North Florida Land Trust explores creating island green fund

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
June 26, 2017 1:20 p.m.

 

From the movie Cool Hand Luke

Forty-five minutes of often heated rhetoric revealed what looked to be a colossal communications failure involving Fernandina Beach Vice Mayor Len Kreger and local hoteliers over the premature launch of an unvetted proposal to create an island green fund for the purpose of preserving undeveloped land for conservation. Even though there appeared to be general agreement in principle with creating such a fund, the devil was in the details, which seemed to have been presented in the proposal as a done deal when reality was far from that. Kreger had run with the idea on his own before getting buy-in from the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC), who seemed uncomfortable getting caught up in a kerfuffle not of their making.

What was billed as a discussion item on the June 20, 2017 FBCC Regular Meeting Agenda generated more than a little controversy and some heated exchanges between Vice Mayor Len Kreger and former Mayor/Commissioner Arlene Filkoff, who represented the Tourist Development Council. After an often uncomfortable three-quarters of an hour of back-and-forth charges and counter charges with the public weighing in as well on a proposal to establish a green fund to purchase undeveloped land, Mayor Robin Lentz ended the discussion suggesting that the FBCC might want to discuss at another time various methods for building a fund to put more city land into conservation. Consensus seemed to be for the city to let the North Florida Land Trust to take the lead in determining whether there was interest in pursuing such a fund.

The NFLT Proposal

Kreger had placed the item on the agenda for discussion following his receipt of a proposal from the North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) that suggested ways the city might play a role in establishing a fund to save environmentally sensitive land from development. The proposal was subtitled: A Voluntary Surcharge Program. The underlying concept was that participating island businesses would support a voluntary surcharge that would be added to customers’ bills to support conservation efforts through creation of a special fund for a specific purpose.

The North Florida Land Trust would “spearhead the creation of the Amelia Island Green Fund, a partnership between private business, local government and the conservation community on Amelia Island.”

Apparently there was a revision of the original proposal, which appeared to focus on contributions only from the lodging sector. The revised proposal broadened the scope to include other local industries. While the proposal contained an example of a voluntary surcharge of $1 per night for hotel stays, the author clearly stated, “In this proposal we highlight potential hotel participation in the fund, but any other local business could participate at a fixed price per unit contribution.”

Because of Vice Mayor Len Kreger’s prior involvement with NFLT over an outdoor education center on property owned by the Nassau County School Board on Citrona, NFLT’s Marc Hudson contacted him to ask for the opportunity to present the idea at an FBCC meeting. Kreger, a strong supporter of public land conservation efforts, circulated the NFLT proposal via email on June 1 to representatives of Westrock, Rayonier Advanced Materials, the Tourist Development Council, the Amelia Island Fernandina Beach Yulee Chamber of Commerce, and Port Authority Attorney Clyde Davis. He asked for review and comment on the proposal and advised recipients that it would be a discussion item at the June 20 FBCC meeting.

Proposal aftermath

What followed was a firestorm of protest from city hoteliers, to whom Kreger’s original email was not addressed, but who had received the email from the Tourist Development Council. In a letter dated June 19, seven accommodation establishments voiced their strong objection to such a voluntary scheme stating, “Not only is such an effort detrimental to our service levels, it will have an impact on training, logistics, finance and other business operation.”

The letter went on to express the group’s belief that while “the acquisition of green space is a laudable goal and may benefit every citizen, only the lodging industry is targeted in Commissioner Kreger’s proposal.”

Kreger’s presentation

Vice Mayor Len Kreger

During his presentation beginning the FBCC discussion Kreger reminded commissioners that last July he had brought up the creation of a land conservation fund, but other commissioners had expressed no interest at that time. Subsequently, the commission had engaged in discussion over the city’s potential use of School Board property on Citrona. He said that the current proposal came about as a result of the discussions over Citrona land, but was not about the Citrona property.

Kreger explained that the proposal speaks to policies set out in the city’s Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) that have not been addressed. In referencing the email he had sent out for comment, he reported that only Rayonier Advanced Materials had responded. He cited Community Development Director Marshall McCrary’s comment that the proposal does address many elements in the city’s Comp Plan. Kreger said, “My point is that we’ve done none of these things [that McCrary enumerated] in this city. It’s very interesting that we have an award winning Comp Plan, yet we continue to have these things that we are not addressing.”

Kreger viewed the proposal as an opportunity, and expressed surprise at the negative email comments he had received from people to whom his email had not even been addressed. “I certainly support this,” Kreger said, “and I believe the Comp Plan and the city have to support this. Or we should start taking things out of the Comp Plan.”

Marc Hudson

Marc Hudson of the North Florida Land Trust explained the elements of the proposal. He said that the program is one of a group of voluntary programs to allow businesses to participate in a land conservation program. Traditionally, most similar programs around the country have been done by hotels on a voluntary basis. Hudson recapped the many ways the topics of land conservation or environmental education have been discusses at FBCC meetings. He cited the success of such programs on St. Simons Island (http://www.sslt.org), Nantucket (https://www.nantucketconservation.org) and in Western communities such as Jackson Hole (http://jhlandtrust.org).

