VOLUME 13 ISSUE 4                                 OCTOBER 2004

Recipients of 2004 Beautification Awards

Each year, the members of the City's Beautification Advisory Committee individually drive through the City to select properties whose owners deserve recognition for landscaping. The Committee then collectively at a public meeting decide which properties to recommend to the City Commission. At the Commission's July 6^th meeting, Mayor Charles presented the awards. Shown in the photo above from left to right are the awardees and the categories for which the awards were given.

Mr. Michael Aulicino (Streetscape: Entrance to Island Hammock Subdivision)

Mr. Peter Darius (Small Business: Sunset Grille)

Mr. and Mrs. John Versaggi (Residence: 224 Bluebird Lane)

Ms. Michelle Carroll (Xeriscape: 137 Kings Quarry Lane)

Mr. Alex Fawaz (Large Business: Hilton Garden Inn)

_______________________________

During October, November and December, the following holidays will change the City's garbage/trash collection schedule: Thursday, November 11 (Veterans' Day); Thursday, November 25 (Thanksgiving Day); and Friday, December 24, which will be a holiday for City employees because of Christmas day on Saturday, December 25^th.

ALSO: Because December 23^rd will be a half holiday for City employees, there will be no lawn trash/special wastes pickup that day.

Monday, November 8:             Normal pickup of household wastes.

Tuesday, November 9:             Normal pickup of household wastes.

Wednesday, November 10:      Residents scheduled for pickup on Thursday will

                                                have pickup on WEDNESDAY

Thursday, November 11:         CITY OFFICES CLOSED 

                                                BECAUSE OF VETERANS' DAY HOLIDAY. NO

                                                PICKUP OF HOUSEHOLD WASTES AND YARD

                                                TRASH/SPECIAL WASTES.

Friday, November 12:              Normal pickup of household wastes.

Monday, November 22:         Normal pickup of household wastes.

Tuesday, November 23:         Normal pickup of household wastes.

Wednesday, November 24:    Residents scheduled for pickup on Thursday will have

                                               pickup on WEDNESDAY.

Thursday, November 25:        CITY OFFICES CLOSED BECAUSE OF

                                              THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. NO PICKUP OF

                                              HOUSEHOLD WASTES AND YARD

                                              TRASH/SPECIAL WASTES.

Friday, November 26:            Normal pickup of household wastes.

Monday, December 20:         Normal pickup of household wastes.

Tuesday, December 21:         Normal pickup of household wastes.

Wednesday, December 22:    Residents scheduled for pickup on Thursday will have

                                              pickup on WEDNESDAY.

Thursday, December 23:        Residents scheduled for pickup on Friday will have pickup

                                             on THURSDAY. NO PICKUP OF YARD

                                              TRASH/SPECIAL WASTES BECAUSE OF HALF

                                              DAY HOLIDAY FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.

Friday, December 24:             CITY OFFICES CLOSED BECAUSE OF

                                              CHRISTMAS DAY ON SATURDAY. NO PICKUP

                                              OF HOUSEHOLD WASTES.

The only change to the recycling pickup schedule will be on Thursday,

Thanksgiving Day, November 25. Residents scheduled for pickup on

that day will have their recyclables picked up on FRIDAY, November 26.

   ________________________________________

1. PLEASE VOTE. The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Registered voters in the City's two precincts vote at city hall, 2200 A1A South. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

2. POLITICAL SIGNS. Residents are reminded that City regulations allow political signs to be put up on private property no sooner than 20 days before an election. No political signs are allowed on public property, such as street rights-of-way, at any time.

3. PLANNING FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO A1A BEACH BOULEVARD. The Boulevard has been designated as part of the County's Scenic and Historic A1A corridor. The special three-day meeting will be held in the city hall on November 16-18, 2004 with the County's consulting firm that is doing the master plan. Residents are invited to the meeting to give the consultants their ideas of the improvements they want done to the Boulevard.

