Tag: StJohnsCounty

Posted in BOCC, St. Johns County

Recap of the November 7 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

Tuesday’s meeting was long, as was anticipated. The big item on the agenda was the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club PUD, heard at a time certain of 1:00. The crowd started rolling in around noon.

But here’s what happened before the main event.

The meeting opened with 2 Proclamations.

Proclamation for Veteran’s Day – Representatives from the St. Johns County Veterans Council, Bill Dudley and Joe McDermott accepted the Proclamation. Colonel Dudley shared that on Veteran’s Day, November 11, there will be a celebration honoring all veterans at the Anastasia Baptist Church, 1650 A1A South, at 11:00 AM. Colonel Dudley also sahred about the Veterans Treatment Court, established in January 2017. This was established through funding provided by the County Commissioners and since that time 101 Veterans have gone through that Court successfully. When veterans graduate from the program, they are presented with a certificate and a Challenge Coin. Colonel Dudley and Mr. McDermott presented Challenge Coins to each of the Commissioners and to the Administration Staff in appreciation for the support the Court has received from the County. Commisioner Dean made note that Friday is the 248th Birthday of the U. S. Marine Corp.

To learn more about the St. Johns County Veterans Council – check out this page: St. Johns County Veterans Council

The second Proclamation was for National Adoption Month.

A Certificate of Recognition was presented to the West Augustine CRA acknowledging 10 years of Keep Calm and Walk for Cancer. During this presentation Commissioner Henry Dean and Retired Lt. Colonel Vernon Pinkney were recognized for their commitment to the cause.

Public Safety Report

Director Skip Cole (Criminal Investigations) presented on behalf of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.  He shared about the November 4th incident in Davis Park that ended with a lethal force action by one of the deputies. He noted that even though we live in one of the safest communities in the country, we are not immune to violence. SJSO reminds us to remain vigilant and not be a soft target. He also spoke about the on-going impact of the incident. While most of us will move on from this news incident quickly, there were people involved directly and indirectly who will not move on so quickly. He noted the deputies who had to take action that ended in loss of life, the fire rescue personnel who treated the wounded individual, the dispatcher who took the call, and the detective who attended the autopsy and the detective that had to talk to the individual’s parents about the death. They will not move on quickly. The Sheriff’s office does have resources to assist these individuals but be mindful of what they go through. He also noted that this incident happened in the presence of many children and families at the Park for their usual Saturday activities. SJSO has communicated with the schools and support groups to create a network of support for the folks who were impacted by their proximity to the incident. He thanked the community for their on-going support of law enforcement and the victims.

Director Cole also shared a more upbeat topic and that was the attendance of SJSO and other county staff at the first annual Trystn Bailey Gala. This event is to raise money the Trystyn Bailey fund established in honor of St. Johns County resident Trystyn Bailey, whose life was cut short in 2021. You can learn more about the fund and it’s goals at this link:

Trystyn Bailey Memorial Fund

Fire Rescue was represented by Jeremy RobShaw who shared information about the 2 Day Fire Expo that began on November 7. Speakers and First Responders from all over the country are in St. Augustine for the Expo.

Clerk of the Court’s report

During the month of November, in honor of veterans, the Clerk’s Office is waiving standard fees for passports and notary services for veterans or dependents with a discharged military ID, military independent ID or a Driver’s license with a veterans designation.

The Clerk’s office continues to work on recovering dollars lost because of a fraud event several weeks ago.

Public Infrastructure Update

Updates were provided on 4 projects:

Legislative Affairs Update

The Legislative Affairs update gave a brief overview of what could be expected during the upcoming Florida Legislative session. A Special Session was under way during the past week.

The County has submitted reqeusts for $96.45 million in funding for the 2024-2025 budget.

Mr. Teckler also shared highlights of how the Federal Agenda is impacting St. Johns County. Until the Budget concerns are addressed in Congress, the requests from St. Johns County that have gone through Congressman Rutherford’s office, appear to be in a holding pattern.

Consent Agenda

There were no changes to the Consent Agenda

Regular Agenda

Agenda Item 1 – Presentation on the Total earned unused and undistributed revenue.

Our Tax Collector, Dennis Hollingsworth presented interesting information on the tax revenues collected within the county. He also encouraged people to call him if there are issues with ability to pay taxes on homesteaded property. They are committed to not helping people stay in their homesteaded properties. The number is 904-209-2280.