Hudson said when he brought the item to Kreger he told him that it was a concept that should be endorsed by the community before moving forward. He asked Kreger to put it out for discussion. Hudson said that NFLT has some meetings set up with some hotels and businesses around the island with or without city support, but that they would like to move forward with city support.

Public support

Margaret Kirkland

Margaret Kirkland, representing the Amelia Tree Conservancy, said that her organization strongly supports the proposal. Looking at Amelia Island from Google Earth, she claimed, suggests that Amelia Island is on its way to looking like Jacksonville Beach. “I think we can generate the interest in doing this,” she said. “There are people here who would help.” She spoke to Saint Simons Island’s efforts in this regard and explained that the program has been well received by hotels and some restaurants. “We all need to do our parts,” she said. “Citizens. Residents. Visitors. Businesses and industries. I hope we’ll all be willing to support it.”

Julie Ferreira

Speaking on behalf of the Sierra Club, Julie Ferreira also expressed support for the proposal. “In this community it’s been a hard sell for some reason that ambience and natural resources matter. Environmental protection and economic vitality work together hand in hand,” she said. Ferreira said that other commissions have kicked this can down the road over the years and that she hopes this commission takes action. She said that in order to accomplish conservation goals there needs to be a dedicated source of revenue, and this plan provides for that. She said that protecting what makes Amelia Island special will ensure economic vitality over time.

Mayor Lentz also recognized Joyce Newlan who wanted to assure the commissioners that non-profit organizations such as the Sierra Club would be happy to work on such a program.

Commissioner discussion

In response to a question from Commissioner John Miller, Kreger explained that this would be an island-wide program that would not be administered by the city, but by NFLT.   Hudson said that contracts would be entered into with participating businesses. Historically, representatives of the participating businesses or organizations make the decision with respect to acquisition of specific properties.

City Manager Dale Martin added that as a result of a study conducted last fall by the city, there are 10-12 undeveloped properties of three acres or more within the city.

TDC weighs in

Arlene Filkoff

Mayor Lentz recognized former Mayor/Commissioner Arlene Filkoff who spoke on behalf of the Tourist Development Council, where she is employed. She reported that TDC Executive Director Gil Langley sent Kreger’s email to island hoteliers for input and comment. She said that she supported the Comp Plan policies and believed that Langley, who was out of town, did as well. She expressed her belief that a pre-defined implementation program, in advance of defining the program and scope, had generated the negative reactions from representatives of the hospitality industry, who are strongly supportive of conservation otherwise. She reminded the FBCC that Nassau County had to be involved in discussions as well since the proposal encompassed the unincorporated part of Amelia Island as well.

“The implementation has already been defined [in this proposal],” Filkoff said. “And we risk losing a good idea of having a green fund and doing good work by people reacting negatively to [primarily] the implementation.” She said that negative reaction was not to the idea, but to the singling out of tourists as the people to pay for it. “Certainly, that may not have been the intent,” Filkoff continued, “but so far that has been the reaction. … But they did not disagree with the need to be good stewards of the environment.”

Kreger said that he found it very interesting that concerns expressed by hoteliers in a letter to City Manager Martin were not directed to him, since he was the person who sought input. Hudson added that while hotels were highlighted in the proposal, they were not singled out.

Commissioner Tim Poynter said, “Look everyone wants to save the community, save land. It’s not a question of kicking it down the road. It’s a question of how you are going to fund it.” Poynter held up the letter from the hoteliers and said, “Obviously these people aren’t interested. Maybe it’s because of the way the issue was presented, that they reacted the way they did.”

Kreger took exception to the remark, stressing that he had sent out the item for comment and received nothing in return, although apparently feedback had been provided to the City Manager, the City Attorney and some other commissioners.

Other means to the end

Poynter said that the only point he was trying to make was that the responsibility for funding additional conservation land lay with the people who live here. “Why aren’t we as a community paying for this? Why aren’t we including in our budget money to buy property, like we did with the Greenway? Why are we just asking people who come here to visit to pay for our desires?” Later in the meeting he asked commissioners if they would be willing to put the matter out for a referendum, as was done with purchasing land for the Greenway. Several commissioners appeared receptive to this idea.

Kreger said he was trying to deal with that aspect by asking that $250K be included in the Capital Improvement Plan for that purpose. He returned to the requirements of the Comp Plan and the need to take action. Kreger said he would prefer that the NFLT interview island businesses first to see if their proposal might work. “[NFLT] will make the decision,” Kreger said. “If they don’t think it will work, they will stop it.”

Miller said that he had received a call from Langley. He asked Langley if he had spoken to Kreger, and Langley said he had not. Miller said that many people visit the island for ecotourism. As a result, many visitors ask what they can do to preserve the natural environment they have experienced. “I think that this proposal gives people an opportunity to become a part of what they have enjoyed,” Miller said. He said that whenever he tells people about all the awards and recognitions the island and the city receive from tourist publications he is told, “Stop telling people what a great place this is!” Many residents see tourism as a negative aspect. Miller said that this proposal would be a great way to turn that perception around and demonstrate that tourists are investing in preserving the environment.

