NW 44th Avenue, where the state is building a diverging diamond interchange at I-75, according to the County Attorney's summary. That is the new exit planned next to the future Buc-ee's, and near the proposed 49th Street Gateway district.

Commissioners approved:

• A $225,000 mediated settlement with Kimberly and Terry Eberhart. The county had sought only a strip of right-of-way and a temporary construction easement, but under the settlement it will buy the whole parcel, which the summary says avoids severance-damage claims and leaves land the county can later sell.


• A $125,955 mediated settlement with James and Brenda Cunningham for right-of-way, according to the summary. Both settlements came out of eminent-domain cases and still need a judge's sign-off.


• A resolution allowing the county to acquire one more parcel by gift, purchase or eminent domain. The county's appraisal for it totals $48,700.

SW/NW 80th and 70th Avenue: one resolution, one settlement

The county is widening NW/SW 80th Avenue to relieve traffic on both the avenue and State Road 40. Commissioners adopted a resolution to acquire one more parcel, appraised at $27,580, for Segment 1B, which runs from SW 90th Street to about half a mile north of SW 38th Street, according to the summary.

In a separate item, they approved a settlement with LSGS Holdings, LLC for four parcels on the east side of NW 80th Avenue between SR 40 and U.S. 27, needed for drainage ponds and easements. The county already took title in May. The settlement pays the owner $625,000, plus $98,703 in attorney's fees and $61,350 in costs, for a total of $785,053, according to the summary. Stone moved and Curry seconded.

Appeal against the Forest Service over the Forest Tower site

Commissioners authorized County Attorney Matthew Minter to file an administrative appeal of a U.S. Forest Service decision about the county's Forest Tower communications site in the Ocala National Forest. The county leases the site from the Forest Service through Dec. 31, 2049, and has long had agreements with the Florida Department of Management Services, Verizon and T-Mobile to use its communications facilities there. On Sept. 9, the Forest Service rejected the county's view that its lease covers those tenants' ground equipment and said the state, T-Mobile and Verizon need their own leases, according to the County Attorney's summary. The county disputes that reading. The appeal deadline is Oct. 23, and the county has until Nov. 27 to respond to a proposed replacement lease. Stone moved and Commissioner Kathy Bryant seconded.

Contact information for each commissioner is on our Marion County commissioners page, and more about how local government works is on our government guide.

Sources: City of Ocala, City Council synopsis for Oct. 6, 2026, and Legistar files 2026-2188 (with bid tabulation and shelter location list), BR-2027-101, BR-2027-102, 2026-2208 and ORD-2027-3; Marion County Board of County Commissioners Oct. 6, 2026, agenda and Legistar action record, and files 2026-24478, 2026-24479, 2026-24560, 2026-24563, 2026-24561 and 2026-24567. Checked Oct. 11, 2026.