NEWSLETTER

Commissioner Don Terrill is sworn in as the City’s Vice Mayor for 2006. Vice Mayor Terrill was elected to the Commission in 2004. His term as Commissioner will expire on December 31, 2008.

WATER CONSERVATION

The following information was taken from the St. Johns River Water Management District’s newsletter for January 2006.

In December 2005, the District’s governing board voted to amend the water conservation provisions in the District’ rules. The amendment limits lawn and landscape irrigation to no more than two days a week and continues the prohibition adopted earlier that no watering is allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., seven days a week. Limiting irrigation to no more than two days a week will conserve water and will be sufficient to maintain most established landscapes. Overwatering promotes shallow root systems, weed growth, fungus and disease.

The new rule applies to lawn and landscape irrigation for small water users that don’t require a consumptive use permit, such as individual homes, businesses, and government and commercial locations. The new rule also applies to new consumptive use permits issued by the District and applies regardless of whether the water comes from a private well, a private or public utility, or a surface water body.

Water users will choose their own irrigation days unless their local government adopts an ordinance specifying the irrigation days. Also included in the new rule is a provision requiring that rain sensors be installed, maintained and operated on automatic lawn irrigation systems installed after May 1991. Rain sensors are devices that override the automatic irrigation system when adequate rainfall has occurred.

Exceptions to the rule include:

Irrigation using a micro-irrigation (drip) system
Irrigation of new landscape, which is allowed at any time of day on any day for the initial 30 days following installation of the new landscape and every other day for the next 30 days for a total of one 60-day period
Watering in of chemicals, including insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides
Operation of irrigation systems for maintenance and repair purposes, not to exceed 10 minutes per hour per zone
Irrigation using a hand-held hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle
Discharge of water from a water-to-air air-conditioning unit or other water-dependent cooling system
Irrigation using water from a reclaimed water system
Irrigation using recycled water from wet detention treatment ponds, provided the ponds are not augmented from any ground or off-site surface water or public supply sources

The irrigation rule provides for circumstances when three-day-a-week irrigation may be justified. A standard general permit will be required to irrigate three days a week. To obtain a permit, applicants must submit the new application form, adopted during this rulemaking process, with information to demonstrate the need to irrigate three days a week, and a $50 application fee.

For more information on the irrigation rule, visit the District’s Web site at www.sjrwmd.com and click on “Irrigation Rule/Conservation”. The City Commission at its April 3^rd meeting will consider an ordinance to adopt the District’s twice a week watering schedule and to have enforcement of the new regulations done by City personnel.

Important Notice

Garbage Collection Changes

Editor’s Note: The information below was provided by the City’s Public Works Director, Marc Chattin.

Beginning Monday, April 3^rd, your garbage collection days may change. Also, your day for collection of yard trash and special pickups will change.

If you live on A Street or south of A Street, your household or commercial garbage will be picked up on Monday and Thursday. If you live on 1^st Street, north of 1^st Street or in Sea Grove, your household or commercial garbage will be picked up on Tuesday and Friday. All yard trash and special pickups throughout the City will be on Wednesday.

You still must call City Hall at 471-2122 when you have yard trash or special items that need to be picked up.

Also, the time that your refuse has to be placed at the curbside will change. All garbage, yard trash and special pickups will need to be out by 7:00 a.m. the day of collection. This allows the Public Works Department to start work earlier.

These changes are made to insure your continued good service. They are necessary because of growth in our City. Growth has caused an unbalance in the number of customers currently picked up each day. This places a strain on both equipment and personnel. Changing the pickup days for household and commercial garbage balances the workload and allows better usage of the equipment. Changing the day for yard trash and special pickups permits the use of more manpower and equipment for these jobs, thus improving service.

The City Commission has also approved the purchase of an additional piece of equipment to help keep our City cleaner. A 20-cubic-yard capacity open-body truck with a grapple for picking large amounts of yard trash, appliances, furniture and similar items, has been purchased. Delivery is expected in late March.

We request your cooperation and patience in implementing these changes.

PROJECTS

1. Traffic signal at A Street and the Boulevard. St. Johns County has hired a contractor to put a full traffic signal system at this intersection at an estimated cost of $130,000. The signal will have a mechanism that can be activated by pedestrians so that they can stop traffic and cross the Boulevard safely. The project will be started at the end of March and should be completed within 60 days.

2. Paved Shoulders for County Road A1A North of City’s Limits. The County will repave the section of County Road A1A from Pope Road northwestwards to the east end of State 312 in front of the McDonald’s restaurant. Five-foot wide paved shoulders for bicyclists will be put on each side of the section of CR-A1A. The project was started in early March and should be completed by the end of April. Traffic during the construction will be detoured to Pope Road.