Watch his presentation here: Tax Revenue Presentation

Some highlights from the presentation:

Agenda Item 2

Approval and recognition of FIND Grant Project Agreement for Genovar Land Acquisition

“On February 7, 2023, the Board approved the submission of a Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) grant application for reimbursement of Genovar land acquisition costs. FIND awarded a $1,055,500 grant for acquisition of the 31 acres of Genovar property located North of SR 312 and South of Nix Boat Yard and situated along the San Sebastian River with deep water access for a public boat ramp, parking, and passive recreation. Parks and Recreation is requesting authorization to sign FIND Project Agreement #SJ-23-217 for Genovar Land Acquisition”

This presentation was to approve the grant project agreement for this 31 acres of land to be developed into a public boat ramp and passive park.

Location of the Genovar project, north of 312, south of Nix Boat Yard

It was approved 5-0

Agenda Item 3 – Nix Boat Yard

“Request to Rezone approximately 0.59 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Commercial Warehouse (CW) with conditions, specifically located at 135 Nix Boat Yard Road. The Planning and Zoning Agency heard this request at their regularly scheduled public hearing on October 5, 2023, and recommended approval with a vote of 5-0. Agency members discussed the previous daycare facility and when it relocated. There was one public comment that questioned the buffering, traffic, parking and proposed clientele. In response, the applicant discussed a proposed 20/B buffer; since the PZA hearing, the applicant has included an additional condition to the Rezoning that states a 20/B buffer will be installed and maintained on the west side of the property adjacent to the existing Commercial Office.”

Just a bit north of the Genovar project is this request from local company Fishbites, to rezone from Open Rural to Commercial Warehouse. This is to allow them to expand their production, packaging and shipping along with office space and a showroom.

Learn more about local company Fishbites here: Fishbites

Approved 5-0

Agenda Item 5 – First Reading of the Proposed Amendments to the St. Johns County Beach Code

This item was the result of a request from Roy Alaimo at the October 3, 2023 Commissioner’s meeting, to review and update the Beach Code to reflect changes in uses of the beach.

Changes are:

Addition of Drones to Section 3.14

No one operating, directing or responsible for any aircraft, seaplane, helicopter, glider, balloon, dirigible, parachute, drone, or other aerial apparatus shall take off from or land within park property or the beach.

Updates to Section 3.15 Electric Motorized Devices

And Section 5 Prohibited Acts was changed to read:

Operate any motor vehicle so as to intentionally cause sand to be thrown into the air or across any beach area.

A suggestion from Public Comment to require e-bikes to be registered for use on the beach will be reviewed for feasibility before the second reading.

Agenda Items 6 and 7 were appointments to the Contractors Review Board and the Cultural Resource Review Board.

Tyler Lee, Kyle Jones, and Kylee Turner were all approved 5-0 to serve another term on the Board.

Robert Olson was reappointed to the Cultural Resource Review Board 5-0

At this time they were ahead of schedule so heard Commissioner’s Reports.

Commissioner Alaimo commented on the value of the joint meeting with the School Board.

Commissioner Whitehurst shared that he had begun negotiations with Joy Andrews on the County Administrator employment contract but it would not be completed before the end of his term as Chair. He recommended passing that responsibility to the next Chair. The vote was 5-0 to approve that change.

Public Comment

During the first Public Comment, residents brought forward a concern that had been raised to the Commissioners previously about the development of property on SR 13, next to the housing development known as Otoe’s Place.

TECO owns the property and can, by right, build commercial on the property. Their proposal would cause the loss of over 200 trees. Commissioner Whitehurst had previously asked staff to work with TECO to look at plans on how they could preserve as many trees as possible.

The residents who spoke pointed out existing curb cuts for ingress and egress that would not impact the trees on Otoe’s Place and questioned why the entrance to their development would need to be impacted by removal of trees for a new entrance.

The Commissioners again asked staff to work with the community and the property owner to come up with a solution that would preserve as many trees as possible.

There was a break for lunch before the big item of the day, the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club PUD, heard at 1:00 time certain.

Agenda Item 8 – Ponte Vedra Resort

The full presentation with public correspondence can be found at this link: Ponte Vedra Resort PUD

You can watch the presentation at this link: Ponte Vedra Resort PUD Video

Assistant Attorney Valliere went through the format for the presentation. Because there is an adversely affected party involved, they used a Public Hearing Format.”

