Editor’s Note: All city commission candidates were offered the opportunity to submit 
press releases to our publication. The Fernandina Observer does not endorse candidates.
Press Release Submitted by Johnny Miller
FERNANDINA BEACH, FL (October 28, 2013) – Equitable fees, understandable and fair regulations, faster permitting and clear communications between the city bureaucracy and its constituents are elements that will both help current businesses prosper and attract new enterprises and residents says Johnny Miller, who is seeking election to the Fernandina Beach City Commission.
“I have heard from both concerned citizens and business people that the city is not addressing a variety of bureaucratic issues that are necessary to help the current business community grow as well as attract new enterprises and residents,” says Miller, a 20-year US Navy veteran, former city Parks and Recreation Department member and local hospitality industry employee.“For example, I can’t count how many times I’ve heard from both business people and residents how inequitable, harmful and confusing the current method of collecting impact fees is to current and prospective businesses.
“Impact fees may be necessary, but their ‘impact’ should be beneficial, not harmful, and when elected I will encourage the city commission to take a very hard look at how these fees are calculated,” he says. “Currently it appears that the formula is similar to that of Coca Cola – locked in a vault somewhere.” He added that he has also seen news reports indicating that commercial realtors have trouble convincing prospective business owners to move to Fernandina after they find out about what they view as the excessive and confusing water and sewer impact fees charged by the city. “That kind of negative publicity is devastating,” he adds.
Millers says that permits are another contentious issue and based on the feedback he’s received from residents and businesses, this is another key concern that needs to be addressed and streamlined.
Citing the Shrimp Festival as an example he says, “this event is not only an historic tradition, but a revenue generator for the community. I will advocate a much more open communication channel between the commission, the festival committee and residents and do everything I can to provoke cooperation between all parties and inspire an event mutually beneficial to all invested parties
Miller says he wants to see more city communication and community input particularly on issues such as the Shrimp Festival including cleanup, dates of the festival parade and sales of alcoholic beverages. I don’t see any evidence of the current commission taking a position that generates a sense of cooperation,” he says.”In fact, I talked to business owners and residents here that tell me that when they send suggestions to city hall it’s like dropping a coin in a bottomless well…they never hear a splash, they hear nothing.”
“The business community doesn’t end with the downtown historic area,” explains Miller. “It extends down both 14th and 8thStreets and along Sadler and Fletcher, among other areas. “It is the job of the commission to take a more proactive leadership role to aid all Fernandina’s businesses by encouraging a more coherent and efficient regulatory and permitting environment.“We must never forget that employees, whether they work at Rayonier, RockTenn, the Ritz Carlton, the Omni Resorts or the city’s many smaller businesses, all have a vested interest in this community and want to see it run efficiently and prosperously.”
Miller, who has been a resident of Fernandina Beach for the past seven years, retired from the US Navy, where he served in a variety of positions including Navy SEAL training, firearms instructor, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as anti-piracy actions off the coast of Africa and counter-terrorism functions in the Philippines. Following his military service he worked as a police officer at the Naval Station in Mayport and as a lifeguard and water safety instructor for Fernandina Beach. He also worked at Café Karibo and the Crab Trap, as a manager at the Green Turtle Tavern, and is currently employed by Sheffield’s at The Palace. He is married and he and his wife of 25 years, Lori, have two children, John, who is enlisting in the US Navy, and Summer, a junior at Florida State University in Tallahassee. His mother, Nancy Arnott Fishburn and stepfather, Stan Fishburn have been Fernandina residents since 2005.
Miller can be contacted by phone at 904/556-3299 or by email [email protected].
For additional information contact:
Johnny Miller (904) 556-3299
October 31, 2013 9:35 a.m.