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>> this meeting has called to order. Good evening meeting, everyone. It's good to see so many smiling faces here tonight.

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I have one brief announcement before we get started. Chief carlos aviles has informed me that the room is at capacity,

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and we ask for your patience because after the presentation, there will be more seats.

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so we appreciate you hanging with us and just

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waiting a little bit until the first couple of presentations are over with,

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and that'll make more room for us. With that said, we are called to order.

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madam clerk, please call the roll. >> nancy sikes-kline.

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>> here. >> barbara blonder. >> here. >> cynthia garris. >> here. >> jim springfield. >> here.

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>> jon depreter. >> here. >> I will ask for a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance led

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by vice mayor barbara blonder.

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thank you. >> please stand if you are able.

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>> the first item that we have is modification and approval of the regular agenda.

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I have received a request for a modification of the regular agenda to move item.

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the resolution pertaining to nights of lights.

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I have been asked not to move it necessarily, but to take public comment at that time.

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I have about 14 speaker cards here of

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folks that have signed up to speak during general public comments,

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but I've received a request to take those comments at the time of the hearing of the resolution,

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and I would offer that modification to the agenda.

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>> they would still be considered general public comment. >> yes.

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>> not required. >> I move that we agree to take public comment during

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item 9b2. Do I hear a second.

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>> second? >> all those in favor signify by saying aye.

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>> aye, >> aye. Oppose. Motion carries.

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so that is a motion to approve the regular agenda with modifications.

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>> wait, you do have to approve the agenda [overlapping]. >> specifically.

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>> yes please. >> well, I will call that out. Do I hear a motion to approve the regular agenda?

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>> I'll make a motion to approve the regular agenda with the change we just made.

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>> I'll second that. Any discussion. All those in favor signify by saying aye.

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>> aye. >> no opposed. >> now we will go on to special presentation. We have two.

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we have a proclamation for landscape architecture month, which I will read in.

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is there anyone here to hear or accept that proclamation? Yes, sir.

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I will read the proclamation, then I will ask you to join me upfront with the commissioner for a photograph,

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if that's okay and you're welcome to make comments as well. This is the proclamation.

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whereas, landscape architecture is a multifaceted profession that encompasses the analysis,

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design, planning, management, and stewardship of the natural and built environment.

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playing a crucial role in shaping the spaces where people live, work, and play.

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whereas landscape architects design and create community master plans,

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walkable neighborhoods, multimodal transportation networks, green,

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stormwater systems, and accessible spaces such as public plazas, parks, schools,

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residential common areas, playgrounds, and trails that lead to active lifestyles and healthy communities.

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whereas landscape architects, as licensed professionals have

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consistently demonstrated their commitment to public health,

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safety and welfare by designing accessible and safe public place spaces,

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promoting active lifestyles and fostering resilient and sustainable outdoor environments in st. Augustine.

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whereas st. Augustine acknowledges the impact of landscape architects in addressing

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climate change and biodiversity through innovation and sustainable design practices,

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creating resilient and green infrastructure to withstand and respond to severe weather events,

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ultimately reducing the burden on state and local funds for disaster recovery efforts.

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whereas landscape architecture month is an opportunity to reflect

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on the profession's transformative impact on public health,

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safety, and welfare through the thoughtful design, analysis, management, and stewardship of the natural and built environments in st. Augustine.

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contributing to the overall well being of its residents.

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now, therefore, the city commission of the city of st. Augustine hereby proclaims

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the month of april 2025 as landscape architecture month in the city of st. Augustine,

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and encourages citizens to in acknowledging their role in creating inviting and safe spaces that contribute to

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the state's economy while simultaneously preserving

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the environment and ecological system in witness here whereof,

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I have heard to set my hand and caused the seal of the city of st. Augustine to be a fixed this 24th day of march in

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the year of our lord 2025 and 459th year of the founding of st. Augustine,

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the nation's oldest city, nancy sikes-kline mayor. With that said, please join me in the front, commissioners. [applause]

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>> [background] thank you for your support. We do projects throughout the city and through

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the county and parks and recreation, you name it. We're involved throughout the county,

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and we have two universities that do landscape architecture,

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degrees and masters, and a bachelor's in the state of florida, university of florida and

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the florida international university. Thank you for your support.

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>> thank you very much this is yours [applause]

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>> the next item on the agenda is the presentation of this american flag to the family to our beloved tom rahner,

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who is the 2019 recipient of the order of la florida,

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which is our highest honor that we award to citizens.

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I will leave this here, and I have some things to read.

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we are so to have our poet laureate, with us tonight.

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I would like to say as part of the city's protocol

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to honor former city commissioners and notable figures upon their death,

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it is my honor this evening to take a few moments to remember our dear friend tom rahner,

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the city's 2019 recipient of the order la florida award.

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before we begin the flag presentation, I would like to invite our poet laureate,

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dr. Ann browning masters, to come forward and read an original piece written for

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tom in 2019 in recognition of this award.

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would you like the podium or would you like the stand? Podium. You are going to use this very well.

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this is all yours. Absolutely.

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>> can you hear me out there? Once upon a time,

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st. Augustine was a town. I was familiar with the rahner family growing up,

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tom's father, a wonderful professional photographer.

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tom graduated with my aunt betty joe sanchez brock from st. Joseph academy,

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and his sister graduated with my mother two years prior.

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when I arrived at flagler college for my freshman and sophomore year before I transferred to uf,

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it was not a surprise to have him be my drama instructor, as you can imagine.

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we were a gaggle of girls who didn't know anything about acting, but we thought we did, and tom schooled us, I guess you would say.

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so many years later, I wrote a poem about my experience with him and

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his kindness and his good humor dealing with crazy young people.

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it was published in the gathering of poets edition edited by sharon school also in 2019.

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that's what I'm going to read to you tonight. The title is I taught you for tom rahner, my drama professor.

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all my pretty young women and men, I taught you.

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then you walked to the end of a stage and away,

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measuring days in moments and friends,

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my prompts done for meeting and making your mark.

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you were newly made up students once,

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and I whispered lost lines to elicit your presence.

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you swore best with your bodies.

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then skidded and twitched when I pushed you to unpack your minds.

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all my lovely young actors who dreamed in your learning and learned in your dreams,

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you are gone from my clock. My kindly meant nudges to paths not taken,

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to wisdom just forming. Step into the light.

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your lives are at morning. [applause]

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>> thank you, ann.

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that was beautiful. Thank you so much.

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thank you so much, ann.

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I have a few words to share about tom. Tom rahner was a st. Augustine native who began performing as

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a puppeteer in his own one man marionette show and his early teens.

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he also appeared in productions staged by the artillery lane theater and st. Augustine's little theater.

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in addition to appearing in college productions as a student,

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he worked professionally in summer theater and a historic outdoor drama.

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after graduating from the university of florida in 1957,

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with majors in english and theater, tom joined the army.

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he deployed to germany, and jean joined him there, where they were married in the summer of 1959.

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upon their return to st. Augustine, after his military service,

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tom took a teaching position with the st. Johns county school district teaching fifth grade for a year,

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and then two years at st. Augustine high school. In 1963, with

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the fast approaching 400th anniversary of the founding of st. Augustine in 1965.

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one of the most ambitious projects being planned by the 400th anniversary committee was to build a

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02,000 seat amphitheater in anastasia state park.

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the goal was to host a summer long, historical outdoor drama about the founding of st. Augustine,

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aptly named cross and sword. The production was written just for the occasion.

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tom was offered and accepted the position as the manager of the 400th anniversary committees amphitheater project,

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overseeing construction and operations. The project deadline was met.

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and in june 1965, cross and sword debuted at the st. Augustine

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amphitheatre with tom not only as the theaters general manager, but also playing the comic lead in the play whose cast also included jean.

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in 1968, tom became the director of cross and sword and saw it

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designated as florida's official state play and held that position for a decade.

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during that time, he and jean performed several lead roles in the play for many years.

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it was also in 1968 that tom joined the faculty of the newly opened flagler college,

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and it was their inaugural year. It was the beginning of tom's 30 plus years with the college and its theater department.

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while the college's theater department was growing, it had no actual theater until 1975,

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when tom designed and oversaw the construction of the 185 seat facility in the governor's house,

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which served the college and the community as its first theater for 13 years.

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the centennial of the opening of a hotel ponce de leon in 1988,

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now flagler college, tom wrote and performed, and jean directed and produced henry flagler remembers.

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a one man show that was responsible for introducing the railroad and hotel builder

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to a wide audience that up until that point was unaware of flagler's importance in florida history.

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the production continued for 25 years in venues ranging from

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marathon and the keys to tallahassee and as far afield as louisville, kentucky.

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then in 1991, tom had yet another opportunity to

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participate in the design and construction of an auditorium for flagler college.

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a 700 seat state of the art facility, and upon completion in 1996,

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the new lewis theater premiered a production of flagler,

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the empire builder of florida. It was a musical written by tom and produced by limelight theater,

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yet another example of a successful collaboration by the rahner's.

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after more than three decades as a member of the flagler college faculty,

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tom retired from teaching in 1999. He was named as honorary alumni of the college and received

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the designation of associate professor emeritus theater arts.

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>> it is no exaggeration to say that for half a century,

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very few performances of live theater in st. Augustine were in some form or

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fashion the result of or inspiration by tom rahner.

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tom may never know the full reach of his influence. But this community is fully aware of his contributions to

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the arts and his leadership that inspired us and enriched us.

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tom's passing is a tremendous loss for a community,

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but his legacy will live on for generations to come. Today, we remember tom and honor him greatly with presenting this flag to his family,

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his wife, jean, and their children, philip and laura. The inscription reads,

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''this flag was flown at city hall on wednesday, january 29,

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2025, in honor of tom rahner, recipient of the 2019 order of la florida award.''

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thank you. [applause] at this time,

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jean and family members, please come up and accept the flag,

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and we'll give you the opportunity to make remarks. Yes. A photograph?a photograph.

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great. Commissioners, you can join us. [applause]

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we're just giving the room a minute to clear. We have spaces available up front.

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I have more speaker cards.

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hopefully, we're able to bring everyone inside at this time.

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at this time, we will hear general public comments.

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as we said earlier, the folks that are here to speak on the nights of lights resolution, of course,

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they're free to speak now if they're cut short for time,

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we will be taking public comment at the time that we discuss that resolution later in the agenda.

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if you wish to speak now, please raise your hand and let me know.

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I'll take your card and move you forward. Nobody wants to.

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great. The first speaker is going to be christie hamilton.

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>> I always going to first. [laughter] I'm christie.

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I wanted to thank you guys for paying attention to the comments that

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I brought about a month ago to you guys regarding what's going on at sapd.

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there has been a memo that has been issued, I think, from you guys wanting some of the stuff handled from the city manager,

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which I appreciate, to the chief of police. The concerns that I brought forward was about the chief of

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police conducting city business on personal emails. The result of that being looked into was a one-day suspension without pay.

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the emails that were looked at were about implementing a policy that the chief of police could

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dismiss a citizen's concerns or request for an investigation if the chief of police decided that they didn't have merit.

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one of those investigations that she dismissed was something I had sent to the city manager last summer.

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it was about a now former officer holding onto citizens' private information,

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their driver's licenses, and screenshots of the ncic screen that police have available to them.

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I sent several of these over to the city manager and also with

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a video that former officer kelly baker had taken of herself in sapd uniform,

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joking about killing someone while on duty. All of these things were very concerning.

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it now appears that mr. Barton did what he should have done, which was sent them to the chief.

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the chief then within 24 hours, according to her and officer baker,

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informed officer baker of these concerns, and as a result,

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officer baker filed several motions against me and my husband in court, costing us thousands of dollars.

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up until now, the request for an investigation wasn't looked into.

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now clay county has done this investigation, and commander castine from sapd,

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and a union attorney that represented ms. Baker is blocking us from getting access to it.

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this is a investigation I requested that, like I said, has cost me time,

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money, energy, lots of emotional stress that now we're being blocked from being able to access.

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I'm not sure why I haven't gotten a response, but this is something that directly impacted me.

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my other questions are, I don't know if this policy is still in effect.

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the memo that was issued stated like it was still in effect and that the chief can just dismiss citizens on a whim without looking into it,

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which is very concerning. My other question is, what else was done on personal e mails, what was being hidden?

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why was this happening that way? It appears to me that the chief doesn't know how to handle

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her department and is incompetent based on the memo that mr. Burcham sent.

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my question would be, why is she still in leadership if she can't handle her own department or

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follow her own policies regarding emails and covering for corrupt officers? Thank you.

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>> thank you. Next speaker is shannon sa.

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>> hi. Good afternoon. My name is shannon. I'm going to piggyback off of what christine had to say.

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first, I'd like to thank the commissioner, ms. Garris, and the mayor and the city manager for taking the time to look at our concerns,

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but my concerns still haven't been fully answered. Let me be clear. Patricia drincard,

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the person in charge of evidence, the one that you all pay $55, or we pay $55 an hour for,

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deleted reported files during an open investigation. If she did not know that that was wrong,

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how many other cases has she messed up? What new rules or policies have been made to

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stop this from being tolerated in the future? What's going to go on with her,

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and what is going to happen with discipline as for what she has done? Further, patrice has lied for over two years saying

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sapd officers didn't have gps tracking. Part of what was on my usb drives that patrice deleted was gps tracking for the officers,

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proving that officer baker was not where she said she was. When the clay county sheriff's office dropped off my usb drives,

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she deleted that proof along with other evidence that I had collected and paid for for over two years.

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the evidence that could help my son's case and prove that he was innocent,

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and that patrice was dishonest, she deleted to cover up.

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what is going to happen to her now? Actual punishment? Will she receive anything for what she has done?

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will I receive payment back for all the money that I've spent on all this evidence?

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the truth is, if she didn't know that deleting evidence was against the law, then she shouldn't be in the position over evidence at sapd,

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nor should she hold any job at sapd. I requested an investigation into my deleted evidence while

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the chief of police was scolded for dismissing my concern. It doesn't account for the evidence now being lost.

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the actions of sapd has cost me money that I have spent on gathering this evidence.

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another investigation that has been completed by the clay county sheriff's office was

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around a false police report filed against me by former officer kelly baker.

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donna hayes, the hr director, brought this to the attention of the city leaders back in december with proof of

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specific lies that former baker had told under the penalty of perjury.

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not even after being sent proof of these falsified police reports,

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officer baker was still allowed to continue working with sapd as an officer without any suspension or concerns from the city leadership.

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now I'm being told that the investigation is done, but I cannot see the result.

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commander castine and the union lawyer greg forman are keeping it from me also.

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greg forman is the same union attorney that represented officer kelly baker before her dismissal.

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I was told that my complaints would be investigated by the clay county sheriff's office,

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and now that additional concerns have been investigated, I am being blocked from the results.

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this is a violation of the florida sunshine law and my time,

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money, and energy. Thank you. >> thank you very much.

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next speaker is mr. Richard marques.

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>> good evening. My name is richard marques. I reside at 321 st. George street and st. Augustine and have so for 25 years.

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I'm here to thank you five for what you've done. I want the people behind me to understand how much we appreciate what you've done.

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the subject is the florida assertive community treatment team. They go into the field to help the mentally ill that are living on the streets.

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they help them get medications. They help them getting housing, they help them get medical insurance.

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across the state of florida, there's going to be a big budget cut, and this is slated for some hits across the state.

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I approached you, folks, and you unanimously sent a letter to the governor.

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a letter from you is going to mean so much more than a letter from me. It's also interesting that the st. Johns county commission did the same thing,

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and they're sending a letter as well. To all of you, god bless. Thank you.

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>> thank you very much. Next speaker is nancy murphy.

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we have a couple more spots up here in the front.

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just sit. I'm sorry. Sorry to interrupt.

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>> no, it's okay. I'm nancy murphy, 22 vernes court.

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I am grateful to be here as I serve in the position of liaison with the charter for compassion,

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and compassionate st. Augustine, and compassionate st. Augustine was formed in september of 2013,

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so 11 and a half years ago. I'm grateful to get to remind everyone present about the charter for compassion,

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which was the foundation and continues to be the foundation for the compassionate movement,

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which began about 14 years ago. The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical,

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and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves.

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compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of others.

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to dethrone ourselves from the center of our universe, and to put another there and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being

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treating everybody without exception with absolute justice, equity, and respect.

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we urgently need to make compassion a clear,

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luminous, and dynamic force in our polarized world.

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rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness,

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compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological, and religious boundaries.

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born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity.

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it is the path to enlightenment and indispensable to

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the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

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I am very happy and feel quite honored that we will be welcoming

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the executive director of the international charter for compassion movement to st. Augustine next week,

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and we will be hosting a celebration on april the 5th

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to commemorate the fact that april 5th is international golden rule day,

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and the foundation of the compassionate movement is the recognition that

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the golden rule is at the foundation of all of our well being.

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so I would like to invite all of you to join us at the vernes mission house at st. Cyprians,

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on saturday, april 5th, for a gathering with ms. Marilyn turkovic,

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the executive director of compassion at st. Augustine. She's looking forward to seeing those of you on the council

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who are able to meet with her prior to that event. Thank you so much.

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>> thank you. I only have one last speaker card.

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I just like to say that there are folks here that submitted

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cards that will be speaking during the item pertaining to nights of lights.

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if there's anybody that needs to speak now and has to be excused, that's fine.

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you're welcome to step forward. You turned in a card. I'll give you that last one chance to speak now.

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with that said, we have one last speaker, and that's ms. Bj coldi.

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>> pj colee, west city of st. Augustine. On march 17, 2025,

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the bar at 20 avenida menendez gave breakfast to commissioners and 10 staff.

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question, what was discussed out of the sunshine, if anything?

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question, is this a yearly event? Traveling to tallahassee to bring a black museum to st. Johns county,

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while elected officials in the black and white community continue to ignore the fact that the developer of the monson hotel,

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32 avenida menendez continues to hide the plaque about the well publicized pool event,

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which occurred there during the civil rights movement. It is a disgrace that this continues to go on.

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just so everyone will know, in west city cra, we've got chickens running loose.

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but if staff can't see them, we'll keep on having them run loose.

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we are contacting code enforcement and trying to get it cleaned up because

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I don't think any of you five get to have the chickens running loose in your neighborhood,

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and we do have an ordinance to stop that. Just as a reminder,

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these are empty beer cans, I don't drink, from oyster creek.

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we still have a problem at oyster creek. Thank you very much.

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mayor, I appreciate you letting us know that we could speak

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at the 9v2 about the night of lights.

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this is going to help us all have our say. Thank you very much for opening that up to us.

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>> thank you. That concludes public comments.

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we move on now to the consent agenda. Mr. City manager.

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>> mayor, vice mayor, and commissioners, good evening. Tonight's consent agenda includes the following,

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a reminder of upcoming meetings, the april 14th, 05:00 p.m. Regular city commission meeting,

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the april 28th, 03:00 p.m. Community redevelopment agency meeting,

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the april 28th, 04:30 p.m. Adelaide sanchez award presentation to the sisters of st. Joseph.

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finally, the april 28th, 05:00 p.m. Regular city commission meeting.

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we have the approval of the minutes from the january 13th and february 10th regular city commission meetings.

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a release of lien for 14 [inaudible] court holistic investments llc,

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and finally, approval of the expenditures of federal confiscation funds to purchase

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a coil vending machine for the st. Augustine police department. That concludes the consent agenda this evening.

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>> thank you. Commissioners, any objections, changes, and discussion?

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>> no, but I'll make a motion to consent agenda?

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>> I'll second I like that. We got a second. Any discussion?

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all those in favor signify by saying, aye. >> aye. [overlapping] >> thank you. Motion carries.

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we have a couple of ordinances tonight that have public hearing required on them.

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we have first ordinance 2025-03.

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miss skinner will present. Good evening.

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>> good evening. My name is amy skinner. I'm the director of the planning and building department.

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this is the second reading and public hearing of ordinance 2025-03.

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this ordinance is a land use plan map amendment for approximately

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0.08 acres from residential low density to commercial low intensity.

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during the review process of the change of use for the proposed retail in the downstairs area of this existing building,

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it was discovered that there was an inconsistency between

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the zoning district and the land use designation.

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the current zoning district for the property is commercial low 2 or cl-2.

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during our research, we identified that this has probably been commercial since 1988, at least,

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and that there was an error in the comprehensive plan designation when we updated the comprehensive plan in 2020.

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this is in an effort to clean up this inconsistency.

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the correct land use for the property should be commercial low intensity.

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planning and zoning board reviewed this application on february 4th,

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and made a positive recommendation to change the land use. The city commission passed this item on first reading on february 24th.

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passage of this ordinance would correct the future land use map to change

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the land use from the city designation of residential low density,

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to commercial low intensity. I'm available if you have any questions.

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quickly, I have some maps here where we can identify the property.

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as you can see, this property is outlined in blue. It's basically one property off of san marco avenue and on locust street.

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it's been commercially zoned.

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the zoning map shows the pink color on the property,

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this is the commercial low 2 zoning. It faces the firestone auto shop to the south.

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the yellow area on this map is residential, so it does have residential behind it.

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an error was made when we updated the future land use map in 2020,

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designating this residential low density,

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but it should be commercially zoned. This is a public hearing,

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and I'm available if you have any questions. >> thank you. Commissioners, do you have any questions before we go to public hearing?

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any questions? Thank you, miss skinner. I do not have any speaker cards.

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does anyone here wish to speak on this matter? The public hearing is open.

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hearing none, public hearing is now closed.

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back to the board. Commissioners, what is your pleasure?

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let's start with mr. Springfield? >> well, it makes perfect sense.

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I'm happy to make a motion that we approve ordinance 2025-03,

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read by title only. >> second. >> ordinance number 2025-03,

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an ordinance of the city of st. Augustine, florida, amending the future land use map from designation of

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approximately 0.08 acres of property located at 4 locust street,

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north of locust street and east of san marco avenue as portions of the abbott tract in the city of st. Augustine,

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as more particularly described hereafter, from its current designation of the city of st. Augustine residential

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low density to a city designation of commercial low intensity,

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providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances, providing for severance of invalid provisions,

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and providing an effective date. >> any further debate, discussion?

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>> no. >> madam clerk, please call the roll. >> jon depreter?

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>> yes. >> barbara blonder? >> yes. >> cynthia garris? >> yes. >> jim springfield?

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>> yes. >> nancy sikes-kline? >> yes. Thank you. Next item is also,

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miss skinner, ordinance 2025-04. >> yes. My name is amy skinner.

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I'm the director of the planning and building department. This is also a second reading and public hearing.

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this ordinance is 2025-04. It is a rezoning of approximately 4.39

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acres from undesignated to open land or ol in the city.

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this is just a rezoning because the property was assigned a comprehensive land use plan designation of open land

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during the update of the 2020 comprehensive plan,

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but was not subsequently assigned a compatible zoning district.

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00:42:48,695 --> 00:42:48,695
the ol zoning district is the compatible zoning category for the open land use.

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00:42:54,700 --> 00:42:54,700
this property had been annexed into the city and

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was designated through the comprehensive plan process as open land.

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it is the existing fpl substation out on state road 16.

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the pzb reviewed this application and held a public hearing on february 4th,

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positively recommending this rezoning. This ordinance was passed on first reading by the city commission on february 24th.

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passage of this ordinance would assign an open land zoning district to this property.

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for your review, I do have maps that show where the property is.

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again, it is the fpl substation out on state road 16.

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it is within the city limits. Recently, fpl has made efforts to harden the property and upgrade the substation,

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and so that's when we discovered that it hadn't been assigned to a zoning district.

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the land use is open land,

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and the zoning district that would be appropriate for open land is also referred to as open land.

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thank you, and I'm available if you have any questions. >> commissioners, any questions, comments?