The outline was:

Swearing in of witnesses, including county staff, applicant’s representatives and any members of the public wishing to speak.

  • Followed by the applicant presentation – they were allowed 45 minutes.
  • The adversely affected party was next with 20 minutes allowed.
  • There were 4 designated representatives with 10 minutes each to speak.
  • Followed by public comment with 3 minutes each.
  • After public comment, the adversely affected party has 5 minutes for rebuttal
  • And the applicant gets 20 minutes for rebuttal
  • Finally back to the board for discussion and a vote

The Commissioners shared Ex Parte disclosures.

All Commissioners had communications going as far back as 4th quarter of 2022.

Communications included meetings and email correspondence. Commissioner Dean pointed out that the emails are public record and that the public can request to review the 200-300 emails received by each commissioner.

John Peyton, President of the Gate Corporation, made opening remarks about the history and legacy of Gate Corporation and what they are proposing with this project.

If you’d like to skip just to Mr. Peyton’s presentation, start here: John Peyton Remarks

He highlighted that these properties are “legacy” properties and important to the family.

At the end of the applicant’s presentation, Commissioner Joseph asked Ms. Avery Smith several clarifying questions.

The Adverse parties were represented by Attorney Doug Burnett. You can watch his presentation here: Adverse Party Presentation

After hours of presentation and public comment, both for and against, the Board began their discussion.

Commissioner Joseph read a prepared statement (it was typed so did not appear to be something she wrote during the presentation.) Her statement included conditions she wanted to see changed in the PUD and at the end of the statement, she indicated this was a motion to the Board.

Watch that here: Commissioner Joseph Statement

Ms. Avery Smith asked when Commissioner Joseph had written the document that become a motion. The Commissioner indicated she had written it last week with the thought that if this was going to work, these were the things she wanted to hear.

Chair Whitehurst asked Attorney Migut to opine on establishing when the motion was written.

Attorney Migut clarified that Judicial decisions are supposed to be made based on the recorded evidence, which includes what was in the packet provided ahead of the testimony heard on Tuesday.

Commissioner Joseph reiterated she had written it ahead of time but only decided to read it based on what she heard in the meeting.

Ms. Avery Smith stated that they would not agree to the terms of the motion that Commissioner Joseph read.

The motion died for lack of a second.

There was more discussion from the Board, including how concerns for some of the Commissioners had been addressed through the changes that were made to the PUD along the way, in response to concerns from residents and others.

Commissioner Arnold made a motion in favor and it passed 4-1.

Commissioner Joseph thanked the staff for all their hard work on the PUD.

With nothing further, the meeting adjourned.

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Posted in St. Johns County

What’s Coming up at the November 7 St. Johns County Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting

Posted on by Beth Tate

All regular County Commissioner meetings are the first and third Tuesdays of the Month in the County Auditorium at 500 San Sebastian View.

One highly anticipated item is on the agenda – the Ponte Vedra Resort PUD!

There are 3 Proclamations and one Certificate of Recognition to be presented at Tuesday’s Meeting.

  • Proclamation Recognizing November 11, 2023 as Veteran’s Day
  • Proclamation Recognizing November 2023 as National Adoption Month
  • Proclamation Recognizing November 15 – 17, 2023 as Entrepreneurship Week at the Link
  • Certificate of Recognition for 10 Years of West Augustine’s participation in Keep Calm and Walk for Cancer

Public Comment is at Time Certain of 11:30. This continues to cause some confusion as other presentations may be interrupted to allow for the Time Certain Public Comment. Remember to stick around and they will resume interrupted presentations after Time Certain Public Comment.

There is another Time Certain Agenda item on the November 7 Agenda and that is the Ponte Vedra Resort PUD. This will be heard at a Time Certain of 1:00.

Consent Agenda Items

There are 40 items on the Consent Agenda Several of the items are minor, related to easements for utilities.

