By Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
January 29, 2021
The City Commission gathered for its annual goal setting session on Wednesday at the Fernandina Beach Golf Course. Mayor Mike Lednovich, Vice Mayor Len Kreger, and Commissioner Chip Ross, all veteran City Commissioners, welcomed newly elected Commissioners Bradley Bean and David Sturges to the process. Mayor Lednovich opened the session with a moment of silence to honor former Fernandina Beach Mayor Charles Albert, who passed away earlier this week. Mayor Albert and former Vice Mayor Patricia Thompson will be further honored by the City Commission on Feb 2 (and throughout February) for their service to Fernandina Beach as part of African-American History Month.
The goal setting session was facilitated by Ms. Cindy Jacoby, returning to her role after a one-year hiatus. Ms. Jacoby, a professional management consultant and resident of Fernandina Beach, has continued to develop relationships with the veteran City Commissioners since her initial efforts in 2019 and will likely work with the newer City Commissioners over the course of their term of office.
Also attending the day-long meeting were City staff (although due to pandemic precautions, staff was limited to morning or afternoon participation); staff of Fernandina Beach Main Street, the News Leader, and the Fernandina Observer; representatives of external partner agencies such as Jacobs, Sholtz & Wyler and Passero Associates; and at least five members of the general public (recognizing Mr. Adam Kaufman, Mr. Eric Bartelt, Mr. Lou Goldman, Mr. Mike Meadows, and Ms. Victoria Robas). I apologize to others that I may have missed due to the configuration of the room with the general public being seated behind me. Special thanks, as always, to the staff at the Golf Course (led by Mr. Cliff Easum and Ms. Kristy Benjamin) for their support efforts.
Ms. Jacoby began the day with a simply query to the City Commissioners as to what value do they bring to the City Commission. After momentary hesitation, the Commissioners offered responses such as dedication, personal and professional experience, attention-to-detail, long-term familiarity with Fernandina Beach, thoughtfulness, and others. The Commissioners, with further guidance from Ms. Jacoby, established a few ground rules for the day to ensure decorum and civility (which, even without the rules, would have likely been maintained)- the respect and congeniality among this newly seated City Commission is apparent and will inevitably serve the City well over the course of the next two years.
Following the introductory efforts, Ms. Jacoby reviewed the goals that had been set over the course of the previous two years (which the three veteran City Commissioners had been integral in establishing). She highlighted some successes such as the City’s conservation land acquisition, waterfront efforts, and flood prevention and also some shortcomings such as tree protection and dune management. The general consensus was that the previous goals were meritorious at the time and still retained their original value.
The City’s Amelia River waterfront once again dominated the early conversation, especially as the waterfront effort, which now encompasses resiliency efforts to protect against flooding (high tides and storms), continues to move forward. Although concerns remain for specific elements of the waterfront resiliency and park planning, the City is preparing to move forward with the initial phases at the southern end (south of the boat ramp at Ash Street). Funding for this first phase is already included in the current year’s budget and additional funds may be forthcoming through a state grant. The Commissioners briefly discussed setting a funding cap on the park component, especially in light of the designer’s estimated cost of the park element. City staff has repeatedly stated that the estimate is excessively high or, for some facets, unnecessary. The City Commission will continue waterfront discussions throughout the month of February.
The City Commissioners next area of focus was asset management. The City operates and maintains dozens of facilities, pieces of equipment, and parcels of property. For too long and for a variety of reasons, these assets have been neglected and now require closer attention. The City Commissioners expressed strong interest in learning more of several key facilities, including, but not limited to, two recreation centers, Peck Center, two fire stations, the lighthouse, and the waterfront facility that houses Brett’s Waterway Café. Although City Hall is also an older facility (over one hundred years old), a formal evaluation of that facility is currently ongoing. A new fire station at the Airport has been designed and will likely be presented for bidding to address conditions and concerns associated with current Fire Station #2 (near Seaside Park).
The final key focus of the City Commission was the operations and financing of the Marina and the Golf Course, both of which have historically necessitated taxpayer support. The future financing of the Marina remains conditional upon the outcome of the City’s current appeal to FEMA and the future operations and financing of the Golf Course will likely be directed by the City Commission at Tuesday’s meeting (a management agreement extension for the current operator will be considered).
In my estimation, it was a very productive effort by the City Commission as guided by Ms. Jacoby. A more formal summary will shortly be presented to the City Commission by Ms. Jacoby. City staff looks eagerly forward to following your lead. On behalf of the City staff, thank you for providing the support and direction to serve this community.