When in doubt, fumble

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst

The Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) was oh so close to moving ahead on a waterfront park on the Amelia riverfront.  At a previous meeting earlier this spring, the FBCC reaffirmed its support for the so-called WAG plan – a park plan devised by the commission-appointed Waterfront Advisory Group with public input over a number of years and formally approved by the then-FBCC in 2012.  The purpose of the special meeting called on May 13, 2013, was two-fold:  consider Phase 1 of the WAG plan, including modifications to add more parking spaces at the expense of green space; and discuss funding options.  Instead with indulgence of the Mayor and the FBCC, the meeting once again rehashed the benefits of the previously rejected PARP plan vs. the WAG plan, allowing Partnership for an Amelia River Park (PARP) proponent Randy Rice to make another presentation before an audience with several speakers supporting his plans.  The FBCC took no formal vote.  However, consensus seemed to be to direct City Manager Joe Gerrity to secure an estimate for additional engineering costs required by modifications to the original WAG plan.  Commissioner Johnny Miller expressed support for placing a vote to rescind the commission approval of the WAG plan at the next FBCC regular meeting on May 20, 2014.  Should the FBCC vote to rescind the WAG plan, questions of additional engineering and funding options are once again moot.

As the meeting began, City Manager Joe Gerrity reminded commissioners that at their last meeting on the topic of waterfront plans, they had opted to move forward with the modified WAG plan and had directed him to bring forward for their consideration estimates for landscaping, welcome center modifications and parking changes.  Gerrity drew their attention to estimates provided by local architect John Cotner, who also serves on the WAG committee.  Cotner estimated that the cost of proceeding with Phase 1 of the modified WAG plan, or WAG II, was $408K, based off numbers that were 2 years old.  Phase 1 is limited to that area of the Amelia Riverfront between Brett’s Waterway Café and the boat ramp.  Included in that total was $40K as a placeholder for a “water feature” that might be added at a later date and $25K for Welcome Center modifications that might be funded with a Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) grant.

Lynn Williams’ assessment

Waterfront advocate and FIND member Lynn Williams further broke down Cotner’s figures.  It was not clear whether Williams, who is neither an architect nor an engineer, had been asked to provide such a breakdown by anyone in the city.  In response to a question from Commissioner Charlie Corbett, Williams explained that he had divided costs into two “chunks,” one of which included plan elements eligible for funding out of the city’s Parks and Recreation impact fees ($165K).  Work on those elements could begin immediately.  The other “chunk” included portions of the plan that could not be funded with impact fees and would need to be delayed until next budget year ($95K).  There is no grant lined up yet to cover costs.  Williams did not include engineering fees, and he eliminated $43K of items included in Cotner’s figures as “unnecessary in smaller park.”  Williams claimed that funding of the parking portion was not critical at this time because it would only enhance the appearance of the parking area, an action that could be taken at a later date.  Mayor Boner questioned how Williams had come up with his numbers.  He said he had consulted WAG member Eric Bartelt, Utilities Director John Mandrick, and “a train man.”

Availability of Parks and Recreation Impact Funds, engineering study

Commissioner Corbett asked City Manager Gerrity if impact fees were available for the project.  Gerrity said that the Parks and Recreation impact fee fund is currently about $600K, but that he did not agree with Williams that all items on his list could be funded with such fees.  City Attorney Tammi Bach reminded commissioners that impact fees can only be used to fund growth-related new construction, not improvements to existing facilities.

Mayor Boner questioned whether recent transfer in property ownership in the waterfront area north of the proposed park might affect plans for the park.  Corbett asked, “Isn’t that speculation?”  Boner said that there might be impacts with respect to road, water and sewer improvements.  Commissioner Pat Gass said, “I don’t think we can do nothing based upon what might be done [by a new property owner].”  Deputy City Manager Marshall McCrary added, “The people want to see something done.”  A brief discussion ensued over railroad concerns.

Mayor Boner said that he would like to hear from Zev Cohen, the firm that the city had paid to engineer the entire waterfront park.  Both Corbett and Vice Mayor Sarah Pelican expressed the need to firm up cost numbers.

Architect and WAG member John Cotner suggested to the commission that if their intent remained to proceed with the modified WAG plan for Phase 1 of the park, the city should convene a meeting of the full WAG committee and a Zev Cohen representative to discuss cost numbers in view of the modifications proposed for parking.  He recommended resuming the planning process, regrouping and confirming a budget as the next steps.

Commissioner Johnny Miller asked, “What about the Randy Rice [PARP] plan?”  Cotner said that his suggestion applied to only considering the WAG plan amendments to include perpendicular parking along the west side of the railroad and adding a covered porch for the welcome center.  He said that in effect adopting the modified plan would involve choosing more parking over less park green space.  He was not advocating one position over the other.

Corbett said, “We need to maximize parking.”  Boner agreed with Cotner’s recommendations.  However, Eric Bartelt, the WAG member who proposed the modifications to add more parking, told commissioners, “I don’t think Zev Cohen is the city’s friend.”  He suggested that the WAG committee ask member Asa Gillette to review engineering aspects of the plan.  Commissioner Gass echoed Bartelt’s comment about Zev Cohen.  Cotner, however, suggested that since Gillette is a member of the WAG committee, asking him to perform such a task might constitute a conflict of interest.  He also informed commissioners that another engineering firm would be reluctant to modify plans that they did not develop initially.

