I'm a long time local and Lic. Real Estate Broker with The Realty Source, Inc. here on Amelia Island. This blog began as a way to write about a specific environmental concern. Eventually the topics became more varied and cover anything from a new restaurant, to tax incentives for green construction.
Last night’s commission meeting was “contentious” to say the least. The evening began with discussions of the land purchased for dredging, the waterfront loan and “request for proposals” for the oversight and communication position…changed to remove the architectural and engineering description. It appears there is $250,000 budgeted for this position running from 2 to 3 years and, as far as I can see, with a somewhat undefined scope. Corbett and Bunch questioned the need, cost and duration. I was a little confused by the removal of architectural or engineering from the job description and focus on communication.
Commissioner Bunch and Corbett both raised the issue of soil testing before approving the purchase of the land. As a real estate broker with experience selling or working with potentially contaminated land, they did the right thing. Soil testing is inexpensive in the grand scheme of things and purchasing any commercial property with a mixed or unknown history is foolish without a Phase 1 or soil testing as needed.
The greenway alternatives for restoration were also discussed. Essentially, the options were 1) cut dead trees and let nature take it’s course 2) cut dead trees and plant for cosmetic reasons along paths and roadways or 3) Restore it all fully. I know many of you may disagree, but any restoration might be temporary. In even a small category 1 hurricane, the entire basin may flood, creating another tree kill and high soil salinity. I’d prefer cutting trees and letting this naturally recover, but put the cost difference into some other greenway improvement…assuming DOT would buy this transfer of improvement. The consultant’s recommendation was to do aesthetic planting. See more here…. http://www.eganscreek.org/EgansCreek/project/ProjectInformation.aspx I disagreed entirely with a full replanting. That option simply seemed to be a waste of public money.
Next, the loan for F2 was discussed at length along with a few key aspects of the plan. Audience members talked about splitting the project, separating it into component parts…with referendum….at length. I personally, believe the voter should come first. I still feel the majority of the voters did not want the entire project or want the debt to move forward…only weeks before two new commissioners were seated. The final push to begin the project and borrow money created or added to the division of the commission along F2 lines and even, in my opinion, added to the feeling that a change of administration was necessary to move forward. http://www.fbfl.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=6116 Public comments are on the CoFB website here and a summary is http://www.fbfl.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=6124 at the second link. The majority of the feedback did not support F2. I believe it is a mistake to move forward with a project like this without a referendum and it should have been “paused” until a new commission was in place. Much of the tension, IMHO, was unnecessary and was a result of a move forward “in spite of the voter”.
Regardless, what is past is past and now we must all move ahead as a community, hopefully listening carefully to the voter.
Finally, the city attorney’s employment was discussed. At least two commission members wanted to replace the attorney until it became apparent, she was under a perpetual/rollover contract. I personally think it was far better to keep her in place. Losing two key staff members at the same time would have created more confusion…in my opinion. In the end she will remain and indicated she wanted to work with all the commissioners.
My wishes for the city commission in the coming year?
Referendum for optional projects like components of F2 and leaving the loan and approval up to the voters.
Smaller gavels.
Requirement to obtain approval for change of agenda if an item is placed on the agenda by two commission members and then later pulled.
Mandatory call to be sure all commission members are contacted prior to a special meeting. It was unclear if this happened last Friday.
No interruption of a commissioner with the floor by staff or scolding by staff.
Move forward in a professional manner, putting the voter and fiscal responsibility first.
Put the voter first!
Put the voter first!
Put the voter first!
We live in one of the most beautiful towns in America…and after all, we all want a better future, just disagree on how to get there.
See the story below on the Chamber Website or if you want to read the text of the proposed severance agreement/resignation(?) of Michael J. Czymbor – City Manager, the direct link is here. http://www.fbfl.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=6858 The meeting is an open meeting in the commission chambers. The meeting was scheduled as a special meeting…unusual in that very little notice was required or given. I don’t know if the News Leader will have notice of the meeting or not and as I understand, this issue was to be discussed at the regular Tuesday meeting, but was moved to a special meeting with about 24 hours notice.
My first thought would be….did any of the commissioners have plans and did anyone check the commissioner’s availability before the meeting? Holding a meeting with little notice might create a problem or change results if one or more commissioners is unavailable. I also wonder if the Friday meeting will be taped or on public access. Unless I’m sick, I will make a point of attending, just to see what happens first-hand.
