Great discussion and good information shared!
Opening Session:
The morning started with a moving tribute to John Patton, a resident of Orangedale, celebrating his 100th birthday! Mr. Patton served his country during World War II, earning 6 bronze stars.
Public Safety Update
During the Public Safety Update, Sheriff Hardwick shared that the increase in commercial businesses in the county has been accompanied by a 71% increase in thefts, largely in these commercial businesses. Sadly, the county has seen a 21% increase in overdoses with 156 non fatal and 30 fatal events events in the past year. The Sheriff urges people to take advantage of programs to help kick addiction. The SJSO publishes resources for people to find the help they need.
Interim Fire Rescue Chief Bullard shared information about how they are better tracking their non-emergency calls. Last month they ran 3238 total calls, 1505 of which were transports to the hospital.
Regular Agenda Items
An item of interest on the agenda was the First Reading of an Ordinance Relating to Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety within Public Road and Rights-of-Way. For background, in January, Commissioner Whitehurst raised a question about public safety in the County Rights of Ways. He referenced an ordinance that had recently been passed in Clay County and wondered if St. Johns County could do the same. The Board directed staff to prepare an ordinance for consideration in St. Johns County.
During the presentation it was noted that Florida has been rated as the second highest in the nation in terms of pedestrian deaths. Statistics for St. Johns County show 60 vehicle/pedestrian crashes in 2020 with 4 fatalities, 88 crashes in 2021 with 9 fatalities and in 2022, 86 crashes with 7 fatalities.
The focus of this ordinance is to address safety hazards with interaction between pedestrians and vehicles in medians and near travel lanes and in vehicle-to-vehicle interactions while in travel lanes.
This ordinance would apply to unincorporated St. Johns County. “Designated Roadways” are interstate/intrastate, arterials, collectors, and the first 440 feet of a local road intersecting with those road types. Includes the media and 4 feet outside the shoulder or curb.
The focus is conduct, not speech or people holding signs.
Specific prohibitions include:
“engaging in any physical interaction between a pedestrian and an occupant of a motor vehicle, including the transfer of any product, material or monies, while the motor vehicle is located on the traveled portion of the designated roadway and is not legally parked”
“Stopping, sitting, standing, or otherwise occupying or remaining in a median on a designated roadway by a person when that person is not in the process of lawfully crossing the road in accordance with applicable traffic and safety laws, regulations and ordinances.”
They county performed comparison with neighboring Jacksonville City and Clay County ordinances and did not include some of the items in those ordinances that could have potential challenges in enforcement.
Questions were asked and satisfactorily answered about the impact on campaigning on the median or roadways. Again, the focus is on public safety, not prohibiting free speech.
The detailed presentation can be found here: Agenda Item 4
Public Comment:
During public comment there were again a large number of residents from Marsh Landing raising concerns about the Storm Water Management System in their community and the on-going litigation. It is a difficult situation as the County is trying to assist residents but ultimately have little control over the Storm Water Management System as it is under the purview of the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Commissioners Reports
During Commissioners reports, Commissioner Whitehurst as for assistance from Jesse Dunn, Director for the Office of Management and Budget to address some mis-information that has been shared in the county recently. There have been statements made in public forums that the County has $130 Million in impact fees that could be spent on roads, and the county is not spending the money appropriately.
Commissioner Whitehurst asked Mr. Dunn to share information about how Impact Fees are collected and how budget reserves are managed.
Mr. Dunn explained that yes, there is about $135 Million in collective impact fees that have been collected. There are 11 categories for Impact Fees. Currently, there are about $40 Million that remain in reserves. $95 Million has been allocated to projects. Mr. Dunn described the procurement process that could take 25 months to spend the money on the projects as the county goes through the process of awarding the contracts and initiating construction.
Just as in corporate budgets, the county must place that money in reserves for those projects until such time as the contracts are awarded and the money is paid out over the life of the contract and construction.
The concern from the Commissioners is that the accrual of money in reserves is being misrepresented and that residents may be hearing information that is misleading.
For those who enjoy digging into the numbers for themselves, the County budget can be found at this link:
This is a lengthy document – the Impact Fees Summary begins on Page 285.
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Beth Tate 