St. Augustine Beach City Hall City of St. Augustine Beach...The St. Augustine Beach City Commission...
Transcript of St. Augustine Beach City Hall City of St. Augustine Beach...The St. Augustine Beach City Commission...
St. Augustine Beach City Hall
City of St. Augustine Beach May Newsletter 2017
We had an amazing Arbor Day event!!
I would like to thank all 20 of the environmental, educational and
local businesses that participated. We brought a
beautiful, fun, interactive and secretly education event!!!
We gave away native trees so people can plant and create a
healthy and beautiful environment. Kids got to pet a live alligator, Hold baby birds, watch
Live bees in a demonstration hive, live butterflies, live Ladybugs, and
make bird and butterfly houses with Home Depot staff!!
To the left you will see some of the images we captured at the event.
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CITY HALL UPDATE
The St. Augustine Beach City Commission met on Monday, April 3, 2017. Here is a summary of the Commission’s actions:
1, Decided not to adopt a resolution changing public comments at meetings. Persons can continue to speak for three minutes on each agenda topic and under the section of the agenda titled Public Comments. The City Attorney and the City Manager are to work on suggestions that will help the Commission accomplish more of the public’s business at its meetings.
2. Approved a proclamation declaring April 21, 2017, as Arbor Day in the City.
3. Approved renewing the three-year terms of three members of the Code Enforcement Board.
4. Reviewed the Beautification Advisory Committee’s proposed Good, Better and Best beautification plans, andselected the Good plan. The Public Works Director is to work with the Committee on the details of implementing the Good plan. Money for the plan will be proposed in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget.
5. Approved two amendments to the contract with the City’s civil engineering consultant, Stone Engineering, to dotechnical work on a grant application for a drainage improvement grant concerning the City’s Mizell Road retention pond and the canal that connects the pond to the Intracoastal Waterway marsh.
6. Approved a settlement agreement with the owner of the commercial properties north and south of Versaggi Drive.The agreement allows for an entrance-only driveway to the property on the south side of Versaggi and requires payment of $29,500 to the owner by the City’s liability insurer. The agreement also allows the owner to apply in 2 ½ years from the agreement’s date for a driveway to the property north of Versaggi Drive.
7. Approved two bids: the first to the lowest bidder, A.W.A. Contracting, for parking improvements along 16th Street,east and west of the Boulevard, for $56,725. On the east side, paver blocks will be put in the right-of-way along the north side of 16th adjacent to the Pier Point South condos. West of the Boulevard, paver blocks will be put along the north side of 16th west of the area where paver blocks were put over a year ago. The second bid for $292,386 was also awarded to A.W.C. Contracting, again the lowest bidder, to replace a drainage ditch along the east side of the Ocean Woods subdivision with a pipe. The piping of the ditch is part of the City’s master drainage plan.
8. Approved, subject to revisions, a five-year agreement with Advanced Disposal for the picking up of recyclables inthe City. The revised agreement will be brought back to the Commission for review and approval at its May 1st meeting.
City Hall April Update
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MAX’S CORNER
Information from the St. Augustine Beach City Manager, Max Royle, about various matters...
TRANSITION
My minimus opus this past March was a blessedly brief essay titled “Between,” in which I opined while supine (though it’s difficult to use this keyboard while lying down) some observations about the state of our fair city between the man-‐made and natural worlds. During an evening walk recently, more thoughts on a similar theme intruded, and as I’m always desirous of dazzling my dear readers with sagacious insights of sublime mental acuity, I thought that you’d like me to share those thoughts. Or maybe not.
Anyway, our city is in a state of transition. You who know the city’s history will say that’s nothing new. Change has always part of the city’s life. New subdivisions were platted and new homes built long before the city was incorporated in 1959; and there was always commercial construction of some kind going on. Then there was the condo building craze in the 1970s and ‘80s; and starting in the 1990s, the new hotel/motel bubble, which continues to the present. While the city’s infrastructure (roads, parks, city buildings) was largely unchanged between 1960 and 1990, in the early ‘90s, the city’s foresighted elected leaders embarked on a major construction program to repair, replace, or enhance the infrastructure and thus prepare the city for its future. Those infrastructure improvements included sidewalks, drainage projects, a new public works facility, city hall and police station. And thanks to city and county officials, and a wonderful lady, Tillie Fowler, who represented our area in the U.S. House in the early 1990s, the city’s beach was restored and subsequent renourishments have kept it restored.