385
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>> I'll make a motion to approve ordinance 2025-04.

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>> we have a public hearing. >> I'm sorry. >> that's right. Sorry, we're rushing things a little bit here.

387
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I do not have any speaker cards. I'm assuming no one is wishing to speak on this matter.

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however, the matter is open for public comment at this time.

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hearing no one, seeing no one, public comment is [noise] closed. Back to the board.

390
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>> unless there's any discussion? >> is there any discussion,

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anyone would wish to make a point? As far as I'm concerned, what this is, is another housekeeping.

392
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>> correct. >> it's a correction. >> I think this is a clerical error. We discussed it in the first hearing,

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so I'll make a motion to pass ordinance 2025-04 as read by title.

394
00:45:09,815 --> 00:45:11,735
>> I'll second. >> ordinance number 2025-4,

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an ordinance of the city of st. Augustine, florida, rezoning approximately 4.39 acres of property

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located at 179 state road 16 in the city of st. Augustine,

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as more particularly described here and after from its current undesignated classification to the city classification of open land,

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ol, providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances, providing for severance of invalid provisions,

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and providing an effective date. >> excellent. Any other further discussion?

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madam clerk, please call the roll. >> jon depreter? >> yes.

401
00:45:48,965 --> 00:45:52,925
>> nancy sikes-kline? >> yes. >> cynthia garris? >> yes. >> jim springfield? >> yes.

402
00:45:53,360 --> 00:45:56,140
>> barbara blonder. >> yes. >> now we have another ordinance for first reading.

403
00:46:00,680 --> 00:46:02,795
this will also be miss skinner. Will you present ordinance 2025-05?

404
00:46:07,330 --> 00:46:09,725
>> yes. Thank you. This is the introduction and first reading of ordinance 2025-05.

405
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this ordinance is a rezoning for approximately 0.34 acres from residential single family one or rs-1,

406
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to a planned unit development, or pud. This is just a rezoning because the proposed uses for the pud are

407
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consistent with the existing land use category of residential low density.

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00:46:37,475 --> 00:46:37,475
the owner is proposing to continue the existing uses on the site,

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which include a caretaker residence office, resource library, and small meeting space.

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the applicant submitted an application to rezone the property to the proposed pud.

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the pzb, the planning and zoning board, reviewed this application and made a positive recommendation to

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the city commission at their meeting on march 4th.

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the pzb also recommended that language be added to clarify excluded uses,

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that the signage would only be allowed for rs-1 regulations in the sign code,

415
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and that language be removed in the maintenance section of the pud, referring to transferring ownership.

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these changes have been made to the text of the pud.

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for your information, I did pull out from the text of the planned unit development,

418
00:47:38,870 --> 00:47:40,925
highlighted in yellow here, that this language is what was added after

419
00:47:44,240 --> 00:47:44,240
the planning and zoning board's recommendation.

420
00:47:49,115 --> 00:47:49,115
that specifically clarify that these uses are prohibited as part of this pud.

421
00:47:54,785 --> 00:47:57,860
there won't be any rooming houses or boarding houses, tourist homes, bed and breakfast,

422
00:48:00,020 --> 00:48:03,425
neighborhood recreational facilities, etc, offices or anything of that nature.

423
00:48:07,670 --> 00:48:07,670
the existing use on the site related to a home occupation,

424
00:48:13,145 --> 00:48:16,430
over the last couple of years, the occupant of the home had passed away.

425
00:48:19,715 --> 00:48:23,030
their partners in their business would like to continue the use on the property as outlined in the pud.

426
00:48:26,660 --> 00:48:30,200
but because they don't specifically live on the property, it can't be a home occupation.

427
00:48:32,810 --> 00:48:32,810
as well, this is also the maintenance section that I pulled from the revised pud,

428
00:48:40,685 --> 00:48:43,520
where it does strike the language that talks about reserving the right to transfer ownership of the pud,

429
00:48:48,110 --> 00:48:51,515
or a portion to other entities. The representative for the application is also

430
00:48:54,800 --> 00:48:58,400
here and he can address this in further detail. The property is 10 carrera street.

431
00:49:02,255 --> 00:49:02,255
it's a large home on carrera.

432
00:49:08,075 --> 00:49:08,075
this is this is the grace united methodist church right here on the corner.

433
00:49:18,460 --> 00:49:18,460
there's some other single family houses in this as you go west on carrera street.

434
00:49:26,135 --> 00:49:29,030
it's a little bit hard to differentiate the colors. I have a better map. But this is

435
00:49:30,710 --> 00:49:30,710
the zoning map where the orange line is drawn to the east.

436
00:49:34,820 --> 00:49:36,905
over here is rg-1, and where this shaded yellow area is rs-1.

437
00:49:43,990 --> 00:49:43,990
the higher contrast zoning map is here.

438
00:49:51,260 --> 00:49:51,260
this aquastar that I indicated here is the existing property.

439
00:49:59,105 --> 00:49:59,105
you can see to the east that this color that's a little darker orange is rg-1.

440
00:50:06,515 --> 00:50:06,515
all this yellow to the west in the model land area is rs-1.

441
00:50:13,190 --> 00:50:13,190
we have historic district properties where flagler college is to the south,

442
00:50:20,015 --> 00:50:20,015
and the historic districts to the east of cordova.

443
00:50:24,920 --> 00:50:24,920
the property is off of cordova right next to grace methodist church.

444
00:50:34,900 --> 00:50:38,030
the land use is in the area. The yellow is the residential low density use.

445
00:50:41,420 --> 00:50:41,420
the orange is residential medium density, and the church,

446
00:50:47,765 --> 00:50:49,670
even though it's zoned rg-1, does have a institutional land use category.

447
00:50:57,350 --> 00:51:00,270
>> with that, if you have any questions, I'm available, and the applicant's representative is also here.

448
00:51:05,145 --> 00:51:05,145
we're happy to answer any questions.

449
00:51:09,790 --> 00:51:09,790
>> mr. Whitehouse, would you like to briefly present?

450
00:51:28,700 --> 00:51:30,870
>> good evening, madam mayor. Commissioners for the record, james white house, st. Johns law group,

451
00:51:33,810 --> 00:51:33,810
104 sea grove main street here in st. Augustine, florida.

452
00:51:38,100 --> 00:51:40,515
I'm here on behalf of the owners. As amy told you,

453
00:51:44,880 --> 00:51:44,880
this ownership group are the trustees for

454
00:51:49,290 --> 00:51:49,290
the organization that inherited the property from the former dr. Henderson.

455
00:51:57,480 --> 00:51:57,480
as you know, it's located here at 10 carrera street next to united methodist church.

456
00:52:04,275 --> 00:52:07,980
again, we're here for first reading on the planned unit development. We already went to the pzb and they recommended this to unanimously.

457
00:52:12,915 --> 00:52:16,410
it's basically a narrowly tailored pud to permit the compatible historical uses that have been on this property for decades.

458
00:52:20,910 --> 00:52:23,250
when they inherited the property, they wanted to do the right thing,

459
00:52:25,500 --> 00:52:29,175
so they came to the city and said, how can we continue to keep doing the uses? The trustees did, that is,

460
00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:32,655
and the city said, well, those uses can't necessarily continue under your current rs-1 zoning,

461
00:52:37,140 --> 00:52:40,245
but you could go to rg-1, which is right next door, and then you could do those uses.

462
00:52:43,370 --> 00:52:46,710
I wasn't with them when they came in and applied for rg-1, it was recommended for approval by staff,

463
00:52:48,525 --> 00:52:50,670
but there was several of the neighbors that came in and said, hey, listen, some of those rg-1 uses, we don't think are appropriate.

464
00:52:53,760 --> 00:52:55,920
of course, the people who were doing it by themselves said, well, we didn't want to do those uses,

465
00:52:57,810 --> 00:53:00,270
anyway, the pzb said, well, in that case, maybe there's a better way to do it,

466
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:05,070
and they recommended they go back and look at it and that's when they came to me and I went back and said, listen,

467
00:53:07,290 --> 00:53:09,900
this is like another pud that I was just doing on riberia, which is keep doing the same things,

468
00:53:12,150 --> 00:53:12,150
but we define it within the pud language specifically.

469
00:53:16,650 --> 00:53:19,740
as you see from the language, I don't want to belabor the fact too much, but I'll go through it real quick.

470
00:53:21,315 --> 00:53:23,460
it goes through those uses and it talks about preserving the structure that's on the site,

471
00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:32,535
preserving the use that are on the site, continued maintenance of the site, not transferring the site to anyone

472
00:53:35,370 --> 00:53:38,415
else or any other organization without it having to come back to the city, which are all the positives of the pud.

473
00:53:41,910 --> 00:53:44,670
you guys have already reviewed. I'm sure from your packet, the history of the site and dr. Henderson and how she had been

474
00:53:47,730 --> 00:53:50,820
having these uses on the site for many years. In fact, a number scholarly pursuits,

475
00:53:54,990 --> 00:53:54,990
allowing educational pursuits, etc,

476
00:53:59,025 --> 00:54:02,055
having the small private library and letting people come in on invitation to look at a number of those books she had,

477
00:54:05,670 --> 00:54:05,670
as well as small meetings to talk about scholarly issues,

478
00:54:11,205 --> 00:54:14,160
etc and that's just what they want to continue to do. As I said, initially,

479
00:54:15,870 --> 00:54:19,740
it came for an rg-1 change to pzb, and it was recommended by your staff for approval.

480
00:54:21,900 --> 00:54:21,900
I found that the uses that they wanted to do were consistent with our comprehensive plan.

481
00:54:26,130 --> 00:54:29,910
I'll go through it all, but they thought that and recommended approval. That was for rg-1.

482
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:33,960
now that we're back for the pud, of course, they find that those are compatible as

483
00:54:35,490 --> 00:54:38,220
well because they've been going on there for many years. They're compatible and accepted uses in the area,

484
00:54:41,280 --> 00:54:44,895
such as the residents that you heard your staff talk about the library, the educational facility, and the small meeting area.

485
00:54:50,600 --> 00:54:53,220
let me just jump forward here. Like I said, the location is an appropriate location

486
00:54:56,310 --> 00:54:59,280
with this right across from flagler [noise], excuse me, right next to the church,

487
00:55:01,365 --> 00:55:01,365
and then a number of parking lots in the area, as well.

488
00:55:07,730 --> 00:55:07,730
since they inherited the property since this foundation did,

489
00:55:11,820 --> 00:55:15,120
the trustees have fixed up the property a lot already, rewired it, etc,

490
00:55:16,470 --> 00:55:18,990
and you can see that from the language of the pud. This is a direct transparent request just to continue the same uses.

491
00:55:23,160 --> 00:55:25,875
it's not a request for any new uses. It's the uses that are already allowed thereon.

492
00:55:28,445 --> 00:55:30,950
let me just jump forward real quick. Although the uses remain the same,

493
00:55:33,755 --> 00:55:35,750
we need to as you know, from puds, define them there and we've defined them under the pud uses,

494
00:55:39,730 --> 00:55:43,275
specifically talking about the uses that have been allowed there for many years. Then when we were at pzb,

495
00:55:44,670 --> 00:55:47,910
they asked us to put in that prohibited use section, which we did, and those are all the rg-1 uses that

496
00:55:49,890 --> 00:55:49,890
the pzb and the neighbors were concerned about at the initial hearing.

497
00:55:55,220 --> 00:55:58,880
let me just skip forward. There was some questions about whether or not,

498
00:56:06,380 --> 00:56:09,480
the building would remain the same or they could change it. The specific language within this,

499
00:56:10,920 --> 00:56:12,120
and I'll put it up on the overhead, just maybe to address a few questions that I know came up initially.

500
00:56:16,230 --> 00:56:16,230
can you switch to the overhead, mayor?

501
00:56:22,400 --> 00:56:22,400
here, clearly within section 2a and b,

502
00:56:30,210 --> 00:56:32,760
it talks about the maintenance of that structure that's on site and the layout will remain the same.

503
00:56:37,185 --> 00:56:37,185
the applicant will be allowed to continue to utilize the current layout of

504
00:56:41,220 --> 00:56:41,220
the structures and uses and maintain them going forward.

505
00:56:45,870 --> 00:56:49,020
no material departures will be allowed from the current site plan that you see within your packet,

506
00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:53,745
and that's the pud map, and that's here on the screen that I put up.

507
00:56:56,865 --> 00:56:59,295
but that's in your packet, as well. Next, amy already talked to you about this.

508
00:57:01,920 --> 00:57:05,100
there was a section that we accidentally left in was from another pud. It wasn't meant to be left in,

509
00:57:06,300 --> 00:57:10,230
but we specifically took it out. It's not in there, so there's no transfer of this. Then we talked about the public benefit,

510
00:57:13,725 --> 00:57:17,100
and let me pick it up so I can read it because I

511
00:57:18,600 --> 00:57:20,745
can't read it from that far away and then I'll put it back down. The retention and continued maintenance of this historic property is

512
00:57:25,050 --> 00:57:25,050
a grand contribution to the area and benefits to the local broader community.

513
00:57:29,610 --> 00:57:29,610
keeping the property primarily residential while maintaining the scale of

514
00:57:34,530 --> 00:57:34,530
historic uses that have existed compatibly on the property for decades, is one, two,

515
00:57:39,570 --> 00:57:41,250
maintaining this historic, unique, and valuable library in this residential environment is two, three,

516
00:57:44,670 --> 00:57:47,865
is the retention of this historic structure and the property as is, and the continued maintenance of the same as required within the pud.

517
00:57:51,945 --> 00:57:54,990
finally, maintaining a compatible historical use and supporting structure that promotes the study of social,

518
00:57:58,170 --> 00:57:58,170
entrepreneurship, environmental issues, and ethical governance.

519
00:58:02,190 --> 00:58:06,110
all of those are public benefits. Again, you have a staff recommendation for approval,

520
00:58:11,130 --> 00:58:13,650
you have a unanimous pzb recommendation that it furthers the goals objections and policies of our comprehensive plan,

521
00:58:16,905 --> 00:58:20,310
and that the pud language specifically addresses the concerns of the board and the undesirable rg-1 uses as you saw.

522
00:58:24,075 --> 00:58:24,075
in conclusion, we'd ask for you to approve this today on first read,

523
00:58:28,725 --> 00:58:30,795
move it to second reading and public hearing, and I'm here to answer any questions. Thank you, madam mayor.

524
00:58:33,165 --> 00:58:33,165
>> thank you. Any questions for mr. Whitehouse?

525
00:58:37,935 --> 00:58:39,495
it's pretty clear. >> I do have a question. Good evening.

526
00:58:42,675 --> 00:58:44,385
>> yes, sir. Good evening. >> when I listened to the review of this on the video,

527
00:58:47,430 --> 00:58:47,430
we talked about and I looked at the sales records, I'm sorry.

528
00:58:52,845 --> 00:58:56,370
there's a portion of this that was built in 1917, is that right? >> that's my understanding. Yes, sir.

529
00:58:58,215 --> 00:59:01,170
>> there was talk about it was wired by thomas edison, and so I'm looking at what I discussed with you on the phone.

530
00:59:05,655 --> 00:59:09,480
>> yes, sir. >> when we did the public benefit, it says, keeping the property primarily residential,

531
00:59:11,685 --> 00:59:14,370
maintain the scale of historic uses. Could you talk to your clients and see if there was language,

532
00:59:18,330 --> 00:59:20,985
you could say the historic structure will be preserved? >> yes, sir. The ones that I just put up were a modification of the other ones.

533
00:59:25,815 --> 00:59:28,470
the other ones that I had in the pud language was part of what they drafted initially when they filed it.

534
00:59:31,530 --> 00:59:34,665
I didn't redo those and I should have. Anyway, that was my fault. But the ones that I just put up,

535
00:59:35,835 --> 00:59:39,135
I'll modify the ones that are in there with these because these specifically relate to what you asked about.

536
00:59:42,690 --> 00:59:46,575
>> I went to property itself. It be mentioned as a public benefit? >> yes, sir.

537
00:59:47,250 --> 00:59:50,925
>> great. I see that in the second hearing. Thank you. >> thank you, sir. >> any other comments or questions?

538
00:59:53,100 --> 00:59:54,900
>> I want to know what the concerns were. You said there were concerns by the residents that were close in proximity?

539
00:59:59,180 --> 01:00:02,870
>> yes. When we put up those prohibited uses, which I'll only go to them,

540
01:00:06,050 --> 01:00:08,475
some of the uses in rg-1 that are more commercial type uses

541
01:00:16,985 --> 01:00:19,460
are the ones that were the objection. When we went to the pzb for the pud hearing,

542
01:00:24,495 --> 01:00:28,050
nobody showed up from the neighborhood. They all showed up before I was involved when it was just an rg-1 and here are the uses that from the language.

543
01:00:31,500 --> 01:00:33,645
can you switch back, mayor? Some of the uses like rooming houses,

544
01:00:36,150 --> 01:00:39,195
boarding houses, tourist homes, bed and breakfast, things that are more commercial and then all these other ones,

545
01:00:42,450 --> 01:00:44,565
which, of course, they probably wouldn't do, hospitals, professional offices, other than the home office they're talking about, marinas, etc.

546
01:00:50,295 --> 01:00:53,160
but I took the whole section of rg-1 uses from the code and put it in as prohibited uses. That's what they asked me to do.

547
01:00:57,875 --> 01:01:01,700
all those are prohibited now, and then there won't be any concern. Like I said, we'll see, I guess at second hearing, if anybody comes,

548
01:01:03,380 --> 01:01:05,720
but nobody came to the pud pcb hearing to complain after they saw what we were recommending.

549
01:01:08,725 --> 01:01:11,190
>> thank you because there's a church next door to that property. I didn't know what that was.

550
01:01:13,980 --> 01:01:14,550
>> yes, ma'am. >> thank you. I think this is a really good use of a pud under the circumstances.

551
01:01:22,815 --> 01:01:22,815
I have myself received public benefit by

552
01:01:27,210 --> 01:01:27,210
the organization and the facility there over many years with hazel henderson and

553
01:01:33,450 --> 01:01:36,690
allen k. I think it's very compatible because it's something that's already been occurring there

554
01:01:41,415 --> 01:01:41,415
and I think they've nailed it down very well in to what it

555
01:01:45,825 --> 01:01:45,825
has been and it will continue to be.

556
01:01:51,270 --> 01:01:51,270
with that, I would like to move that we pass ordinance 2025-0.

557
01:01:58,530 --> 01:01:58,530
>> I'd like to add further discussion if there's a second.

558
01:02:03,950 --> 01:02:07,010
>> I'll second it. >> I don't disagree with you at all, madam mayor.

559
01:02:10,470 --> 01:02:10,470
I've also spent a lot of time in that center, and in fact,

560
01:02:14,490 --> 01:02:14,490
on the grounds and I'm familiar with the good works of the center.

561
01:02:19,020 --> 01:02:19,020
there is one thing that concerns me, however.

562
01:02:23,325 --> 01:02:23,325
already, there's been a significant portion of the archives of

563
01:02:29,370 --> 01:02:32,610
the hazel henderson library that are now housed at the national women and media collection at the university of missouri.

564
01:02:36,360 --> 01:02:39,405
that's great. I just wonder about a succession and/or transition plan should there be an issue with this llc in the future.

565
01:02:46,605 --> 01:02:46,605
could happen, because we have two trustees.

566
01:02:51,360 --> 01:02:54,480
I don't see a formalized succession plan or a plan for if something should happen to the organization as a whole.

567
01:02:58,740 --> 01:03:01,695
I'm thinking long-term, hopefully, not a short-term. But what I would want to see then is if we pass this,

568
01:03:05,850 --> 01:03:05,850
I want to see a reverter clause added to it so that it reverts back to rs-1,

569
01:03:13,680 --> 01:03:13,680
our most restrictive zoning classification,

570
01:03:18,450 --> 01:03:18,450
should the use of this facility change.

571
01:03:27,560 --> 01:03:30,390
well, I'm adding that as a comment. That's what I want to see.

572
01:03:31,815 --> 01:03:33,990
>> well, let us look at that between now and the second hearing and see what language we can come up with.

573
01:03:36,180 --> 01:03:39,135
I understand what you're saying though, exactly. Yes, ma'am. >> great. Thank you. >> I think we understand what you're trying to get at,

574
01:03:41,400 --> 01:03:44,370
and so we'll see what they come up with before a second hearing. Any other comments or discussion items?

575
01:03:47,040 --> 01:03:49,530
>> well, I'm glad commissioner blonder added that, that was my only concern of what happens when

576
01:03:51,330 --> 01:03:54,690
this dissolves or they decide to sell the property, and I was assured that it would remain only for this particular use.

577
01:04:00,105 --> 01:04:01,305
it really was restrictive, but this is probably a better idea to have it revert.

578
01:04:05,960 --> 01:04:05,960
>> I think the pud language covers that because it's puds and the zoning control it,

579
01:04:12,690 --> 01:04:16,200
so it's pretty clear you can only do what they're asking for, but we'll see if we can come up with

580
01:04:17,400 --> 01:04:20,025
some more specific language that tries to address that better. Thank you, mayor. >> I'm going to be looking for that. Thank you.

581
01:04:23,180 --> 01:04:26,265
>> any other comments, additions? Madam clerk, please, call the roll.

582
01:04:28,485 --> 01:04:32,130
>> hold on. I've got to read it. >> yeah, that's right. >> we got a second. >> we did [overlapping] commissioner blonder.

583
01:04:36,225 --> 01:04:36,225
>> ordinance number 2025-05 and ordinance of the city of san augustine, florida,

584
01:04:42,285 --> 01:04:44,280
amending the zoning for approximately 0.34 acres of property located at 10 carrera street,

585
01:04:48,375 --> 01:04:48,375
parcel id number 205300-0000,

586
01:04:53,630 --> 01:04:56,760
as more particularly described here andafter, to change its current zoning classification of

587
01:04:59,700 --> 01:04:59,700
residential single family rs-1 to planned unit development,

588
01:05:04,650 --> 01:05:07,500
pud, providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances, providing for severance of invalid provisions and providing an effective date.

589
01:05:12,255 --> 01:05:14,520
>> now, it's time, madam clerk, please, call the roll.

590
01:05:16,530 --> 01:05:20,310
>> nancy sikes-kline. >> yes. >> jon depreter. >> yes. >> cynthia garris.

591
01:05:21,150 --> 01:05:24,780
>> yes. >> jim springfield? >> yes. >> barbara blonder. >> yes. >> great. We're going to move on now to resolutions.

592
01:05:28,320 --> 01:05:31,230
we have one resolution 2025-06. Melissa whistle, you are on deck to present.

593
01:05:38,210 --> 01:05:42,015
>> good evening, mayor and commissioners. >> good evening.

594
01:05:43,395 --> 01:05:43,395
>> I'm here to request the changes to the citizen awards resolution,

595
01:05:52,200 --> 01:05:55,770
which defines the citizenship awards. Commissioner springfield had raised some concerns that citizenship awards were rather far

596
01:06:01,980 --> 01:06:04,920
reaching and requested that we change our language to make it effective to city of st. Augustine residents.

597
01:06:09,315 --> 01:06:09,315
we've modified the qualification to be a city resident or to be involved in

598
01:06:15,210 --> 01:06:17,280
some form of a volunteer capacity that effects or impacts positively the city of st. Augustine,

599
01:06:21,810 --> 01:06:21,810
and we are going to be working with st. John's county schools as well,

600
01:06:28,905 --> 01:06:31,890
following their model of the character counts program. We've also included language to allow for home school or

601
01:06:38,445 --> 01:06:41,880
other students that may not necessarily be nominated within a particular program structure through a school,

602
01:06:45,570 --> 01:06:48,210
but that they could qualify if they have a letter of endorsement and appropriate qualifications.