4. BLOOD DRIVE. It will be held on Wednesday, December 1, 2004. The mobile blood unit will be in the south parking lot of the city hall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

____________________________________________

The City has three standing boards/committees: the Comprehensive Planning and Zoning Board, the Code Enforcement Board and the Beautification Advisory Committee. The Planning Board considers variances to the City's Land Development Regulations, requests for conditional use permits, land use changes and amendments to the City's Comprehensive Plan. The Board meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.

The Code Enforcement Board sits as a quasi-court to hear cases involving violations of the City's regulations. The Board itself does not do code enforcement. The City has a Code Enforcement Inspector for that work. The Code Board meets quarterly on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 3:00 p.m.

The Beautification Advisory Committee's role is to propose projects to the City Commission that will enhance and beautify the City's "main street," A1A Beach Boulevard. The Committee also does such special activities as organizing Arbor Day and the selection of properties to receive the City's annual beautification awards. During the spring and summer months, the Committee meets on the fourth Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. During the fall and winter months, the Committee meets on the fourth Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

From time to time, vacancies occur on these boards. Residents interested in serving on one of them are invited to pick up an application form at the City Manager's office.

______________________________________

Mayor Charles (left) presents plaque to Police Detective

Terry Prescott in recognition of Detective Prescott's 20

years of employment with the City. Detective Prescott

was hired by the City in June 1984. He has been the

Department's only traffic homicide investigator since 1987

and has served as Detective since 2000. He has also been

a patrol officer, as well as an acting supervisor when the

Chief and Assistant Chief have been absent. In addition,

he has represented the Department at various functions

at both the State and the local level.

Mayor Charles presents plaque to City Manager Max Royle

in recognition of the City Manager's 15 years of employment

with the City. Mr. Royle was hired by the City in July 1989.

Previously, he had been a city manager in Alaska and in

another Florida city. Before city management, he was a

Peace Corps Volunteer in rural community development in

India (1966-69) a field representative for the Cooperative for

American Relief Everywhere (CARE) in the Philippines and

Jordan (1969-72); and a research assistant at an urban policy

and planning institute at the University of Kansas while studying

for a master's degree in public administration (1973-76).

_________________________________________

City hall maintenance building to be new post office.

For perhaps its entire history since it was incorporated in 1959, the City has not had its own post office. Postal services usually were provided in a private business under contract with the U.S. Postal Service. While this arrangement worked well when the City had a small population, it has proven less than satisfactory as the City's population has grown and the demand for postal services has increased.

For many years, the City Commission, through meetings with Postal officials and letters and resolutions to U.S. Congressional representatives, has tried to get a post office run by postal personnel. In early 2004, when the contract post office next to the old Winn Dixie was closed, Mayor Charles lobbied strenuously for the Postal Service to put a post office in a City building. With City Commission approval, the former Building Department office next to the old city hall was considered. Finally, in July of this year, the Postal Service agreed to lease the maintenance building adjacent to the city hall parking lot. The renovation of the building should be completed by mid-September, and the new postal facility for the City and adjacent areas open before the end of

September.

The hours when the new facility at 2250 A1A South will be open are these:

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Monday - Friday

Closed Saturday

__________________________________

Each regular and special Commission meeting is videotaped. The tapes of the regular meetings are usually then broadcast on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. on the County's Government Channel, which is Channel 3 for those St Augustine Beach residents who are cable-TV subscribers. For the months of October, November and December 2004 the tapes will be shown on:

Tuesday, October 12

Tuesday, November 16

Tuesday, December 14

For special City Commission meetings, the tapes will be broadcast on Channel 3 at 7:00 p.m. on a date to be determined by the County's TV channel director, Ms. Margaret Laidlaw.

Eventually, the City Commission meetings will be broadcast live.