3. Linda Mar Subdivision Drainage Project. This subdivision located to the east of the Texaco X-Press Lube and Papa John’s Pizza businesses on State Road A1A was platted in the early 1990’s, before there was a St. Augustine Beach. At that time, and for many years thereafter, there were so few houses in this subdivision that flooding by stormwater wasn’t a problem. But now that most of the subdivision’s lots have houses, the City must provide a drainage system. This will be done by means of a stormwater forcemain. Underground pipes will carry stormwater to the pump, which when activated will then force the water through another pipe to the drainage system that serves State Road A1A to the west. Five bids for the project were submitted by the February 23^rd deadline. At its March 6^th meeting, the City Commission awarded the bid to Kent Brothers of Hastings for $284,950. Construction should be started in early April and be finished by early August or sooner.

4. Sewer Mains to Replace Septic Systems. Sewage collection and treatment in the City is provided by the St. Johns County Utility Department. The County has obtained $13.5 million from the State for a project to install sewer mains in the City’s older subdivisions where the residents now rely on individual home septic systems for sewage treatment. At the City Commission’s April 3^rd meeting, Mr. Bill Young, Utility Department Director, will provide an update report on the progress of the project to date and when construction of it will be started. It is possible that the first area of the City where the forcemain will be put is the older section of the Woodland subdivision, which includes Oak Road and the part of Willow Drive in the subdivision’s west section.

5. Beach Access Pedestrian Walkways. Two are planned. The first will be at 9^th Street. As a condition for approval by the City Commission of his hotel, the Castillo Real, as a planned unit development, Mr. Fred Ashdji agreed to provide this beach access walkway. He is having plans made for it. Exactly when the walkway will be built will depend on when the State will issue the permit to allow it and when a contractor can be scheduled to build it.

The second walkway will be 1600 feet long and located along the southern border of the Maratea subdivision (the former London Tract) next to the Sea Colony subdivision. The City’s civil engineering consultant, Stone, Joca, Inc. , will obtain the required permits and design the walkway. Money to pay the costs will initially come from the $1.2-plus million the City was paid for the sale of two City-owned lots at the end of 15^th Street. Money from the County may also be available to help pay a share of the costs.

6. Family Fountain at County Pier Park. The City has received a State grant of $112,500 for this project and has contributed additional money as well, as has the South Beaches Area Council of the Chamber of Commerce. However, more money needs to be raised, and the South Beaches Council will be doing this. Persons interested in contributing may call Ms. Jill Atwood at 669-5339 or Ms. Jennifer Sauvage at 471-5000. In the meantime, the City is proceeding with having design and permitting work done.

WHERE WE’VE BEEN

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

1. Approved the following resolutions:

· to support the Florida League of Cities’ list of priority issues for the 2006 Florida legislative session.

· to list the specific accomplishments regarding the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan goals and objectives from August 2004 to August 2005.

· to support St. Augustine’s request to the Florida Legislature for an annual appropriation to preserve, protect and promote that city’s historical resources.

· to request the Federal government to continue funding beach restoration projects.

· to amend the Fiscal Year 2006 budget for various purposes.

2. Did the following miscellaneous actions:

made the following appointments: Mr. Michael Aulicino as a regular member and Mr. Brud Helhoski as an alternate member of the Planning Board; Ms. Lynne Greene, Ms. Jeanette Smith and Mr. Craig Thomson to another three-year term on the Beautification Advisory Committee, Ms. Elaine Wallace as a regular member of that Committee, and Ms. Laura Radford Novotny as an alternate member; Mr. Alfred Holmberg and Ms. Andrea Samuels as regular member and alternate, respectively, on the Code Enforcement Board; and Mr. Richard Turnbull as the City’s representative on the County-wide Land Acquisition and Management Program Advisory Board.
approved permits for the following special events: the Anchor Faith Christian Church’s Christian rock concert at the County pier pavilion on March 17-18; the Flagler College Sport Management Association’s Spring Beach Blast III on April 1^st on the beach north of the pier.
approved an agreement with the St. Augustine Beach Civic Association for organizing and presenting the Ron Parker Memorial Day event at Ron Parker Park on January 15^th.
decided not to have an ordinance to put on the ballot for the September 2006 primary election the question as to whether the City’s residents should elect the Mayor. The Commission each year elects one of its members to be the Mayor and another to be the Vice Mayor.
did not approve an ordinance to put on the September 2006 primary ballot an amendment to the City Charter which would have required four Commissioners, a supermajority, instead of three to hire or fire the Chief of Police.
requested the County to study Pope Road, 16^th, 11^th and A Streets and A1A Beach Boulevard and to lower the levels of service for traffic on these streets as much as possible.
heard at a joint meeting with the Planning Board the City Attorney’s report on the Sunshine Law, ex parte communications and related matters.
approved the following proclamations: to declare February 2006 as “St. Johns Reads” month in support of the County Public Library System’s program to encourage reading; to declare March 8, 2006 as International Women’s Day.
approved a five-year agreement with the Civic Association which will allow the Association the use of the City’s former police garage adjacent to the former city hall.
accepted the audit report for Fiscal Year 2005 and approved a new three-year agreement or audit services by the firm of Davis Monk & Company.
authorized the City staff to apply for a Florida Communities Trust grant to reimburse the City and the County the $2.5 million purchase price of the 6.1 acres of Hammock Dune Park located north of the Anastasia shopping plaza.
authorized the City staff to negotiate with contractors for the repairs of the police station roof, and authorized the City Attorney to file a lawsuit against the original contractor who built the station.
approved the building plans for two public restrooms on one of the City-owned lots on 10^th Street; approved having the adjacent parking area paved with bricks instead of asphalt; and appropriated $238,000 for this project.
approved having a fireworks show in the early evening of December 31, 2006. with the $25,000 for the fireworks to be paid by bedtax dollars.