After much discussion of how to end the employment of the City Manager, a resignation was negotiated effective a week from today. The meeting was filled with tension, both in the audience and among the officials. This blog is all about opinion, so take this all as opinion. We need to eliminate the tension in city government. A great deal of the issue stems from a failure to place Forward Fernandina on a ballot. As one former mayor said, the project lost the chance at legitimacy when it passed without a referendum. Well intentioned or not, the moves forward by an outgoing commission, in my opinion, before two newly elected commissioners were seated, hastened the action tonight. The entire election became about hearing the voter ask for a voice or moving forward with good intentions…..in spite of the voter.
I would like to see two changes after watching tonight’s meeting. Any item added to an commission agenda should be removed only after notice and assent by the commissioners adding the item. The meeting tonight was, apparently, held after an agenda item on Tuesdays meeting was moved to tonight. I don’t think either commissioner originally adding the item were notified or called prior to the scheduling of the special meeting. With 24 hours notice, this becomes a little unreasonable. We should clarify the way an item is added or removed from a meeting agenda and no one should remove an agenda item or change a date without consent. I also think all commissioners should be contacted and indicate they are available for this kind of meeting. Two commissioners stated they were not contacted before the change of agenda and scheduling of a meeting tonight.
Life goes on and I’m sure Fernandina will survive.
While I’m generally pretty tolerant, a letter from my alumni group really got my attention. One of the Students at Stetson University, drowned after using K2. K2 and other brands of herbal incense are being sold across the country and being used as substitutes for marijuana. The problem is that the chemicals in these products appear to be made specifically to mimic the effect. Long term studies do not exist and according to a number of sources and the potency of these “spices” can be from 20 to 1000 times higher than marijuana. I’m not advocating either, but this item is being sold at convenience stores….without an age restriction.
When, at last count, 13 states have banned the sale and in Florida, it appears to be illegal because it appears to be designed to circumvent the law, I think you would agree there is a problem.
Take a moment to look at a google search for “Deaths and K2”. If you have children….please consider discussing this sooner, not later.
These studies suggest that synthetic cannabinoid intoxication is associated with acute psychosis, worsening of previously stable psychotic disorders, and also may have the ability to trigger a chronic (long-term) psychotic disorder among vulnerable individuals such as those with a family history of mental illness
Like many of you, I wondered what the “occupy” movement actually hoped to accomplish. After all, the reason to protest seemed to vary with each person you approached. I found some of the same varying views among the protesters on 8th Street, but they did all share one view. Whether they were interested in bringing all troops home, stopping bailouts or saving jobs instead of paying for various social programs, they all felt the majority of us were paying for the folly of a few. This feeling of patently unfair treatment motivated them all to protest as the 99% who have less choice.
I do not agree with the entire point of the protest and would like to explain, although I do approve of protesting to achieve a goal. I do not believe in interrupting businesses or making things worse by “occupying” a pathway to business.
We are the 99% is a political slogan widely used by the "Occupy" protesters.[1] It was originally the name of a Tumblr blog page launched in late August 2011 by an anonymous 28-year-old New York activist named "Chris."[2][3][4] The phrase indirectly refers to the vast concentration of wealth among the top 1% of income earners compared to the other 99%, and reflects a commonly held belief that the common people ("the 99%") are paying the price for the mistakes of a tiny minority
It has been some time since I truly felt optimistic about the island and our future. 2012 is different. With nearly half the inventory of homes, literally gone, historically low rates and an election year, I believe we’re in for a very good 2012.
Tasty’s, a local burger place with a twist, just opened. If you’re looking for something a little different, like turkeyburgers with fresh field greens or shakes like this, give them a try. The review is here on Urbanspoon. 100% is always good…if they keep it up, they’ll be around for a while.
Happy New Year and my you enjoy success in all things here on Amelia Island!
Ok, I know this is a very brief post, but in my defense, I’m typing slowly after a recent surgery. I the admin for a local network group on Facebook called the Amelia Island Fernandina Beach Local Network. One of the members, Andrew Henderson, mentioned starting a bank locally with the CoFB…and I began to think. Why not try to offer financing through the OHPA and would it work? While Fernandina may never be in the same kind of position to offer this kind of partnership or set up organized lending, Google turned up a number of Port Authorities doing exactly this. It appears they level of pursuit of this kind of loan in some places is incredible. Take a look below at one source, apparently very similar to us. A friend, Brian Reaves, one of the local port commissioners, repeatedly brings up the potential to partner, offer tax incentives and the loans available….
