Submitted by
Tim Poynter, Candidate Group 4
What do you see as the biggest opportunity facing the city of Fernandina Beach today and how would you take advantage of it?
“No one can deny the natural beauty and attributes of our special city here on Amelia Island. From the gorgeous sunrises to the magnificent sunsets, one should take this amazing palette to paint an even more spectacular painting. That’s what I want to do.
I see a community that is the envy of the entire state; a community that will draw new businesses and residents willing to pay a premium just for the opportunity to claim their piece of Fernandina Beach. This is the opportunity staring us in the face; yet not enough of us have yet been able to recognize it.
Going back to the earliest days of our city, there have been periods of business boom and bust. As we slowly emerge from the greatest national recession since the Great Depression, we see encouraging signs of new businesses and restaurants opening in our city. From Centre Street to Sadler Road you see signs of renovation and new construction, despite the claims of the naysayers that it costs too much to run a business in this city. As a hands-on downtown businessman, I see the signs of growth and optimism every day.
Our opportunity is to continue creating and enhancing an environment for business to thrive. And yes, this will cost money up front to guarantee the big payback down the road. The best way to attract businesses is to demonstrate that we are willing to invest in ourselves by improving infrastructure, taking care of our assets and working to make government permitting processes less onerous. Making Fernandina Beach the best small community in Florida will ensure higher property values and lower everyone’s tax burden in doing so.
Not too bad for a little vision and some responsible capital investment.”
Editor’s Note: This is the third question in a series of five posed to candidates for the Fernandina Beach City Commission. The answers come to our readers unedited and in the candidates own words. We rotate the order of candidates from week to week. Ed Boner and incumbent Tim Poynter will seek Group 4, John Campbell Elwell and Pat K Gass will seek Group 5.
September 25, 2012 6:36 a.m.