Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
Under the leadership of a new mayor and vice mayor and with a new commissioner on board, the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) quickly got to the business on the agenda for their last regular meeting of the year on December 17, 2013.
Homeless Coalition Proclamation
Mayor Ed Boner presented Robin Andrews, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Coalition for the Homeless of Nassau County, with a proclamation declaring December 21, 2013 as “National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.” The proclamation encouraged citizens “to commit themselves to promoting compassion and concern for all brothers and sisters, especially those who are homeless.”
Shrimp Fest Update
Mark Deaton, Chair of the Shrimp Festival Committee, told commissioners that with the departure of long time festival director Sandy Price, the committee has reassigned her duties to other members of the committee. The parade will be moved back to Thursday from Saturday. He said that he had spoken with Myron Davis of Advanced Disposal to see if that company would be willing to take on the role of major corporate sponsor by picking up the $30K+ tab for festival clean up. Davis, citing the discounted rates already provided, declined to do so but did agree to up Advanced Disposal’s sponsorship by a thousand dollars to $3,000.
Deaton, in response to a question from Commissioner Charlie Corbett, said that the festival committee understood that it would lose about a third of the space behind the library, traditionally occupied by the children’s fun zone. He said that the committee was moving ahead to plan for changes that might be needed as a result of the library expansion project.
Local resident Dorothea Stillwell asked if the committee would consider moving the food booths back to their original location to improve access. Deaton said that the decision has not yet been made but that such a move will be considered. He said that it was difficult to assess the impact of some of the changes made last year in light of the terrible weather conditions that prevailed throughout the Shrimp Fest weekend.
Library
Local resident Lynn Williams rose to address the FBCC over his concerns regarding the sale of naming rights for the expanded library building. After commending the Friends of the Library for delivering a check for $400,000 to assist in the library expansion project, he went on to criticize the selling of the naming rights, which he saw in a News Leader article, claiming it was the first time anyone had ever heard of it. He felt it was unfair because the city, county and others had contributed to the project. “For a half a million dollars,” he said, “you get to name a library building. Why should they (Friends of the Library) be able to name the building for pay? There’s something a little tacky about it.” He went on to assert that based on his experience, such a move can be counterproductive for future fundraising. “I hope that the sense of this community at least” he said, “is that selling naming rights for a building that belongs to us all is really not something that should make anyone very happy.”
Vice Mayor Sarah Pelican asked if other commissioners knew that naming rights were part of the agreement. Commissioner Corbett said he knew about interior naming rights, but not for the building. City Manager Joe Gerrity said that was something that had been talked about for years. Pelican expressed her concern that when people donate money for something a donor agreement would be executed to enumerate all the conditions and circumstances surrounding the donation. She asked, “Have we seen such an agreement? Does the naming right exist in perpetuity?” Gerrity told the commission that naming opportunities have been used in fundraising for years, citing an example of McDonald’s assisting a small local library in his previous home in Pennsylvania. Pelican said she expected there would be guidelines indicating what was acceptable or not for naming buildings. Gerrity indicated that a proposal to name the building would need to come before the FBCC for approval, since the library is in a city building.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Community Development Department planner Scott Schultz spoke to the FBCC regarding four resolutions (2013-181 – 2013-184) authorizing actions to proceed with actions under the $700,000 CDGB grant awarded to the city in 2011 by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to disburse funds to qualified, income-eligible applicants for the purpose of rehabilitating housing units. The resolutions allowed for amending the Housing Assistance Plan, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), approving nine of the first 13 applicants, and authorizing the city manager to sign associated documents. All four resolutions passed unanimously. Schultz reported that additional awards could be made under this program at future date.
Extension of water and sewer service to Baptist Medical Center
City Manager Joe Gerrity reported that Baptist Medical Center of Nassau, Inc. has agreed to be voluntarily annexed into the city. The annexation process will take several months. The FBCC unanimously passed Resolution 2013-186, which approves the extension of water and sewer service to the 31.13-acre hospital campus in advance of the actual annexation.
St. Michael’s appeal of Historic District Council (HDC) denial
At their October meeting the HDC denied the request from St. Michael’s Church to be absolved from the requirement to replace chimneys on the school building. The chimneys were removed on an emergency basis when they appeared to constitute a safety threat. Although the church had intended to replace them initially, subsequent investigations of the building revealed that the initial cost estimate of $10,000 had increased to over $100,000.
The FBCC heard from local resident and attorney John Cascone before the quasi-judicial appeal procedure began. Cascone cited several failings with the school building and supported the HDC decision to deny the church’s request.
During the appeal hearing, acting city attorney Teresa Prince advised commissioners that they could only consider evidence that had been presented to the HDC. The introduction of new evidence would need to be first presented to the HDC for consideration before the FBCC could consider it. Tom Hable, business manager for St. Michael’s, indicated that their appeal of the denial was based on cost, not a lack of desire to return the chimneys.
Commissioners listened to Hable and Adrienne Burke, Community Development Director, present their respective positions. After consultation with their attorney, and after Hable disclosed that the church might have a new plan for solving the problem, the FBCC unanimously denied the appeal, thereby clearing the way for the church to return to the HDC with new evidence that might result in a different decision by the HDC. Should the HDC continue to deny the request, the church may file another appeal with the FBCC.
Reports
City manager Gerrity reported that work on the Main Beach boardwalk is progressing well and that he is hopeful that it will open unofficially in time for the Christmas holidays.
Commissioner Corbett reaffirmed the $5,000 FBCC grant to the Council on Aging to allay recent concerns raised during the city election campaign.
New commissioner Johnny Miller thanked citizens for turning out to vote, in addition to thanking Bert Austin, Lynn Williams and Andy Curtin for caring enough about the city to seek the office of commissioner. He also thanked his family for their support, Kim Briley for her outstanding assistance in election-related matters. He said that Arlene Filkoff had set a fine example and has left some large shoes to fill.
Mayor Ed Boner also offered his thanks to Arlene Filkoff. “I learned a lot from her,” he said, stressing that it is important “to look for the yes’s, not the no’s.”
The meeting adjourned at 7:32 p.m. with commissioners and staff wishing all a Merry Christmas.
The entire broadcast and complete agenda are available on the city’s website, www.fbfl.us.
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.
December 18, 2013 5:54 p.m.