603
01:06:54,265 --> 01:06:58,010
>> excellent. Well, commissioner springfield, we appreciate you bringing this forward.

604
01:06:59,810 --> 01:07:02,915
it's something we've note on for a while. It seems like this is a better solution.

605
01:07:06,290 --> 01:07:06,290
commissioners, do you have comments or input?

606
01:07:10,595 --> 01:07:12,410
>> no, I think it's a good idea. >> great. Well,

607
01:07:15,895 --> 01:07:19,400
with that said, do I hear a motion? >> I move that that we approve resolution 2025-06.

608
01:07:23,720 --> 01:07:25,490
>> I second. >> excellent. Any further discussion?

609
01:07:27,935 --> 01:07:31,250
>> no. >> madam clerk, please call the roll. >> jim springfield?

610
01:07:32,705 --> 01:07:35,960
>> yes. >> cynthia garris. >> yes. >> jon depreter? >> yes. >> barbara blonder? Nancy sikes-kline.

611
01:07:39,785 --> 01:07:43,775
>> yes. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you very much.

612
01:07:46,990 --> 01:07:49,895
the big item tonight. Resolution 2025-08.

613
01:07:53,170 --> 01:07:55,655
ms. Lopez, you are on that to present.

614
01:07:58,940 --> 01:08:00,545
>> thank you, madam mayor, madam vice mayor and commissioners at our march 10th, 2025,

615
01:08:06,230 --> 01:08:06,230
meeting the city commission directed me to draft

616
01:08:10,625 --> 01:08:10,625
a resolution modifying the dates for nights of lights for this upcoming season.

617
01:08:17,900 --> 01:08:17,900
before you for resolution 2025-08,

618
01:08:22,115 --> 01:08:22,115
the dates would be set to commence at the saturday before thanksgiving.

619
01:08:28,310 --> 01:08:31,505
that would be november 22nd, 2025, and run through the first sunday after new years,

620
01:08:37,100 --> 01:08:38,390
that would be sunday, january 4th, 2026.

621
01:08:41,195 --> 01:08:41,195
those are the proposed dates based on the discussion dating march 10th,

622
01:08:47,480 --> 01:08:50,180
and I am here to answer any questions, although I suspect you're more interested in hearing from the community.

623
01:08:54,320 --> 01:08:56,480
>> of course, we are. Yes, and we have quite a few cards to get through tonight.

624
01:09:02,765 --> 01:09:06,665
I myself have received many calls, many emails over these last few months,

625
01:09:10,670 --> 01:09:10,670
and of course, have been quite a bit more since the proposal was made.

626
01:09:17,920 --> 01:09:17,920
I think what we need to do now go ahead and proceed with the public comment

627
01:09:23,390 --> 01:09:23,390
and we can have a discussion after is if anybody would like to make a statement,

628
01:09:27,950 --> 01:09:30,200
we're down to three commissioners. Everybody took a little break before we get started.

629
01:09:33,860 --> 01:09:36,620
would you like to make any comments before we get started? Great. Excellent. Well,

630
01:09:39,200 --> 01:09:41,465
my first speaker card as a courtesy, I would like to recognize we have special guests with us tonight.

631
01:09:44,645 --> 01:09:44,645
actually, tonight, we have quite a large group of esteemed well known citizens.

632
01:09:51,875 --> 01:09:55,190
but I would like to recognize commissioner clay murphy, who's here with his wife,

633
01:09:56,585 --> 01:10:00,215
as well as county commissioner ann taylor, and has filled out a speaker card, out of courtesy,

634
01:10:02,990 --> 01:10:02,990
I would offer you to kick it off tonight.

635
01:10:19,300 --> 01:10:23,165
welcome and good evening. >> yes. Thank you so much. I must say I love the evening meetings.

636
01:10:25,880 --> 01:10:28,175
I love seeing so many people. That's great. But thank you very much.

637
01:10:30,845 --> 01:10:30,845
what I wanted to share is I am county commissioner in district 5,

638
01:10:35,405 --> 01:10:38,105
which does include the city of st. Augustine. Your constituents are also my constituents.

639
01:10:41,570 --> 01:10:41,570
I have received, many emails from residents in our county regarding the night of lights.

640
01:10:52,190 --> 01:10:53,945
similar to each of you. Most referenced frustration with traffic and parking.

641
01:10:58,370 --> 01:11:01,745
I have not received one message, however, just mentioning or suggesting that night lights be shortened at all.

642
01:11:06,260 --> 01:11:06,260
that out of all the suggestions I've received that was definitely not mentioned.

643
01:11:10,820 --> 01:11:14,405
in fact, since shortening the duration has come up, I've actually heard from residents that it will actually make

644
01:11:17,360 --> 01:11:20,450
it busier and have the opposite effect. Local residents in our county like myself,

645
01:11:23,150 --> 01:11:23,150
like the option of going later in january after the holidays.

646
01:11:28,120 --> 01:11:30,160
we actually do all we can to avoid the busier times when there are more visitors from out of town here.

647
01:11:34,600 --> 01:11:38,335
we love having that option that we can go later on in january. Also, too, I just want to remind everyone that the number 1 industry,

648
01:11:43,300 --> 01:11:45,255
in our county, in st. Johns county it's tourism.

649
01:11:48,020 --> 01:11:50,915
we need to support this industry. We need to think about the employees.

650
01:11:52,760 --> 01:11:55,850
we need to think about business owners that will be affected by a big loss in income if this were to go through.

651
01:12:00,980 --> 01:12:04,835
most employees do not live here locally in the city limits, and they will be detrimentally affected if this ordinance were to pass.

652
01:12:09,860 --> 01:12:13,445
thank you for your time. God bless. Thank you. >> thank you very much.

653
01:12:15,200 --> 01:12:15,200
appreciate you speaking. Lynn weeks.

654
01:12:20,250 --> 01:12:23,440
what I'm going to do tonight is, and by the way, we have a spot up front,

655
01:12:25,375 --> 01:12:29,260
if anyone would like to sit, I do see one seat up front. What I like to do is call out two names so that everybody can get ready to speak.

656
01:12:38,345 --> 01:12:42,110
I'm going to call out lynn weeks, and then after him, will be janette caballero.

657
01:12:44,630 --> 01:12:44,630
so janette, you'll be ready to speak as soon as he's finished.

658
01:12:50,300 --> 01:12:50,300
that way, I think it might expedite things since we have so many speakers tonight,

659
01:12:54,740 --> 01:12:58,490
and welcome, good to see you, lynn. >> thank you very much, mayor and commissioners. I'm glad to be here.

660
01:13:00,425 --> 01:13:04,370
as you can tell from my shirt, this was the shirt that we printed the very first nights of lights in st. Augustine 31 years ago.

661
01:13:08,450 --> 01:13:12,410
it was a project started by former city commissioner bill lennon and myself, and we're very proud of it.

662
01:13:14,510 --> 01:13:17,090
I don't know if some of you remember, but back 31 years ago,

663
01:13:18,950 --> 01:13:22,430
the streets used to roll up at five o'clock in downtown, st. Augustine. It was a constant struggle to get business to

664
01:13:25,160 --> 01:13:25,160
stay open downtown at night after the courthouse moved.

665
01:13:31,090 --> 01:13:31,090
I think this is a good time for us to stop and think about how we can make this better.

666
01:13:37,520 --> 01:13:40,190
I do not believe shortening it is the answer. I do believe that some new management techniques is what we need to work on.

667
01:13:46,340 --> 01:13:46,340
I want to commend david for having a meeting with the stakeholders

668
01:13:50,450 --> 01:13:54,320
in the business community to outline some of the recommendations that he has, and I think they're very solid recommendations.

669
01:13:56,870 --> 01:14:00,050
I know that the residents and the businesses, some of them have complained about the traffic and congestion.

670
01:14:02,900 --> 01:14:05,720
I got caught in it myself numerous times coming downtown, but it was not every night for 45 days.

671
01:14:08,870 --> 01:14:10,730
or 65, however long it is. It was about six really busy days on the weekends around christmas,

672
01:14:15,140 --> 01:14:16,985
new years, and in between. It wasn't as bad as the whole time of nights of lights.

673
01:14:22,145 --> 01:14:24,245
shortening it those extra days, I don't think that was the busy time. I don't know.

674
01:14:27,050 --> 01:14:29,030
that's like ann said, that's the time of year that the locals come down.

675
01:14:31,130 --> 01:14:33,395
I'm here today to say, please, let's take this opportunity to work together.

676
01:14:36,335 --> 01:14:36,335
we want to enhance and highlight a positive visitor experience for our guests,

677
01:14:41,675 --> 01:14:43,985
for our businesses, for our residents. I would like to just say on behalf of myself as

678
01:14:46,685 --> 01:14:49,700
a local taxpayer, even though I don't live here, I pay a lot of property taxes in the city of st. Augustine and

679
01:14:52,580 --> 01:14:55,640
I sometimes get offended when taxpayers are not considered businesses because we certainly pay a lot of money in taxes and

680
01:14:59,540 --> 01:15:02,015
the business that is generated through nights of lights is what allows us to be able to do that in some large part.

681
01:15:05,105 --> 01:15:08,345
I'm here to say on behalf of the st. Augustine business coalition. Many businesses here, myself,

682
01:15:11,015 --> 01:15:11,015
that we want to work together with the city to make things better for the future.

683
01:15:16,550 --> 01:15:18,830
we don't want to shorten it, we want to make it better, and I think this is a good opportunity for us all to work together. Thank you.

684
01:15:23,195 --> 01:15:26,600
>> thank you very much. Janette caballero, and I hope I said that right followed by ed swift.

685
01:15:33,670 --> 01:15:33,670
>> good evening, janette caballero 105 colon avenue, st. Augustine.

686
01:15:40,085 --> 01:15:42,605
I'm here to echo, I think, a very similar sentiment as a local business owner

687
01:15:45,560 --> 01:15:45,560
and a tourism professional in downtown st. Augustine,

688
01:15:50,015 --> 01:15:53,990
I benefit from the holiday season and the festivities. I sing at many holiday parties and restaurants throughout

689
01:15:57,470 --> 01:15:57,470
downtown and I own a restaurant as well downtown at 45 san marco.

690
01:16:01,745 --> 01:16:04,610
I do think given the way the weeks fall certain years where the day of the holiday is earlier in the week.

691
01:16:11,540 --> 01:16:13,505
those weekends get really congested. I'm not sure that shortening

692
01:16:16,430 --> 01:16:16,430
the entire holiday season for nights of lights will help that.

693
01:16:20,525 --> 01:16:23,150
I think part of it is just what day christmas falls on, what day new year's falls on within the context of the seven days of the week.

694
01:16:27,260 --> 01:16:31,220
I know forecasting business trends on my side of things, I definitely see an uptick when

695
01:16:33,950 --> 01:16:33,950
the earlier days of the week are represented by a holiday the weekend is slam packed.

696
01:16:41,435 --> 01:16:44,690
people go to their airbnbs, they find their family, they do that part on the monday, tuesday,

697
01:16:46,850 --> 01:16:49,490
and then that thursday, friday is insane. That happened this year.

698
01:16:51,545 --> 01:16:51,545
I think it is worth noting just in forecasting calendar trends.

699
01:16:55,925 --> 01:16:59,600
I definitely think there are ways to improve upon nights of lights. It's something that I think is very beloved within

700
01:17:01,820 --> 01:17:04,235
the community and garners a lot of community support, as mr. Week said as well.

701
01:17:06,485 --> 01:17:10,460
I think that the locals and a lot of people throughout january and that other side of nights of lights get to participate a little bit more.

702
01:17:17,615 --> 01:17:19,880
I appreciate your consideration, and it's been nice talking.

703
01:17:21,980 --> 01:17:21,980
>> thank you. Next speaker is ed swift,

704
01:17:26,135 --> 01:17:26,135
followed by mike head.

705
01:17:31,920 --> 01:17:35,215
>> good evening, mayor. Council members, edwin swift iv 2591 hydrangea street,

706
01:17:39,220 --> 01:17:41,935
st. Augustine, florida 32080. I think I know some of you,

707
01:17:43,820 --> 01:17:45,635
but just in case you don't know me, I own a few businesses here in st. Augustine,

708
01:17:48,020 --> 01:17:50,180
including old town trolley tours, the orange and green trolleys here in the city.

709
01:17:54,005 --> 01:17:54,005
I can tell you we lived that traffic every single day out there while

710
01:17:58,160 --> 01:17:58,160
we ran our tours and did everything we could,

711
01:18:02,255 --> 01:18:02,255
but we do agree that the traffic has increased this last year.

712
01:18:06,425 --> 01:18:10,400
part of the issue though with the traffic increasing was that we actually had 10 fewer operating days for nights of lights,

713
01:18:14,330 --> 01:18:14,330
meaning the event between 2023 and 2024 was shrunk by 10 days.

714
01:18:21,170 --> 01:18:24,365
what happened because it's a regional event, st. Augustine is famous worldwide,

715
01:18:26,555 --> 01:18:28,985
but honestly, this is a regional event. We track a lot of different numbers.

716
01:18:31,040 --> 01:18:34,280
we're getting a lot of people from jacksonville, gainesville, the surrounding counties, clay county,

717
01:18:36,380 --> 01:18:40,190
all these different wonderful putnam county, people coming in regionally. When we compress the days and added in the great weather that we had,

718
01:18:44,480 --> 01:18:46,835
we just had perfect weather on the peak nights, these 10 nights that we keep talking about that are very,

719
01:18:49,490 --> 01:18:53,330
very busy and cause the backed up traffic, the gridlock. That compression of the days by 10 days increased that traffic on the remaining days.

720
01:19:00,680 --> 01:19:04,175
if you take away more days, we already did that last year, and it resulted in people coming on the available days.

721
01:19:08,720 --> 01:19:11,780
if you shorten the festival, it'll just happen again. That's my personal opinion,

722
01:19:13,235 --> 01:19:16,505
but I think we tried it this last year, coupled with the great weather. It was wonderful, unbelievable,

723
01:19:18,200 --> 01:19:20,090
perfect weather on the key days, and that's why you saw a huge increase in traffic in my opinion.

724
01:19:24,095 --> 01:19:24,095
I also believe that we should give the city staff,

725
01:19:28,475 --> 01:19:28,475
and especially the city manager who's just done fantastic work to hear you,

726
01:19:32,690 --> 01:19:36,020
and in january, started working on a traffic control plan. It's looking pretty good.

727
01:19:38,135 --> 01:19:40,160
great suggestions by a lot of stakeholders and residents into what they've been working on,

728
01:19:43,955 --> 01:19:47,615
and to go ahead and pass this ordinance without trying some traffic control measures first,

729
01:19:51,335 --> 01:19:53,465
I think is a little premature. Especially since we just went through compressing the days by 10,

730
01:19:57,350 --> 01:19:59,510
and you saw the result of that, again, coupled with great weather just my opinion.

731
01:20:01,820 --> 01:20:04,640
thank you for your time. I very much appreciate it. >> thank you. Next speaker is mike head followed by kurt gather.

732
01:20:14,110 --> 01:20:16,835
>> madam mayor, vice mayor and commissioners. My name is mike head and I represent

733
01:20:18,590 --> 01:20:18,590
the 230 local hourly team members of the columbia restaurant at 98 st. George street,

734
01:20:25,400 --> 01:20:25,400
where we have been proudly part of the community since 1983,

735
01:20:29,405 --> 01:20:32,045
as well as the fourth and fifth generations of the gonzmart family that's owned the whole time.

736
01:20:34,640 --> 01:20:34,640
in business, when you have a demand that outpaces your capacity,

737
01:20:39,590 --> 01:20:41,510
we refer to that as a good problem to have. We're happy to be part of this good problem with you and

738
01:20:43,670 --> 01:20:46,670
I think that we can figure it out together. Our job is to generate as much taxable revenue as possible to help pay

739
01:20:51,020 --> 01:20:54,650
for infrastructure projects to solve this problem. I believe that you'll find if some have already mentioned that

740
01:20:57,080 --> 01:20:59,990
shortening the nights of lights will exacerbate the issue by driving everyone that has now made it a tradition to come here all into one condensed time frame.

741
01:21:06,350 --> 01:21:07,640
nights of lights is a critical economic driver and actually brilliant as it drives business at

742
01:21:11,480 --> 01:21:14,120
a time that most retail and hospitality businesses see a lull those last few weeks of january,

743
01:21:17,165 --> 01:21:19,085
yet here they all still come. Yes, we need to come up with ingenious ways to move

744
01:21:21,980 --> 01:21:25,025
and park and transport visitors and locals, but we shouldn't tell them to stop coming while we build our project,

745
01:21:28,535 --> 01:21:28,535
build our bridges and parking garages for the fear that they

746
01:21:32,870 --> 01:21:32,870
may find another place to have a tradition with their family and not return.

747
01:21:37,820 --> 01:21:41,240
please consider exploring alternative solutions to mitigate traffic and construction concerns while preserving

748
01:21:44,480 --> 01:21:48,020
the full duration of nights of lights through the last week of january. Thank you for your consideration.

749
01:21:49,535 --> 01:21:52,220
>> thank you. Kurt gather, followed by john,

750
01:21:54,830 --> 01:21:54,830
I'm going to spell this t-f-j-I-d-o,

751
01:22:01,160 --> 01:22:05,075
but first we have kurt gather. The card says he might be outside.

752
01:22:10,000 --> 01:22:10,000
can someone please check?

753
01:22:15,160 --> 01:22:16,760
>> he's on the phone. >> he's on the phone? We can come back to him.

754
01:22:19,565 --> 01:22:19,565
john I'm so sorry about that.

755
01:22:24,005 --> 01:22:27,425
I can hardly read your spelling and so. >> tfjido.

756
01:22:28,430 --> 01:22:30,725
>> tfjido, great. Thank you apologies. >> hi, good evening. My name is john tfjido,

757
01:22:33,260 --> 01:22:35,795
and I live at 132 blanco street. I've lived there since 2019,

758
01:22:38,000 --> 01:22:40,985
but I was a resident back in the '80s. I was actually a public defender in town for three years,

759
01:22:44,420 --> 01:22:44,420
and so I worked in what used to be the courthouse in the first union bank building.

760
01:22:48,575 --> 01:22:48,575
I don't have any personal agenda or bias here on this issue.

761
01:22:52,925 --> 01:22:55,160
I just happened to find out there was a meeting tonight. I thought I'd come in and share at least a homeowner's perspective.

762
01:22:57,875 --> 01:23:01,250
I walked downtown with my wife almost every day. During the nights of lights, forgive me.

763
01:23:04,460 --> 01:23:08,285
sure, there's more people. But I've noticed that during the week, there's very few people, to me,

764
01:23:10,790 --> 01:23:13,775
it's not a good thing for the city. I like to go to maybe a bar once in a while during the week and actually

765
01:23:18,050 --> 01:23:18,050
find that there's more than 10% capacity or 20% capacity.

766
01:23:22,805 --> 01:23:22,805
my sister back in 1988 owned a restaurant over on

767
01:23:27,080 --> 01:23:27,080
davis shores was probably the first real spanish restaurant you guys ever had.

768
01:23:33,200 --> 01:23:36,470
unfortunately, it went out of business about 2.5 years later, not because of the food, because it was excellent the food.

769
01:23:38,900 --> 01:23:41,750
it was a chef from province in galicia, spain that cooked there.

770
01:23:43,085 --> 01:23:47,030
I used to cook in newark for some of the better restaurants there, and it went out of business because there wasn't any tourist.

771
01:23:49,895 --> 01:23:51,935
nobody was going over the bridge. >> I wonder what the nights of lights was going on during

772
01:23:55,520 --> 01:23:55,520
that time frame that whether that business would have still been open or not.

773
01:23:59,600 --> 01:24:01,910
but I'm not here to hoarp about her. The point is, though,

774
01:24:03,830 --> 01:24:06,710
I like to go downtown; I like to see people. This is a tourist city,

775
01:24:08,000 --> 01:24:10,625
and a tourist city needs tourists. When my friends come to visit or my family,

776
01:24:13,010 --> 01:24:15,755
we like to go and just watch the crowds. I get that there's an issue with cars and traffic and all that.

777
01:24:20,810 --> 01:24:23,555
I deal with it. I don't like it myself. I'm from jersey. That's why I'm here now. But I think it's tolerable.

778
01:24:26,930 --> 01:24:30,400
I think there's a balance here. I think we can all achieve a delicate balance, but shutting these nights of lights down for whatever 20 days,

779
01:24:34,090 --> 01:24:36,665
whatever you guys are proposing, seems silly. I don't think it's a cost issue because I'm sure you're generating

780
01:24:38,810 --> 01:24:38,810
enough revenue during the time that you have a city the nights of lights going on.

781
01:24:44,555 --> 01:24:47,930
from my personal perspective, I've seen a number of businesses, including the a one a ale house,

782
01:24:49,670 --> 01:24:51,800
which is now what closed for four months. That's one of the primary corners downtown,

783
01:24:54,530 --> 01:24:58,220
and it's just shut down. If you go during the week downtown, you're not going to see that many people.

784
01:25:00,305 --> 01:25:02,240
it's really not that crowded. I think I echo the same sentiment some of the other speakers.

785
01:25:05,225 --> 01:25:06,980
you're going to get crowds on the weekends and you're going to get crowds when it's a special event.

786
01:25:09,415 --> 01:25:11,950
you're going to get crowds on fourth of july. That's just what we live in a tourist city.

787
01:25:14,200 --> 01:25:17,065
what do we want? Would I like to go back to 1988? Maybe, but probably not.

788
01:25:19,490 --> 01:25:19,490
but again, I think you folks need to really look at this issue a little more closely,

789
01:25:24,020 --> 01:25:27,740
get a little more public input. Throw out some numbers because all I'm hearing, it's going to cost a city 300 some extra thousand or whatever.

790
01:25:30,725 --> 01:25:30,725
I don't know what you're generating tourist revenue during the city night of lights.

791
01:25:35,795 --> 01:25:37,130
>> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> we appreciate it. Next speaker is robert barner followed by schaffer weeks.

792
01:25:52,210 --> 01:25:52,210
we will come back to mr. Kurt gather in a little bit.

793
01:25:57,550 --> 01:26:00,500
>> good evening, madam mayor, commissioners. My name is robert barner. I live at 101 marine street.

794
01:26:03,455 --> 01:26:06,260
I own with my daughter at 38 cordova, the old powder house,

795
01:26:07,535 --> 01:26:07,535
and I'm under contract for 131 king street, the rembrandt property.

796
01:26:12,515 --> 01:26:12,515
we survive, literally survive by tourism,

797
01:26:16,760 --> 01:26:18,875
and we survive through night of lights, makes a tremendous difference in our ability to stay in

798
01:26:22,400 --> 01:26:22,400
business and not be like the corner property that went out of business.

799
01:26:26,535 --> 01:26:26,535
you have an incredible opportunity to continue this to groups that come in,

800
01:26:33,520 --> 01:26:37,425
I know personally from tallahassee orlando, much more than just this region, northeast florida region.

801
01:26:41,150 --> 01:26:43,040
I'll be short and quick and say, we hope you will consider continuing this and

802
01:26:45,365 --> 01:26:48,410
even expanding it back to what it was. Thank you. >> thank you. Next speaker is schaffer weeks,

803
01:26:52,100 --> 01:26:54,965
followed by kurt gather. Will somebody, please let mr.

804
01:26:57,110 --> 01:27:00,670
gather know we're going to be calling on him. >> taller. Hello. I don't have to swear in,

805
01:27:05,450 --> 01:27:07,655
do I? Good evening. I'm schaffer weeks, and I am strongly

806
01:27:09,455 --> 01:27:12,260
against the motion presented to shorten nights of lights. I'm a resident of the city of st. Augustine,

807
01:27:14,780 --> 01:27:16,880
a person of the deep sense of community, and I have someone that was born in st. Augustine and live here most of my life.