Some items of note:

Consent Agenda Items 3 & 4

Granting a 10 year historic property partial ad valorem tax exemption for 301 North Main Street, and 316 North Main Street, Hastings, beginning January 1, 2024 and expiring December 31, 2034. Details are here: 301 North Main Street

Background:

“St. Johns County Ordinance No. 2022-55, St. Johns County Historic Preservation Property Tax Exemption Ordinance, applies county-wide and establishes procedures for application to and review by the Cultural Resource Review Board (CRRB) for private properties seeking a property tax exemption for improvements to historic preservation in accordance with Florida Statutes. This preservation incentive contributes to stimulating business investment for commercial projects and higher property value retention for residential neighborhoods. The application submitted to the County was approved by the CRRB on June 12, 2023. The historic ad valorem tax exemption application is now before the Board of County Commissioners to approve or deny the tax exemption beginning January 1, 2024 for a period of ten (10) years and for permission to enter into a covenant with the property owner as required by Florida Statutes.”

301 North Main Street

This structure was previously known as the Stanton Motors Building and has been in existence since 1927. At the time, this was the oldest family-owned Ford dealership in Florida. The structure was determined to be a Significant Cultural Resource by the Cultural Resource Review Board in June of 2022. As part of the revitalization of Historic Main Street Hastings, this building as had extensive rehabilitation including restoration of interior and exterior deterioration, roof repair, and removal of accumulated debris.

The amount of the exemption is to be determined by the Property Appraisor.

Follow the link above to see historic pictures of the building.

316 North Main Street

There are two structures located at 316 N Main Street. The main structure was known as the “Big Brick Garage” while the second structure was used as the print shop for the Hastings Herald. These structures were determined to be Significant Cultural Resources by the Cultural Resource Review Board (CRRB) in August of 2022. The rehabilitation of the structures located at 316 N Main Street included repair of fire damage, vandalism, and restoration of interior and exterior deterioration.

Pictures of this building can be seen in the presentation at this link: 316 North Main Street

Consent Agenda Item 5

This is a School Concurrency agreement for the Browning Subdivision that was approved by the School Board in the October 10, 2023 School Board Meeting.

Link to the Concurrency Agreement here: Browning Concurrency Agreement

NOTE: Concurrency agreements were discussed in the Joint Meeting of the School Board and the Board of County Commissioners. If the School Board has approved the Concurrency Agreement, the development process continues forward to the Board of County Commissioners for approval. If the School Board votes NO, and does not approve the Concurrency Agreement, the developer cannot continue forward in the process.  They must either wait for capacity to be available or continue working with the School Board to gain approval of Concurrency. The Board of County Commissioners cannot consider the school conditions as part of their review process if the School Board has approved the Concurrency.

Consent Agenda Item 27 is awarding a bid for the construction of the CR 2209 Extension Central Segment. This segment is a four-lane from Silverleaf Drive to State Road 16 and includes a twelve-foot multi-use path, five foot sidewalks, and a stormwater pond.

The back-up materials are at this link: CR 2209 Construction

Regular Agenda Items

Item 1 is a presentation of Total Earned Unused and Undistributed Revenue. No presentation on-line as of Friday.

Item 2

Approval and Recognition of FIND Grant Project Agreement for Genovar Land Acquisition

“On February 7, 2023, the Board approved the submission of a Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) grant application for reimbursement of Genovar land acquisition costs. FIND awarded a $1,055,500 grant for acquisition of the 31 acres of Genovar property located North of SR 312 and South of Nix Boat Yard and situated along the San Sebastian River with deep water access for a public boat ramp, parking, and passive recreation. Parks and Recreation is requesting authorization to sign FIND Project Agreement #SJ-23-217 for Genovar Land Acquisition.”

Background materials are here: Genovar Land Acquisition

Item 3 – REZ 2023-10 135 Nix Boat Yard

Link to materials: Nix Boat Yard

“Request to Rezone approximately 0.59 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Commercial Warehouse (CW) with conditions, specifically located at 135 Nix Boat Yard Road. The Planning and Zoning Agency heard this request at their regularly scheduled public hearing on October 5, 2023, and recommended approval with a vote of 5-0. Agency members discussed the previous daycare facility and when it relocated. There was one public comment that questioned the buffering, traffic, parking and proposed clientele. In response, the applicant discussed a proposed 20/B buffer; since the PZA hearing, the applicant has included an additional condition to the Rezoning that states a 20/B buffer will be installed and maintained on the west side of the property adjacent to the existing Commercial Office.”