Commissioner John Miller

Miller quoted Langley as saying that what many residents fail to remember is that the TDC spends ten percent of its budget on beach preservation and maintenance. That money comes from bed taxes. Miller said he tried to find a compromise with Langley that would bring everyone back to the table to discuss the proposal. Langley reportedly said that there is nothing that will get island hotels to participate. “I have a hard time believing that,” Miller said. “I think we need to get local hotels and businesses to understand its not a bad thing if you decide not to do it, but it’s a good thing if you decide to do it.”

Miller suggested that the money that the city collects from tree permits could be dedicated to a green fund. He expressed interest in providing for that in the new budget.

In response to Miller’s question as to what Kreger was hoping to get from the FBCC, Kreger responded that he just wanted the Commission to encourage the NFLT to proceed in order to be able to examine their findings.

Miller said he would agree with Kreger to proceed in that direction.

More disagreement about role, contributions of the  TDC

Kreger spoke to the TDC charter and its requirement to pay ten percent of its budget for beach renourishment. He claimed that the TDC has not lived up to the requirements of the charter over time.

Mayor Lentz interrupted Kreger to clarify the TDC’s contributions to the city’s beaches. She and Commissioner Poynter are FBCC representatives to the TDC board. She said that the TDC spent a million dollars to mitigate effects of Hurricane Matthew. She said that the TDC goal is to build a reserve of a million dollars from left over beach maintenance funds to enable rapid clean up efforts following a hurricane.   Kreger was critical of the work they performed.

Filkoff returned to the podium. “This is exactly what’s wrong when we put out an implementation plan without talking with people first. So what happened was the hoteliers saw the idea—the first version—that it was only hotels that would pay for this.” Kreger tried to interrupt, but Filkoff stopped him saying, “I’m sorry Len, but that’s a true statement. That’s what they saw. They thought that you had already come up with a conclusion that hoteliers would pay this voluntary fee. I remind you that they do not disagree with conservation. We are playing a ‘he said, she said’ game here over details that happened in the past.”

She emphasized that the TDC is a separately chartered group, and that Nassau County must make the final decision on where their money is spent. “This is a very complicated situation that can’t be reduced to simple statements.”

Filkoff brought up the recently approved “Leave No Trace” ordinance as an example of assistance provided to the city by the TDC. Kreger objected to her claim that he said that the TDC does nothing for the city. The tone of the discussion became argumentative, with Filkoff and Kreger trading barbs over the value of the TDC’s contributions.

Finally, an obviously exasperated Filkoff admitted to Kreger that she was wrong on one of her claims. Lentz tried to bring order to the discussion. “I said I was wrong. I apologize,” Filkoff said. She looked at Kreger and said, “Everybody ought to be able to apologize when they are wrong.”

Turning to the main issue Filkoff said, “This is not a situation that cannot be solved. But when we put premature messaging out there, and people react to a part of the message instead of the whole idea. I’m just suggesting that [NFLT] do its thing if you all agree and go forward with surveying the community and not jump the gun on people getting misinformation or not interpreting correctly what they have heard.”

Mayor Lentz concludes discussion

Mayor Robin Lentz

Lentz closed public comment. She said, “I think what we have talked about are both good solutions [voluntary private contributions and a city line item in the budget]. I think both of these things need to work hand in hand. As far as who said what, emails getting out, etc. … [Kreger’s] intentions were correct and [he] was just trying to generate the conversation. We cannot go back in time. At this point I do think the NFLT should go forward, because it’s voluntary. If the businesses don’t want to do it, they don’t have to do it. I think it would be a great initiative for the Amelia Tree Conservancy and the Sierra Club to partner with NFLT, get a list of businesses, prepare a presentation and pitch it to them. I think for us [the FBCC], we need to be looking at some things. I do disagree that we haven’t been following our Comp Plan. How many acres do we own in the Greenway? Have we been doing things recently? No. But we were in a recession for quite a while, and we’ve been trying to play catch up with all this new growth. But we have abided by the Comp Plan. I think we have provided some direction. In our budget discussions we should be looking at a line item for a green fund. I like the idea of looking at the tree mitigation money. I encourage the City Manager to discuss this internally and come up with some ideas for us to consider to start building a kitty for it.

Next steps

Lentz pointed to the lateness of the hour and suggested that the FBCC return to this at a future meeting.

Hudson indicated that he would talk with the TDC about the proposal.

Kreger and Langley have locked horns in the past over use of TDC funds for various city projects. While Kreger seems to believe that the TDC should be spending more money on city projects, Langley points out that the TDC can only recommend expenditures, while the Board of County Commissioners must approve them. He also cites limitations on how TDC money can be spent as laid out in the organization’s charter.

It appears that the FBCC will return to discuss this matter as part of the FY 2017/18 budgeting process, while the NFLT will investigate interest in participating among the island businesses and non-profit organizations. For additional information, visit the NFLT website http://www.northfloridalandtrust.org or contact Marc Hudson, [email protected] or (904) 479-1963.

Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.