808
01:27:20,180 --> 01:27:22,910
I can speak on behalf of many of my neighbors, my friends, and my family that I've talked

809
01:27:24,530 --> 01:27:28,115
with on this issue when I say that we love nights of lights. We are proud of nights of lights and is a large part of why

810
01:27:31,160 --> 01:27:34,235
we're proud to live in st. Augustine and be a part of this community. I'm a resident of st. Augustine,

811
01:27:36,425 --> 01:27:40,205
but also a general contractor who works primarily in downtown st. Augustine, and just had my wedding a few years ago at the treasury here in downtown st. Augustine,

812
01:27:44,270 --> 01:27:46,940
and I understand the perspective from all these different categories. The perspective as a resident,

813
01:27:48,515 --> 01:27:51,470
a business perspective, and a hospitality perspective. As a resident, nights of lights provides

814
01:27:53,660 --> 01:27:55,880
a massive stimulation to the economy that we get to enjoy all the benefits of and

815
01:27:58,130 --> 01:28:01,025
the options of many things to do in st. Augustine all throughout the year. In business, it's our busiest time of year leading up to nights of lights,

816
01:28:04,370 --> 01:28:06,110
preparing for the influx of travelers who are thrilled to visit our city and see its magnificence.

817
01:28:08,465 --> 01:28:10,025
as the nation's oldest city, we pride ourselves on history and leading by example in historic preservation.

818
01:28:14,495 --> 01:28:18,455
as a general contractor, we specialize in historic renovations, often working on these projects for many months and sometimes years.

819
01:28:21,785 --> 01:28:25,490
these projects, many times rely on the boost in the economy from nights of lights to make these historic preservation projects feasible.

820
01:28:29,825 --> 01:28:29,825
I ask that you consider all the many implications of what we're discussing here today.

821
01:28:41,200 --> 01:28:41,200
sorry about that. I know that we can come up with more creative and pragmatic solutions

822
01:28:45,920 --> 01:28:47,510
that better serve st. Augustine and we can benefit from these ideas throughout the entire year.

823
01:28:49,985 --> 01:28:52,385
the motion that we're considering passing tonight would make the traffic and congestion as many people have

824
01:28:54,680 --> 01:28:56,975
previously said worse on any given day during the proposed revised nights of lights agenda season.

825
01:28:59,780 --> 01:29:01,910
it is not a solution to suggest that we just keep dealing with the traffic and lack of parking,

826
01:29:06,035 --> 01:29:07,505
but for a shorter amount of time. I do believe that we can do better to solve the traffic congestion issues in downtown,

827
01:29:12,170 --> 01:29:15,550
st. Augustine that exist all throughout the year. But regardless, if this motion passes or doesn't pass,

828
01:29:19,145 --> 01:29:22,040
nights of lights doesn't start for another seven plus months. We have many more city commission meetings and opportunities to create

829
01:29:24,890 --> 01:29:26,900
better and more comprehensive resolutions to improve the traffic and congestion issues in downtown,

830
01:29:29,090 --> 01:29:32,285
st. Augustine that exist all throughout the year. As a resident, if you're truly here to solve

831
01:29:35,390 --> 01:29:38,960
the frustration voiced by residents like myself, the frustration has nothing to do with

832
01:29:41,510 --> 01:29:43,985
the duration of nights of lights and has everything to do with implementing better techniques to manage

833
01:29:46,025 --> 01:29:49,265
this incredible and widely appreciated event. Thank you. >> thank you very much.

834
01:29:50,915 --> 01:29:52,685
next speaker, kurt gather, followed by karen zander.

835
01:29:55,490 --> 01:29:55,490
mr. Gather. Last chance, mr.

836
01:30:00,740 --> 01:30:00,740
gather. I'll put this card aside just in case.

837
01:30:06,365 --> 01:30:06,365
karen zander, followed by cheryl jonas.

838
01:30:10,790 --> 01:30:12,770
>> thank you. Karen zander, speaking for the st. Augustine business coalition,

839
01:30:15,080 --> 01:30:17,840
62 hypota street 32084. In reading your resolution,

840
01:30:19,550 --> 01:30:19,550
it states that you have exceptional circumstances with the upcoming nights of lights,

841
01:30:24,710 --> 01:30:27,710
and that's absolutely correct, you do. But your exceptional circumstances are

842
01:30:31,460 --> 01:30:35,090
not the king street bridge project, because let's face it. You've had several years to plan,

843
01:30:36,800 --> 01:30:38,915
prepare how to manage that. Rather, your exceptional circumstances the city of st.

844
01:30:43,160 --> 01:30:43,160
augustine has are its exceptional local business owners.

845
01:30:48,260 --> 01:30:48,260
your exceptional circumstances are that you have local businesses owned by

846
01:30:52,910 --> 01:30:52,910
local business people who are part of your local community.

847
01:30:57,845 --> 01:31:00,830
your exceptional circumstances are that you have local business owners who live right here

848
01:31:04,430 --> 01:31:08,180
and who want to help solve any issues that the city identifies for nights of lights or any other concerns.

849
01:31:11,975 --> 01:31:11,975
your exceptional circumstances are that those business leaders are ready,

850
01:31:16,820 --> 01:31:20,180
willing, and able to work with the city to understand the problems, to brainstorm on solutions,

851
01:31:22,775 --> 01:31:24,710
and to spend the time, energy, and money to help make st. Augustine a better place

852
01:31:27,380 --> 01:31:30,290
for businesses, visitors, and residents. Use them, please.

853
01:31:33,095 --> 01:31:33,095
take advantage of the exceptional circumstances you have in this city.

854
01:31:38,225 --> 01:31:38,225
businesses can't address problems if we don't know they exist.

855
01:31:42,860 --> 01:31:45,335
the city's own nights of lights report identified issues that the city sees from last year's event.

856
01:31:48,665 --> 01:31:48,665
nowhere in that report did it mention the length of time nights of lights ran?

857
01:31:54,485 --> 01:31:54,485
it didn't mention the color of lights or the placement of lights on buildings.

858
01:31:58,910 --> 01:31:58,910
if those are other issues are something you determine you need corrected,

859
01:32:04,580 --> 01:32:08,480
tell the business community. We want to be part of the solution, but we can't solve what we don't know our issues.

860
01:32:12,410 --> 01:32:12,410
this resolution feels like a knee jerk reaction that addresses none of

861
01:32:17,150 --> 01:32:17,150
the concerns outlined by your own staff's nights of lights report.

862
01:32:21,965 --> 01:32:21,965
the st. Augustine business coalition has the leadership team in

863
01:32:26,120 --> 01:32:26,120
place to create solutions to concerns the city has with nights of lights.

864
01:32:30,395 --> 01:32:34,235
you know that. You know who we are. You know how to reach us.

865
01:32:37,670 --> 01:32:41,570
the st. Augustine business coalition stands ready, willing, and able to work with the city to

866
01:32:43,955 --> 01:32:43,955
effectively address concerns about nights of lights and be part of your solution.

867
01:32:50,600 --> 01:32:50,600
please take advantage of that exceptional circumstance.

868
01:32:55,955 --> 01:32:58,170
ask us for help. We look forward to working with you. Thank you.

869
01:33:01,705 --> 01:33:04,990
>> excuse me. Thank you. Cheryl jonas, followed by judy glazebrooke.

870
01:33:26,400 --> 01:33:29,730
>> I push anything. >> you'll just pull the microphone down closer to your mouth. Thanks.

871
01:33:34,445 --> 01:33:37,115
>> I work at a hotel downtown, st. Augustine, and I don't think shortening the nights of lights is going to solve the problem at all.

872
01:33:42,230 --> 01:33:45,980
if it does anything it's going to hurt the people who live and work here and depend on that extra income they get during that time of the year.

873
01:33:50,345 --> 01:33:53,900
there are other solutions to the problem. I've known of people that have been coming here for over 20 years

874
01:33:57,440 --> 01:34:00,965
with their families for the nights of lights. They love it. Shortening it isn't going to help solve the problem.

875
01:34:03,920 --> 01:34:03,920
there's got to be another solution. Thank you.

876
01:34:09,200 --> 01:34:12,245
>> thank you. Judy glazebrooke, followed by lenny zanello.

877
01:34:26,290 --> 01:34:26,290
>> hello. Judy glazebrooke, 30 rody avenue.

878
01:34:31,625 --> 01:34:31,625
first, I want to commend vice mayor barbara blonder for at

879
01:34:36,575 --> 01:34:36,575
least trying to find an answer to a very serious problem.

880
01:34:41,375 --> 01:34:44,420
unfortunately, the cutback in the nights of light, as other people have talked about,

881
01:34:47,120 --> 01:34:49,385
cutting back the time, it's only going to funnel and squeeze more people into a smaller window of time,

882
01:34:53,810 --> 01:34:57,560
and it won't change the number of people wanting to visit. It will only aggravate the traffic problems.

883
01:35:02,260 --> 01:35:02,260
if it's true that a consultant that will not have

884
01:35:06,665 --> 01:35:06,665
meaningful solutions ready to implement for 2025,

885
01:35:11,675 --> 01:35:15,080
then what are you going to do now? I'm wondering what you'll do to protect the visitors and the citizens.

886
01:35:21,620 --> 01:35:24,710
we have some really serious safety issues with the traffic and other problems that the nights of light has created.

887
01:35:30,125 --> 01:35:30,125
in my neighborhood, cars were in face-offs with each other,

888
01:35:34,805 --> 01:35:34,805
and they weren't able to get down the street because there was nowhere to pull over.

889
01:35:39,185 --> 01:35:39,185
some of the driveways that they would normally pull into to try to pass one another.

890
01:35:44,300 --> 01:35:44,300
they were even blocked with illegally parked cars.

891
01:35:48,820 --> 01:35:48,820
with this situation, we're creating problems with the emergency vehicles,

892
01:35:55,955 --> 01:35:55,955
and I can't see when a street is like a parking lot,

893
01:36:00,755 --> 01:36:04,670
how an emergency vehicle is going to be able to get down it. I'm fearing that there's a tragedy waiting to happen.

894
01:36:09,320 --> 01:36:09,320
if you're hoping that not as many visitors will come in

895
01:36:13,400 --> 01:36:13,400
2025 or that more porta potties or garbage cans will solve the traffic problems?

896
01:36:21,160 --> 01:36:21,160
can you guarantee that the problems of 2024 will not repeat in 2025? I don't think so.

897
01:36:30,605 --> 01:36:34,520
it seems like every time I turn on my news feed, I'm hearing how friendly st. Augustine is,

898
01:36:37,115 --> 01:36:39,365
I'm seeing how festive it is, I'm seeing how welcoming it is,

899
01:36:41,570 --> 01:36:43,430
how historic it is, and did you know that during the holidays,

900
01:36:46,670 --> 01:36:49,520
st. Augustine is the merriest place on earth? Well, if you can't guarantee that we're going to have less visitors,

901
01:36:54,275 --> 01:36:55,865
then what's the plan? I see that the only solution is to temporarily

902
01:37:00,080 --> 01:37:00,080
suspend the nights of light until you have a permanent solution.

903
01:37:05,060 --> 01:37:07,670
a message to the business community. We want you to succeed.

904
01:37:09,440 --> 01:37:12,050
many residents enjoy the great restaurants and all the fun of visiting a vibrant downtown.

905
01:37:15,455 --> 01:37:18,380
but for those of you who promote, bigger, and longer and aren't willing to recognize the serious problems,

906
01:37:22,955 --> 01:37:26,180
please remember the old saying. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

907
01:37:30,155 --> 01:37:34,055
again, please temporarily suspend the late nights of lights. >> thank you. Lenny zanello,

908
01:37:36,695 --> 01:37:36,695
followed by sandra weber.

909
01:37:41,590 --> 01:37:41,590
I'm going to hand you break.

910
01:37:50,660 --> 01:37:52,670
>> hello. My name is lenny zanello. I'm the general manager at harry seafood bar and grill,

911
01:37:55,550 --> 01:37:57,170
here in st. Augustine. I'm here representing my staff as well as my business.

912
01:38:02,525 --> 01:38:02,525
I do have two team members that wish to make it tonight, but couldn't.

913
01:38:06,935 --> 01:38:06,935
they have written some letters and asked me if I'm able to read those on their behalf.

914
01:38:12,995 --> 01:38:15,740
the first is dearest commissioners. I'm currently a employee at harry seafood bar and grill for 12 years now.

915
01:38:20,420 --> 01:38:20,420
as we all know, with the inflation rates of groceries and rents,

916
01:38:24,515 --> 01:38:24,515
keeping a steady income is a necessity to stay afloat.

917
01:38:28,745 --> 01:38:32,555
it's hard for us hourly employees throughout the year to make ends meet. Nights of lights is the busiest time of the year for us.

918
01:38:35,075 --> 01:38:36,890
we look forward to that time of the year to be able to provide good christmas for our children.

919
01:38:39,095 --> 01:38:41,540
losing four weeks of nights of lights will definitely impact st. Augustine families as a whole.

920
01:38:44,105 --> 01:38:46,610
this is the only time of the year we can exhale from everyday struggles due to the cost of living.

921
01:38:50,015 --> 01:38:53,375
without it, my kids won't be able to make it to the sporting events throughout the year. As there will be no extra money to provide these resources to do so.

922
01:38:57,215 --> 01:38:59,540
please take the families who are earning a living downtown into consideration before making this drastic change.

923
01:39:03,290 --> 01:39:06,845
making this change could cost a lot of families grief. Sincerely kim pagan.

924
01:39:09,170 --> 01:39:09,170
another employee is victor montez.

925
01:39:13,985 --> 01:39:15,950
I'm writing for you today to express my concern regarding shortening your nights of lights as a restaurant employee,

926
01:39:19,250 --> 01:39:23,060
who has been working on our beautiful downtown area for more than seven years, I rely strictly on increased tourism during nights of lights

927
01:39:26,450 --> 01:39:26,450
for a significant portion of my annual income.

928
01:39:30,635 --> 01:39:33,200
a reduction of this major yearly event will have a significant impact for my family and the people that count on this financially.

929
01:39:37,745 --> 01:39:39,320
as most of you probably know, our downtown is not busy all year round.

930
01:39:41,780 --> 01:39:45,725
the extra money we earn during these nights of lights helps our family get throughout the year during the slow season without any worries.

931
01:39:49,985 --> 01:39:52,460
concerned that a shortened season could lead to a reduction in revenue for some of the businesses in our downtown,

932
01:39:55,670 --> 01:39:58,775
potentially resulting in layoffs or reduced staffing. I strongly believe that shortening the events will not fix the issue.

933
01:40:02,540 --> 01:40:05,510
on the contrary, it will make for worse as more people will come during these fewer times, making it busier.

934
01:40:08,705 --> 01:40:11,375
not to mention the later days of january are best times for locals to go out once the crowds dropped,

935
01:40:15,440 --> 01:40:19,040
and some after the first week of january. Additionally, everyone knows that the cost of living keeps going up.

936
01:40:23,015 --> 01:40:25,460
the cost every day seems like groceries, rent, utility increases so often,

937
01:40:27,320 --> 01:40:30,860
making it harder for families to maintain their standard of living. Us tipped employees like living downtown

938
01:40:33,875 --> 01:40:37,505
need the nights of lights to never go through these times. I respectfully ask for the members of the board of commissioners to take this into

939
01:40:42,230 --> 01:40:42,230
consideration before making a final decision, respectfully victor montez.

940
01:40:49,040 --> 01:40:52,025
most of our businesses. Thank you. >> thank you very much.

941
01:40:53,915 --> 01:40:53,915
sandra weber, followed by michael weber.

942
01:40:59,520 --> 01:40:59,520
>> good evening. I'm sandra weber and live at 15 saragossa street.

943
01:41:04,600 --> 01:41:04,600
as I'm sure you know, saragossa street is just two streets south of the parking garage.

944
01:41:10,705 --> 01:41:12,355
when that fills up, we're ground zero for watching people drive back and forth.

945
01:41:16,310 --> 01:41:16,310
having said that, I can tell you firsthand that traffic was not a problem in january.

946
01:41:22,365 --> 01:41:22,365
we never have issues being backed up and not even on saturdays.

947
01:41:27,860 --> 01:41:31,180
I would say that shortening it in january is not going to solve a problem because there isn't one.

948
01:41:34,750 --> 01:41:38,635
what concerns me is that it could create a problem. I have a business on avenida menendez,

949
01:41:41,680 --> 01:41:43,705
I have 22 employees, and I'm very proud to say that we have never had to do a layoff,

950
01:41:47,575 --> 01:41:47,575
not during covid, not during the five storms that damaged our in.

951
01:41:52,255 --> 01:41:52,255
however, if january becomes another negative income month,

952
01:41:58,105 --> 01:41:59,890
and there are a lot of them. [laughter] I don't know how I can keep my entire team employed for the full year.

953
01:42:05,305 --> 01:42:05,305
I and my team of employees rely on january tourism.

954
01:42:10,480 --> 01:42:12,925
as a lot of other people have said, I do think it's important to remember that the people who come in january

955
01:42:17,200 --> 01:42:17,200
and I have a small in and we had 800 people stay in january.

956
01:42:22,630 --> 01:42:25,855
they're all going to come in december, because they have a family tradition and they like to come back every year.

957
01:42:30,655 --> 01:42:33,430
I'd ask that you please focus on solving the traffic problems and not creating new issues. Thank you.

958
01:42:37,210 --> 01:42:37,210
>> thank you. Michael weber followed by kiara carmichael.

959
01:42:44,370 --> 01:42:47,845
>> good evening, madam mayor and commissioners. My name is mike weaver.

960
01:42:49,510 --> 01:42:52,930
I'm the president of st. Augustine historic inns. My home address is 15 saragossa street,

961
01:42:55,840 --> 01:42:59,545
and business address is 142 avenue to menendez. I'm here tonight representing our association that includes

962
01:43:03,160 --> 01:43:06,640
12 inns and over 120 employees. I'm going to focus primarily on the proposal to

963
01:43:09,250 --> 01:43:12,325
end nights of lights on january 4th this coming year. Nights of lights is a huge deal for small businesses.

964
01:43:15,910 --> 01:43:19,390
I don't have pre-nights of lights occupancy data, but I do have data that goes back as far as 2007.

965
01:43:23,410 --> 01:43:27,295
when nights of lights was nothing near the event that it is now. From 2007 to today,

966
01:43:29,845 --> 01:43:29,845
our occupancy in january has increased 37%.

967
01:43:34,550 --> 01:43:37,440
when we bought our inn in 2010, january was one of the slowest months.

968
01:43:40,320 --> 01:43:40,320
we used to run $99 room specials to try to get anyone to stay.

969
01:43:45,725 --> 01:43:45,725
needless to say $99 a room won't even pay for eggs today,

970
01:43:50,170 --> 01:43:53,170
so we can't go back to that. The turnaround in january for industry has been huge,

971
01:43:57,070 --> 01:43:59,830
and it's also been a big deal for staffing. Years ago, there was no way for us to hire more people in december.

972
01:44:04,225 --> 01:44:06,925
then keep them busy in january. When you're dropping from an 80% occupancy down to 40%-50%,

973
01:44:11,710 --> 01:44:14,080
in december, you just say, we got to make this work with who we've got.

974
01:44:17,490 --> 01:44:17,490
picking january up has given us a bridge to get from

975
01:44:21,520 --> 01:44:25,015
december to our high season of the spring, and we'd like to see that continue.

976
01:44:28,615 --> 01:44:32,125
now, all this being said, as many of the b&b owners, I'm a resident of st. Augustine at all,

977
01:44:34,990 --> 01:44:37,420
I'm not going to stand here and say that we don't have a traffic problem during nights of lights.

978
01:44:39,940 --> 01:44:41,995
living on saragossa street, I get to see the problems firsthand,

979
01:44:44,335 --> 01:44:44,335
but the problems don't happen randomly on tuesdays and wednesdays or january.

980
01:44:51,265 --> 01:44:53,590
they happen on saturdays, primarily in december and mostly between 6:00 and 8:00 pm.

981
01:44:59,065 --> 01:45:00,730
many of those saturdays, my wife and I see cars gridlocked out front of our house,

982
01:45:04,645 --> 01:45:07,840
and we can't get out to route one if we wanted to. But that's only then.

983
01:45:10,150 --> 01:45:13,330
it's a traffic issue then. By doing something in january, that's not going to address that issue.

984
01:45:16,590 --> 01:45:16,590
january saturday is really no busier than a march saturday.

985
01:45:22,270 --> 01:45:24,565
it's probably less busy. If this resolution is passed,

986
01:45:27,385 --> 01:45:27,385
and this is all we do to address the nights of lights traffic issues this year.

987
01:45:31,735 --> 01:45:33,820
next december on saturday evenings, we'll have the same gridlock traffic.

988
01:45:35,830 --> 01:45:38,200
no problems will be solved for our residents, but new problems will be created for our businesses. Thank you.

989
01:45:42,685 --> 01:45:44,620
>> thank you very much. Here, kiara carmichael followed by leonard pelzer.

990
01:45:54,870 --> 01:45:57,865
>> hi. My name is kiara carmichael, and I'm a server at casa reina,

991
01:45:59,665 --> 01:46:01,585
and I have been for three years. Night of lights is a lot of the reason why we have stayed around so long.

992
01:46:06,595 --> 01:46:06,595
it is very important to me as a server that we do not take away weeks of night of lights.

993
01:46:13,925 --> 01:46:13,925
there's been a few times with hurricanes when downtown is shut down,

994
01:46:18,540 --> 01:46:19,965
and we lose out on work, and a lot of us depend on having our savings

995
01:46:22,950 --> 01:46:26,685
from night of lights to make it through working down there. That's all I have to say. Thank you.

996
01:46:29,150 --> 01:46:30,805
>> thank you very much. Leonard pelzer, followed by shannon smith.

997
01:46:41,730 --> 01:46:41,730
>> good evening. I want to thank all of you for the service.

998
01:46:45,790 --> 01:46:49,750
I don't know why you do it, but we really, really appreciate it. My name is leonard pelzer.

999
01:46:52,030 --> 01:46:54,220
I live at 31 spanish street. I came to st. Augustine in 1945.

1000
01:46:58,855 --> 01:47:02,725
I came to the east coast hospital, stayed a few days, and then went to live with my grandmother on south whitney street.

1001
01:47:06,295 --> 01:47:06,295
now, for those of you who are not good at math.

1002
01:47:11,050 --> 01:47:13,045
that's about 80 years. Next week is my birthday and anybody who wants [laughter] to send me a birthday present,

1003
01:47:17,755 --> 01:47:20,005
I will happily accept it. I grew up here,

1004
01:47:22,150 --> 01:47:23,950
I went to school here. I remember riding down st. George street in my car and parking on st. George street.

1005
01:47:30,340 --> 01:47:32,995
I remember craig's funeral, craig's furniture store, western auto.

1006
01:47:37,480 --> 01:47:37,480
kixi's men shop, the seafarer restaurant.

1007
01:47:42,385 --> 01:47:45,700
none of those places are there now, and a lot of others are gone as well. I married the prettiest girl in town,

1008
01:47:48,295 --> 01:47:52,120
and she says she hopes my iq will get to 80 someday. We moved away for a job,

1009
01:47:55,225 --> 01:47:57,115
lived a long time away, did all my college education away.

1010
01:47:59,860 --> 01:47:59,860
we came back home in 2007 and built a house on our street,

1011
01:48:07,360 --> 01:48:08,920
and we have our neighbors. We go across the street every afternoon and we sit on the porch.

