By Medardo Monzon
[email protected]
904-608-4872
October 5, 2017 12:55 a.m.
Editor’s Note: Every year, the Fernandina Observer presents questions to candidates for the Fernandina Beach City Commission. Their answers appear below. We have removed the comment option from this post in order to focus attention on the candidate’s position on issues that impact our community.
Biographical Information
My wife and I have lived on the beach for over five years.
I’m a proven community leader who works collaboratively to find innovative solutions to problems. I earned a M.S. in Chemistry and my professional experience includes 26 years as a scientist and business executive, and 17 years as an entrepreneur. I have been a leadership consultant since 2007.
I have managed organizations much larger than the City of Fernandina and have volunteered on the Board of Directors of many non-profit organizations.
I have served on the Northeast Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee and as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Nassau County.
Why seeking office
I’d like to use my knowledge, skills and experience to help build a stronger community.
What is your vision for the Amelia Riverfront and how would you pay for it?
My vision for the Amelia Riverfront consists of four elements:
(a) Fixing the marina
(b) Expanding the marina to increase its profitability
(c) Developing a community park with maximum green space and adequate parking
(d) Building a protective seawall for sea rise.
Fixing and expanding the marina are my first priority. The community park and protective seawall should be implemented sequentially. (See Financing comments below)
(a) The marina must be fixed immediately, without waiting for FEMA to act. I believe that city government can document the damages caused by hurricane Matthew without jeopardizing assistance from FEMA. If necessary, I would enlist the aid of our Senators and Representatives to ensure that FEMA complies with its obligations to mitigate disasters.
Marina users and the downtown businesses have been hurt for more than one year. Marina operations typically generate annually, more than $ 500,000 in cash flow (before debt payment). This revenue has been cut off while debt obligations continue, requiring more support from the General Fund that relies on property taxes.
(b) Our marina enjoys an enviable reputation with boaters. Prior to hurricane Matthew, slip rentals were sold out; there was a one-year waiting list to stay in our marina during the Shrimp Festival. The expansion of the marina is needed to improve its profitability. City government must carefully assess the multiple studies available, including a recent proposal that would create new land in the waterfront by moving the bulkhead west. City Commissioners should promptly finalize a cost/benefit assessment of the options available and act.
(c) Several studies done by consultants and citizen committees have shown that it’s possible to develop an attractive community park in the waterfront without sacrificing parking. Once again, city government must assess the multiple studies already available and make a decision.
(d) The downtown waterfront floods with unfavorable high tides and high winds. This problem will become worse with sea level rise. While it’s difficult to predict now when sea level rise will occur, or it’s magnitude, any long-term plan for the Amelia Riverfront must be compatible with building a protective seawall in the future, otherwise we risk rendering useless an important investment.
To develop any serious financing option, the City Commission needs decide the preferred course of action. To do this, solid cost estimates of viable options need to be obtained, as well as 5-year projected income statement for each option.
The first financing option should be federal and state grants because they can mitigate financing costs to the community. After these options are assessed, the balance should be financed by municipal bonds or, if necessary, through public-private partnerships that guarantee protecting the public interests.
The city’s long-term debt (bonds) is rated as very strong (Aaa). The city will also retire long-term debt worth about $ 2.8 million in the next 5 years. I believe that by solidifying the performance of all Enterprise Funds, our city will have the ability to finance my vision for the Amelia Riverfront without raising property taxes.
How would you address community concerns about beach and downtown parking?
Beach and downtown parking concerns are symptoms of a much broader issue: the rapid growth of visitors and residents. Longstanding city regulations have fostered a unique city with a small town feel and growth has been sustainable.
However, every year our beautiful city attracts more visitors and more residents. This trend will exacerbate in future years. I’m opposed to supporting resolutions that will accelerate the growth of the city because they would create other problems and worsen beach and parking.
Downtown parking becomes an issue particularly during the weekend and after 5 pm. The recent Downtown Parking Committee found creative ways to increase parking spaces downtown and illustrated that sufficient parking exists. A related survey indicated that the community is not ready to support paid parking. I will not act against the will of the community.
Beach parking is a different problem that raises issues of fairness. City residents pay additional taxes to maintain city infrastructure and operations. Visitors that stay in hotels also contribute via the tourist bed tax that the Tourist Development Council uses for beach nourishment and other worthwhile projects.
On the other hand, non-city visitors enjoy our beaches but don’t contribute to their upkeep. There’s evidence that many daily visitors that occupy parking spaces contribute little to the economic wellbeing of our city. We are a welcoming community, so my approach would be to explore the viability of differential paid parking at the beaches using smart parking meter technology that would allow city resident to continue parking for free.
How would you address both environmental protection and private property rights in considering development projects?
Property rights of owners are legally protected. City codes that limit height, lot combination, define setbacks, etc., have helped to protect the environment and should remain. The city’s tree ordinance is one of the most stringent in the country but is misunderstood, so I’d suggest workshops to increase community awareness. I believe that the current tree ordinance needs to be strictly enforced, particularly in new developments.
The community is very interested in protecting existing green space and limiting additional development. Buying and protecting land against development in perpetuity can be accomplished but that’s not the role of government. I would like to adapt the lessons learned from serving in a Community Foundation in Wisconsin, by encouraging the creation of an endowment fund leveraging the generosity of residents who love our island and who would generously donate part of their will to a land trust that would focus on maintaining green space.
Where do you see areas of potential savings for city operations?
The city did a good job managing operating expenses during the recessionary years but operating expenses have increased by nearly 10% each of the past two years. There are no measurable indicators to judge whether those increases are justifiable, only anecdotal evidence exists about are more residents and visitors. I will advocate for the development of such budget indicators.
By consolidating or reorganizing a few functions or departments (for example, Water & Stormwater), some savings could probably be achieved and I will pursue them working collaboratively with the City Manager and other commissioners. Although important, these cost savings efforts would make a small dent in a $ 20 million/year operating expense budget.
Additionally, the community strongly wishes to preserve our “small town feel” that, in part, is the result of the excellent personal service provided by city staff. This makes our community special and I don’t wish to change that.
A better approach is to seek innovative ways of increasing city revenues without increasing taxes. The General Fund (property taxes) currently needs to support some Enterprise Funds because they aren’t profitable. I will focus on making sure that each Enterprise Fund develops, and presents for approval to City Commission, credible strategic plans that would make them profitable.
To view Monzon’s initial press release click here.
Monzon faces Orlando Avila and Chip Ross in the Group 3 race for city commissioner.