By Eric Bartelt
October 24, 2016 10:22 a.m.
Editor’s Note: The 5th Annual Fernandina Observer Candidate Forum can be viewed by visiting the City of Fernandina Beach Website. Click here, and then scroll down and click on the small light blue “recorded city commission meetings.” You will see “Town Hall Candidate Forum” click play.
The Fernandina Observer held its annual Candidate Forum on Thursday night, with two candidates for Fernandina Beach City Commission, Group 1. Part Two will cover the election for the Ocean, Highway, and Port Authority, District 1 seat. The moderator for the Forum was former City Manager Larry Myers. Questions were developed by the Observer and its readers and the candidates had two minutes to respond to each question posed by Mr. Myers.
The candidates for the City Commission race, former City Commissioner Eric Childers and current City Commissioner and Mayor Johnny Miller, were first asked to introduce themselves and explain why they were running for the City Commission. Mr. Childers introduced himself by citing his “strong record in being balanced in both environment and business.” He added that several people in the community had asked him to run and that his wife Robin said it was okay (that got a few chuckles from the audience).
Johnny Miller introduced himself, saying he is currently a Commissioner and the Mayor, and a former Vice Mayor. He said he was from Atlanta, had spent 20 years in the military and been a former policeman at the Mayport Naval base. He said he’d travelled around quite a bit, seen many cities, and decided “this one was the greatest one we’ve ever lived in, so we made it home about ten years ago.” He is currently the daytime bartender at the Palace Saloon.
The candidates were then asked what should be a priority for the city in the coming year? Miller cited the LignoTech project, the Alachua St. rail crossing and improvements to N. 2nd St. to give it more of the appearance of Centre St. He also cited the balance between growth and preserving what we have as an important issue coming our way in the future.
Eric Childers said the Marina and the entire waterfront should be the focus since the Marina was so heavily damaged by the hurricane, and that now there is a “terrific opportunity to make some corrections down there that are long overdue.” He stressed that potential sea level rise impact should be addressed as part of fixing the Marina and waterfront.
Mr. Myers’ asked the candidates to critique our local government response to Hurricane Matthew and what improvements would they suggest? Childers said he thought the City handled the storm well, but that he had heard complaints that it took too long to get back on the island. He noted that this was one the few community he knew of where the police and first responders waved and welcomed citizens back on to the island.
Miller agreed the City handled the storm well and suggested that in the future the City could do even better. He said he noticed some things that could be improved while he was at the county Emergency Management facility during the storm.
The fourth question the candidates were asked was how would they pay for increased public safety, sanitation and special events with the increasing number of visitors to the City? Johnny Miller responded by saying those things would take care of themselves through the millage rate, as people pay their taxes, and that as the City grows it will have more money coming in. He added that the City does a good job of budgeting for future growth, but there are challenges, such as with pensions. He credited the City Manager and Comptroller for doing a good job managing the budgeting process.
Mr. Childers said the cost for special events could be handled through fees. He thought management of special events was a problem more than the number of events. He mentioned that Tourist Development Council monies collect by the County will eventually become available for other things besides advertising, if a certain population threshold is reach in Nassau County. He also mentioned the “sand tax”, or Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU), recently implemented by the county to pay for beach renourishment, may be available.
Do you feel that local government burdens are too onerous for our citizens, and if so, do you have any ideas how to alleviate them? was the next question. Mr. Childers responded by saying he thought our environmental regulations were just about right, but there there were some “disconnects” between our planning department and our building department. He cited an example of a downtown project where the building department required a change that wasn’t a part of the original planning department approval, and that those kinds of disconnects cost money. He thought the city could become more efficient and more customer friendly.
Miller agree that communication is key and that city staff needs to be more proactive in getting information out, and that the community needs to look for that information before beginning the process.
What is your position on island wide incorporation and, if you support it, how can we make it happen? was the next topic. Miller said he “supported the concept 100% and would love to see the entire island be Fernandina Beach.” He cited state regulations regarding failing septic systems that are required to connect to an available sewer system, like the City’s system, and that that will bring about voluntary annexations of those properties into the City. He believes that is how island wide incorporation will eventually happen.
Eric Childers also thought island wide incorporation was a necessity and would occur eventually. He mentioned a previous plan he and former City Manager Mike Czymbor had developed that would have had no increase in taxes for the island’s county residents along with a small decrease in taxes for city residents. The plan, he said, was met with “steep resistance.” by the county residents at the south end of the island because of certain City restrictions, like building heights. He felt it will take voluntary annexation, or even involuntary annexation, over a long period of time to bring about island wide consolidation.
The seventh and final question was since each of you has served as a City Commissioner, what have you learned during your term and what will make you a better Commissioner and a voice of the people?” Eric Childers recalled when he was a Commissioner, he emailed out his opinions about issues prior to casting his vote at Commission meetings. He said he then incorporated his opinion into the discussion during Commission meetings. He also mentioned his support for Forward Fernandina, saying it was a good plan both then and now, but that it had too many elements and was poorly presented. He believes people are willing to pay for things if they know exactly what they are paying for. He believes his support for Forward Fernandina, however, led to his defeat for re-election in 2011. In the future, he said he would be aware to “keep it simple and tie it to one event.”
Johnny Miller cited how slow City government moves as something he’s learned, but that it moves slowly for a reason. The reason is to be sure “we do everything right the first time”, and that it “takes a while to get permitting and we have to get funding and understand how much the cost is going to be, so we don’t run over.” What he’d like to improve on is communication with the public and that social media is a great way to do that. He explaining that day-to-day operations of the City are very complicated, and that all departments have to work together. The greatest thing he’s learned, he said, is how our city works, how efficient it is, and how lucky we are to have the government we have right now.
The candidates then provided closing statements. Johnny Miller described the Marina damage and its effect on the local commercial fishermen and others, as well as how hard everyone is working to address the problem. He said he had been undecided about running for re-election because it’s tough on Commissioners’ families and requires a thick skin. Johnny’s mother, he said, wasn’t too pleased about him running for re-election, and he said he wouldn’t be surprised if she asked for one of Eric Childers’ lawn signs for her own lawn (that got a good laugh from the audience). He believes “the dynamic up here” has been very good and the Commission has worked well over the past year. When that happens, he said, a lot can be accomplished. He ended by saying he “isn’t done yet” and there are a lot of things he wants to finish up that haven’t yet been accomplished. He ended by asking for everyone’s vote.
Eric Childers said he enjoyed being on the Commission before and that it was very rewarding, but also “the toughest thing he’d ever done.” He said he was naïve then because he didn’t understand how passionate people can be about the kinds of issues Commissioners confront every day. The knowledge he gained from that, however, and being able to look back over that experience and figure out what went wrong with things like Forward Fernandina, he said was invaluable. He urged everyone to get out and vote (for him).
Editor’s Note: Eric Bartelt retired as a corporate design consultant and moved to Fernandina Beach in 2004. His previously lived in Wisconsin. Since Eric’s arrival in Fernandina Beach, he spends his time volunteering. We thank Eric for his contributions to the Fernandina Observer.