1012
01:48:12,715 --> 01:48:15,820
we welcome our visitors to the city. We tell them where the good places are to eat,

1013
01:48:18,340 --> 01:48:20,350
we help them find directions. It's not a big city, but people have a hard time finding their way around here.

1014
01:48:28,500 --> 01:48:31,120
I listen to these things tonight. I hear a lot of people who want to keep it as long as it is,

1015
01:48:34,135 --> 01:48:35,905
a lot of people who would like to expand it. Some people would like it to be year round.

1016
01:48:38,305 --> 01:48:41,995
as a resident who gets landlocked during this time of europe, I would love to cut it back a bit and

1017
01:48:44,380 --> 01:48:47,050
we want it to be perfect and we want it to be beautiful, and we want people to come.

1018
01:48:48,520 --> 01:48:51,670
we love our visitors. They are our tourists. They're great people. We love them. But we want the residents to enjoy the city too.

1019
01:48:56,425 --> 01:49:00,355
we ally landlocked during that time of year. My wife went out to get something for a drop in we were going to the other night.

1020
01:49:05,860 --> 01:49:09,310
she went to the store and it took her 2 hours to get there and get back. [laughter] she missed the event.

1021
01:49:12,190 --> 01:49:12,190
we ate all the things that she bought.

1022
01:49:17,190 --> 01:49:17,190
I think that st. Augustine is for everybody.

1023
01:49:23,470 --> 01:49:26,260
we just want to hold it all to ourselves. We love the tourist.

1024
01:49:27,475 --> 01:49:27,475
we try to be good host and we want to be good host.

1025
01:49:32,530 --> 01:49:35,200
but we want this to be a city for residents, too. I live in what I think might be the last residential area in town on spanish street,

1026
01:49:40,195 --> 01:49:42,910
and it's just wonderful being downtown and visiting [noise] with the people. Thank you so much.

1027
01:49:46,670 --> 01:49:49,170
>> thank you. Shannon smith, followed by scott york.

1028
01:49:53,090 --> 01:49:53,090
shannon left. Scott york,

1029
01:49:57,240 --> 01:49:59,010
followed by jackie hurd. [noise]

1030
01:50:10,530 --> 01:50:14,355
>> scott york 29 spanish street, the most charming street in st. Augustine. Henry flagler first turned on electric lights here in

1031
01:50:16,890 --> 01:50:20,155
this town [noise] way back in 18 87. Ever since he opened this very building in which we sit

1032
01:50:22,870 --> 01:50:25,645
tonight as his beautiful hotel alcazar, the entire state of florida has been a mega for visitors around

1033
01:50:28,900 --> 01:50:32,425
the world to come and visit during a period that we call winter. Why did they choose to come here to st. Augustine?

1034
01:50:34,945 --> 01:50:37,030
our weather. I don't know how many of you walked around our magical little town this week.

1035
01:50:39,220 --> 01:50:41,470
but the weather has been absolutely gorgeous, but our crowds of visitors and traffic have rivaled that of nights of lights.

1036
01:50:46,525 --> 01:50:49,180
our charming town, which was recently and rightfully named the most welcoming city in america.

1037
01:50:52,255 --> 01:50:52,255
are we going and tell our shopkeepers and business owners to quit being so

1038
01:50:56,260 --> 01:50:56,260
kind to our visitors because we're too crowded in the spring? I hope not.

1039
01:51:00,610 --> 01:51:03,610
our beautiful and convenient location, just two hours from orlando,

1040
01:51:05,170 --> 01:51:06,610
which by the way, is overcrowded during the week between christmas and new year's as well.

1041
01:51:10,105 --> 01:51:12,475
the unique architecture of our buildings, which got highlighted by the nights of lights, including this one,

1042
01:51:15,520 --> 01:51:15,520
which showcases so much of our rich and diverse cultural and history. The history.

1043
01:51:20,730 --> 01:51:24,570
we got a bit of that too. Nearly seven million visitors a year, which come here year round to st. Augustine on school field trips,

1044
01:51:27,690 --> 01:51:31,590
family vacations, and snowbirds escape in the frigid north. A nearly one million hispanic visitors which visit here, studying their culture.

1045
01:51:38,275 --> 01:51:41,605
I'm not here to tell you not to shorten nights of lights, but to point out that shortening the time that the lights

1046
01:51:43,990 --> 01:51:46,210
are on does not do one thing to solve the issues of those emails that you received

1047
01:51:48,805 --> 01:51:48,805
complaining about traffic of nights of lights.

1048
01:51:53,970 --> 01:51:56,860
what will solve some of those issues? Better event planning, which mr. Burcham has been tasked with.

1049
01:52:00,475 --> 01:52:04,300
I certainly do not envy him. Approving and following the plan, which city planner jacob fredrickson came up with,

1050
01:52:07,105 --> 01:52:07,105
calling for eliminating many of those small lots and infilling them with buildings.

1051
01:52:13,120 --> 01:52:15,595
streamlining the parking process. It still takes a long time to get into that parking garage.

1052
01:52:19,075 --> 01:52:21,625
the plate readers don't work. I get charged $20 at least three times a week going in there? They don't work.

1053
01:52:26,760 --> 01:52:26,760
making the town more pedestrian friendly and promoting the town as

1054
01:52:31,960 --> 01:52:31,960
a pedestrian friendly city through all of the vcb and tdc promotions,

1055
01:52:36,940 --> 01:52:40,120
requiring that to be part of their promotions. That will get people out of their cars,

1056
01:52:42,880 --> 01:52:46,480
promoting midweek visits in those ad campaigns, eliminating the street vendors from our sidewalks and side streets,

1057
01:52:50,080 --> 01:52:52,780
and moving some of our signature events from weekends to mid-week to incentivize those mid-week visits.

1058
01:52:56,245 --> 01:52:58,915
I love living and working in downtown, meeting the employees of many of these businesses on a daily basis,

1059
01:53:03,190 --> 01:53:05,635
not just the owners but their employees. Don't take us back to the dark ages. Keep the nights lights on.

1060
01:53:10,620 --> 01:53:13,435
>> thank you. Jackie hurd, followed by james greaves.

1061
01:53:21,840 --> 01:53:21,840
>> hello. I'm jackie hurd. I live downtown.

1062
01:53:26,290 --> 01:53:28,885
I've been a resident since 1988, and I've been a business owner since 2004.

1063
01:53:33,025 --> 01:53:35,905
I have both sides of the business. Despite the horrendous traffic gridlock issue during nights lights,

1064
01:53:40,060 --> 01:53:41,980
I agree with all those speakers and don't feel that restricting the dates will be the solution.

1065
01:53:44,335 --> 01:53:48,055
what I do see as part of the problem is the gridlock and the parking. I've personally been stuck in the gridlock numerous times and observed cars trying to

1066
01:53:52,390 --> 01:53:52,390
utilize the single lane between both sides of the street that's used for parking.

1067
01:53:56,440 --> 01:53:56,440
[noise] a possible solution would be for the city to assess

1068
01:54:01,120 --> 01:54:01,120
traffic flow on streets for single-side parking and or one direction traffic.

1069
01:54:06,085 --> 01:54:08,830
this would allow for traffic to flow each more easily and room for emergency vehicles to respond timely.

1070
01:54:12,310 --> 01:54:14,620
the florida department of transportation bridge replacement of san sebastian river on king street could

1071
01:54:17,560 --> 01:54:17,560
be an informal dry run for nights of lights season to identify future solutions.

1072
01:54:22,675 --> 01:54:22,675
I'd also like to ask the city for residents to be invited to work on the solutions,

1073
01:54:27,010 --> 01:54:29,860
not just the business community. Thank you for your time. >> thank you. James greaves,

1074
01:54:32,260 --> 01:54:36,115
followed by phil sacha tallie. I think I set that right. There you go.

1075
01:54:52,050 --> 01:54:52,050
>> she left. [laughter] I'm james greaves.

1076
01:54:56,965 --> 01:54:56,965
I'm representing pizzalley's llc out of 117 st. George street.

1077
01:55:01,810 --> 01:55:04,645
we operate prohibition kitchen, roosevelt room, pizzalley's and pizza chianti room,

1078
01:55:08,005 --> 01:55:08,005
and we are directly impacted by the business nights of lights brings to us.

1079
01:55:13,285 --> 01:55:13,285
not just our business, but mostly I'm here to talk about our people who work for us.

1080
01:55:18,025 --> 01:55:18,025
I spent 15 years working nights of lights as a inside of the kitchens on the lines.

1081
01:55:23,905 --> 01:55:27,730
I firsthand know how crucial this time of year is for us. Much of my career, I lift paycheck to paycheck,

1082
01:55:30,415 --> 01:55:30,415
raising three kids and relying on the holiday surge just to stay afloat.

1083
01:55:34,630 --> 01:55:37,060
nights of lights made a real difference back then, and today, I see it doing the same for my employees.

1084
01:55:40,300 --> 01:55:43,060
our team is just made up of job titles, but they're people with real lives and real responsibilities.

1085
01:55:46,330 --> 01:55:50,260
servers, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, hostesses, all of them depending on the extra income the nights bring.

1086
01:55:54,880 --> 01:55:54,880
I think we all touched on what everybody's going to say.

1087
01:56:00,595 --> 01:56:02,770
as far as I'm concerned, shortening it wouldn't alleviate much of the issues,

1088
01:56:05,875 --> 01:56:08,635
but finding solutions together to further increase the parking and those types of logistics would help.

1089
01:56:14,770 --> 01:56:17,320
our staff can't even make it to work on time. Whether that's by choice or by parking. I don't know.

1090
01:56:20,920 --> 01:56:23,875
[laughter] it seems to be a good excuse. Thanks for hearing me out.

1091
01:56:25,915 --> 01:56:29,695
this looks awful. Thanks for doing it. Have a good one. >> thank you. Next, we have william cush.

1092
01:56:33,295 --> 01:56:35,110
I think I might have messed that up, but if we could have william cush and then jordan stokes.

1093
01:56:39,730 --> 01:56:42,910
phil, come on up, and then we'll have william cushion. [background] sorry about that.

1094
01:56:46,210 --> 01:56:48,770
>> hi. I am phil sacatello. I represent casa reina and our employees at one anderson circle.

1095
01:56:54,455 --> 01:56:58,310
nights of lights follows the slowest months of the year, and it helps our team members catch up on

1096
01:57:01,340 --> 01:57:04,835
their income that they've lost through the hot months of the summer. Most restaurants have seasonal employees.

1097
01:57:07,910 --> 01:57:10,715
our staff size remains the same throughout the year, and an event driven business like nights of lights

1098
01:57:14,240 --> 01:57:14,240
sustains our ability to keep our team members year round.

1099
01:57:18,290 --> 01:57:21,530
we employ roughly the same numbers of team members year round and their income increases proportionally with the business.

1100
01:57:25,835 --> 01:57:25,835
our team members also benefit from increase in hours and overtime and tips.

1101
01:57:30,620 --> 01:57:33,500
if you compare sales, if you compare the business from october to january,

1102
01:57:35,750 --> 01:57:35,750
our sales and tips increase proportionally by greater than 50%,

1103
01:57:40,280 --> 01:57:43,595
meaning both the business and its employees benefit equally, and we feel strongly that nights of lights is

1104
01:57:45,440 --> 01:57:49,385
a major contributor to our success in january. In other markets, we see a dip in january due to

1105
01:57:52,100 --> 01:57:55,220
the cold weather back to school, buyer fatigue, but nights of lights helps us to continue to increase employee income and sales.

1106
01:58:02,300 --> 01:58:05,060
the peak congestion time, as everybody mentioned, is from thanksgiving to christmas.

1107
01:58:07,595 --> 01:58:11,075
january is still busy, but it's not nearly as busy. The weeks after the holidays allow those who want to avoid the larger crowds

1108
01:58:16,430 --> 01:58:16,430
like myself and my family to come in, locals, snowbirds, etc.

1109
01:58:22,040 --> 01:58:22,040
the business itself, we invest heavily in nights of lights.

1110
01:58:28,040 --> 01:58:31,925
we need to recoup our investment as well. We pay thousands of dollars,

1111
01:58:34,040 --> 01:58:36,575
putting up lights, taking down lights. We run promotions based around nights of lights and paying for ads,

1112
01:58:41,405 --> 01:58:45,170
whether print or social media, and they cost tens of thousands of dollars and

1113
01:58:47,600 --> 01:58:49,835
additional thousands of dollars with the maintenance of the lights and getting them up and down.

1114
01:58:52,805 --> 01:58:52,805
we need to keep nights of lights going. Thank you.

1115
01:58:57,560 --> 01:58:57,560
>> thank you, phil. Mr. Cushin.

1116
01:59:03,910 --> 01:59:03,910
you will be followed by jordan stokes.

1117
01:59:08,620 --> 01:59:11,255
>> hello. My name is william cushin. I'm with country carriages.

1118
01:59:13,160 --> 01:59:13,160
a lot of everybody spoke about most of the stuff that we

1119
01:59:18,290 --> 01:59:18,290
need to talk about the traffic in january isn't anything compared to december.

1120
01:59:23,990 --> 01:59:23,990
I think our biggest thing is getting people to help out.

1121
01:59:28,400 --> 01:59:31,430
prime example, I was instructed by one of the city employees that for the crossing guards,

1122
01:59:34,850 --> 01:59:37,490
they either have to be a city employee or they have to be a police department employee that cost several hundreds of dollars a night to do.

1123
01:59:43,205 --> 01:59:43,205
you can do a program as simple as taking some volunteers.

1124
01:59:48,110 --> 01:59:50,975
myself, I would donate a few days every nights of lights with no problem to help get the traffic through.

1125
01:59:55,040 --> 01:59:56,945
the police can certify you, and there's a lot of people in this town that would help

1126
01:59:59,855 --> 01:59:59,855
out to solve the problems that the city has.

1127
02:00:03,950 --> 02:00:03,950
but all we hear about is you got an advisor

1128
02:00:08,090 --> 02:00:08,090
that costs thousands of dollars and then we don't do anything about it.

1129
02:00:13,960 --> 02:00:13,960
lose in january, everybody knows it's going to

1130
02:00:18,200 --> 02:00:18,200
cost the businesses in town thousands upon thousands of dollars.

1131
02:00:23,900 --> 02:00:27,770
the only way to do this right is just to get traffic through town, which means we just need volunteers and helpers that you guys could have

1132
02:00:30,890 --> 02:00:30,890
certified by the police department to get the traffic taken care of.

1133
02:00:35,180 --> 02:00:38,165
the pedestrians when they start walking across the street, everybody knows you can have traffic backed up over the bridge of

1134
02:00:40,940 --> 02:00:40,940
lions because they're just steadily walking across and they won't stop.

1135
02:00:47,320 --> 02:00:50,950
that's all I have to say. Thank you. >> thank you very much.

1136
02:00:53,450 --> 02:00:53,450
may we have jordan stokes come up and followed by isabelle renault.

1137
02:01:04,540 --> 02:01:07,040
>> good evening, jordan stokes, representing the casa monica resort and spa.

1138
02:01:09,305 --> 02:01:12,055
just want to take a moment and thank everybody. We've talked about nights of lights quite a bit at this point,

1139
02:01:15,670 --> 02:01:17,635
so I don't know that I have a lot to add, but I just appreciate everybody taking the time to listen to us as business owners,

1140
02:01:22,195 --> 02:01:24,220
to listen to us as employers. Also to listen to the residents that are here.

1141
02:01:26,680 --> 02:01:28,675
thank you all so much for taking that. I don't think I have a whole lot to add other than,

1142
02:01:30,910 --> 02:01:32,950
I appreciate the city spending some time investigating this and looking into ways to make it better.

1143
02:01:37,205 --> 02:01:39,710
that is my only request is that we look, how do we make it better versus how do we shorten it or how do we make changes that

1144
02:01:43,910 --> 02:01:43,910
make it positive for all of us as business owners, residents, and employers?

1145
02:01:48,650 --> 02:01:52,610
thank you all so much for that time. Thank you to the city. Mr. Burcham. I know rubin and meredith have worked hard a lot,

1146
02:01:55,820 --> 02:01:58,430
some of the other internal meetings that have happened that I've had the opportunity to be a part of.

1147
02:02:01,055 --> 02:02:02,645
I just appreciate that time, and I encourage you to continue to do the hard work that

1148
02:02:05,840 --> 02:02:09,155
you're doing right now to see how we make this better for all of us. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

1149
02:02:11,145 --> 02:02:13,645
>> thank you. Ms. Renault, followed by pat debose.

1150
02:02:19,570 --> 02:02:23,405
>> good evening, mayor and commissioner. My name is isabelle renault. I'm the president and ceo of the st. Johns county chamber of commerce,

1151
02:02:26,630 --> 02:02:26,630
representing 1,000 businesses county wide and 250 in the city of st. Augustine.

1152
02:02:33,215 --> 02:02:34,910
I appreciate the opportunity to share with you the perspective on the proposed resolution.

1153
02:02:37,535 --> 02:02:37,535
for 30 years, nights of lights has been one of st. Augustine's most successful and

1154
02:02:41,900 --> 02:02:41,900
impactful events created to support local businesses through the slow winter month.

1155
02:02:47,450 --> 02:02:47,450
today generates 25% of our hospitality sector's annual income,

1156
02:02:52,235 --> 02:02:55,430
supports thousands of local jobs and contributes millions in sales and backed taxes to the city budget.

1157
02:02:59,300 --> 02:02:59,300
that success, however, has naturally brought new challenges,

1158
02:03:03,560 --> 02:03:06,500
particularly around mobility and traffic management. The chamber believes that the challenge we're facing is not the event itself,

1159
02:03:11,150 --> 02:03:15,005
but the growing strain on the infrastructure impacting public safety, residents quality of life, and visitor experience.

1160
02:03:17,870 --> 02:03:20,360
these are solvable problems, and we're ready to work alongside the city, the county,

1161
02:03:23,210 --> 02:03:23,210
and other stakeholders to develop long term solutions.

1162
02:03:27,275 --> 02:03:30,980
other cities face similar challenges. Barcelona, spain recently made headlines for tackling the same issue and

1163
02:03:35,210 --> 02:03:35,210
adopting a comprehensive tourism and mobility plan.

1164
02:03:39,620 --> 02:03:39,620
that prospect that protects both economic benefits and the residents quality of life.

1165
02:03:45,665 --> 02:03:48,980
collaboration was key, and our local businesses in the community is ready to do the same here for st. Augustine.

1166
02:03:52,445 --> 02:03:55,280
what's needed is a thoughtful planning, not a short term work around.

1167
02:03:57,455 --> 02:04:01,340
simply shortening nights of lights may not solve the problem. In fact, it could intentionally worsen

1168
02:04:04,190 --> 02:04:04,190
congestion by squeezing the same number of visitors into fewer days.

1169
02:04:08,270 --> 02:04:11,435
we're also mindful of the king street bridge construction, which may discourage locals for patronizing downtown businesses.

1170
02:04:15,050 --> 02:04:17,180
during that time, companies will rely even more on the economic boost nights of lights provides.

1171
02:04:20,195 --> 02:04:22,190
for many small downtown businesses, night a lights is a last and best chance each year to

1172
02:04:25,700 --> 02:04:25,700
recover from hurricane season losses and finish the year strong.

1173
02:04:29,855 --> 02:04:29,855
shortly in the season threaten the fragile balance and puts jobs at risk.

1174
02:04:34,625 --> 02:04:37,910
finally, we support city manager, david burcham, effort to implement and test mobility

1175
02:04:40,820 --> 02:04:44,450
improvements during the upcoming 4th of july festivity. We respectfully ask the commission to give that process the time it needs to succeed.

1176
02:04:49,070 --> 02:04:50,330
for all these reasons, the chamber urges the commission to oppose this resolution

1177
02:04:53,690 --> 02:04:57,575
reducing the event to november 22 through january 4. If the commission moves forward,

1178
02:04:59,360 --> 02:05:02,450
we ask that you consider the length of the reduction of january as money locals value enjoying the event during that time,

1179
02:05:06,500 --> 02:05:06,500
and also the potential reduction of salaries for our employees.

1180
02:05:10,850 --> 02:05:13,490
beyond today's vote, we believe that the greater priority is coming to long term solution.

1181
02:05:17,165 --> 02:05:19,730
we respectfully ask the city, the county, the stakeholders to work together on lasting improvement that protects our resident,

1182
02:05:24,245 --> 02:05:24,245
support our economy, and ensure a continued success for the nights of lights. Thank you.

1183
02:05:29,000 --> 02:05:30,350
>> thank you very much. Pat debose, followed by clay murphy.

1184
02:05:38,310 --> 02:05:42,085
>> good evening, pat debose, 243 charlotte street. I am a resident and I am a business owner.

1185
02:05:44,545 --> 02:05:48,460
I just want to reiterate what everyone has said that condensing this wonderful event into a shorter time is

1186
02:05:51,740 --> 02:05:55,385
only going to exacerbate the traffic and everything. I appeal to you to please, if not,

1187
02:05:57,785 --> 02:06:01,400
maybe give some thought to extending it earlier into november as well, but keep it in january so all of our businesses can survive. Thank you.

1188
02:06:05,105 --> 02:06:07,115
>> thank you. Clay murphy, followed by irvin cass. Welcome.

1189
02:06:11,815 --> 02:06:15,400
>> good morning, mayor and commissioners. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I just wanted to speak on behalf of someone who enjoys nights of lights.

1190
02:06:20,065 --> 02:06:20,065
I'm one of those people that live just a few miles south of town,

1191
02:06:24,620 --> 02:06:27,635
but my wife and I all during nights of lights, jump in the truck and come down here and spend time in traffic,

1192
02:06:31,020 --> 02:06:31,020
experiencing this wonderful event that called nights of lights.

1193
02:06:35,455 --> 02:06:35,455
also, we make it a point to do a staycation here so that we have

1194
02:06:39,820 --> 02:06:39,820
the opportunity to walk the streets during nights of lights and enjoy it.

1195
02:06:45,290 --> 02:06:45,290
we probably picked one of the busiest weekends of the year this year to do this.

1196
02:06:50,030 --> 02:06:51,740
what we found is a vibrant city jam

1197
02:06:56,780 --> 02:06:58,970
packed with people who are enjoying and having a great time and spending money in the city.

1198
02:07:01,595 --> 02:07:05,150
as a local business owner, I also depend on the push that we get through nights of lights even though we're not in the city limits,

1199
02:07:07,550 --> 02:07:09,965
we're just outside at the interstate exit, and it's a big part of us and our abilities.

1200
02:07:15,995 --> 02:07:19,865
even though I am a county commissioner here in st. Johns county, I'm not speaking for the board of county commissioners right now,

1201
02:07:22,505 --> 02:07:26,360
but as a representative from the board to the city of st. Augustine, I'd like to extend my commitment to work together to solve

1202
02:07:30,050 --> 02:07:30,050
these issues and to continue this amazing event called nights of lights. Thank you.

1203
02:07:35,150 --> 02:07:38,660
>> thank you very much. That's very encouraging to hear because we are definitely going to need the support of the st. Johns county commission.

1204
02:07:42,440 --> 02:07:45,125
mr. Cass. Good evening. >> good evening mayor.

1205
02:07:46,820 --> 02:07:49,775
commissioners. Thank you very much, irvin cass. I am the chair of the tourist development council.

1206
02:07:52,880 --> 02:07:55,820
now, I can't go specifically what we're going to do because we have a few members of the tdc here.

1207
02:07:59,870 --> 02:07:59,870
>> you're free to speak. It's a publicly advertised meeting.

1208
02:08:03,920 --> 02:08:07,700
>> well, that's good. But anyhow, I want to first compliment both david

1209
02:08:11,855 --> 02:08:11,855
and what he's been doing and working on this and also the mayor.

