Strategic overview of Fernandina Beach Public Works Divisions

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
March 18, 2021

Fernandina Beach Public Works Director Jeremiah Glisson briefed City Commissioners (FBCC) on the work of his department, its accomplishments and challenges as well as its needs for the next fiscal year at the FBCC Workshop held on March 16, 2021.

• With a staff of 11 full time and 3 part time positions, Glisson oversees:
  Acquisition, maintenance, fueling and disposal of the City’s fleet of 250 units, ranging from lawn mowers to firetrucks and everything in between. The average age of the fleet units is 5.6 years, and the total replacement value is estimated to be $12M;
• Maintenance of 70 City facilities and related infrastructure with an insurance value of $60M and an average age of 26 years;
• Residential and commercial sanitation services to include garbage, recycling, bulk and yard waste services that includes more than 900,000 service stops per year. Through a $2.9M service contract with Waste Management that runs from January 2019 – January 2024, the City handles service to 6, 131 residential and 493 commercial accounts. Effective April 2021, removal of yard waste will be taken over by the City.

The accomplishments and challenges he identified or each area are provided below:

Glisson identified $250K of capital needs that have already been included in the City’s 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan, including items like equipment replacement and roofing repairs. While not citing or costing specific needs for facilities improvement, Glisson noted that City buildings are old and tired. The age of existing facilities is presented below:

When questioned as to additional personnel Glisson would be requesting in the coming year, Glisson said he would be seeking one additional position in the Fleet Division, where the staffing level has remained unchanged for nearly 20 years despite growth in employee responsibilities and fleet inventory.

Commissioners expressed gratitude to Glisson for the work of his Department and praised his efforts personally.