I’d love to see this idea taken a step further…offering loans based on equity for any investment property in Nassau County. If the equity is high enough, the loan is, in my opinion, safe. If either an equity based or partnership investment with high equity loan were available, we might see a radical recovery in the local real estate market. We are in the middle of a recover already, with a drop in inventory over the same period last year. See the enclosed market condition report for Amelia Island. Notice the drop from 758 to 338 residential listings?
Even if financing isn’t offered for pure real estate investment, the OHPA is not limited to the island and pushing the lending side and partnership side is well worth our time.
The funding source comes primarily from bond financing. By virtue of the tax-exempt status with which a Port Authority is chartered, it can pass the tax breaks along to you. As an independent lender, the Port Authority employs investment bankers to conduct the underwriting and then to raise and place the debt in the open capital market.
What in the world does this have to do with shrimp? Well, nothing and everything. As our island develops and the few goods produced here diminish, we are becoming an economy based more on pure tourism. The choices to live green, as in buying food produced locally, create the smallest carbon footprint and buying locally as a way to assist this green lifestyle….these all become a little more difficult.
Over the weekend, I walked down the the water with my family again and once again, the changes seemed so much more obvious. We are considered the “Birthplace” of modern shrimping. See the google link for the search and you’ll literally find dozens of references. It is pretty funny to read some of the St. Augustine tourism sites showing NE Florida, not Fernandina as the birthplace, but I can understand. We are the second oldest town in Florida and, in my opinion, have a better beach, better downtown, better parks, are closer to a major airport, better golf, better food, 8 flags…lol….well, you get the idea. Our tourism is partly based on this….from the shrimp festival, to the thousands of tourists interesting in seeing a real shrimp boat…to the memorial at the foot of Centre Street. I find it surprising that so little attention goes to preserving working dock space and the future of Fernandina.
The line from the Joni Mitchell song just keeps popping into my head….”you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. I find myself considering the growth of the island more and more….
Ethical consumption has to do with consuming the foods making the least impact negatively on the environment. The island and local economy seem to be moving in a direction making that kind of consumption more difficult.
Update: Well, I’m optimistic. Sarah Pelican is a very reasonable person with a great deal of experience to bring to commission meetings. When elected officials forget who runs the show, the result is a vote to replace. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Sarah and John Elwell. They probably were not as different as you might imagine. Both indicated a willingness to talk about ideas to save money for the taxpayer and share those ideas with the winning candidate. John, if you’re reading this, I hope you either take the time to send the ideas to Sarah and the rest of the commission or send them here to publish on the blog.
As a similar debate rages in nationally, Fernandina is a tiny mirror of an increasingly polarized view of government. The view of an elected benevolent representative who knows more than the voter….willing to do as he or she pleases with little input from the voter….or a view of truly representative government….of, by and for the people is what we are debating.
Debt is a tool, but I think we all can see the list of wishes combined with debt on the back of the taxpayer, is a dangerous combination. Now is the time….to Take Back Fernandina.
This blog is not controlled or endorsed by Sarah Pelican. All opinions expressed herein are the opinion of the blogger and, of course, are intended to influence the reader.
![IMG_3601[1]](http://amelia-island.net/ameliablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_36011.jpg "IMG_3601[1]")
with discussions of the land purchased for dredging, the waterfront loan and “request for proposals” for the oversight and communication position…changed to remove the architectural and engineering description. It appears there is $250,000 budgeted for this position running from 2 to 3 years and, as far as I can see, with a somewhat undefined scope. Corbett and Bunch questioned the need, cost and duration. I was a little confused by the removal of architectural or engineering from the job description and focus on communication. ![IMG_3602[1]](http://amelia-island.net/ameliablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_360211.jpg "IMG_3602[1]")
you may disagree, but any restoration might be temporary. In even a small category 1 hurricane, the entire basin may flood, creating another tree kill and high soil salinity. I’d prefer cutting trees and letting this naturally recover, but put the cost difference into some other greenway improvement…assuming DOT would buy this transfer of improvement. The consultant’s recommendation was to do aesthetic planting. See more here…. http://www.eganscreek.org/EgansCreek/project/ProjectInformation.aspx I disagreed entirely with a full replanting. That option simply seemed to be a waste of public money. ![IMG_3600[1]](http://amelia-island.net/ameliablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_36001_thumb.jpg "IMG_3600[1]")
![IMG_3600[1]](http://amelia-island.net/ameliablog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_36001.jpg "IMG_3600[1]")
