Tuesday’s meeting began with a Proclamation recognizing St. Johns Housing Partnership’s 25 years of service. Bill Lazar and the Housing Partnership have been a vital part of the community for 25 years. Mr. Lazar commented on how far they have come and noted how much is yet to be done.
Public Safety Update
SJSO Director Tara Wildes presented on behalf of the Sheriff’s department reminded everyone about Back to School and the need to adjust your driving habits as school buses and children are back on the roads. She also shared information about the inaugural job fair held at the St. Johns County Jail. They had 8 employers and 100 participants, former inmates, who applied for a total of 200 jobs. This is part of the Sheriff’s program to reduce crime and repeat offenders. Having an education and a good job are ways to decrease criminal behavior in the community. This was so successful they plan to do this at least twice a year.
Chief Bullard shared that Fire Rescue has been doing a better job of collecting on billing for transports. They have been able to collect on 74% of the billing compared to a state average of 51%. For reference, in Fiscal Year 22 they billed for 70,230 transports which brought in $6.8 Million to Fire Rescue. This year, to date, they have collected $3.8 Million.
The Clerk of Court’s Report highlighted and upcoming Passport Saturday, August 12, from 8:30 to 2:30. This is intended to make applying for a passport more convenient for county residents. More info is at this link: Passport Saturday
Consent Agenda
There were 28 items on the Consent Agenda. Commissioner Joseph asked to pull items 15, 23, and 27 from the Consent Agenda and move to the Regular Agenda. Attorney Migut requested that Consent Agenda Item 2 be pulled and moved to August 15.
Regular Agenda Items
Consent Agenda Item 27 was moved to Regular Agenda Item 1A and was heard first. This item was “Allocation of Tourist Development Tax Reserves for Sing Out Loud.” This came out of a request from the Tourism Development Council to transfer $500,000 of Category 1 Reserve Funds to Contractual Services and allocate an additional $500,000 of Category 4 Reserve funds to Special Events to be expended for support of the upcoming September 2023 Sing Out Loud event.
Commissioner Joseph had concerns about the expenditure of these fund for advertising as she felt it was too late in the process to be helpful.
It was explained that the purpose of the Sing Out Loud Festival is to bolster tourism in what is traditionally one of the slowest tourism months of the year. Night of Lights was started with the intent of bolstering tourism during December, which at that time was the slowest month of the year and it is no longer a slow time.
After discussion, the motion to move these funds was approved with a 4-1 vote (nay was Commissioner Joseph.)
Regular Agenda Item 1
This item is for the Mills Place Time Limits Waiver. October 18, 2022, the Board denied a request for Mills Place with a 4/0 vote. The Mills Family is requesting the waiver to the 1 year limitation on refiling. Their plan is to refile with a request to rezone to Workforce Housing and no Comprehensive Plan Amendment and no Planned Unit Development. The attorney pointed out this would be an ideal placement for workforce housing with the proximity of major employers within 12 miles of the property.
There was public comment pushing back against the approval of the waiver. After discussion amongst the Commissioners, this was approved 3-2 (Whitehurst and Joseph Nay votes.)
Agenda Item 5
This is the First Reading of Proposed Amendments to the St. Johns County Ordinance 2009-43, the Prohibited Holiday Activity Ordinance for Sexual Offenders and Sexual Predators.
Proposed changed include definitions for “non-familial children” and “practice” in relation to Holiday activities.
There will be a Second Reading of the Proposed Amendment at a later date.
Agenda Item 6
This is the Second Reading of the Floating Structures Ordinance. Further clarification was provided that Floating Structures are not self-propelled and may create a hazard in the event of an emergency situation. Additionally, it was noted they may leak hazardous materials. The ordinance would be applicable to all waters of St. Johns County. Some exceptions were added at the request of the State of Florida Navigation District in order to allow them to do necessary maintenance work.
Agenda Item 7
Presentation of the Fiscal Year 2024 Recommended Budget and Proposed Millage Rates.
Director Jesse Dunn presented the 2024 Budget proposal. Do check the link below to the Budget Summaries for specific details about what is proposed in next year’s budget. It is easy to navigate to specific areas of interest and you can print out for later reading if you desire.
The proposed budget is just under $1.2 Billion for the year. There will be some carryover items from the 2023 Capital budget that Director Dunn will present in the September budget presentation.
The county did receive $59 Million in appropriates from the State of Florida for specific projects.
- Critically Eroded Beach Restoration – $25 Million
- CR 2209 and International Golf Parkway Extension/4-Laning – $15 Million
- CR 210A and US 1 Interchange – $6 Million
- State Road A1A Intersection Enhancements – $6 Million
- Summerhaven Managed Retreat – $5 Million
- Pine Island and US 1 Intersection Improvements – $2 Million
Taxable values of property in St. Johns County increased by $16.5% resulting in a $43.6 million gain in property taxes for St. Johns County.
Florida’s Save Our Homes provision caps Homesteaded property owners so these properties will see an approximate 3% increase in their tax bills because of the increased property values.
