Fernandina Beach Commissioners and City Staff discuss short-term and long-term goals for city

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
January 13, 2016 3:45 p.m.

Despite the cold temperatures and the morning after effect from the Alabama Clemson game, Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC), Charter Officers, and city Department Heads appeared ready and eager to get to work on identifying and prioritizing city goals for 2016 and beyond. The annual workshop was held earlier than in previous years at the request of commissioners.

Brian Teeple, Chief Executive Officer of the Northeast Florida Regional Council, once again facilitated the day-long workshop, assisted by Margo Moehring, the Council’s Managing Director for Policy and Planning. The workshop lasted most of the day (January 12) and convened at the Fernandina Beach Municipal Golf Course Clubhouse. About a dozen spectators attended the workshop during all or part of the day.

This year’s workshop differed from previous ones in some respects. This year’s workshop dispensed with the recap of city achievements and concentrated on looking forward. City Manager Dale Martin formally included his department heads in the workshop. They sat through the morning session, listening to commissioners voice their thoughts, concerns, and goals. The second part of the workshop gave the departments an opportunity to present their near-term operational goals as well as their longer-range goals. This exercise gave commissioners an opportunity to determine if their public policy goals align with staff implementation goals.

All commissioners attended and participated; all departments except the Golf Course, whose manager was excused because of a family emergency, participated. The cross fertilization of ideas between policy makers and those who must implement policy seemed to be helpful to all, but most especially to the newest commissioners—Len Kreger and Roy Smith—who had just taken office last month.

While some may have been expecting radical departures from the goals set by last year’s commission, the goals remained remarkably similar to those identified over the past few goal sessions. In setting goals this year, however, the commissioners identified metrics to measure progress. Short-term goals will need to be addressed by the end of FY 2017, allowing a year and a half for completion. Mid term goals were identified for the 3-5 year period beyond that. Long-term goals strategies stretched out ten years.

Ed McMahon on the power of uniqueness

The goal setting session began as it did last year with a video presentation: “Where am I? The Power of Uniqueness,” a lecture delivered by noted urbanist Ed McMahon at TEDxJacksonville. McMahon sounded the themes of investing in community improvements that support the uniqueness of a community. One of his themes also stressed during a talk he gave in Fernandina Beach a few years ago: people invest in communities that invest in themselves. (To view video, click here.)

Identifying goals 

Facilitator Brian Teeple hoisted a large box of previous plans onto a table. He said to commissioners, “You’ve planned a lot within this city, but what have you accomplished?” He reviewed the goals the FBCC set last year and asked their status. Many goals were in some state of completion: establishing a second FBO at the airport, reviewing the building permit process, fixing Fire Department problems, and piloting a trolley system. He told commissioners that the workshop would focus on the future and not dwell on the past. In addition to identifying goals, Teeple said that commissioners would be asked to prioritize goals and establish clear, mutually agreeable measures of success. It was also a goal of the workshop to assure that the city staff’s goals and priorities were in concert with those of the commission.

The final goal of the workshop—assuring that the city’s organizational structure is optimized to achieve the goals—could not be completed in the time allowed. That topic will return for a future workshop along with recommendations from the City Manager.

Short-Term Goals

Commissioners individually identified 27 short-term goals, ranging from curbing themselves from using cellphones and other electronic devices to text during meetings to improving the budget process and considering outsourcing, where feasible. Not all of their individual priorities survived the group scrutiny to rank at the top of the list. But Teeple reminded them that nothing prevented the city from working on any of the items that did not make the final list.

The near term goals receiving the most support from commissioners included:

1. Opening Alachua Street to vehicles and pedestrians; adding a sidewalk and if feasible, parking spaces between 2^nd Street and the railroad.
2. Additional lifeguard coverage and equipment along the beach with county support.
3. Identify and prioritize stormwater projects throughout the city; fund and complete the projects; perform a stormwater rate study.
4. Add lights to city soccer fields (Phase 1 of a 3 phase project).
5. Make zoning changes to allow for greater density along 8^th Street as recommended by a study committee that has been working on the issue for almost two years and to allow for apartments over commercial buildings in the Central Business District.
6. Make Fernandina Beach a model city for going above and beyond ADA compliance requirements to make the entire city accessible.
7. Finalize 8^th Street improvements.

Goals for 3-5 years and beyond

While stormwater problems continue to plague certain parts of the city, staff tried to dispel the notion that nothing has been done to fix problems. Streets Department Director Rex Lester and Utilities Director John Mandrick went over a list of stormwater projects that have been successfully completed over the past few years using money in the stormwater fund. Additionally, the city has been pursuing grants to fund some projects. Consensus seemed to be that the existing stormwater study of needs and costs is outdated. More work needs to be done to determine the true costs and any need to adjust the stormwater fee in order to address the problems in a 3-5 year time frame.

There was also discussion on moving the city marina north of its current location. Before much work can be done on this issue, however, the city needs first to determine the feasibility of doing so, along with the cost/benefit of purchasing the Vuturo property along Front Street.

Many of the city departments’ goals were related to the purchase and installation of the new ERP system, which will greatly enhance efficiency and improve both service and transparency. That system, which was identified as a priority last year, is currently in the bid process.

Another topic of particular concern to commissioners was code enforcement. Community Development Director Adrienne Dessy explained that the current policy stresses working with offenders to bring them into compliance, as opposed to citations and fines. Currently the city has only one code enforcement officer, who must handle complaints according to state law. Commissioners seemed united is seeking policy changes to make city code enforcement proactive instead of reactive.

Considerable discussion surrounded the possibility of building a new fire station to replace Fire Station 2 at the beach. Commissioners asked for a study to determine the best location for such a station. Commissioners also talked about developing a long-term plan to move City Hall.

As the workshop began to wind down, Vice Mayor Robin Lentz expressed concern that in identifying its priorities, the FBCC seemed to be sending a message that the waterfront is no longer a priority. Deputy City Manager Marshall McCrary responded to he concerns by informing the commission that 60 percent of the engineering for Parking Lot B portion of the waterfront plan has been completed. Commissioner Roy Smith urged caution in going any further until the city makes a final decision on purchasing the Vuturo property. He said, “I hate to see us in a rush to spend money until we know more facts.”

Brian Teeple is preparing the final report on the goal setting workshop, which will be issued at a future date.

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.