Application Summary:

“The Applicant is seeking to rezone approximately 0.59 acres of land from Open Rural (OR) to Commercial, Warehouse (CW) with conditions. The applicant’s narrative states the recent use of the property was a Daycare Center and points out that the surrounding properties are commercial. The narrative states that the request for a Commercial Warehouse zoning would allow a local business to further grow; the new owner of the property is Fishbites Trading LLLP which manufactures and distributes artificial baits worldwide. The applicant provides the following conditions to the zoning: • Uses are limited to light manufacturing, production, packaging and shipping, and associated office space and showroom • All uses shall be fully enclosed inside buildings with no outdoor storage • Loading zones shall be permitted • The applicant waives any right to develop the property pursuant to the Live Local Act, Chapter 2023- 17 Laws of Florida, and any subsequent amendment • ADDED since PZA 10/05/2023: The applicant will install and maintain a 20/B buffer on the west side of the property adjacent to the existing Commercial Office.”

More details in my post on the October 5 PZA Meeting: October 5 PZA Agenda Blog

Item 5 is the First Reading of Proposed Amendments to the St. Johns County Beach Code.

Link to materials here: 1st Reading of Updated Beach Codes

This came about as a result of a request from Commissioner Alaimo at the October 3, 2023 Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting.

The specific changes related to the use of electric bikes, drones, and motor vehicles on St. Johns County beaches.

Section 3.14 – Aircraft

No one operating, directing or responsible for any aircraft, seaplane, helicopter, glider, balloon, dirigible, parachute, drone or other aerial apparatus shall take off from or land within park property or the beach.

Section 3.15 – Electric Motorized Devices

It shall be unlawful for any person to:

  • Operate any e-bike, e-scooter, or other electric motorized device in a careless manner. Careless operation of an e-bike, e-scooter, or other electric motorized device shall include but is not limited to:

1. Operation of an e-bike, e-scooter, or other electric motorized devices with another person on the handlebars or in any position in front of the operator;

2. Operation of e-bike, e-scooter, or other electric motorized devices at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions, having regarded to the actual and potential hazards then existing, including but not limited to, the safety of the operator or any other person or property;

3. Failing to yield to pedestrians;

4. Weaving in and out of pedestrians traffic or stationary beachgoers;

5. Operation of e-bike with more riders, operators, or passengers than for which it was designed; or

6. Any occurrence where inadvertence to the safe and normal operational procedures of the e-bike, e-scooter, or other electric motorized devices causes or is likely to cause damage to any person or property.

All operators shall at all times yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and shall take such precautions as may be necessary before parking, or before moving a vehicle previously parked, to avoid accident or collisions with or injury to any persons or property.

Section 5 Traffic and Parking Regulations

Section 5.03 Prohibited Acts

(k) Operate any motor vehicle so as to intentionally cause sand to be thrown into the air or across any beach area.

Agenda Items 6 and 7 are consideration of appointments to the Contractors Review Board and the Cultural Resources Review Board.

Item 7 is the Time Certain 1:00 Hearing of the Ponte Vedra Resort PUD.

This item has been hotly debated across in the press, in public meetings, and on social media.

“Request to rezone approximately 90.5 acres of land from Open Rural (OR), Single Family Residential District (R-1-B), Single Family Residential District (R-1-C), Multiple Family Residential District (R2), Commercial District (R-3), and Recreational District (R-4) to Planned Unit Development (PUD), to allow the redevelopment of resort lodging, restaurant, recreational, commercial, and office facilities within the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club and the Lodge Property.”

Link to materials is here: Ponte Vedra Resort PUD

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Posted in PZA, St. Johns County

What’s Ahead at the St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency Meeting on November 2

Posted on by Beth Tate

Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) meets the 1st and 3rd Thursdays each month at 1:30 in the County Auditorium at 500 San Sebastian View

The Full Agenda for Thursday is here: PZA Agenda

Agenda Item 1 is in District 3

Woodlawn Apartments – a request for a Zoning Variance to replace 24 unused parking spaces with an approximately 7,560 square foot recreation area, located at 200 S. Woodlawn Street.

Agenda Item 2, also in District 3

A request by Mavis Tires for a Non-Zoning Variance to allow three (3) proposed building signs to exceed the required maximum Advertising Display Area (ADA) of 200 square feet per business by approximately 58 square feet, located at 1960 State Road 207.

Agenda Item 3, District 5

A request from Texas Roadhouse for a Non-Zoning Variance to allow for a Pole Sign height of 120 feet in lieu of the 85-foot maximum height as currently allowed within the St. Augustine Centre PUD. This is on Outlet Center Drive.