______________________________________________

Here is information to help you call or e-mail various City departments:

City Manager's Office: Telephone: 904-471-2122

Fax: 904-471-4108

E-mail: sabadmin@bellsouth.net

Police Department: Telephone: 904-471-3600

Fax: 904-471-0737

E-mail: sabpd@bellsouth.net

Public Works Department: Telephone: 904-471-1119

Fax: 904-471-4191

E-mail: sabpwd@bellsouth.net

Building Department: Telephone: 904-471-8758

Fax: 904-471-4470

E-mail: sabinsp@bellsouth.net

______________________________

We want to thank the members of the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons who help prepare the City's quarterly newsletter for mailing. Every three months a group of AARPers come to city hall to fold and attach adhesive strips to hundreds of newsletters. Without the help of these generous persons, we wouldn't be able to mail the newsletters by the first of the month.

____________________________________

A1A Beach Boulevard is the City's "main street." Along it are some of the City's oldest subdivisions, as well as many of the City's major condominium complexes. The Boulevard provides access to the County's fishing pier park, the A Street ramp to the beach and to the motels, restaurants and shops that attract many of the City's visitors.

The City has begun a project to help it "map" the future of the Boulevard, to enhance it as well as to protect it from becoming simply another bland, could-be-anywhere, traffic-choked road that is unsafe for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. In the near future, the City will s3nd a questionnaire to all registered voters in the City, as well as to the owners of businesses along the Boulevard, to ask them what changes they want made to the City's "main street." The questions concern such topics as architectural styles for buildings along the Boulevard, parking,, landscaping/beautification, business signage, the spacing of buildings and roadway enhancement features, such as medians and crosswalks.

The results of the questionnaires will be put in a repot by the City staff that the Comprehensive Planning and Zoning Board can then use to proposes changes to the Boulevard that will enhance as well as protect its character as a small city main street. Residents and business owners who receive the questionnaire are urged to fill it out and return it to city hall.

Coquina Gables Water Systems Improvement

Project: Mayor Charles turns on the spigot at

D Street to mark officially the project's completion.

In the summer of 2004, the St. Johns County Utility Department completed a major rebuild of the Coquina Gables subdivision's water system. Over two miles of obsolete, undersize water mains were replaced with new and larger pipes. The project's total cost was $745,000. Mr. Bill Young, Utility Department Director, and his staff made certain that the contractor didn't damage the large, old oak trees that were close to the construction area.

_______________________________

1. Traffic Calming. In response to residents' concerns about speeding drivers and pedestrian safety on certain City streets, the City Commission in November 2003 hired a traffic consultant to develop a traffic calming or safety plan. This plan was completed in July 2004 and accepted by the City Commission. The first phase of the plan has four projects: install in-street pedestrian warning signs at the intersection of Pope Road and A1A Beach Boulevard; install a raised intersection on A Street at Mickler Boulevard; install colorized markings on Pope Road at three intersections for pedestrian safety; and fund the design of a traffic signal at A Street and A1A Beach Boulevard.

Thus far, the following has been done: two in-street pedestrian warning signs have been put at Pope Road and the Boulevard. The County plans to put signs at other locations, such as A Street and the Boulevard. As A Street is owned by the County, the County wants the raised intersection to be designed by a traffic engineer. County and City staff persons are working with the engineer on this project. Mayor Charles has sent a letter to the County Commission Chairman, Karen Stern, requesting that the County do the design work for the A Street traffic signal in Fiscal Year 2005 and have the signal installed in Fiscal Year 2006. The estimated cost of the signal is $100,000. Finally, for the fourth project (the colorized markings on Pope Road at three intersections), the City has been given two price quotes, both of which are much greater than what the traffic consultant said such colorized markings should cost. The Commission will decide whether it wants to pay the lower of the two quotes or modify the project in some way so as to lower the costs.

