From Fernandina Beach Vice Mayor Len Kreger
March 21, 2020
It s rare that I feel necessary to make a public statement to the media. This is one of the cases I feel it necessary.
I, as the Fernandina Beach Vice Mayor, have been in regular contract with the City Manager, Attorney and Clerk to ensure we are on the same page with the paramount goal of the Health and Safety of our Citizens and Staff.
Below is the agenda from my meeting with the City Manager, Attorney, Clerk and Fire Chief on Thursday 19 March 2020. Since then, many of the areas noted have been accomplished. The City has declared a State of Emergency and implemented many actions. The Governor by promulgation of Executive orders 20-68, 69,70,71 and 72 put in place significant restrictions and procedures aimed at protecting the population.
COVID 19 Meeting 19 March 2020
PRIMARY RESPONSIBIITY THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF CITIZENS AND STAFF
- Declare City “State of Emergency”
- Determine how we can conduct CCM, Limit to essential business
- Establish procedures for appropriate staff to work from home. (I do not believe we should be setting up child care for employees.)
- Establish a City COVID 19 information site. This should be more than just links to other sites
- Curtail all non-essential spending.
- Freeze all hiring
- Notify all pending RFQ/RFP/bid responders awarding/selection will be delayed.
- Priority for all grants directed towards individual and business economic support and recovery.
- Where possible, temporarily stop all projects not yet started. This would not include those projects funded by impact funds.
- Close Sadler beach parking, Dolphin Lot, and portions of Main Beach parking lot to reduce beach congestion.
- Concerns:
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- Use of this crisis to support other agendas.
- Status of City investments, reserves
- City Employee Morale
It is imperative our citizens take this crisis serious and take the appropriate actions relative to social distancing along with other personal hygiene recommendations.
Thanks Len for looking out for us and our city.
Commissioner Kreger, thanks for stepping up. The safety measures are critical, and the financial measures are as well. Please consider – beyond suspending discretionary spending and halting hiring and new projects – a deep scrub of the city’s budget. This is a good time to require the city manager to present a roll-back budget to you and your fellow commissioners. Good luck to you, and our city staff.
Thank you Len, this is a clear and concise accounting of where we are in the city. As an Amelia Island resident who lives outside the city limits, I would ask that the city and county please look at the Amelia Island beaches as a team. Duval County, St. John’s County, and all South Georgia coastal counties have now closed their beaches entirely to combat the COVID-19 crisis. All of these beach-goers may potentially end up on Amelia Island. At the moment, we are fortunate to have no confirmed cases on our island, but this will surely change rapidly if we do not put restrictions on ALL beach access points (Peter’s Point particularly). This is a very hard decision, but one that could be life-saving.
Close the beaches!
Thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor. Your wisdom shines through. I commend you all for your efforts at this critical time.