Site location for Texas Roadhouse

Agenda Item 4, back to District 3

Request for a Special Use Permit to allow for a Manufactured/Mobile Home as a residence in Residential, Single Family (RS3) at 900 West 4th Street.

Agenda Item 5, District 2

Request from Down Yonder for a Special Use Permit to allow for on-site sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages in connection with a proposed restaurant. This is located at 2455 State Road 16, a former Denny’s restaurant.

Agenda Item 6, District 1

Request for a Special Use Permit to allow for an indoor/outdoor wedding and special event venue, located at 2353 State Road 13 N; request includes the Emergency Vehicle Access to the Pole Barn is by way of adjoining property at 2369 State Road 13 N. Request includes the Emergency Vehicle Access to the Pole Barn is by way of adjoining property located at 2369 State Road 13 N. This property was previously a private grammar school.

If this one sounds familiar, it was originally heard by the PZA on March 3, 2022 and approved by the PZA at that time 5-2. There was a concern about compatibility within the Res-B designation and this being primarily a residential area. Concerns from the public included potential noise, how many people may be present and alcohol consumption. A nearby neighbor expressed concerns about music during events.

The project did not commence within the 1-year deadline so the Order became void. The applicant has provided minor changes to the plans including emergency access to the pole barn from an adjacent site and not using the northern buildings as part of the event venue.

Location of proposed Wedding Venue

Agenda Items 7 & 8 are minor setback variance requests.

Agenda Items 9 & 10 are in District 3

These 2 items are from Sushi 99 St. Augustine. Both are related to a request for a Special Use Permit to allow for the on-site sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages at 270 Plaza Boulevard, Suite 1 and 2. One is to allow the on-site sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages and the other is to allow the same within 1000 ft. of a church.

A similar request was approved in 2022, in the same shopping center, for Publix to sell package alcohol within 1000 ft. of a church.

Site location with proximity to existing church

Agenda Item 11, District 5

This request is for a Major Modification to the Twin Creeks PUD to add a new access connection point along CR 210 West for the Light Industrial parcel located to the south.

“The new access will be a right-in right-out (RIRO) road intersection and does not propose a full median opening in this location. The request is being made in order to facilitate reasonable access to the JEA utility site that is located in this Light Industrial area, which is currently being accessed via a temporary access point located along CR 210 W. Additionally, the new access point is part of the County’s ongoing efforts to work with the developers of Twin Creek DRI/PUD to improve traffic in area, including the widening CR 210 West.”

Location of new access point

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Posted in BOCC, PZA, St. Johns County

What’s Ahead this Week in St. Johns County Government

Posted on by Beth Tate

This week has some important meetings on the St. Johns County Government calendar.

Start Monday, October 30, with a “Meet and Greet” from 4 – 6 PM in the County Auditorium.

The final candidates for the St. Johns County Administrator position will be on hand for you to get an in-person look at who is in the final running.

Oh, and they’ll be serving Ice Cream if meeting the candidates isn’t enough to entice you!

photo from Canva

On Tuesday, October 31, beginning at 9:00 AM in the County Auditorium, the County Commissioners will conduct interviews of the four final candidates for the county Administrator position. These will be conducted in public, with the candidates recusing themselves from each others interviews.

This puts a panel interview into a whole new light, with the public in person and observing your interview!

You can watch them live on GTV. Link to GTV

Moving ahead to November, the Planning and Zoning Agency will have it’s first meeting of the month on Thursday, November 2, at 1:30 in the County Auditorium. I’ll be sharing the Agenda soon.

Interested in the Beach Management Plan?

On Friday, November 3, the County will be conducting discussions with the top 2 ranked firms for this project. Discussions in the County Auditorium will be closed to the public but recorded “in accordance with public records laws.”

At the conclusion of the discussions, there will be a public evaluation meeting to announce the updated scores for the 2 finalists.

Presentation Schedule

9:30 AM – 10:10 AM

Olsen Associates, Inc.

10:20 AM – 11:00 AM

Atkins North America, Inc.

11:15 AM

Final Ranking Meeting (Public Meeting)

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Posted in BOCC, St Johns County Schools, St. Johns County

Recap of the Joint Meeting of the St. Johns County School Board and the Board of County Commissioners

Posted on by Beth Tate

Yesterday was a rare occurrence, a joint meeting of the 2 Board that have the future of our County in their hands.