Click on the link to read this article in its entirety: http://www.sabevents.com/wp-‐content/uploads/2017/04/2017mr05.pdf
City Manager
Mr. Max Royle
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Joe Howell
Mr. Joe Howell gives us a peek into Public Works. Here are some of the highlights this month:
Parking, Parking, Parking. Everyone has an opinion, it just depends on what side of the issue you’re on as to where that opinion comes down. If you’re trying to get to the beach for a relaxing day in the sun and sand you’re probably of the opinion that the City should do more to facilitate parking, and of course it should be free. We’ve even been told that we should construct a restroom and beach shower at the end of all of the streets from 16th Street south to F Street. If you already live at the beach, especially if you live east of A1A Beach Boulevard you may have a different view of beach access parking, a generally more restrictive view, possibly even to the point that there should be no parking allowed on your street. Where the argument gets interesting is when you consider that the legal intent of the public Right-‐of-‐Way (R/W) is for the general use of the public. So let’s define the R/W, and for the purpose of this article let’s just focus on the street ends east of Beach Boulevard. The streets east of boulevard were laid out long before St. Augustine Beach became a city, generally between 1913 and 1930. The actual width of the asphalt pavement is generally between 18’ and 22’, with most of the streets being approximately 20’ wide. The width of the publically owned R/W is between 40’ to 60’ wide. So generally speaking, that leaves an area ten or more feet in width on either side of the pavement that most people consider part of their front yard that is actually public property.
Click on the link to read this article in its entirety: http://www.sabevents.com/wp-‐content/uploads/2017/04/2017jh05.pdf
Public Works Department Director
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★To protect and Serve from our Police Department★
While visiting our beautiful sandy beaches and enjoying the sun, sand and surf please recognize the threat of theft. During the warmer months, St. Augustine Beach experiences an increase in visitors, many who are excited to leave behind the stress of daily life and tend to leave wallets, cell phones, cameras and other large or small valuables around, unsecured. Many visitors and locals alike think they do not have a choice but to leave their items while they go for a swim. Some try to be clever and hide an item under a blanket, however this is not enough to deter thieves who are there to take advantage of others.
The beach is a great opportunity for thieves. Many will target areas with large crowds as people are often away from their valuables while out enjoying themselves. While the number one solution to prevent beach thefts is to leave your valuable at home, this is not always practical. So, to give you some peace of mind please check out these useful tips:
• You could store small necessary items inside a waterproof pouch and carry with you while enjoying the beach.
• There are specialty bags that can be locked or secured to stationary items such as a beach chair, umbrella or cooler. It would be much more obvious and noticeable if a thief were to walk off with an entire beach chair!
• Try to set up your beach towels and other items near a life guard stand. Make small talk with a family set up nearby you to possibly give the appearance to thieves scoping out the area that you are not alone.
• If you see something suspicious call the Police. If it is an emergency dial 911. If it is not an emergency, please call (904)824-‐8304.
• Lock your vehicle when parking to visit the beach. Remove any valuables from plain sight in your vehicle or in the bed of a truck.
The St. Augustine Beach Police Department is working hard to protect our citizens and visitors. We are on patrol 24 hours a day and will periodically conduct operations to catch thieves preying on our residents and visitors.
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CITY COMMISSION AND ST. JOHNS COUNTY JOINT MEETING:
The City of St. Augustine Beach City Commission and St. Johns County Board of Commissioners will hold a joint meeting on Monday, May 1st, 2017 at 9:00 am at St. Johns County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View, St. Augustine, FL. This is a public meeting, and the public is invited to attend.
CITY COMMISSION: It will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, May 1ST, 2017 the Commission meeting room at City Hall, 2200 A1A South. The starting time will be 6:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
BEAUTIFICATION ADVISORY COMMITTE:
The City of St. Augustine Beach Beautification Advisory Committee/Tree Board will hold a regular scheduled meeting on Thursday, May 11th, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room at City Hall. This is a public meeting and the public is invited to attend.
Memorial Day: Date: Monday, May 29th, 2017 All City offices will be closed in observation of Memorial Day Holiday. Sanitation will be collected, thanks to the dedication of our Public Works Department.
City of St. Augustine Beach, City Hall 2200 A1A South City of St. Augustine Beach, FL, 32080
Message from our City Clerk:
ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH’S FUN FACT OF THE MONTH
“St. Augustine has been attacked numerous times. Like everywhere they landed, the Spanish at St. Augustine constantly clashed with the local Native Americans, who once purportedly set the city’s fort on fire with flaming arrows. Just as these skirmishes were finally dying down, English privateer Sir Francis Drake arrived in 1586 with 2,000 men. As the residents of St. Augustine hid in the woods nearby, Drake’s force burned their houses and crops, took whatever plunder they could find and then sailed away. English buccaneers ransacked the city again in 1665, and in 1702 and 1740 it survived destructive sieges initiated by the governors of Carolina and Georgia, respectively. Yet another incursion took place in 1812, when a band of militiamen arrived as part of an ill-conceived bid to annex Florida to the United States. A half-century later, during the early stages of the Civil War, St. Augustine surrendered peacefully to the Union navy.”
This was written by Jesse Greenspan on 9/8/2015 in the article “8 Things You May Not Know About St. Augustine, Florida.” I will continue the story in next month’s newsletter.
Beverly Raddatz, MMC, City Clerk
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