2. Eliminating Septic Systems. The City has several older subdivisions where the residents rely on individual household septic systems for sewage treatment. These subdivisions were platted and developed before the County had a centralized sewage collection treatment system for the City and much of Anastasia Island. As more and more residences have been built in the older subdivisions, the growing number of septic systems is contributing to groundwater contamination. Because of this, the City has received a $3 million State grant to construct sewer mains in the older subdivisions. By interlocal agreement, the County Utility Department will administer the grant for the City and provide $1.5 million in matching funds. Preliminary work on the project is now being done by the County's wastewater engineering consultant. In late 2004 or early 2005, a questionnaire will likely be ready to be distributed to residents in the older subdivisions to see if they want to replace their septic systems. While the grant will pay to construct the sewer mains, the residents will have to pay some costs, such as the impact fee, and to connect their home to the sewer main. The exact costs will be provided to the residents as part of the questionnaire.

3. Drainage Projects. There are several major ones planned or in progress. One of the latter is the excavation of the final five acres of the City's Mizell Road retention pond. This was completed in September. Now the City has a 15-acre pond for retention and treatment of stormwater from the 700 acres of the City's northern drainage basin.

Among the new projects are: improvements to 8^th Street and Atlantic Alley; replacing the 2^nd Avenue ditch with an underground pipe; replacing the ditch along 11^th Street to the Raintree subdivision with an underground pipe; and modifications to the City's Mizell Road retention pond to improve the treatment of stormwater in the pond. For the last project, the City is applying to the St. Johns River Water Management District for a grant. The other projects will be paid with revenue from the Florida League of Cities' Municipal Loan Program. The City has received $2.5 million from bonds. Part of this ($1.7 million) will be used for drainage and road improvement projects over the next three years.

4. Family Fountain. This is a project proposed by the South Beaches Area Council of the St. Augustine/St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce. The fountain is to be located in the playground area north of the old city hall in the County's pier park. The fountain will be an "interactive" one, meaning that persons can walk on the fountain's flat surface amid the sprays of water, which will come from recessed fountain heads. The estimated cost of the fountain is $125,000. $93,750 of this amount will be from a State grant. A local match of $31,250 is required. The City Commission at its August 2^nd meeting approved the City providing $12,500 towards the match. The South Beaches Area Council is raising the remainder from private sources. Ms. Shorty Robbins of the County's Parks and Recreation Department is writing the grant application.

___________________________________

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) defines flooding as the general and temporary condition where partial or total normally dry land areas are subject to overflows from inland or tidal waters. Flooding can occur in any area. The Building Department maintains on file copies of the Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Floodway Boundary Maps to identity those areas within the City of St. Augustine Beach that may be subject to flooding.

Any questions regarding property you currently own or property you are considering for purchase can be answered by the Building Department. Assistance is also provided to homeowners and contractors regarding current regulations regarding additions to a structure or renovation and repairs to structures.

______________________________________________

During the past three months, the City Commission made the following decisions, among many:

1. Approved the following ordinances:

• -to allow off-premise signs for bed and breakfast businesses.

 

• -to allow condominium hotels by conditional use permit.

 

• -to change certain regulations for solid waste pickup service for businesses.

 

• -to limit height of retaining walls to 8 feet.

 

• -to adopt updated flood regulations.

 

• -to regulate the sale and use of fireworks in the City.

 

• -to set fine for parking tickets at $20.00.

• Approved the following resolutions:

• -to have the certification of absentee ballots cast in the August 31^st primary done by the Supervisor of Elections and the County Canvassing Board.

 

• -to authorize an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for the City to maintain the State Road A1 landscaping.

• Did the following miscellaneous actions:

• -made the following appointments: Ms. Elaine Allman as regular member of the Beautification Advisory Committee; Ms. Jan Heusdens as alternate to the Beautification Advisory Committee.

 

• -approved waiving the bid requirements so that Police Chief Hedges could buy firearms for the Police Department.

• -decided not to have an ordinance to regulate cats.

 

• -approved a special assessment project for the opening and paving of 8^th Street between the Boulevard and 2^nd Avenue. The owners of the adjacent properties will each pay a share of the costs of this project.

 

• -heard complaints by City resident William Rosenstock about alleged age/veteran discrimination by County against certain County beach employees and asked that Mr. Rosenstock's remarks and related information be forwarded to County Commissioner Jim Bryant.