The live audience was sparse, with more School District and County employees on hand than general public. This may be because of short notice and little publicity about the meeting.

The meeting opened with a surprise guest invited by Commissioner Chair, Christian Whitehurst.

Commissioner Whitehurst had met with Senator Travis Hutson last week and discussed some of the items on the agenda for the joint meeting. He invited Senator Hutson to speak to the group. As he introduced Senator Hutson, he pointed out that the school concerns are a “three-legged stool” with the School District, the County, and the delegation in Tallahassee providing solutions.

Senator Hutson shared that he had already begun some work on deregulation around education. He noted that St. Johns County has always been a high growth county, since he was elected to the House, working with Senator Thrasher at the time, they brought millions of dollars back to the county for education. He shared that the money that can be brought back to the county is based on a mathematical formula based on the needs and performance of the county.

Last year the total funds that could be used were about $40 million in total and 3 or 4 other counties made that list, with St. Johns County falling to be bottom of that list. Out of that dollar amount, St. Johns County only got about $1 million based on needs, compared to the other counties on the list.

He noted this is a statewide issue. There are policies on the books that have “hamstrung” the school districts with the bureaucracy. Example is that you have to build schools to hurricane standards now. This is requiring schools to be built to higher standards than necessary and that increases the cost. Not all schools need to be built that way – changing this formula could allow funds to be used for additional schools, not hardening schools.

There are also limits on how specific dollars can be spent for specific uses. That means dollars are tied to very specific uses – they can’t be used for other uses.

In the next couple of weeks, they will be launching a series of deregulation bills (for education) and will be working directly with the school board and others to refine those bills. Senator Hutson’s bills will be specifically about construction and the physical impact. He has a draft, but it is not ready for prime time.

During comments from the dais for Senator Hutson, School Board Member Canan mentioned the frustrations about money for the teachers as well as some of the mandates that are placed on teachers by Tallahassee.

Commissioner Dean took the time to point out that many of the homes that are being built today were actually approved long before the existing School Board and County Commissioners were on the boards.; 80% of the homes constructed since 2016 were approved during the process between 2000 and 2008. Roughly 40,000 homes remain to be built that were approved prior to 2008.

You can watch Senator Hutson’s comments and the following discussion at this link: Senator Travis Hutson Remarks

Overview of the School Construction Funding Process

Next up was School Superintendent Tim Forson and a presentation on how new schools are funded.

Mr. Forson talked about the complexity of funding sources for building new schools.

There are 2 silos of budget funds, Operating Funds and Capital Funding. The two funds cannot be intermingled or used for other purposes. Operating Funds are more Human Resources focused, daily operations of the schools. Capital Funding is for buildings.

He shared that when the county was building schools in 2006, 2007, and 2008, there were significant state dollars that were used with local dollars to build the schools. That state funding is now gone.

Today, new construction of schools falls on the local communities. State sources and PECO (Public Education Capital Outlay) funding no longer exists. That is not because the state is not allocating the funds; it is because the funding sources have dried up.

NOTE: PECO funding comes from the state gross receipts tax from the sale of electricity, gas, and communications services (cable, cell phones, and land lines). As these tax receipts have decreased, so has funding for PECO.

There is no state source that will help build schools in today’s environment.  

Commissioner Dean asked about the money from the Florida Lottery that is supposed to fund education. The lottery money is largely for Bright Futures, not K-12 education.

Looking at Local Sources, there are 4 primary sources:

  • Local Discretionary Capital Outlay Millage (was 2.0, is now 1.5 mills)
  • School Impact Fees
  • School Concurrency Proportionate Share Mitigation Payments
  • Half-Cent Sales Surtax

Capital Outlay millage can ONLY be spent on capital projects.

Impact fees are tiered based on the value of the home – timing is an issue.

School Proportionate Share Mitigation are based on a formula that is applied to a new construction project.

The Half-Cent surtax can only be spent on the four designated categories:

  • Meeting the Needs of an Increasing Student Population
  • Maintain High Quality Educational Facilities
  • Provide New Technology to Prepare Children for 21st Century Learning
  • Continue to Keep Children Safe

Timing of the sources:

The Millage is property tax – the school district doesn’t see that until the first time a property owner pays their property taxes. They money has to accumulate over time to fund new construction. Timeline is about 18 months before the district sees that money.