1210
02:08:16,580 --> 02:08:16,580
we've had conversations probably for two,

1211
02:08:20,585 --> 02:08:20,585
two-and-a-half months, and we've been working on going toward some nice solutions.

1212
02:08:27,365 --> 02:08:27,365
at the tdc, we've had two meetings where since january,

1213
02:08:34,130 --> 02:08:34,130
and then again, in early march where we discussed nights of lights at length.

1214
02:08:40,115 --> 02:08:43,805
it's also on our agenda for our next meeting. We're very committed to working with everyone on finding solutions.

1215
02:08:51,440 --> 02:08:51,440
there was great momentum and there was great conversations,

1216
02:08:55,955 --> 02:08:59,555
and then two weeks ago, it all stopped. It's gotten confusing of,

1217
02:09:03,200 --> 02:09:05,510
we were all working together, and now we're looking at changing the whole dynamics by shortening.

1218
02:09:10,295 --> 02:09:12,965
I've done years of events. Seven years I was involved with the draw rider open.

1219
02:09:16,370 --> 02:09:19,190
I did the nba all star game. I've been on two olympic committees.

1220
02:09:22,625 --> 02:09:22,625
I've been on four super bowl host committees.

1221
02:09:26,900 --> 02:09:29,465
I've been involved in a lot of those things, and the issue is not length, as everyone spoke.

1222
02:09:34,430 --> 02:09:34,430
it is a mobility issue and a behavior issue.

1223
02:09:39,110 --> 02:09:39,110
we need to look at both of those and also think about the brand.

1224
02:09:44,555 --> 02:09:47,840
we need to make sure that nights of lights, the product that we're providing is an a,

1225
02:09:51,035 --> 02:09:53,855
and that is the experience, the driving into town,

1226
02:09:55,955 --> 02:09:59,210
the walking through town, we need the police officers, we need all that,

1227
02:10:00,530 --> 02:10:00,530
but we need to grow it through smart ways.

1228
02:10:07,475 --> 02:10:09,515
as chair of the tdc, I am committed to working with the city and with the county to find solutions,

1229
02:10:15,485 --> 02:10:18,080
and I don't think we shod knock that off, we should just go forward as we had been for the last couple of months. Thank you.

1230
02:10:23,585 --> 02:10:27,545
>> thank you very much. Also encouraging to hear. Carly zervis followed by sigal patel.

1231
02:10:33,575 --> 02:10:33,575
carly zervis.

1232
02:10:42,640 --> 02:10:44,615
do we find her? Is she here? Yes. That's not her.

1233
02:10:47,210 --> 02:10:47,210
I'll put that card aside. There she is.

1234
02:10:58,630 --> 02:11:01,355
>> hi. Sorry, I was late. I am a local business owner,

1235
02:11:04,190 --> 02:11:07,925
[inaudible] local resident for a long time. Everybody's done a really good job. Lynn said a lot of what I was going to say,

1236
02:11:09,755 --> 02:11:13,055
so I'll spare you a recap of the same thing again. I do want to make a comment from

1237
02:11:15,215 --> 02:11:18,170
a local carriage company owner who was unable to be here. She's a lifelong resident, who just wanted me to mention

1238
02:11:20,840 --> 02:11:20,840
that we already have reservations and bookings for next nights of lights.

1239
02:11:24,980 --> 02:11:24,980
we have guests who have ridden with us on the same day for eight or 10 years.

1240
02:11:29,105 --> 02:11:30,875
we have a lot of repeat visitors, and we try not to disrupt our guests family traditions.

1241
02:11:35,630 --> 02:11:39,200
we can always replan, but it's really tight, especially with limited capacity vehicles,

1242
02:11:41,180 --> 02:11:44,000
especially with slow moving vehicles to shoehorn that amount of traffic that we would have if we shorten this season.

1243
02:11:46,970 --> 02:11:50,630
I do not know how many of our guests we would be able to serve in that amount of time, especially if everybody is here in a foreshortened duration nights of lights.

1244
02:11:58,330 --> 02:11:58,330
I am going to read something into the record from the rhi study,

1245
02:12:03,155 --> 02:12:06,710
which was 2021, 2022, we're also super familiar with that. The growing pains of the city can no longer be ignored.

1246
02:12:09,380 --> 02:12:12,065
police resources are insufficient to maintain zone integrity, much less fulfill event security requirements.

1247
02:12:14,390 --> 02:12:16,340
the funding structure for the city, based on residential population may no longer be viable.

1248
02:12:19,490 --> 02:12:22,595
there is growing tension between the city and the county due to the perception. The county brings more tourists yet does not support

1249
02:12:25,310 --> 02:12:28,745
the city with matching resources for management. This feels very much to me like a management and resources issue.

1250
02:12:31,970 --> 02:12:35,450
we do not have a volume problem. We have a management and resources problem. If we sufficiently resource the management aspect,

1251
02:12:41,045 --> 02:12:44,300
it is entirely possible that we could have a much smoother, safer, more enjoyable nights of lights,

1252
02:12:45,710 --> 02:12:48,440
with the same volume of guests that are sustaining our businesses, that are preserving our jobs,

1253
02:12:49,790 --> 02:12:53,090
that are keeping people's family traditions intact, and I think we'd all like to see that happen. Thank you.

1254
02:12:56,210 --> 02:13:00,095
>> thank you. Sigal patel, followed by chris clark.

1255
02:13:09,880 --> 02:13:11,930
>> hello, everyone. I'm a small business owner right here on cedar street,

1256
02:13:14,510 --> 02:13:17,450
87 cedar street, peace and plenty in. I'm a very small business.

1257
02:13:19,040 --> 02:13:19,040
I invested in this city on a promise that we have this festival going.

1258
02:13:24,110 --> 02:13:26,960
with this festival being shortened, there will be more problems and my business will suffer.

1259
02:13:31,310 --> 02:13:33,170
my employees will suffer, but I personally will suffer.

1260
02:13:35,825 --> 02:13:35,825
I invested money in the business and I need to make my investment work.

1261
02:13:41,060 --> 02:13:43,805
otherwise, I don't eat. Thank you. >> thank you. Chris clark,

1262
02:13:46,880 --> 02:13:46,880
followed by thomas harding.

1263
02:13:58,360 --> 02:13:58,360
>> chris clark, 142 king street. Good evening, commissioners.

1264
02:14:03,170 --> 02:14:04,910
I'm here to speak in opposition to the proposed resolution to shorten the nights of lights.

1265
02:14:08,195 --> 02:14:11,180
to start off, I want to say, I live in st. Augustine. My family is here in st. Augustine,

1266
02:14:13,475 --> 02:14:17,375
and I work in st. Augustine. I'm not speaking as an outsider. I'm speaking as someone whose daily life, livelihood,

1267
02:14:20,615 --> 02:14:20,615
and community are directly tied to the city and to the knights of lights.

1268
02:14:25,430 --> 02:14:27,980
the resolution may be well-intended, but the impact it will have on our workers,

1269
02:14:30,785 --> 02:14:30,785
our community, and our businesses is very real and could be very harmful.

1270
02:14:35,750 --> 02:14:38,690
for the workers, the seasonal employees depend on the nights of lights to make out to make ends meet.

1271
02:14:42,005 --> 02:14:44,990
restaurant staff, hotel workers, tour guides, shop clerks rely on this busy season for income that

1272
02:14:48,140 --> 02:14:48,140
helps carry them through the slower months or god forbid another hurricane.

1273
02:14:52,340 --> 02:14:52,340
cutting at least three full weekends means fewer shifts,

1274
02:14:56,660 --> 02:14:56,660
fewer tips, and fewer opportunities for the people who support our local economy.

1275
02:15:02,135 --> 02:15:02,135
the community itself, nights of lights generates almost a quarter of our annual bed tax,

1276
02:15:08,000 --> 02:15:09,950
which helps fund arts, culture, parks, and our beach renourishments.

1277
02:15:13,760 --> 02:15:17,000
the very things that make st. Augustine such a great place to live. A shorter season means less money for these community assets,

1278
02:15:20,810 --> 02:15:23,930
which benefits residents and visitors alike. Let's talk about the changes we can and should make.

1279
02:15:28,055 --> 02:15:30,305
if congestion is the concern, shortening the event is not the answer.

1280
02:15:32,615 --> 02:15:34,700
instead, we should be working on expanding the shuttle services from offsite parking areas,

1281
02:15:37,910 --> 02:15:37,910
improving signage and visitor communication before and during peak weekends,

1282
02:15:43,580 --> 02:15:43,580
enhancing traffic and pedestrian management with better coordination and staffing.

1283
02:15:49,370 --> 02:15:52,280
these are meaningful and effective strategies that address resident concerns without cutting into

1284
02:15:54,710 --> 02:15:54,710
a successful revenue-generating event that benefits the entire city and county.

1285
02:16:00,170 --> 02:16:02,600
again, I live here. I work here. My family calls the city home.

1286
02:16:06,320 --> 02:16:09,800
I urge you to reject this resolution and instead invest in long-term solutions that support our workers,

1287
02:16:13,880 --> 02:16:13,880
our community, and the systems that keep st. Augustine thriving. Thank you.

1288
02:16:19,145 --> 02:16:21,155
>> thank you very much. Thomas harding, followed by kimberly kith.

1289
02:16:31,560 --> 02:16:31,560
>> hello. Thomas harding, 158 cornell road.

1290
02:16:36,655 --> 02:16:39,220
so just a little bit outside from the historic district, but I pretty much consider this place my second home.

1291
02:16:41,965 --> 02:16:45,130
as part of my second home, I love the nights of lights. It's pretty crazy christmas decorations,

1292
02:16:47,810 --> 02:16:51,020
and I love the festivities. But also as a worker down here, I genuinely do appreciate the extra income.

1293
02:16:54,020 --> 02:16:56,540
it helps when hard times come, especially with everyone has put together a very,

1294
02:17:01,820 --> 02:17:01,820
I believe they put in way better words, and I think I could have.

1295
02:17:06,230 --> 02:17:07,880
but some of the issues, namely traffic and the problem of bathrooms, I believe,

1296
02:17:10,790 --> 02:17:13,070
are not necessarily nights of lights issues, but have always pretty much been issues.

1297
02:17:14,960 --> 02:17:16,760
mainly the bathrooms. I've even seen personally working on the corner of charlotte and kona street.

1298
02:17:20,825 --> 02:17:24,290
some of the bathrooms in the parking lots have been closed during nights of lights, which is definitely a major issue when they're already limited.

1299
02:17:28,235 --> 02:17:32,090
also the traffic, I think has also always been an issue, but I've also seen since the rise of all a bunch of new hotels being built.

1300
02:17:36,260 --> 02:17:39,605
the traffic has been getting a bit worse, I believe. When it comes to the community and after

1301
02:17:41,870 --> 02:17:44,855
the fall of nights of lights when the lights turn off, I've seen a lot more like rental homes,

1302
02:17:47,120 --> 02:17:49,400
especially down towards lincolnville, that tend to be empty when people aren't visiting st. Augustine.

1303
02:17:53,315 --> 02:17:56,390
everyone's pretty much put I think, a majority of the community's thoughts.

1304
02:17:57,755 --> 02:17:59,150
that's just what I wanted to share. Thank you for allowing us to open the discussion.

1305
02:18:01,775 --> 02:18:04,715
>> thank you. Kimberly kiff, followed by cindy jarigan.

1306
02:18:14,290 --> 02:18:14,290
>> good evening, commissioners, and thank you for hearing us out on this issue.

1307
02:18:19,295 --> 02:18:23,180
I am going to forego in the interest of keeping everybody awake, my neatly typewritten speech.

1308
02:18:25,205 --> 02:18:28,790
I'm just going to talk about two very quick points because I think everyone here is very eloquently stated what I was going to state.

1309
02:18:32,690 --> 02:18:34,460
as a business operator, we live and thrive on research and analysis.

1310
02:18:37,355 --> 02:18:39,875
we've done the analysis. We looked at the numbers. We pulled everything apart this year,

1311
02:18:41,795 --> 02:18:45,170
and it is my personal belief that shortening the event this year absolutely impacted the crowding of the streets during the rest of the event,

1312
02:18:50,000 --> 02:18:53,990
and shortening it further would probably have that same impact. I also would like to mention that I did the research.

1313
02:18:58,265 --> 02:19:00,440
we have a lot of groups that come in january. We have a lot of families, it's their tradition.

1314
02:19:02,480 --> 02:19:02,480
they bring in, we have one group that six full trains of people that come in january,

1315
02:19:07,250 --> 02:19:11,210
and they all do a tour together one night. I called these folks and I said, what are you going to do if january is no longer in the picture,

1316
02:19:15,790 --> 02:19:18,700
every one of them said, we're still going to come, but we're going to come in december.

1317
02:19:20,640 --> 02:19:20,640
that's just going to compound the traffic problems that we are already facing.

1318
02:19:24,995 --> 02:19:24,995
the other thing is, I always welcome my team to come to me with problems and issues,

1319
02:19:29,450 --> 02:19:33,185
but I always encourage them to bring those problems with a solution. Just want to reiterate that our businesses are more than happy to help.

1320
02:19:37,145 --> 02:19:40,550
we will be any part that we're asked to be in the solution for both the residents and the visitors and guests that come to our event.

1321
02:19:45,770 --> 02:19:48,920
but we also are looking and interested in maybe incentivizing people and coming in those slower times or on tuesday nights.

1322
02:19:53,480 --> 02:19:56,825
we would love to be part of the conversation is what I'm saying, and if you would include us,

1323
02:19:58,100 --> 02:20:01,520
we are happy to do whatever you need us to do to help. Thank you. >> thank you very much.

1324
02:20:02,990 --> 02:20:02,990
cindy jarigan, followed by lloyd pierce.

1325
02:20:14,680 --> 02:20:17,690
>> good evening. Cindy jernigan, counsel on aging,

1326
02:20:19,040 --> 02:20:19,040
river house events, 179 marine street.

1327
02:20:24,130 --> 02:20:27,515
I want to express the positive impact nights of lights has on council on aging's river house events.

1328
02:20:31,415 --> 02:20:34,520
river house operates as a senior center during the week and an events venue on the evenings and

1329
02:20:37,850 --> 02:20:41,090
weekends with revenue from events directly supporting senior programming classes and services.

1330
02:20:45,305 --> 02:20:48,065
nights of lights drives event bookings, and this surge and business is vital to our mission.

1331
02:20:51,485 --> 02:20:51,485
the revenue generated during this time helps fund essential senior programs year-round,

1332
02:20:57,110 --> 02:21:00,140
as well as seasonal initiatives that bring joy and services to older adults in our community.

1333
02:21:03,440 --> 02:21:06,770
additionally, nights of lights plays a key role in attracting destination weddings to st. Augustine.

1334
02:21:10,025 --> 02:21:12,635
river house receives inquiries from couples eager to plan their weddings and accommodations,

1335
02:21:15,575 --> 02:21:19,175
including hotel room blocks around this season. Many of our couples travel from out of town,

1336
02:21:22,130 --> 02:21:25,040
which benefits numerous other vendors. One vendor we frequently recommend is coastal transportation,

1337
02:21:29,600 --> 02:21:33,290
our transportation service, which allows guests to park at their hotel and shuttle to river house, reducing traffic.

1338
02:21:37,340 --> 02:21:40,655
while this is a separate contract for our couples, it remains under the same organization as council on aging,

1339
02:21:44,570 --> 02:21:46,790
meaning these bookings further support our mission and the vital programs we provide for seniors.

1340
02:21:50,585 --> 02:21:54,005
thank you for your consideration. Thank you. >> pardon me. Lloyd pierce,

1341
02:21:56,930 --> 02:21:56,930
followed by martha mikler.

1342
02:22:02,320 --> 02:22:05,570
>> aaron's council members. How are you doing this evening? >> very good. Thank you, sir.

1343
02:22:07,400 --> 02:22:07,400
>> I've listened quite a bit and I can concur that there is a problem.

1344
02:22:11,510 --> 02:22:14,750
lord knows I have experienced this problem in many many years here in the past by being an employee and also a business owner here on my own.

1345
02:22:18,740 --> 02:22:18,740
I have heard about certain people having issues about getting to work on time,

1346
02:22:24,065 --> 02:22:24,065
30 years in the navy, I was held accountable for getting on the boat on time.

1347
02:22:28,715 --> 02:22:32,510
what I've done is I've actually contacted the business owners that have these issues and actually have provided free shuttles for these people.

1348
02:22:36,725 --> 02:22:40,610
this is my way of giving back to the city as much as I could. What I would like for you all to do today is take back,

1349
02:22:44,660 --> 02:22:47,300
sit back, look at what you're doing with this resolution, and I would also like to offer my services to you for you to come out tomorrow,

1350
02:22:52,310 --> 02:22:55,385
the next day, or whatever, and ride with me. See what the traffic situation is like today.

1351
02:22:58,730 --> 02:23:02,450
it is basically almost as bad, but not as congested. There are companies that will tell you that we can do x amount of cars off the road here,

1352
02:23:07,925 --> 02:23:10,115
x amount of cars off the road here with this. Sometimes, if you give a person that is sick,

1353
02:23:12,725 --> 02:23:12,725
too much antibiotics, you're not fixing a problem. See what I'm saying.

1354
02:23:17,930 --> 02:23:17,930
what I would like for you to do for me today is just to sit back, take a breather,

1355
02:23:22,190 --> 02:23:26,030
look at what's happening and come out and rive in may, and let's see what we can talk about together.

1356
02:23:28,130 --> 02:23:28,130
I promise you that I think that the issue that we have now is just being able

1357
02:23:33,740 --> 02:23:33,740
to look at what's happening and control the actual situation with the traffic.

1358
02:23:39,395 --> 02:23:43,325
there's no way in this world that we can't do it. We do it all the time in gainesville, florida, with massive football seasons,

1359
02:23:44,870 --> 02:23:47,765
orlando, jacksonville, the whole nine yards. I think we have the mentality and definitely the technology right here in this city to do

1360
02:23:52,790 --> 02:23:55,430
it because we are led by some of the famous people here in the world right here in this country. Thank you.

1361
02:23:58,580 --> 02:24:00,170
>> thank you very much. Martha migler, followed by nancy peaser.

1362
02:24:15,760 --> 02:24:15,760
>> good evening, martha michal 30 spanish street.

1363
02:24:19,895 --> 02:24:19,895
first, I want to thank vice mayor blonder for bringing this issue up front.

1364
02:24:29,450 --> 02:24:29,450
I attend many city commission meetings and never see it look like this.

1365
02:24:35,375 --> 02:24:38,900
thank you. I think we have people out here. You to be commended for taking action.

1366
02:24:43,220 --> 02:24:47,020
you face a big. My husband and I have lived downtown since before night of lights began.

1367
02:24:53,465 --> 02:24:53,465
we've witnessed the growth of this annual event as residents.

1368
02:24:58,490 --> 02:25:01,850
we remember back 30 years ago, and when I call lynn weeks,

1369
02:25:05,420 --> 02:25:08,780
one of the fathers of the night of lights, and there were people that were against

1370
02:25:11,000 --> 02:25:11,000
the night of lights because they didn't want us to look like disney.

1371
02:25:15,110 --> 02:25:18,935
we were told back then it would be just little white lights outlining the eaves and gables and arches of the buildings.

1372
02:25:22,760 --> 02:25:24,470
well, look what's happened. Our neighbors initially looked forward to each new season with

1373
02:25:28,610 --> 02:25:28,610
excitement as we all added our touch to light up the historic area.

1374
02:25:33,635 --> 02:25:33,635
we enjoyed hanging our white lights and preparing for the festive holidays.

1375
02:25:38,300 --> 02:25:41,345
but after this recent past season, we've lost that enthusiasm,

1376
02:25:43,820 --> 02:25:46,655
and many of my neighbors are here tonight. We're all concerned about safety for ourselves,

1377
02:25:50,150 --> 02:25:53,630
as well as our visitors, businesses, employees. We have security concerns and a real worry that if there is an emergency downtown,

1378
02:26:00,305 --> 02:26:03,065
how will the police or the fire department, or rescue vehicles get through to help us?

1379
02:26:06,815 --> 02:26:06,815
we all agree the city needs to lead us toward positive solutions,

1380
02:26:11,510 --> 02:26:11,510
and many have given you very valuable input over the past few months,

1381
02:26:16,175 --> 02:26:19,580
and you've heard lots of suggestions tonight. We're looking forward for your leadership to solve our concerns

1382
02:26:23,525 --> 02:26:23,525
and reassure us that you will provide us with a safe environment.

1383
02:26:28,130 --> 02:26:28,130
if you decide not to improve the resolution tonight,

1384
02:26:32,165 --> 02:26:32,165
please take some action sooner than later.

1385
02:26:36,305 --> 02:26:40,055
you've heard from the business community offering their help. Please take their help.

1386
02:26:42,410 --> 02:26:42,410
but please include residents in that so that we can also give our input.

1387
02:26:48,815 --> 02:26:52,580
we need to work together to make the night of lights a safe environment for all residents,

1388
02:26:56,855 --> 02:26:59,645
for all businesses, employees, and all of our visitors.

1389
02:27:01,940 --> 02:27:05,825
so we thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we look forward to working together with you. Thank you.

1390
02:27:10,505 --> 02:27:12,560
>> thank you very much. Nancy palacer, followed by our last speaker, bj alti.

1391
02:27:23,230 --> 02:27:26,135
>> I do hate coming after her. After all of these years.

1392
02:27:28,850 --> 02:27:28,850
really, but I'm not going to iterate anymore about that.

1393
02:27:34,745 --> 02:27:34,745
I wanted to speak because I'm not sure where these people are driving.

1394
02:27:40,910 --> 02:27:44,105
but I can tell you it was more than six nights. It was more than two nights of a weekend even.

1395
02:27:47,885 --> 02:27:50,930
but in large part, traffic is a problem everywhere.

1396
02:27:53,765 --> 02:27:56,960
part of that problem is we have more people in the county because the county commissioners never turn anything down.

1397
02:28:00,425 --> 02:28:00,425
you have gridlock on us one when it's not night of lights on 312.

1398
02:28:06,155 --> 02:28:06,155
by the time you get downtown to turn off, those avenues,

1399
02:28:11,390 --> 02:28:11,390
those streets are already filling because they need to get off of us 1.

1400
02:28:17,105 --> 02:28:17,105
my two-hour excursion was really scary because not only was it gridlocked,

1401
02:28:25,055 --> 02:28:27,305
and all of the parking, even when it wasn't a parking space,

1402
02:28:29,390 --> 02:28:32,585
if it was a space, somebody was in it. Driving at night, streets are not well lit,

1403
02:28:36,845 --> 02:28:40,655
and people were everywhere. They were like ants. They were crossing through the parked cars,

1404
02:28:43,985 --> 02:28:45,335
and it was hard to see. I was worried about hitting someone or being hit.

1405
02:28:49,340 --> 02:28:53,105
but we have to solve the problem. Unfortunately, 30 years ago,

1406
02:28:55,835 --> 02:28:59,645
they made no provisions for what disney does, which is offsite parking.

1407
02:29:01,640 --> 02:29:03,965
but in order to have offsite parking, you've got to be able to get those people downtown,

1408
02:29:06,635 --> 02:29:09,095
and they're not going to be in the gridlock either, or they're not going to park there.

1409
02:29:10,865 --> 02:29:10,865
when the city commission does some proposals about treating traffic to try and move it,

1410
02:29:18,695 --> 02:29:21,920
the businesses shouldn't then throw up their hands and say, no, we need that parking space in front of our business.

1411
02:29:25,640 --> 02:29:25,640
if the businesses perhaps with their associations,

1412
02:29:31,490 --> 02:29:34,490
would write the legislature and say, let loose some of the money from the bed tax.