WHERE WE’RE GOING…

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

1. Changes to the City’s Parking Regulations. The changes include the regulations governing recreational vehicles. The Commission will consider an ordinance to change the regulations at its April 3^rd meeting.

2. Comprehensive Plan Amendments. These amendments will be to the Open Space, Intergovernmental, Infrastructure and Conservation Elements and will adopt policies and objectives that will improve the City’s score on its application for a $2.5 million grant from the Florida Communities Trust for the Atkerson property. The City and County together have bought this 6.1 acre tract that is located north of the Anastasia shopping plaza. The property has been named Hammock Dune Park. The amendments will likely be reviewed by the Commission at its April 3^rd meeting.

3. Public School Concurrency Interlocal Agreement. In 2005, the Florida Legislature passed several amendments to the State’s Growth Management Law. Two key amendments require cities and counties to adopt a Public School Element in their comprehensive plans and to adopt an interlocal agreement with the local school district. The purpose of these changes is better coordination with school districts on residential development that will affect a district’s school age population and the need for new schools to serve that population. At the Commission’s March 6^th meeting, Mr. David Toner of the School District explained a new State law requiring public school concurrency. The Commission approved the initial draft of the interlocal agreement. Mr. Toner will return in a few months with the final draft of the agreement.

3. Fiscal Year 2007 Budget. In May and June, the City staff will prepare the budget for the next fiscal year, which will begin on October 1, 2006. The budget will be submitted to the City Commission in July. Two projects to be included are the extension of the 11^th Street sidewalk from Mickler Boulevard east to the Boulevard, and the construction of a sidewalk along the north side of 16^th Street where there’s a gap in the existing sidewalk between Mickler and the Boulevard.

4. Changes to the City’s Building Height Regulations. Vice Mayor Terrill has suggested that the City’s voters at the September 5^th primary election this year be asked whether they want to make the City’s current 35-foot height limit an amendment to the City’s Charter. This proposal will be considered by the Commission at its April 3^rd meeting.

5. Economic Development Program. Vice Mayor Terrill has suggested that the City Commission consider having one in order to encourage businesses to come to the City. He believes that the City’s tax base relies too heavily on residential properties. The Commission will review this proposal at its April 3^rd meeting and will hear from local Chamber of Commerce representatives of that organization’s efforts to attract businesses to the County.

6. Expanded Nights of Lights in the City. The Commission will consider a proposal to expand significantly the Nights of Lights for the 2006-07 holiday season. Angels in the Architecture, the company which does the Nights of Lights for St. Augustine will under a multi-year contract put considerably more lights on the public property adjacent to A1A Beach Boulevard, as well as the city hall complex and adjacent Lakeside Park. The Commission will consider this proposal at its April 3^rd meeting.

7. Visioning Plan for A1A Beach Boulevard. The Commission-appointed visioning committee has held six meetings thus far with a consultant to decide on the concepts, both broad and narrow, that should govern development and redevelopment along the City’s “main street.” The Committee has discussed the possibility of making the A Street/Boulevard area a larger commercial hub, because A Street is a ramp to the beach and thus attracts many visitors. Also, the Committee has considered having some of the plazas or mini-parks adjacent to the Boulevard heavily landscaped, while others would be used for parking. Other suggested improvements to the Boulevard are the use of brick pavers or other decorative pavement for parking areas and the marking of crosswalks at intersections. Eventually, the Committee will provide a number of recommendations to the City Commission, among the most important of which will concern building height and architectural styles or features for buildings along the Boulevard. Residents are welcome to attend the Committee’s meetings, which are usually held at 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month in the Commission meeting room at city hall.