While it was a short agenda, there were some meaty topics of discussion.
The Meeting began with a Certificate of Recognition welcoming the Open World Armenian Delegation to St. Johns County. The delegation was here as part of a Open World Cultural Exchange program to bring representative of the former Soviet Republic to the United States to learn about American values and our democratic institutions. The Rotary Club puts together the programming for the delegation to learn about participatory government. This delegation was made up of women leaders and St. Johns County was proud to connect them with First Coast women leaders.
Public Safety Update
SJSO assisted with the incident in Jacksonville Beach Sunday night. They also were busy last week with The Player’s Championship and the associated traffic problems. The Corrections Department had their facility and medical inspections, with no violations found. They also shared that Discover and Recover had their grand opening last week. They are focused on helping people with opioid addiction. Learn more at this link: DiscoverRecover
Fire Rescue provided an update on Justin Daily, the firefighter mentioned at the last Commissioner’s meeting who underwent surgery for a brain tumor. He is recovering but still in the hospital. Fire Rescue also had a busy week at The Players last week. They had 100 calls resulting in 22 transports to local hospitals. People are heading out to the beaches – there was a reminder that there are no lifeguards until Memorial Day weekend.
Clerk of the Court’s Report
Focus this week was on Government Finance Professionals Week, recognizing the team focused on finance operations for St. Johns County. These include payroll, accounts receivable, investment management and asset management.
Service Delivery Update
The Service Delivery team focused on libraries and playgrounds Tuesday. If you’re in the northern part of the county, be sure to plan for the “Enjoy, Don’t Destroy” even at Julington Creek Plantation park with Commissioner Whitehurst, a Julington Creek resident, speaking along side representatives from the Sheriff’s Office and Parks and Recreation. Date is April 5, at 10:00 AM.
Consent Agenda
Commissioner Joseph asked to move Consent Agenda Item 8 to the Regular Agenda.
Regular Agenda Items
Agenda Item 3 (the Dobbs Road project) was pulled from the Agenda and continued to the second meeting in April.
Agenda Item 1 was a Request for Approval to Continue Acquisition Process for North Beach Utilities Water/Wastewater System and to Schedule a Required Public Hearing. In August of 2022, the North Beach Utilities system that provides water and wastewater services to 1400 users in Vilano Beach, approached the county with an offer to sell itself to the county. At the time, there was a request for a feasibility review. Having completed that review, they are now requesting the Board to continue the process for the acquisitor. That would include a required public hearing to determine if this acquisition is in the public interest. The public hearing will be held at the May 7, 2024 Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting.
Passed 5-0
Agenda Item 1A was pulled up from the Consent Agenda.
This item is a request to vacate a portion of the Second Street North right of way (in the Sun Valley subdivision in Ponte Vedra.)
A public hearing will be held April 16, 2024. Commissioner Joseph asked for the item to be pulled to the Regular Agenda to make sure the public knew when the hearing would be held.
Agenda Item 2 was the Confirmation of Sean McGee as Fire Chief. Mr. McGee has been serving in this role since October of 2023.
The confirmation was approved unanimously with little public comment.
Agenda Item 4 is a request to rezone 2 acres of land from Residential Single-Family 3 to a PUD for a 19,000 seq ft. freestanding Emergency Room, medical office, and ancillary commercial office space at the corner of Woodlawn Road and SR 16.
Proposed location for ER/Medical Services
This passed 5-0
Agenda Item 5 was a request to rezone .47 acres of land from Commercial General to Residential to allow the build of 3 single-family homes.
Background materials are here: Agenda Item 5
Commissioner Joseph raised a concern that the homes may be used as AirBnBs and there was some public comment regarding the same concern. There was some argument that government cannot tell property owners what to do with their property.
The project was approved 4-1 with Commissioner Joseph being the no vote.
Agenda Item 6 is the First Reading of a proposed Ordinance to Establish a Boating Restricted Area at the double-blind curve on Pablo Creek. This began at the October 3 meeting when the Board gave consensus to proceed with an application from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to address a safety concern for this area. Under Florida Statutes put in place in 2023, a business impact statement was required and is included in the presentation. The statement indicates there is no business impact associated with this ordinance.
Background materials here: Agenda Item 6
Agenda Item 7 was the County Administrator Contract. As anticipated there was some pointed public comment about the contract.
There were questions raised about the salary, about the travel compensation, and the time off due to the County Administrator.
The contract details are at this link: Agenda Item 7 – County Administrator Contract
The contract was approved 4-1 with Commissioner Joseph being the no vote.
Commissioner’s Report
Commissioner Joseph talked about the Library Book Mobile.
Commissioner Whitehurst congratulated Ms. Andrews on the completion of the contract. He also responded to a public comment that the Commissioners do not listen to the public. He pointed out that they did listen to the concerns of the public regarding the moving of the Canright House. The Commissioners approved spending $230,000 to move the house to another location in response to resident’s concerns. Additionally, he wanted to address “perception vs. reality” regarding the growth rate in St. Johns County. He referenced a recent news article pointing the fastest growing counties in Florida and noted that St. Johns County is not in that list.
Commissioner Dean talked about the important work done by Bill Sadowski during his time in the Florida legislature. The Sadowski Coalition is important for creating funding for affordable housing across the state of Florida.
Learn more here: Sadowski Coalition
Commissioner Arnold congratulated both the new Fire Chief and the County Administrator.
Administrator’s Report
Ms. Andrews provided an update on the upcoming Comprehensive Plan public meetings:
St. Johns County will hold three more public meetings as part of the Comprehensive Plan and Strategic Plan public outreach in March.
- Tuesday, March 26th, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at W.E. Harris Community Center, 400 E. Harris St., Hastings
- Wednesday, March 27th, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at The Waterworks Building, 184 San Marco Ave., St. Augustine
- Thursday, March 28th, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at Creekside High School, 100 Knights Lane, St. Johns
And Ms. Andrews spoke to her commitment to professional integrity and her 100% support to all Commissioners, no matter how they voted on her contract.
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Beth Tate 