1413
02:29:38,675 --> 02:29:40,880
if you can provide millions of dollars to renourish the beach sand that you know is going to be washed away,

1414
02:29:44,360 --> 02:29:46,565
and you're going to do the same thing next year. They ought to be able to loosen some of the money to treat make the activity

1415
02:29:53,615 --> 02:29:53,615
of the tourists more enjoyable because that is the basis of our economy.

1416
02:30:01,295 --> 02:30:01,295
but it has to be something that everybody buys into.

1417
02:30:06,005 --> 02:30:06,005
a third lane to get all this traffic shuttles,

1418
02:30:12,200 --> 02:30:14,450
perhaps trailer trains in a faster capacity is going to mean taking parking spaces off the street.

1419
02:30:19,985 --> 02:30:22,310
you can't have it both ways. You can't have millions of people coming in and still have it be the same.

1420
02:30:29,075 --> 02:30:31,625
thank you so much for all you do. It's a hard place to sit. Yes, ma'am.

1421
02:30:35,390 --> 02:30:36,695
>> thank you very much. Our last speaker is bj city.

1422
02:30:56,110 --> 02:30:59,240
>> resolution 2025 08, nights of lights date should eliminate dates in november 2025.

1423
02:31:05,540 --> 02:31:07,505
I know that's going to go over real great. Residents can enjoy quality of life.

1424
02:31:10,370 --> 02:31:13,830
december 1, 2025 to january 4, 2026 is enough disruption in the city of st. Augustine limits.

1425
02:31:20,830 --> 02:31:23,675
I heard on the radio, vice chair blonder was interviewed on

1426
02:31:26,930 --> 02:31:29,645
a jacksonville radio station and mentioned an e-mail she received from a resident about cutting the dates.

1427
02:31:33,455 --> 02:31:33,455
my question is, who decided on the dates and resolution 2025 08?

1428
02:31:38,555 --> 02:31:40,175
it seems like tonight, most of the business people who have come here, which is great.

1429
02:31:43,100 --> 02:31:43,100
there's four people, as I was counting residents who spoke.

1430
02:31:49,360 --> 02:31:49,360
it's realizing, I'm going to keep on saying this,

1431
02:31:54,800 --> 02:31:54,800
we have a 50 pound bag of potatoes.

1432
02:31:59,420 --> 02:32:01,985
that's what we are as a city. Now we're asking 1,000 potatoes to fit in it.

1433
02:32:06,740 --> 02:32:08,720
it can be solved. But the only one I heard was one of

1434
02:32:13,340 --> 02:32:13,340
the gentleman said that you can have free rides on his shuttle or whatever he had,

1435
02:32:18,620 --> 02:32:18,620
that was interesting unless I misunderstood him.

1436
02:32:23,240 --> 02:32:26,135
it boils down to this, and we all know this. The almighty dollar versus quality of life.

1437
02:32:28,790 --> 02:32:31,190
it's really destroying the city of st. Augustine. It's a hard thing to come up with the answers.

1438
02:32:33,320 --> 02:32:33,320
but we can find the answers if we really want to.

1439
02:32:37,895 --> 02:32:39,290
somebody is going to have to give up something or all of us going to have to give up something.

1440
02:32:42,395 --> 02:32:45,860
but since we've got so many business people here tonight and a couple of politicians from the county,

1441
02:32:49,370 --> 02:32:50,960
and of course, you all, I would like to ask these business people,

1442
02:32:54,275 --> 02:32:56,945
and the other two groups I've mentioned, to get with the person at 32 evenita menendez and persuade them to

1443
02:33:02,570 --> 02:33:02,570
put the plaque about the civil rights incident on the outside of the wall.

1444
02:33:08,375 --> 02:33:11,900
these people have come out tonight, which I applaud them. I congratulate them for coming,

1445
02:33:14,495 --> 02:33:17,445
and it's obvious you can't pass this tonight. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.

1446
02:33:19,945 --> 02:33:22,480
I mean, I can count and I can listen. But it's not just the business people we need to speak within the four.

1447
02:33:29,870 --> 02:33:33,155
the four residents has to be involved. I'd like to be involved and be quickly to get done.

1448
02:33:36,800 --> 02:33:36,800
but it's given up each person is going to have to give up something,

1449
02:33:41,075 --> 02:33:44,315
and it can be done and we're talking about this all the time, and it's the mobility thing.

1450
02:33:45,530 --> 02:33:49,160
we've been talking about mobility since whoever knows how long. That's what's going to have to be done. Thank you.

1451
02:33:52,295 --> 02:33:52,295
>> thank you. This is the last call for cards.

1452
02:33:56,870 --> 02:33:59,990
I've had two turned in. It looks like you've got another one. People have decided to jump in here late.

1453
02:34:04,930 --> 02:34:07,985
next speaker, shane sheltra, followed by ben brando. Thank you very much.

1454
02:34:18,730 --> 02:34:21,095
>> hello. Good evening, madam mayor and commissioners.

1455
02:34:22,970 --> 02:34:26,765
sorry to extend this a little longer. I appreciate it. I'll be quick. My name is shane sheltra,

1456
02:34:28,175 --> 02:34:29,660
117 st. George street, st. Augie, florida 32084.

1457
02:34:32,540 --> 02:34:32,540
I appreciate all of you and know the decisions you have to make are not easy.

1458
02:34:38,540 --> 02:34:41,000
I own multiple businesses downtown. We have 220 employees with many that live in our beloved city.

1459
02:34:45,950 --> 02:34:45,950
there has already been so much valuable input from all the speakers before me.

1460
02:34:50,960 --> 02:34:52,685
as a business owner, I want to provide the most I possibly can for the staff that shows up every day,

1461
02:34:57,725 --> 02:35:01,160
works hard, cares about our business and community. We provide high wages,

1462
02:35:02,750 --> 02:35:05,975
full benefits, amazing appreciation outings. We want to provide as much as we possibly can

1463
02:35:08,990 --> 02:35:12,290
and still be able to run a successful business. I'm only saying this because I'm not here for myself or my family.

1464
02:35:16,655 --> 02:35:19,790
I'm really here for my 220 employees. Please consider that passing this ordinance will be a huge detriment to their livelihood.

1465
02:35:25,130 --> 02:35:28,220
I feel like you all have heard enough to make the best educated decision. Thank you very much.

1466
02:35:31,685 --> 02:35:35,525
>> thank you. Ben brando, followed by philip castillo.

1467
02:35:41,200 --> 02:35:41,200
>> thank you, everybody. This is a great topic to get everybody out here.

1468
02:35:45,290 --> 02:35:48,710
I feel like my concerns over it being cut short, won't come to fruition. That's great.

1469
02:35:50,810 --> 02:35:54,485
I want to offer some solutions. My name is benjamin brando. I own geo trip and adventure company at junang's fish camp in crescent beach.

1470
02:35:58,355 --> 02:36:01,070
I'm here tonight to submit alternative solutions for the 2025 nights of light season that should satisfy both sides of the argument.

1471
02:36:06,525 --> 02:36:08,860
seasonal themes like nights of light are vital tourism assets that attract visitors

1472
02:36:10,930 --> 02:36:13,450
and generate significant revenue for our community. I support the position that overcrowding, congestion,

1473
02:36:16,855 --> 02:36:19,630
and the occasional inconveniences our city's popularity brings to residents are legitimate concerns,

1474
02:36:22,495 --> 02:36:26,015
but shortening the event is not the answer, clearly. It exacerbates the very issues that we hope to solve.

1475
02:36:29,765 --> 02:36:32,750
I have many solutions that are in line with city, county and state initiatives with

1476
02:36:34,280 --> 02:36:35,990
comprehensive funding opportunities to rebrand florida from beaches and tourist attractions

1477
02:36:38,765 --> 02:36:42,020
to a message that uplifts nature based experiences to bring the rest of florida's history into the narrative.

1478
02:36:45,710 --> 02:36:49,475
instead, I propose that we spread out the demand to equalize traffic by expanding the celebrations impact,

1479
02:36:53,150 --> 02:36:56,330
by encouraging visitors to explore the entire region by promoting off the beaten path attractions and neighboring areas.

1480
02:37:00,095 --> 02:37:00,095
I believe that if we divert traffic away from st. Augustine and create a broader,

1481
02:37:04,430 --> 02:37:06,515
more vibrant regional celebration, this strategy not only alleviates local congestion,

1482
02:37:09,455 --> 02:37:12,020
but also enhances the overall visitor experience, making st. Augustine the perfect place to get heads into beds,

1483
02:37:15,290 --> 02:37:15,290
since it is ground zero for those flying in to follow the lights.

1484
02:37:19,430 --> 02:37:22,865
st. Augustine is not just a colonial history anymore. Every time period offers a wealth of adventure and discovery.

1485
02:37:27,590 --> 02:37:29,150
both sides want to reduce annoyances and safety concerns gridlock brings from time to time while

1486
02:37:33,710 --> 02:37:36,440
preserving the essential economic benefits my industry and every local business and hospitality worker relies on each january.

1487
02:37:40,175 --> 02:37:43,040
I e-mailed every member of the board a copy of my musings, and I hope a motion is made to appoint a committee to explore the possibility of

1488
02:37:47,330 --> 02:37:47,330
expanding nights of lights and adding more seasonal celebrations to the city's calendar.

1489
02:37:52,505 --> 02:37:56,180
consider the 250 anniversary of the usa is next year. It also marks the completion of the river to sea trail through st. Augustine,

1490
02:37:59,915 --> 02:38:02,720
and great themes to positively impact the success of the most significant sectors employing residents here in

1491
02:38:05,240 --> 02:38:08,075
st. John's county for another time. We should commence discussions about adding a spring festival season as well.

1492
02:38:12,965 --> 02:38:12,965
just to see for thought, bartram 3 theme frolic to align with our neighbors in plaka,

1493
02:38:17,810 --> 02:38:19,760
who got the national park services to create the brand new national park corridor across five southern states.

1494
02:38:23,450 --> 02:38:23,450
that starts has been established where america's first native born master naturalist,

1495
02:38:28,805 --> 02:38:28,805
william bartram, traveled through and settled his homestead in st. John's county,

1496
02:38:32,870 --> 02:38:35,705
circus 1773. Who was here? What was happening in 1776?

1497
02:38:37,850 --> 02:38:41,375
bartram was here and his writings are filled with lor. That is the next narrative to continue

1498
02:38:44,870 --> 02:38:44,870
drawing crowds away from downtown while helping the tourism sector thrive.

1499
02:38:49,130 --> 02:38:49,130
I hope it lasts all year because I do tours of the living lights in guana lake.

1500
02:38:53,735 --> 02:38:56,210
you can't stop my living lights there. They're 500 million-years-old and they're going to continue being there,

1501
02:38:58,460 --> 02:38:59,810
so everybody keep keep it in mind. >> thank you very much.

1502
02:39:05,920 --> 02:39:05,920
philip castillo, please. Our last speaker.

1503
02:39:20,980 --> 02:39:20,980
>> good evening. My name is philip castillo.

1504
02:39:25,130 --> 02:39:25,130
I started my first business downtown 41 years ago on st. George street.

1505
02:39:30,830 --> 02:39:33,470
chris, who started the nico lights, 31 years ago, one of my tennis buddies.

1506
02:39:36,410 --> 02:39:37,805
he goes to me says, phil, will you help me string lights and the lightning

1507
02:39:40,520 --> 02:39:43,575
bushes out here?" I said, "oh, heck yeah." I love the nico lights and I don't think that we should shorten them whatsoever.

1508
02:39:48,415 --> 02:39:49,960
as a business owner, I have two art galleries and a wine bar on avilis.

1509
02:39:54,055 --> 02:39:56,650
is my last business in town that I'm going to do. I think you've been there.

1510
02:39:59,050 --> 02:39:59,050
we really need to continue the extension and the time frame of the nico lights.

1511
02:40:06,665 --> 02:40:09,440
I don't want to see it shorten whatsoever because I don't want to suffer the loss of revenue,

1512
02:40:13,055 --> 02:40:16,925
and I know that this is going to impact all of us here. I don't know how all of us can make all that revenue up.

1513
02:40:21,080 --> 02:40:24,710
it's very important that we continue this tradition. Please, don't shorten it. Thank you very much.

1514
02:40:28,985 --> 02:40:28,985
>> thank you very much. That is the end of public comment.

1515
02:40:34,720 --> 02:40:37,220
thank you, everybody for coming. We really appreciate the input.

1516
02:40:39,005 --> 02:40:39,005
I think everyone definitely has the well being of the city at heart.

1517
02:40:47,470 --> 02:40:47,470
I think we'd like to begin discussion here,

1518
02:40:52,190 --> 02:40:52,190
and what I'd like to do is since this was a proposal by vice mayor.

1519
02:40:56,900 --> 02:40:56,900
we'll give her the first stab at comments and responses.

1520
02:41:04,450 --> 02:41:04,450
>> bear with me. I won't take more than three minutes, I promise.

1521
02:41:08,810 --> 02:41:12,170
first, I commend all the people who have come out tonight, have e-mailed or called us to participate in their government.

1522
02:41:15,485 --> 02:41:19,250
I'm proud of our community, whether we agree or disagree. We do so with civility.

1523
02:41:21,320 --> 02:41:24,870
I knew when I made this proposal that this idea was provocative. It's so important for people to express themselves and

1524
02:41:27,760 --> 02:41:31,495
participate in this difficult decision and discussion. Please reflect in the next few minutes on all the great observations,

1525
02:41:36,100 --> 02:41:39,770
suggestions and ideas we've received over the past weeks, and especially tonight and by e-mail in the past few days.

1526
02:41:43,505 --> 02:41:43,505
the fact is that in this fast changing environment we find ourselves in,

1527
02:41:47,750 --> 02:41:50,120
we just don't know what to expect in terms of visitors in terms of lots of things due to any number of pressures,

1528
02:41:54,340 --> 02:41:56,800
whether they be hurricanes, and economic recession, overly successful advertising, etc.

1529
02:41:59,635 --> 02:42:03,300
it's a big black box in making this decision. We don't know in particular how deeply the dot project to replace

1530
02:42:07,370 --> 02:42:07,370
the king street bridge will further contribute to traffic gridlock.

1531
02:42:11,480 --> 02:42:13,910
we do know that visitors as a result of their sheer numbers had an unacceptable experience this past season.

1532
02:42:18,260 --> 02:42:18,260
many won't come back with continuing traffic gridlock and

1533
02:42:22,745 --> 02:42:22,745
inadequate services such as police crossing guards and restrooms.

1534
02:42:29,075 --> 02:42:29,075
I know to all of us in this room and beyond safety is paramount,

1535
02:42:33,620 --> 02:42:33,620
emergency professionals are not able to access those who need them with

1536
02:42:38,450 --> 02:42:38,450
the type of congestion that we are facing in particular during nights of lights.

1537
02:42:43,535 --> 02:42:46,340
quality of life for our residents has deteriorated to the point that good people are leaving our community permanently.

1538
02:42:52,250 --> 02:42:52,250
we need to recover just a little bit of balance, just temporarily,

1539
02:42:56,825 --> 02:42:58,925
one year, while we review, assess, prioritize, and implement solutions.

1540
02:43:01,985 --> 02:43:01,985
january signals the end of the holidays as well as the significant decrease in visitors.

1541
02:43:07,550 --> 02:43:10,070
peak times of nights of lights have passed, which is why I propose shortening it in january.

1542
02:43:13,130 --> 02:43:15,035
january alone. I remind everyone of the rationale for why I introduced this resolution.

1543
02:43:18,980 --> 02:43:21,665
number one is quality of life for our residents. Number two, the process for implementing solutions to

1544
02:43:24,890 --> 02:43:24,890
these problems will take more time than we have between now and late november.

1545
02:43:29,975 --> 02:43:33,095
that's not close to even a year. Number three, the replacement of the king street bridge.

1546
02:43:36,290 --> 02:43:39,350
number four, a reminder that this is a temporary measure, at least as I intended it.

1547
02:43:41,195 --> 02:43:44,780
given all the uncertainties in the drop in visitation in january, it makes sense to me that we give our residents some time to exhale.

1548
02:43:48,425 --> 02:43:50,435
whichever way this vote goes, though, it is my sincere hope that all of the offers,

1549
02:43:54,155 --> 02:43:54,155
the wonderful offers for assistance that we got from the business community,

1550
02:43:58,970 --> 02:44:02,900
are sincere and that we can work together, pool our resources, and make significant improvements

1551
02:44:05,840 --> 02:44:05,840
to our future nights of lights. Thank you.

1552
02:44:12,010 --> 02:44:14,075
>> very well put. Thank you. I appreciate it.

1553
02:44:16,880 --> 02:44:16,880
although I did not have the benefit of participating in that conversation,

1554
02:44:22,190 --> 02:44:22,190
I certainly have received a lot of input about it.

1555
02:44:26,450 --> 02:44:30,065
I'd like to thank you for bringing the proposal because you have accomplished one very important thing and you've brought this community together.

1556
02:44:33,260 --> 02:44:36,965
I think the business community has come out the positives are that the business community has come out and offered their assistance.

1557
02:44:43,160 --> 02:44:43,160
they have a full recognition of how important this issue is and that there were problems.

1558
02:44:50,165 --> 02:44:50,165
finally, there is a recognition now that there were problems this year.

1559
02:44:57,155 --> 02:44:57,155
for whatever reason, we all have our ideas about whatever those reasons were,

1560
02:45:02,690 --> 02:45:06,365
that business community is offering to cooperate. Everything from the board of county commissioners here,

1561
02:45:09,290 --> 02:45:09,290
which is well represented to the chairman of the tdc,

1562
02:45:13,370 --> 02:45:15,140
to the chamber of commerce, to the st. Augustine business coalition.

1563
02:45:18,890 --> 02:45:18,890
it's quite encouraging to see that they're here recognizing

1564
02:45:24,650 --> 02:45:27,140
the issue and realizing we're going to have to roll our sleeves up and resolve this issue.

1565
02:45:31,295 --> 02:45:31,295
this is whether this shortening of the nights of lights would in any fashion,

1566
02:45:40,700 --> 02:45:43,550
whether it's a week or whether it's two weeks or whether it's three weeks or an entire month, my question is,

1567
02:45:47,390 --> 02:45:49,955
does it actually accomplish the goal of addressing the issues that we had in this last nights of lights.

1568
02:45:57,530 --> 02:45:59,765
that's for me is the key question. Then also, how does the bridge closure on king street impact the businesses?

1569
02:46:07,670 --> 02:46:10,955
would this exacerbate their pain, which I believe would.

1570
02:46:13,340 --> 02:46:13,340
I really do. I believe shortening nights of lights would exacerbate their pain.

1571
02:46:17,960 --> 02:46:20,480
they're going to suffer enough as it is. But with that said,

1572
02:46:22,775 --> 02:46:24,830
I just would like to say, I care very much about the residents. I am a resident.

1573
02:46:28,235 --> 02:46:29,960
I am not a business owner here, although I have business experience.

1574
02:46:32,255 --> 02:46:32,255
I am not in here with this business community so much,

1575
02:46:37,235 --> 02:46:39,395
although I definitely feel their pain. I tend to fall more on the side of the residents,

1576
02:46:42,425 --> 02:46:45,515
and I will tell you that the residents are suffering. They are suffering, and they have been wonderful about,

1577
02:46:50,450 --> 02:46:54,275
and you heard them speak tonight, how much they love nights of lights, how much they enjoy it,

1578
02:46:55,595 --> 02:46:59,540
how much they look forward to and treasure it. It's a part of all of our lives. It's a pride and joy.

1579
02:47:00,635 --> 02:47:00,635
it is a wonderful thing that we get to celebrate this community in this beautiful way.

1580
02:47:06,005 --> 02:47:08,705
it does get tired in january. When christmas is over,

1581
02:47:10,160 --> 02:47:11,690
it's like a whole another thing. All those lights that are not just highlighting

1582
02:47:15,890 --> 02:47:15,890
the architecture become garish and unattractive and too much.

1583
02:47:22,445 --> 02:47:24,605
there's that fatigue. I think we get a lot of fatigue in january

1584
02:47:27,950 --> 02:47:27,950
about it and maybe that's why we're picking on january.

1585
02:47:34,030 --> 02:47:37,960
we get a little tired. My question is, again, I'll come back to this.

1586
02:47:41,465 --> 02:47:45,425
does this shortening of nights of lights, how does it help us solve our long-term solution?

1587
02:47:50,480 --> 02:47:50,480
how does it help relieve the fatigue of our residents that we're asking to go along with.

1588
02:47:57,920 --> 02:48:01,220
there's lots of residents that don't benefit from nights of lights, just in that this is a point of pride.

1589
02:48:05,020 --> 02:48:07,730
I would like to hear from you and all your different thoughts and maybe we can work through something.

1590
02:48:11,280 --> 02:48:11,280
I have talked to several business owners and they've said,

1591
02:48:20,860 --> 02:48:20,860
"if you're going to shorten it after martin luther king weekend,

1592
02:48:25,925 --> 02:48:28,655
which is a long weekend, which is an important weekend, that would be shortening it only one week, basically."

1593
02:48:32,945 --> 02:48:32,945
then I've heard this january 4 date,

1594
02:48:37,295 --> 02:48:40,925
and I'm not sure what that accomplishes either. But I would like to hear your thoughts on if you're interested in shortening

1595
02:48:46,940 --> 02:48:46,940
it and where you would think that would fall reasonably.

1596
02:48:54,410 --> 02:48:57,615
>> can I do that last? >> I see you to start. >> I'm meager to start. Can I do that last?

1597
02:48:59,100 --> 02:49:01,980
[noise] I would like to remind everybody, we don't make any money in the city of st. Augustine on night of flights, we lose money.

1598
02:49:07,770 --> 02:49:10,365
sales tax are generated galore, thanks to all these businesses making all this extra money,

1599
02:49:13,425 --> 02:49:13,425
and the income tax people in federal government gain from all that extra income.

1600
02:49:18,675 --> 02:49:21,060
city of st. Augustine doesn't make a nickel. We don't promote it.

1601
02:49:22,920 --> 02:49:25,815
we don't spend advertising dollars to promote it, that's the job of the tdc thanks to the hotel tax.

1602
02:49:30,530 --> 02:49:32,600
I just want to remind everybody that. We did hear concerns last year about the length of time from residents,

1603
02:49:38,315 --> 02:49:40,375
and there is a lot of fatigue, and we heard them and we did shorten it.

1604
02:49:43,455 --> 02:49:45,720
I just want to remind everybody that we did that. I see several common issues between all of the groups.

1605
02:49:50,535 --> 02:49:52,350
we have residents, we have businesses, and we have the city management.

1606
02:49:55,935 --> 02:49:55,935
residents are primarily, and what I've heard this year and other years is safety.

1607
02:50:02,815 --> 02:50:04,430
the streets are blocked, you can't get there, and then traffic.

1608
02:50:07,460 --> 02:50:07,460
just the annoyance of having to spend two hours just to get the publics.

1609
02:50:11,465 --> 02:50:11,465
the businesses are concerned about traffic and safety.

1610
02:50:16,345 --> 02:50:19,515
the city is concerned about safety, and they're concerned about the fact that

1611
02:50:22,170 --> 02:50:24,840
their staff is so busy handling night of lights issues, they can't handle the problems that are happening at target or any other place.

1612
02:50:29,985 --> 02:50:29,985
those are issues that are common to all of us.

1613
02:50:34,430 --> 02:50:34,430
I'm also glad to hear all these businesses are making some money

1614
02:50:38,460 --> 02:50:41,730
that maybe they can help contribute to some of our problems. That would be a nice thing somehow.

1615
02:50:44,040 --> 02:50:44,040
we'll leave a collection plate at the back.

1616
02:50:49,520 --> 02:50:53,280
when cindy spoke about the coa, that hit some hard strings right there that

1617
02:50:57,225 --> 02:51:01,095
this actually is helping the community with the funds through the coa. I appreciate the cindy coming out.