School Impact fees – paid by the homeowner when the new home is closed on.

School Concurrency fees – Mitigation fees. When a large project is phased, the proportionate share is paid when they are ready to move forward on a project. This is money that the school district gets in advance.

Sales Tax – purely economically driven

Why don’t more of these funding sources come earlier? It is taxpayer dollars and you can’t get too far ahead of the funding sources.

Not every county has Impact Fees and not every county does the work on the Proportionate Share funds. This is because not every county has capacity issues.

Not every county has the additional sales tax revenue for funding.

Observation was made that Florida’s funding of schools is not the same as other states and that can be confusing for parents coming from other states. The tax structures are so different as well as how schools are funded.

Commissioner Dean raised a question about the common belief that new schools cannot be built until the schools are at least 50% over capacity.

Answer? Statutes have changed over the years, since Mr. Forson has been involved since 2006, they have never been held from building a school because of a capacity number issue. They create a 5 year work plan, develop that workplan, and it’s approved. What stands in the way is the flow of dollars, not the state saying yes, you can build or no you can’t build.

You do need to build new schools at a size to operate in the black – there must be enough funding based on numbers of students to operate in the black.

The bonding capacity IS regulated by the state so the reduction in Millage from 2 to 1.5 did have an impact. They must complete a project before they can issue more bonds.

NOTE! School Board members have been perpetuating this urban legend – refer them back to this presentation the next time you hear it!

Commissioner Joseph asked if the School Board wanted more input into the approval of new homes.

Mr. Forson pointed out there are some legal considerations into how that happens. There are statutory and local requirements and mandates that drive the process. He did point out, they are at the table. The School Board does see the project and approves the mitigation portion before it goes to the Board of Commissioners.

School Board Member Mr. Canan wanted to refer the audience to the sales tax portion of the funding and underscore its importance. This was voted on and put in place at a time when school funds were drying up and there was no money for new schools. He asked Mr. Forson what the sales tax had funded.

Response:

  • 2 new schools
  • 2 partial schools that would probably have been only 1 school
  • 1 school expansion
  • 5,655 student stations have been built as a result of sales tax

The district would probably have about 4000 fewer seats in the system.

Mr. Forson indicated that In 10 years, the district has grown by 13,467 students to 52,000 students. Doing some fact checking, numbers in 2012 were 32,187 and numbers today are at ~52,000.

During that time, they have built 9 new schools, 3 expansions, and 3 are under construction now.

40% of that construction was based on sales tax funding.

There was further discussion about communication between the School Board and the County Commissioner’s regarding approval of new developments. Both School Board representatives and County representatives emphasized there is communication, and the School Board is engaged and aware of all new developments. They determine the proportionate fair share the developers pay and that is approved by the School Board before the Commissioners make their determination.

You can watch Mr. Forson’s presentation here: Superintendent Forson’s Presentation

Presentation of school-related infrastructure projects

Colin Groff Interim Deputy County Administrator presented on the Infrastructure projects.

He began the discussion with an explanation about the concurrency and proportionate share process.

When a developer brings forward a project, before anyone on the Board of Commissioners sees it for approval, that project has gone through the School Board and they have looked at the concurrency and said, “yes we have the capacity.” If they do not sign off on the project, it stops right there and does not move forward until the capacity deficit is addressed.

If the capacity is not there, the developer may choose to pause, or to pay the proportionate share agreement that is approved by the School Board for the developer to fund their portion of future schools.

Important to note that the process stops and the project does not move forward to the County Commissioners for review unless there is capacity or an agreement to fund future capacity. The School Board does play a role in that process.

Capital Project Updates

Dr. Asplen presented on the current school projects. He answered a question about a new High School with a projected date of around 2027 – 2028.

Colin Groff presented on the school related Infrastructure Projects

Adam Teckler, Legislative Affairs Manager, presented some next steps.

State Board of Education Report is due by November 1

Purpose is to reduce unnecessary regulation on public schools. Expected to review cost per student station formula and options for high growth school districts. May also address student transportation.

After a brief recess, they heard Public Comment.

Public comments were shared about:

  • Teacher pay
  • Appreciation for this meeting and hope for continued joint meetings
  • Don’t forget the older communities and their school needs
  • Need for more middle schools and high schools

You can watch the entire presentation at this link: https://stjohnscountyfl.new.swagit.com/videos/277579

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