Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
March 30, 2017 1:00 a.m.
In what appeared to be the first ever of its kind, the Nassau County School Board (NCSB) and the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) held a joint meeting to share information on issues of common concern. The meeting was held in Fernandina Beach City Commission Chambers the evening of March 28, 2017, and lasted about 90 minutes. All members of both elected boards attended, in addition to Nassau School Superintendent Dr. Kathy Burns, City Manager Dale Martin and City Attorney Tammi Bach. Many members of the community attended as well.
While the city appeared to have set the meeting agenda, a workshop had been requested by the School Board to clarify facts and resolve obstacles to the city’s reluctance to vacate the Gum Street right-of-way (ROW). The NCSB’s sale of the surrounding property has been held up pending resolution of this issue. There was no consensus on building a joint use educational nature center on the property.
The FBCC asked the NCSB to remove the chain-link fence separating School Board property from the sidewalk across Atlantic Avenue from Central Park. The city claims that the fenced land is unsightly and is no longer used for educational purposes. Commissioners would prefer to see the land converted to a passive park. The NCSB countered with a proposal to swap two parcels of land on the site with the city, thereby removing the bus parking area from sight on Atlantic Avenue. There was no consensus on either proposal.
There was also no consensus on installing a rubberized track at Fernandina Beach High School.
Both boards emphasized that the nature of the meeting was informational and that no votes would be taken. Participants engaged in civil discussion of matters on which they did not necessarily disagree. Both sides characterized the discussions as useful for their separate deliberations and anticipated future meetings of the two bodies.
The two elected bodies have taken steps to work more closely in the future. The School Board now has a representative attending city Planning Advisory Board meetings as an ex-officio member. The FBCC expressed a desire to work more closely with the School Board as required by its Comprehensive Plan with respect to rezoning of school attendance areas, traffic and safety issues.
Dr. Burns was very positive about the gathering. “This is the way we do it,” she said. “We sit down and meet. All conversation is good, and we need to hear from everyone before we make decisions.”
Gum Street Right Of Way
It appeared that when the NCSB decided to sell a 14-acre property between Citrona Drive and the Greenway, School Board members and the School Superintendent had no idea that the Gum Street ROW had never been vacated by the city. The discovery came to light during the title search.
The assumption of both the School Board and the City Commission had been that when the NCSB purchased the property in the 1980’s from a private party, the Gum Street ROW had been vacated, as had other ROWs included in the property. Whether by intent or administrative error, however, the Gum Street ROW today remains city property.
School Board Chair Dr. Donna Martin (District 1) told city commissioners, “We didn’t purposely keep this information from you; we found out about it during the title search.”
Mayor Robin Lentz was quick to point out that she did not want it to appear that by delaying the decision to grant the NCSB’s request to vacate the ROW, the city was trying to extort the School Board. Lentz went on to say that she believed that public land sales are different than private land sales. She expressed a desire for the two elected bodies to work together on a public use for the Gum Street ROW.
The would-be developer, who has already submitted project plans for the city to examine, intends to build single-family residences on the property currently bisected by the Gum Street ROW. Local environmentalists have objected to the Gum Street ROW vacation, claiming that in its undeveloped state the property provides public access to the Greenway and that more residential development in the area would add congestion to an already congested Citrona Drive.
City Vice Mayor Len Kreger enlisted the help of Mark Hudson of the Northeast Florida Land Trust to explain how the ROW could be used by the schools and the public as an outdoor learning center. Hudson said that if the parties could reach agreement, the NCSB would continue to own the land, but the city would hold a conservation easement. Kreger went on to say that within 30 minutes of emailing the mills on this idea, he had received positive feedback. He suggested that the proposed educational center would also help young people understand the importance of professions in forestry and might keep young people in the community following their graduation.
Hudson said that his organization had already roughed out such a proposal for Duval County that did not materialize. The plan calls for a good, valid curriculum in addition to facilities.
While School Board members listened attentively to the proposal, Superintendent Dr. Kathy Burns expressed some skepticism, based upon earlier attempts to introduce and maintain similar programs that have failed due to other pressures on instructional personnel and competing priorities.
Fernandina Beach Mayor Robin Lentz reinforced some of Burns’ skepticism when she explained the logistics in moving students to and from the proposed area safely during a normal class period. She said that she was more interested in preserving the area without the educational center.
School Board Member Dr. Kimberly Fahlgren said that the 4-H Clubs already have curricula developed and work with students currently to accomplish the same goals as the proposed center, which would only serve Fernandina Beach, if approved.
Midway through the discussion city commissioners learned that a purchase contract for the property had been executed.