At the last budget presentation, the Commissioners by Consensus asked the office of OMB to provide financial information on four proposed items in the 2024 budget. The items and incremental cost are:
- 7% employee inflationary adjustment and some micro adjustments for certain pay grades – $0.65 Million increase to the budget
- Addition of 18 firefighter positions — $1.9 Million
- Land Acquisition & Management Program (LAMP) $1.5 Million
- Reinstate Library Branch Hours to FY 2008 Levels – up to $0.49 Million
All four additions were approved by the Commissioners.
Director Dunn presented information about the TRIM (Truth In Millage) notices that will be mailed out in September. Once mailed, millage rates can go down but not up.
The proposed millage rates are flat to 2023.
The Public Hearing for the new budget will be September 5, at 5:01 PM in the County Auditorium.
Budget Summaries can be found at this link: 2024 Budget Summaries
Background information on the Budget:
“The annual County budget process requires a number of steps, ranging from its preparation through adoption, per Florida Statutes (F.S. 129.03(3) and F.S. 200.065, Truth in Millage requirements). The Truth in Millage (TRIM) process informs taxpayers and the public about the legislative process by which local taxing authorities determine ad valorem (property) taxes. On July 18, 2023, the Board of County Commissioners received the FY 2024 Recommended Budget, balanced with expenditures and adequate reserves within each County fund equal to projected fund revenues. County Administration’s Recommended Budget represents a funding level that can reasonably assure the achievement of St. Johns County’s operational needs while minimizing the tax impact on its citizenry. An electronic version (in pdf format) of the workbook may be found on the County’s website at: http://www.sjcfl.us/OMB. Following the development and presentation of a Recommended Budget, the County is obligated to provide certain information concerning that budget to the Property Appraiser. This information includes 1.) The FY 2023 adopted millage rates; 2.) The FY 2024 proposed millage rates; 3.) The FY 2024 calculated rolled-back rates; and 4.) The date, time, and meeting place of the tentative budget hearing. This information is placed on Department of Revenue DR–420 forms provided to the Property Appraiser. Those forms provide the basis for the “TRIM” notice mailed by the Property Appraiser to property owners in St. Johns County. The BCC will need to approve proposed Millage rates (see the attached sheet) for the County’s TRIM mailing, and approve September 5, 2023, at 5:01 PM in the County Auditorium as the Date, Time, and Place of the first public hearing for the adoption of the FY 2024 Annual Budget. For practical purposes, once the proposed Millage rates are set, they can still be decreased but not increased.”
Agenda Item 8
Regular Agenda 8 was the Employment Agreement for the Interim County Administrator. The contract is for an annual salary of $237,000 for a period of 90 – 120 days until a permanent County Administrator is hired.
Regular Agenda Item 9, formerly Consent Agenda Item 3
Commissioner Joseph requested this item be pulled to the Regular Agenda. This item is an Impact Fee Credit Transfer from the Marshall Creek PUD to Ravenswood Village. Commissioner Joseph was concerned that this is setting a precedent for other impact fee credit transfers.
The applicant explained that the reason for the cross-area transfer was based on drive times from the original Impact Fee area. It was noted the park in Palencia is already constructed so the impact fees are not needed.
The transfer was passed 4-1.
Agenda Item 10, formerly Consent Agenda Item 15, also pulled by Commissioner Joseph was for the LAMP acquisition of 46 acres of land.
Commissioner Joseph’s concerns were that the land in question is a salt marsh and can’t be used by the public. Discussion around the purchase identified that the purchase of the wetlands would allow the County to add to the mitigation banks for future development.
This was approved.
After additional Public Comment, they moved on to Commissioner’s Reports
Commissioner Joseph raised again her 14 Points of Revisions to the Land Development Code and shared that the Land Development Code related to tree preservation has not been updated in 25 years. She also shared information about the Friends of Anastasia State Park and challenged the other Commissioners to join the group.
You can learn more about the Friends of Anastasia State park at this link: Friends of Anastasia State Park
Commissioner Dean shared a request from our Florida Representative Cyndi Stevenson for the County to support the inclusion of the Orangedale to Mickler trail Corridor in the 2024-2028 Florida Greenways and Trails System Plan. The Board agreed to send the letter of support. If you subscribe to Commissioner Dean’s newsletter you will have seen his update on the letter being sent:
“I am eager to share that the Board wrote a letter to the Florida Greenways and Trails Council respectively requesting the inclusion of the Orangedale to Mickler Trail Corridor in the 2024-2028 Florida Greenways and Trails System Plan. This gorgeous proposed trail would begin at the new First Coast Expressway Bridge, proceed east over I-95 to US 1 before aligning with existing trails in Nocatee, and then continue farther east to State Road A1A. This corridor presents a unique opportunity to expand recreational options and multi-modal connectivity by linking the trail network in Clay County to the coastline of St. Johns County and other trail corridors, such as the St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop. I look forward to sharing more with you soon on this exciting natural asset.”
Learn more about the Greenway at this link: Florida Office of Greenways & Trails
Commissioner Alaimo brought forward an item about the ability of the County to make use of SHIP funds to assist with Down Payment assistance. Commissioner Alaimo would like to see the Housing Finance Authority to review and make a recommendation to the County if these funds could be utilized.
The next Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting is August 15.
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Beth Tate 