Submitted by
Susan Hardee Steger
Attorney Michael Mullin is requesting that within 90 days the City of Fernandina Beach take “every action necessary,” to provide sidewalk access to Salty Pelican’s Front Street property. In a letter to City Attorney Tammi Bach, Mullin states, “it would appear that the City still owns the 10 foot strip that runs beside the Marina Restaurant.”
For almost a year, owners of the Salty Pelcian Al Waldis and T.J. Pelletier have asked the city to extend the sidewalk south to Centre Street. According to Mullin, “My client relied upon the City’s staff’s representations that access would be provided from Centre Street to their property, and that, obviously, has not happened.”
Mullin further states, “Our title company indicated that based upon the lack of exhibits and maps being included with Ordinance 258 and ,further, based upon the language utilized within the Ordinance, the title company cannot make a title determination as to the right-of-way.
Currently, the 10 foot strip is used for parking. Cars, along with the lack of sidewalks, create a challenge for pedestrians. According to City Attorney Bach, the city commission will eventually determine how to proceed.
December 27, 2012 4:35 p.m.
For years I have looked at the wonderful property that is now the Salty Pelican and lamented the fact that it was just sitting there in that location empty. I am glad to see such a positive business now located in that spot. I have only been there a couple of times since, once I did not go because I could not find a place to park close enough for my bad knee to navigate. Another time I went and saw the problem with no side walk when trains made it an impossible situation to exit safely with cars parked where a sidewalk should be located blocking safe exodus from the business. A lack of sidewalk is really a safety issue for customers in situations like this. Plus it just looks sad to have this otherwise prosperous looking, well decorated establishment to have such a “other side of the tracks” looking situation. It is a bad reflection on the city.
Citizen safety should be our primary concern. If I were King, I would contract with one of the few local concrete contractors and put in the sidewalk immediately in order to reduce the city’s litigation exposure…just get it done! The job could be done in less than one week. The worse that would happen is that the sidewalk would have to be redone, but that would be a long shot. The longer the delay, the greater the vulnerability. The City, Mariner’s Restaurant and the railroad can work out the right-of-way and payment details later. The expense of putting a sidewalk in immediately will appear minuscule should a litigious citizen or visitor be injured along that path.