Weekly Comments from Dale Martin

Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
September 30, 2016 1:00 a.m.

It was a little over a short year ago that I graciously accepted the City Commission’s invitation to become the City Manager of Fernandina Beach. I remain wonderfully thankful to (at the time) Mayor Ed Boner, Vice Mayor Johnny Miller, and Commissioners Pat Gass, Robin Lentz, and Tim Poynter for the opportunity to serve this community.

My previous tenure in both Michigan and Connecticut was exceptionally well-documented by the recruiter, Mr. Colin Baenziger. I was actually in Scotland with one of my daughters when one of Mr. Baezinger’s associates contacted me to inform me of my selection as a semi-finalist for the City Manager position, and requested additional documentation. I was able to secure a brief extension in providing the information since I was overseas. I returned home on a Saturday and prepared, signed, and submitted several documents on Sunday.

A few weeks later, I was informed that I had made the cut to become one of five finalists for the position. It was somewhat different to prepare for the interview process in Fernandina Beach because of the distance involved- I had never previously been to Fernandina Beach, so my information was solely the result of web-based research. In other more local or regional instances, I was able to visit communities to get a feel for the character and environment of the community. In some of those instances, despite being selected for an interview, things didn’t resonate for me and I politely withdrew myself from consideration.

I remember travelling to Jacksonville for the first time en route to my interview here. We landed around midnight after a long day of travel. With light traffic on I-95, we were mesmerized by the tropical environment. We couldn’t believe that we were actually in Florida.

It was when we arrived in downtown that the “Wow” factor first hit us. Throughout my career, I had worked in traditional historic downtowns. Each of those previous communities was nowhere near as beautiful and successful as downtown Fernandina Beach. Despite the 1:00 AM emptiness of the streets, the shops and the restaurants seemed so welcoming.
The first person that I met the following morning was former Community Development Director Ms. Adrienne Burke. I quizzed her over coffee at Amelia Island Coffee about her perspective of the City, the general attitudes toward city government, and her vision for the community. I was remarkably impressed with her professionalism and candor.

The first official function was a tour of the community, narrated by Mr. Marshall McCrary and escorted by Mr. Jeremiah Glisson. The comment that I most remember was from Marshall as we drove by the cemetery that the headstones represented all of the former city managers (Lisa shot me a wary look). As we now saw the city in daylight, however, we were more entranced with the neighborhoods, the beaches, and the parks. We also saw the things that only city managers find interesting- water and wastewater treatment facilities, police and fire stations. The day concluded with a public reception at the City’s golf course, and I still remember some of those initial conversations with many of you.

The second day was the actual interviews- first with individual Commissioners in a round-robin, “speed-dating” process, and then, in the evening, before the entire City Commission. During the earlier part of the day, while I was touring the City and speaking with Commissioners, Lisa had her own interview in Jacksonville (University of Florida Health), securing a job offer well before the one that was to be offered to me. She had returned to Fernandina Beach and anxiously strolled the streets downtown, occasionally peering through the City Hall glass, nervously watching, but not hearing, my formal interview. She was overcome by the friendliness of others on the street and the general sense of warmth and gaiety. We were both thrilled when the City Commission extended the opportunity to come live and work in Fernandina Beach.

It has been a whirlwind first year. We completely re-established a new home. We’ve made many new friends and been introduced to an endless parade of business and community leaders. We make a conscious effort to walk downtown and along the beach as often as possible to remind ourselves how fortunate and blessed we are to live in this community.

I have found the City to be well-served by professional staff and well-watched by passionate residents. Our challenges are, as with most communities, are magnified locally, but are strikingly less than the challenges in other communities such as Baton Rouge, Charlotte, Cedar Rapids and others. Things are reasonably well.

My second year will bring more challenges. I, as will the City Commissioners and the rest of the community, raise the bar of expectations a little higher. I look forward to meeting more of you, fine-tuning small things and achieving greater things. Lisa and I truly thank you for welcoming us to your wonderful community and providing us the opportunity to serve you, hopefully for many years to come.