FBCC sets goals for coming year

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
January 31, 2021

Each year the Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC) assemble at the Golf Course Clubhouse for a scheduled public meeting to formulate goals and objectives for the coming year.  Charter Officers, City Department Directors, and other key city staff also attend, along with media representatives, consultants and interested citizens who attend on behalf of key constituencies like Main Street or who just want to know what to expect from their elected representatives over the next year.

This year’s planning workshop was held on January 27, 2021.  Business consultant Cindy Jacoby facilitated the session which began promptly at 8:00 a.m. and thanks to general agreement on goals and priorities identified by Commissioners, ended earlier than anticipated at 2:30 p.m. 

Public attendance was significantly lower than previous years, with three brave citizens staying for the entire workshop and perhaps three other people staying for part of the day.

Commissioners agreed on three major areas of City focus for the remainder of the current year and the next three years:

• Waterfront improvements
• Protecting City assets
• Budget needs

Under each major category, Commissioners identified goals and timelines for action.

Waterfront

Not surprisingly, improvement of the downtown riverfront remains an overarching goal.  Encompassing shoreline stabilization and the long anticipated waterfront park, the FBCC established a timeline for moving forward toward construction plans and construction and made the following commitments:

• To agree on a plan concept for parking lots C and D by February 16, 2021.
• To implement Phase 1 of the shoreline stabilization plan by November 30, 2021.
• To proceed with a shore stabilization plan for the Front Street property the City is attempting to acquire (Osteen Property) within 6 weeks of acquisition.

City assets

Discussions about city assets addressed the need to maintain, protect, refurbish or replace major facilities and green space, to include trees.  The FBCC acknowledged that deferred maintenance on many City buildings must be addressed in a rational, fiscally responsible way.  They also discussed the need to protect the City’s tree canopy through changes to existing ordinances.  The actions they supported included:

• City staff creating a spreadsheet to include the City’s assets and their expected useful life by March 30, 2021
• Advertising a bid for new fire station at the City airport by August 1, 2021
• Improving City’s flood rating from 6 to 3 by January 27, 2024
• Making the City tree neutral starting August 1, 2021 (“remove a tree, replant a tree”)
• Discussing whether to acquire Crane Island Park by June 1, 2021

Budget

Commissioners remain concerned about the existing debt at both the Marina and the Golf Course.  While the City Manager had proposed a budget last year that would have addressed these items according to the Stantec plan, the FBCC decision to reject the current millage rate to fall back to an adjusted rollback rate, made that plan moot. Other concerns continue with Golf Course operations, needed capital improvements and the need to subsidize operations.

In light of these problems, the FBCC has reached consensus on the need to:

• Agree on and activate a plan to manage Marina debt by May 31, 2021
• Decide on a golf course operator by February 16, 2021
• Reconcile golf course debt by July 27, 2021
• Create golf course capital expenditure plan by July 27, 2021

Commissioner Expectations

Prior to discussing goals, facilitator Cindy Jacobs asked each Commissioner to identify his expectations or deliverables from the planning session.  Commissioners responded:

• Vice Mayor Len Kreger:  to identify one, overarching goal and to identify the direction for the city;
• Commissioner Bradley Bean: to learn what each Commissioner thinks and come to a group decision;
• Mayor Mike Lednovich:  to identify top funding priorities for the next Fiscal Year (October 1, 2021-September 30, 2022) and get the City’s house in order by maintaining and repairing City assets;
• Commissioner David Sturges:  balance the City Budget; address infrastructure needs; make the Golf Course profitable and adopt a seawall plan;
• Commissioner Chip Ross:  Understand funding for current and future City projects.

Jacoby also asked Commissioners to express their vision for the City in 3 years, the ideal length of the strategic plan.

Commissioner Ross said that he wants to see the quality of life for City residents remain the same or improve.  He would like to see the City’s infrastructure needs either met or planned to be met.  He also anticipates seeing a pedestrian friendly waterfront downtown and a stabilized shoreline.

Vice Mayor Kreger expects that Fernandina Beach will remain a great place to live with areas of  most vulnerability to storm surges protected.  He looks to see a park along the river that people love.

Commissioner Sturges anticipates that Fernandina Beach will be a busy, thriving community with smart growth and a strong leadership that will endorse solutions to problems.  He also sees a new fire station at the Airport.

Mayor Lednovich hopes to see a city that lives within its means with infrastructure that has been planned and implemented to accommodate growth.  He anticipates shuttles that will carry people back and forth from the beaches to downtown along improved roads with better mobility.  In addressing Marina and Golf Course financial concerns, Lednovich said that he looks to see an understanding from citizens that both enterprises will always require some level of support from the City’s General Fund.

Commissioner Bean expects the downtown waterfront projects will have been completed and “off the radar”, in addition to a new fire station.  Fernandina Beach will remain a great place to live and social media comments will so reflect.

Commissioners agreed that for their individual visions to be realized, they must be willing to compromise and agree to support achieving the goals identified by the FBCC as a body.

Concluding the workshop

City Manager Dale Martin reinforced the identified goals as marching orders for City staff over the next year.  In light of the FBCC’s agreement on the goals, he stated that he anticipates that no Commissioner will throw another goal into the pot until the next planning workshop in January 2022.  “Chasing bright, shiny objects,” Martin said, “distracts staff from working toward achieving the goals while performing their routine duties.”  Vice Mayor Len Kreger said that he believed the identified goals were reasonable and achievable, while at the same time reminding Commissioners that City staff must also comply with Comprehensive Plan requirements.

Unlike previous planning workshops, during this one Commissioners set milestones and assigned responsibility, much to themselves.

Commissioners seemed comfortable with their work product and agreed that their expectations for the session had been met.