Funding options

Vice Mayor Pelican attempted to move the discussion on into funding questions.  Commissioner Miller wanted assurances that using Parks and Recreation impact funds would not jeopardize other projects already on the drawing board.  He asked about the city’s track record in holding special events at the waterfront as opposed to Main Beach.  Parks and Recreation Director Nan Voit said that size of the event, parking needs and noise levels were all factors in deciding where events should be held to maximize success.  Miller asked, “Can we do both [riverfront park and Main Beach master plan elements]?”  Gass replied, “Not without a referendum.”

Randy Rice resurfaces PARP Plan

At 4:35 p.m., Boner opened the meeting to public comment, reminding speakers of the 3-minute time limit for comments.  Randy Rice, the first speaker, asked for 6 minutes.  Miller supported his request, citing Boner’s decision not to impose a time limit at the previous city commission meeting.

Rice was granted 6 minutes and spoke for 11 minutes, recapping the major elements of the PARP plan and reminding the FBCC that his plan involved no tax dollars and created more parking than the WAG plan.  He claimed overwhelming support for his plan from downtown merchants.  While moving parking away from the waterfront, he planned to expand parking opportunities in what he termed Parking Lot E, at the southwest corner of 2^nd and Ash Streets.  He also indicated that he had talked with Steve Simmons, property owner to the north of the city marina, and that Simmons was willing to allow his property to be used by charter fishing boat patrons.

Gerrity said that he had also recently spoken with Simmons who agreed to lease his property to the city for such purpose for $3,000-3,500 per month.

John Cotner reminded commissioners that whereas Rice emphasized the private funding aspect of his plan, the WAG committee had never been asked to develop a funding scheme.  Boner asked Rice if he would support fundraising efforts to proceed with the WAG plan as an alternate to his plan.  Rice replied, “If there is a legitimate reason for not doing the [PARP] plan, yes.”

More public comment

Other speakers also came forward.  Steve Colwell, owner of Fantastic Fudge, said, “I think we’re moving in the right direction.  Let’s not lose momentum.  We don’t want to get caught up in the issue of losing parking on the waterfront if more parking can be found [elsewhere].”

Boner seemed prepared to move to adjourn, but Gerrity stopped him, saying, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.  What is your direction to me?  How do you plan to pay for engineering?”

John Cotner addresses engineering study

Cotner attempted to help commissioners clarify the outstanding issues.  He said the city needed to determine how much of the Zev Cohen engineering can be salvaged and how much another engineering firm would require to re-engineer the park.  He told commissioners, “Either stick with Zev Cohen or go with another firm.  The value of dealing with Zev Cohen is that they have worked with the FBCC and WAG to develop a comprehensive picture of the entire park.  Will the modifications to the approved Phase 1 fit in with the other pieces of the park?  I would go back and negotiate with Zev Cohen if it were up to me.”

Boner asked if the Forward Fernandina loan were still open, to which Gerrity responded no.  Miller asked, “Are we talking about another loan?”  The other commissioners opposed such a move.  Gass asked, “Is it time to put the matter on the ballot?”  Pelican suggested the commission consider spending the uncommitted Parks and Recreation Impact Fund where possible.  Gerrity said that where impact fees could not be used, there was no money available for reprogramming in the current year budget.  Additional engineering fees would need to be paid from reserves.  Lynn Williams suggested to commissioners that the modified Phase 1 plan required no engineering work, that Utilities Director John Mandrick had assured him that the drains to the river were in good shape, and that it would take (Williams’ estimate) $3,000-5,000 to validate numbers he had provided.  “That engineering,” he said, “is easy.”

More support for Rice plan

Another audience member rose to speak.  George Morris asked what happened to the Randy Rice plan, saying that Rice’s plan would be done with private money and required no public funding.  “We’d get to see it in my lifetime,” he said, “not 20 years down the road.”

Scott Moore, representing the Historic Downtown Merchants, agreed.  “The most important part is getting a park,” he said.  “I have a hard time understanding the arguments against the Rice Plan if tax dollars are not needed.”

Commissioner Miller seemed to agree, saying, “I think we should take another look at Randy’s plan.”

Commissioner Corbett told Miller that he could move to modify the WAG plan or rescind it, but that for now the WAG plan was the plan under consideration.  Attorney Bach said that a move to rescind the WAG plan would have to be publicly noticed and could not proceed during the current meeting.  Miller asked that the item be placed on the next FBCC agenda.

Gass said that she was comfortable discussing the matter as long as “we are moving forward.”  She suggested, “Let Joe [Gerrity] get the money [for the engineering study].”  Pelican cautioned commissioners that if the city was prepared to move forward with the Rice Plan as an independent element of the entire park plan, that portion might need to be ripped up when other elements of the plan are ready for construction.  Boner said, “The City Manager will come back with the cost to re-engineer the project.”

John Cotner said, “What I have heard is that there is no hard financing in place for the Rice plan.  It is just a plan.”  Randy Rice clarified that his plan did call for the city covering the cost of permitting fees, but that would be the only public cost.

Corbett summarizes

Commissioner Corbett said, “We are trying to move, and all we do is go in circles.  Let’s get a bottom line and get started on [park improvements to] Parking Lot B using impact fees.”  Boner added that every version of the waterfront plan could involve elements of private funding.

By the time the meeting concluded after more than an hour of discussion, City Hall Chambers had filled with close to 30 city staffers and members of the public.  Upon exiting the meeting many people expressed unhappiness over the commission’s reluctance to settle on a plan and move forward.