 

• -approved a conditional use permit to construct a house in a commercial land use district at 108 F Street.

 

• -did not approve an ordinance to regulate the storage and parking of boats in the City.

 

• -approved the renewal of a two-year agreement with Grubbs Emergency Services for the company to assist the City with debris removal after a hurricane.

 

• -approved Café Atlantico, 647 A1A Beach Boulevard, putting a business sign on an adjacent plaza.

 

• -approved having only one public hearing instead of two for ordinances which amend the Land Development Code.

 

• -reviewed with Mr. Dave Williams, County Aquatics Superintendent, the County's beach management plan.

 

• -approved a proclamation for First Coast Reads Day in St Johns County.

 

• -approved an agreement for Noah's Ark to lease one acre of City property on Mizell Road for a wildlife care facility.

 

• -approved the Police Chief's request to accept a Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program grant for Fiscal Year 2004.

 

• -approved a special event permit for the Civic Association's 2005 Music by the Sea free concert series.


___________________________________________

During the next three months the City Commission will consider the following, among many topics:

1. Adoption of Fiscal Year 2005 budget. The final public hearing on the ordinances setting the property tax millage and adopting the budget will be held at the Commission's October 4^th meeting. In July the Commission tentatively adopted 2.000 mills for FY 05. However, this millage could be reduced. Residents who wish to review a copy of the proposed budget before the October 4^th meeting may do so at the City Manager's office.

2. Land Acquisition Program. The City Commission established this program in early 2003. Its purpose is for the City to acquire vacant land for conservation, preservation and recreation purposes. On August 23^rd, the City purchased three vacant lots along the north side of 10^th Street east of the Boulevard for $750,000. The City has an option to purchase in 2007 two additional lots that are adjacent to the three on 10^th Street. The price of those two lots will be determined by an appraisal. At the August 31^st primary election, a majority of the City's voters approved the Commission levying up to half a mill (50 cents per $1,000 of the assessed value of a property) to establish a Land Acquisition Fund. The voters ' approval thus will enable the City each year to put money in the Fund for the purchase of land for open space/preservation or recreation. The Commission now must establish the Fund and decide, most likely for Fiscal Year 2006, how much the tax should be. It can be anywhere from one cent to 50 cents per $1,000 of the assessed value of real property. Besides the two lots adjacent to the three on 10^th Street, the Commission could buy other vacant lots that are adjacent to plazas or parkettes.

3. Ordinance to adopt a Planned Unit Development or a new subdivision. This subdivision will be located on the east side of the Boulevard between the Bermuda Run and the Sea Colony subdivisions. The developers propose to build 82 units on 18-plus acres. The current land use designation is commercial (next to the Boulevard) and low density residential (1-4 units per acre). The City's Planning Board will review this proposed development on September 21^st, while this newsletter is being printed. It is possible that the ordinance to adopt the Planned Unit Development narrative will be considered by the City Commission at either its October 4^th or November 1^st meeting.

4. Ordinances to change land use and adopt Planned Unit Development for a new subdivision, Dune Crest. This is a proposed 30-unit residential development located on six acres on the west side of the Boulevard between the shopping center and the Whispering Oaks subdivision. The current land use is commercial. The developer, Mr. Jay McGarvey, has requested that the land use be changed to medium density residential and that another ordinance adopt a Planned Unit Development. This will specify certain features of the subdivision, such as setbacks, clustering and building height, so that trees and other natural features can be saved. It is likely that these ordinances will be reviewed by the Commission at its October 4^th meeting.

5. Ordinances to change land use and to adopt a Planned Unit Development. These ordinances are proposed for a 22-unit residential subdivision on the west side of the Boulevard between 4^th and 5^th Streets. The land use currently is commercial next to the Boulevard and medium density for the remainder of the property. The developers propose an ordinance to change the land use from commercial to residential and an ordinance to adopt a Planned Unit Development.