In airing their relative positions on the matter, School Board member Jamie Deonas (District 3) said that the proposed sale has been public for a year, and that the action was advertised for public input. He said that the School Board has been holding a check from the developer, pending the city’s vacating the Gum Street ROW.
School Board Chair Martin said that while the city commissioners may be receiving pressure from citizens who want the Gum Street ROW left undeveloped, the School Board has been receiving pressure from taxpayers to complete the $1.5M sale that would benefit the School District and taxpayers.
Mayor Lentz asked if there were some alternatives that could be considered. Dr. Burns invited Jeffrey Bunch to explain how the School Board could upgrade and improve the Hickory Street Park, a block away, to make it completely handicapped accessible. Bunch, Director of Facilities for the School District, previously served as a Fernandina Beach City Commissioner and city Fire Marshal. Bunch also informed the city commissioners that when the city had created the Greenway Park, they incorporated 5 acres of School Board property.
City Attorney Tammi Bach asked the FBCC to provide the School Board with some sense of their direction when they return to considering the Gum Street ROW vacation at their April 18, 2017 meeting. Mayor Lentz will not be able to vote on the matter, since she is an employee of the School Board.
Commissioner Tim Poynter said that he did not want to appear to extort the School Board over this matter. From his perspective, the city had assumed the School Board owned the entire parcel, and the city had expressed no prior interest in doing anything with the property. He expressed a willingness to let the sale go through with the city providing a 99-year lease of the right-of-way. He also expressed hope that the School Board would remove its fence on the Atlantic Avenue side of the Administration Building.
Commissioner John Miller appeared to have reservations about vacating the ROW, as did Commissioner Roy Smith. Vice Mayor Kreger said that he would follow city code and the law in making his decision.
Atlantic Avenue property
City Commissioner Roy Smith asked the NCSB to remove the chain-link fence along the Atlantic Avenue side of the School Board Administration complex in Fernandina Beach. He said that many people have complained about the unsightliness of this fence on what is considered Fernandina Beach’s most visible street. Smith said that the fence appears to have no purpose because there is an ungated entrance on the east side of the Atlantic Avenue span.
Commissioners said that the property does not seem to be used heavily by the School District and that occasionally families can be seen playing ball or Frisbee on the property. They questioned whether the parcel is currently being used for football or band practice, as it was in earlier times.
Smith said, “It’s a shame this area is not better utilized. Maybe we could work with [the NCSB] to turn it into a passive park, maybe put some picnic tables under the oak trees.” Commissioner John Miller asked why the NCSB would want to continue to maintain property that it doesn’t need. Commissioner Tim Poynter said, “There is a simple solution: just take down the fence.”
School Board Member Jamie Deonas agreed that it was a beautiful property but asked, “Why do you need it? You have Central Park right across the street.”
Discussion continued with concerns raised over liability issues and potential safety problems should park users cross Atlantic too frequently from one park to another.
School Director of Facilities Jeffrey Bunch proposed an interesting land swap, which both elected bodies heard for the first time. He presented a slide outlining two parcels on the property. One, outlined in yellow below, is owned by the School Board and used to park buses. The other, outlined in red, is owned by the city and is not used at all except for access to the Administration Building from N. 11th Street and access to a school storage facility behind the Administration Building.
Bunch said that the swap would provide room for future expansion of the city’s Utilities Department facilities and allow the school buses to be parked in the shade further away from Atlantic Avenue. Smith said he would be interested in that if the School Board would also include the property along Atlantic Avenue.
There was no consensus on the proposed swap, which neither board had had the opportunity to study prior to the meeting.
Fernandina Beach High School Track
Mayor Lentz expressed interest in participating with the School District in installing and maintaining a rubberized track at Fernandina Beach High School that could be used both by students and the city’s runners. An active runner herself, Lentz suggested that the city’s Youth Advisory Committee was also interested in this project and that they would be willing to work on fundraising.
Gail Cook, the longest-serving School Board Member (District 2), said that the NCSB had looked into this previously, but after learning about initial costs and high maintenance costs, backed off the idea. She said that the Florida sun is particularly hard on such tracks and that maintenance was not simple.
Member Fahlgren reminded the FBCC that the school district includes other high schools that would want equal facilities. Dr. Burns, in response to a suggestion that more money be put into the athletic facilities, reminded city commissioners that the school district has many overriding priorities. “We can’t put all our eggs in one basket,” she said. NCSB Chair Dr. Martin added, “We only have so many eggs.” But Martin agreed that partnering with the city on such a project might be worthy of further consideration.
Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.