1618
02:51:04,000 --> 02:51:04,000
I am not in favor of shortening it again this year.

1619
02:51:09,695 --> 02:51:09,695
I think that we've done that and we have a big problem to solve first,

1620
02:51:15,620 --> 02:51:19,525
and that's to attempt to try to solve the mobility problem. That includes things like blocking some streets,

1621
02:51:22,830 --> 02:51:22,830
so they're not parking on rody and cincinnati and those streets.

1622
02:51:30,610 --> 02:51:30,610
trying to get rid of the blow up dolls in

1623
02:51:34,640 --> 02:51:34,640
the hotel landscape and trying to get rid of the garish lights,

1624
02:51:40,265 --> 02:51:40,265
and also most importantly trying to get rid of those vendors that are

1625
02:51:44,285 --> 02:51:44,285
adding the tackiness to the night of lights.

1626
02:51:49,485 --> 02:51:49,485
I think lynn weeks and the crew back then envisioned

1627
02:51:53,550 --> 02:51:53,550
something classy and beautiful in highlighting the architecture.

1628
02:51:57,870 --> 02:51:57,870
we need to get back to that and we can do that thug ordinance in the future.

1629
02:52:02,990 --> 02:52:02,990
sing out loud in the pga and when they had the super bowl in jacksonville.

1630
02:52:08,910 --> 02:52:10,890
I was active with that too. It worked, and it takes some time to develop a program and to have space.

1631
02:52:17,580 --> 02:52:17,580
I would like to propose an alternative dates though.

1632
02:52:22,440 --> 02:52:22,440
I went to speak to the business association and there was a suggestion that we move,

1633
02:52:28,290 --> 02:52:31,365
this is one person's suggestion it wasn't the group, move all the dates to november and drop january.

1634
02:52:34,605 --> 02:52:37,710
because the holiday season starts early. The more I thought about that after we've had this brought up by commissioner blonder,

1635
02:52:42,750 --> 02:52:42,750
the more I realized that if we could start at least a week earlier in november,

1636
02:52:48,270 --> 02:52:51,660
the holiday traffic may be dispersed a little bit from around thanksgiving and other dates,

1637
02:52:54,975 --> 02:52:54,975
and then take a week off of january.

1638
02:52:59,205 --> 02:52:59,205
what I would like for us to consider is november 15th to the january 19t.

1639
02:53:04,035 --> 02:53:04,035
that takes a week before thanksgiving and it ends the monday night of martin luther king.

1640
02:53:11,535 --> 02:53:11,535
the same number of weeks and the same number of weekends we had last year,

1641
02:53:16,770 --> 02:53:16,770
but it may move some of that heavy traffic in november away from that congestion time.

1642
02:53:23,940 --> 02:53:27,210
I have no scientific data to support that, [laughter] but common sense seems to be the thing people are

1643
02:53:31,650 --> 02:53:31,650
throwing around now even though they don't have common sense. I rest my case.

1644
02:53:37,240 --> 02:53:37,240
>> very good. Thank you very much. Commissioner garris.

1645
02:53:43,530 --> 02:53:43,530
>> thank you. Let me sip on some water quick.

1646
02:53:48,830 --> 02:53:48,830
well, first of all, the nights of lights always started the week before thanksgiving

1647
02:53:54,855 --> 02:53:57,420
it never started the week of thanksgiving because it always was like around my husband's birthday,

1648
02:54:00,060 --> 02:54:03,830
which is the 18th, so I know that to be true. There's been a lot of people that have come out

1649
02:54:06,870 --> 02:54:09,060
tonight and there's been a lot of phone calls. I'm sure all of you have received them about the concern of the lights being turned off.

1650
02:54:14,370 --> 02:54:16,095
there's a lot of business, and there was a couple of people here that spoke on that that are barely staying open.

1651
02:54:21,510 --> 02:54:21,510
we have hurricane season just prior to nights of lights,

1652
02:54:25,515 --> 02:54:28,770
so this is an opportunity for those business to re-emerge and end in the black because they have to close.

1653
02:54:34,815 --> 02:54:37,440
the businesses might get damaged, and so it's like a retrieve.

1654
02:54:39,750 --> 02:54:43,740
what the problem is, is really not the length of the nights and lights, that's the problem, the problem is the mobility.

1655
02:54:47,715 --> 02:54:47,715
I spoke to the sheriff today at the rotary.

1656
02:54:52,035 --> 02:54:52,035
he said that he has never been asked to be a part of the nights and lights,

1657
02:54:57,210 --> 02:54:59,370
and people constantly ask him why the sheriff's office is not involved in directing traffic.

1658
02:55:03,480 --> 02:55:05,850
he said because he is county, he doesn't want to step on anybody's toes.

1659
02:55:08,145 --> 02:55:08,145
but he did say this that from christmas time when school gets out,

1660
02:55:14,175 --> 02:55:14,175
he has 20 officers that he has to reassign to go somewhere.

1661
02:55:18,405 --> 02:55:18,405
he'd be willing to send those officers to help us with night of lights, if he's asked.

1662
02:55:25,500 --> 02:55:25,500
there's resources out there that we haven't tapped on.

1663
02:55:29,820 --> 02:55:32,160
there is people that have come up. I had the pleasure of talking to the tdc chair irvin cass,

1664
02:55:36,705 --> 02:55:40,125
that he gave some great suggestions. Unfortunately, I left them on my table. Otherwise, I will reiterate them to you right now.

1665
02:55:43,305 --> 02:55:46,185
the isabel of the chamber. A lot of people are offering to give us dollars to help us address this issue.

1666
02:55:51,915 --> 02:55:54,915
again, it's mobility that is the concern, not the length of the nights of lights.

1667
02:55:57,330 --> 02:55:57,330
if we decided to shorten it somewhat because of the the bridge situation.

1668
02:56:03,240 --> 02:56:05,040
but just like anything, those people are coming in from 16 most of the time,

1669
02:56:07,890 --> 02:56:11,595
they turn it over there by the parking garage because they know that it exists, and they don't already put it in phones,

1670
02:56:13,695 --> 02:56:15,795
so they're not even going to deal with the bridge issue, and then they're going to try to go right back out the way they are.

1671
02:56:18,750 --> 02:56:22,485
if we have police offices versus those red lights, we can move that traffic.

1672
02:56:24,060 --> 02:56:26,415
it has already been proven. Look how many people come here for the events in september.

1673
02:56:30,585 --> 02:56:30,585
there was over 26,000 people down there each night for those events,

1674
02:56:36,390 --> 02:56:39,030
and there was no traffic congestion downtown at all. It was like it didn't even happen.

1675
02:56:40,860 --> 02:56:42,930
it can be done. I think that what we need to do is we need to have a round table discussion,

1676
02:56:47,790 --> 02:56:51,660
our city manager with some of these individuals to come up with a solution so that we can effectively prove that we are capable of moving traffic.

1677
02:56:58,155 --> 02:56:58,155
he also needs to have a fire chief in there so that he can find they have safe streets

1678
02:57:04,050 --> 02:57:06,690
that they don't put any traffic on so that the fire trucks can get through and ambulance can get through,

1679
02:57:10,335 --> 02:57:13,560
they have a safe passage. This can be done, it can be managed if we all put our heads together.

1680
02:57:17,460 --> 02:57:20,550
there was too many intelligent people that spoke tonight. To prove that this can be managed,

1681
02:57:23,100 --> 02:57:25,920
and we have opened up the door for them to have come here tonight and express their concerns.

1682
02:57:29,025 --> 02:57:32,040
if we decided to shorten the nights of lights, it does need to go past martin luther king because they make it money in december.

1683
02:57:38,965 --> 02:57:41,645
january is a new year. They need to start in the black so that they have

1684
02:57:43,970 --> 02:57:43,970
hope that their business is going to make it in the upcoming year.

1685
02:57:48,305 --> 02:57:48,305
at the earliest, we have to let them go through martin luther king,

1686
02:57:55,545 --> 02:57:58,470
and then we can take the lights down on that tuesday afterwards. We cannot disrupt people's income,

1687
02:58:01,695 --> 02:58:05,370
put people's jobs in jeopardy, close places. I think the residents will be happy because we heard them is shortened,

1688
02:58:09,765 --> 02:58:12,870
and I think that the business owners will know that they have the three day weekend before their businesses can be affected from the nights of lights.

1689
02:58:18,675 --> 02:58:21,660
more people came in here for businesses, then that residents that came in here.

1690
02:58:23,505 --> 02:58:23,505
there was a handful of people that came in here, speaking for residents,

1691
02:58:27,870 --> 02:58:30,735
but a lot of these businesses came in here, found parking, came in here to express their concerns. Thank you.

1692
02:58:37,280 --> 02:58:37,280
>> wow, that's something to follow.

1693
02:58:42,020 --> 02:58:46,020
well, I don't want to repeat what everybody said here tonight. It's pretty much what I said at the last hearing and the issue is

1694
02:58:49,290 --> 02:58:49,290
a mobility problem really in the city with this and everywhere.

1695
02:58:54,990 --> 02:58:54,990
in the hope of trying to build a little consensus around this,

1696
02:58:59,085 --> 02:59:02,370
I've written down some things that I personally would like to see in mobility plan and then I'll get to setting the time.

1697
02:59:07,790 --> 02:59:10,725
I listened to businesses. I've talked to the neighborhood business group,

1698
02:59:14,220 --> 02:59:14,220
went to the vcb, got plenty of phone calls from business people.

1699
02:59:18,465 --> 02:59:18,465
I will concur that there are a lot of residents that patients have been lost.

1700
02:59:23,025 --> 02:59:24,480
I think in some cases, this is an exercise of winning our residents trust back.

1701
02:59:27,840 --> 02:59:30,570
I think they're wondering whether we can manage this. At the same time, I want to keep the economic vitality of the event.

1702
02:59:34,455 --> 02:59:36,810
I'm trying to get a win-win. We have to show the residents we're doing something

1703
02:59:39,000 --> 02:59:41,790
and we also at the same time have to listen to our businesses. As a mobility goals,

1704
02:59:44,715 --> 02:59:46,785
written down a couple of them here. Safe and convenient through routes for the residents.

1705
02:59:50,010 --> 02:59:53,280
I think that's the number one issue for residents if they can get in their cars and they can drive around and they can get back and forth.

1706
02:59:56,535 --> 02:59:58,350
that is a goal right now, but I don't actually have a plan in front of me that says what roads on what time.

1707
03:00:02,850 --> 03:00:02,850
that would be a goal that I would want to see regardless of what we do here on a vote.

1708
03:00:08,445 --> 03:00:11,880
I know we have a facilitator to help us, I'm just going to write these things down for now.

1709
03:00:14,535 --> 03:00:18,450
I want guaranteed parking access to residents houses and streets. We're hearing a lot of people who are not

1710
03:00:20,640 --> 03:00:22,950
being able to get into their driveway or people are parking on lawns or that is going to take some enforcement.

1711
03:00:27,375 --> 03:00:29,025
that is going to take some money, and I'll get to that at the end of the thing here.

1712
03:00:32,220 --> 03:00:32,220
some plan to ensure less drive through traffic.

1713
03:00:37,080 --> 03:00:39,600
traffic it just drive through and looks at the lights. A lot of residents and businesses come up with ideas,

1714
03:00:42,780 --> 03:00:44,940
we park the people outside of town, we bring them in. I think this is from what I've heard from people.

1715
03:00:47,115 --> 03:00:49,950
this was a big problem. People get in the car, they drive around, they want to look at the nights lights,

1716
03:00:51,270 --> 03:00:54,885
it's just congesting the roads. On top of that, I want to disincentivize.

1717
03:00:56,955 --> 03:01:00,225
I want to disincentive plan for parking in the core and incentivizing multimodal ways to get out of town.

1718
03:01:04,980 --> 03:01:08,460
I know I'm the bike freak. No everybody's going to come down on a bike, but if you are a resident and you want to get down on a bike,

1719
03:01:11,340 --> 03:01:14,205
you should be able to do that. You should have a shuttle. You should have some way to be able to get around.

1720
03:01:16,755 --> 03:01:18,930
that relives the pressure on the businesses because the residents will necessarily have to be in a car to go down there.

1721
03:01:23,130 --> 03:01:24,975
is one car off the road. I want to see assistance and permission

1722
03:01:29,250 --> 03:01:32,850
from property owners and from f dot and the county, in some cases, for multiple satellite parking sites and shuttle lanes,

1723
03:01:37,770 --> 03:01:40,785
I'd like to see that guarantee, I'd like to see contracts. I would like to see those coming from every direction.

1724
03:01:43,665 --> 03:01:46,290
the south, the west, the north, and the east. It's a big task, but that's what we got to do.

1725
03:01:49,470 --> 03:01:49,470
a traffic analysis factoring in the future construction on king street, nebrga lions.

1726
03:01:55,080 --> 03:01:57,540
this is a big issue. I know we're talking about that. We're going to have the king street bridge being redone.

1727
03:02:01,350 --> 03:02:05,250
it's going to re-route. It's going to be an extra stop light on us1, which is already congested.

1728
03:02:06,660 --> 03:02:06,660
I want to see some way that we're going to be able to identify that.

1729
03:02:10,890 --> 03:02:14,295
as I said in the first meeting when we talked about this, I think the goals that we need to follow,

1730
03:02:17,745 --> 03:02:17,745
the framework we need to follow are in our mobility plan.

1731
03:02:22,245 --> 03:02:25,890
I would like to see added language or addendum to the mobility plan specifically for large scale events.

1732
03:02:30,435 --> 03:02:30,435
public safety, I'd like to see a public safety response time analysis that's

1733
03:02:35,550 --> 03:02:37,830
coordinated with that mobility plan so we can be sure that there's open roads to get cars back and forth.

1734
03:02:40,875 --> 03:02:44,310
I like to develop measurable goals and metrics. When we do this, we go back after a year and we say, hey, we did this.

1735
03:02:47,745 --> 03:02:50,460
it didn't take somebody two hours to get somewhere. We actually achieve what we want.

1736
03:02:53,510 --> 03:02:53,510
I would like to see an improved partnership and shared goals with

1737
03:02:58,080 --> 03:02:58,080
the tdc and the county specifically around the advertising for the event.

1738
03:03:03,480 --> 03:03:05,790
like I said at the last meeting, goals that message is basically a pedestrian event.

1739
03:03:15,320 --> 03:03:19,215
this is something I got is the budgeting. All these things I'm saying,

1740
03:03:20,850 --> 03:03:20,850
everything what paul is going to require some money.

1741
03:03:25,280 --> 03:03:25,280
I would like to see us start budgeting the nights of lights as

1742
03:03:29,340 --> 03:03:29,340
an item for discussion separately for two reasons.

1743
03:03:33,555 --> 03:03:35,700
number 1, we're spending the taxpayer's money, I'd like to know that we're doing it effectively.

1744
03:03:38,100 --> 03:03:39,840
number 2, it'll give the residents to some business owners the confidence that we're working on it.

1745
03:03:45,840 --> 03:03:45,840
number 3, I get a very good suggestion from a local business owner who said,

1746
03:03:50,160 --> 03:03:51,345
you can take that budget, and then you can go out and use it to cost share with some of

1747
03:03:54,180 --> 03:03:57,960
our other shareholders here, that would be tdc the county and some of the businesses that have worked to us.

1748
03:04:03,320 --> 03:04:03,320
the difficulty for me is the time frame.

1749
03:04:07,740 --> 03:04:11,010
I think miss commissioner blonder was right that we this is not going to happen in eight months.

1750
03:04:14,655 --> 03:04:14,655
I know we're moving along and I know we're going really good.

1751
03:04:18,855 --> 03:04:21,585
but as far as the timing, I just sat here tonight and I was realizing that the holding

1752
03:04:25,005 --> 03:04:28,740
couple of weeks back first of all, I like the idea of maybe starting a week early and then going after martin luther king.

1753
03:04:33,930 --> 03:04:36,630
I think that's probably a good compromise. There's a rationale there. But I do like holding a couple of weeks back.

1754
03:04:39,435 --> 03:04:41,805
it's just like a poker game. By suggesting three weeks, we're going to be cut off.

1755
03:04:46,515 --> 03:04:48,840
look at what we got a good response. We got two county officials here.

1756
03:04:51,830 --> 03:04:51,830
I'm not ready to go back to the full amount of time that we had, but shifting it.

1757
03:04:57,195 --> 03:05:00,510
I would have thought maybe two weeks off would have maybe told the residents that we're trying to work on this a little bit.

1758
03:05:03,735 --> 03:05:06,840
but shifting it a week forward, I understand now, I didn't. I had my calendar here on my phone to go and pat martin luther king.

1759
03:05:11,985 --> 03:05:14,610
I never really thought of that. That wasn't a date I thought of, I think that's really important.

1760
03:05:16,790 --> 03:05:16,790
I would be inclined to support a compromise like that.

1761
03:05:24,190 --> 03:05:24,190
>> I like all of what I've heard, especially,

1762
03:05:28,460 --> 03:05:32,270
I like the idea of working with the sheriff because I think we're going to need to address our safety concerns and some of that is visible badges.

1763
03:05:38,150 --> 03:05:40,340
that's like I told the city manager, when people have become accustomed to seeing

1764
03:05:43,860 --> 03:05:43,860
law enforcement everywhere where large groups of people have gathered.

1765
03:05:49,345 --> 03:05:51,010
I think that's really important. I think that the sheriff could help us play that role.

1766
03:05:55,000 --> 03:05:58,445
if you will thank him for us for that offer, we appreciate that I certainly do.

1767
03:06:00,800 --> 03:06:03,290
I like the idea. I had heard the idea,

1768
03:06:05,225 --> 03:06:07,235
suggested about shifting the times, and I actually like that idea.

1769
03:06:10,190 --> 03:06:13,325
I think that might address some of that fatigue that I talked about in january that we're tired of christmas.

1770
03:06:17,525 --> 03:06:17,525
maybe we can work on our business owners that are overdcorating,

1771
03:06:24,575 --> 03:06:27,740
or not following the original intent. That aren't so pretty, frankly, after january,

1772
03:06:32,090 --> 03:06:35,525
they don't look as pretty to us because it's still christmas, and that's not what we're doing.

1773
03:06:40,560 --> 03:06:42,940
with all of this in mind, I like the shift.

1774
03:06:44,565 --> 03:06:44,565
I like the shifting idea of,

1775
03:06:49,120 --> 03:06:49,120
shortening january to the 19th,

1776
03:06:53,435 --> 03:06:56,210
keeping that martin luther king weekend. That gives us a little relief to the residents.

1777
03:06:59,600 --> 03:06:59,600
I'm really thinking along the lines of the residents here.

1778
03:07:03,830 --> 03:07:07,715
I think november 15th, everybody is in the spirit. It's exciting, excitement is building and the holidays.

1779
03:07:11,720 --> 03:07:14,150
from what I've heard from a lot of the businesses, november and december is when they really make up their losses for the year.

1780
03:07:19,160 --> 03:07:19,160
that's where they really make their their final push at the end,

1781
03:07:24,215 --> 03:07:26,840
not so much january but november and december, so that would, I think help them shift that profit

1782
03:07:30,830 --> 03:07:30,830
into those two months so that they would depend less on january.

1783
03:07:35,705 --> 03:07:35,705
it seems like a good thing.

1784
03:07:39,860 --> 03:07:39,860
I like the discussions about providing the safety.

1785
03:07:44,630 --> 03:07:47,105
we have got to for our residents. That is the main number one thing is for the residents,

1786
03:07:50,525 --> 03:07:50,525
we have to work very hard on keeping them safe and making

1787
03:07:55,190 --> 03:07:57,200
them safe as well as giving them better access so that they're not grid locked in their homes.

1788
03:08:00,215 --> 03:08:00,215
there can't be a worse feeling in the world than being locked in your home.

1789
03:08:04,925 --> 03:08:06,890
those are all the things that you addressed and that the city manager has been working on.

1790
03:08:10,670 --> 03:08:12,635
I think it's a good plan, but I'm open to further discussion.

1791
03:08:16,190 --> 03:08:18,470
>> I just wanted to say one thing. In response to some of the questions you asked about,

1792
03:08:21,290 --> 03:08:23,240
why cut it short in november? >> yes. >> first of all, if we move it and I see the rationale behind it,

1793
03:08:26,675 --> 03:08:28,025
I can't support that. What I have to go back to the questions you were asking,

1794
03:08:31,820 --> 03:08:34,205
why cut it shorter in november, our residents. This is it.

1795
03:08:37,535 --> 03:08:39,920
all we throwing a bone essentially. I know it doesn't do anything about the congestion.

1796
03:08:42,155 --> 03:08:42,155
I know that. But here's a sentence from one of our constituents.

1797
03:08:47,300 --> 03:08:49,880
there are certainly more reforms necessary to this event, but the reduction in length alone would help residents

1798
03:08:53,150 --> 03:08:57,080
feel like they can take back just a little bit of their town. That's what I want. I won't support any changes for that reason alone,

1799
03:09:02,045 --> 03:09:04,850
although I understand them, I appreciate them. I think they're well reasoned.

1800
03:09:06,335 --> 03:09:06,335
I have to advocate for our residents and can get something back.

1801
03:09:10,925 --> 03:09:14,000
>> that's very understandable and it's a good position to be in because really that advocacy has brought us to this position.

1802
03:09:17,615 --> 03:09:20,540
I feel like some very positive things can come out of this discussion along with the business community.

1803
03:09:23,675 --> 03:09:23,675
I'm very encouraged by what I've heard tonight.

1804
03:09:28,400 --> 03:09:28,400
yes. I would love to hear where we

1805
03:09:32,420 --> 03:09:32,420
stand on this because I think we've got a couple of people that are okay with the shift.

1806
03:09:36,680 --> 03:09:40,160
sounds to me like three people are good with the shift idea. >> what day is martin luther king day?

1807
03:09:43,085 --> 03:09:47,075
>> monday. >> on the 19th. >> january 19.

1808
03:09:48,605 --> 03:09:51,845
>> okay. >> doesn't change the length at all. >> I thought it was the 11th.

1809
03:09:55,920 --> 03:09:55,920
>> but it's actually shortened to two weeks because we shortened it a week last year.

1810
03:10:00,595 --> 03:10:00,595
it's actually shortened to two weeks because it used to run all the way to february.

1811
03:10:04,920 --> 03:10:08,710
we shortened it two weeks in january. >> [overlapping] always be the same.

1812
03:10:11,240 --> 03:10:11,240
the way we shortened it was to the last last.

1813
03:10:15,710 --> 03:10:19,550
>> yes. >> I'm sorry. If it helps the conversation. In 2024, the city commission set what would be the traditional dates by resolution.

1814
03:10:25,845 --> 03:10:25,845
that just means if you don't do anything in a year to year change,

1815
03:10:30,775 --> 03:10:32,590
these are the traditional dates, and the traditional dates would be the saturday before

1816
03:10:35,200 --> 03:10:35,200
thanksgiving through the last sunday of january of the following year.

1817
03:10:41,255 --> 03:10:41,255
saturday before thanksgiving through the last sunday of january are

1818
03:10:45,800 --> 03:10:45,800
what are deemed the traditional dates per resolution 2024-12.

1819
03:10:50,240 --> 03:10:53,735
if you do nothing, that will be the date. >> that's change is being interpreted as we shortened it by,

1820
03:10:59,915 --> 03:10:59,915
but what you're saying is the impact of that policy.

1821
03:11:03,950 --> 03:11:03,950
shortened it, and that's what we heard from some of the speakers as well.

1822
03:11:08,180 --> 03:11:11,660
we didn't necessarily say, oh, we're shortening it, we were saying we want to make it consistent along these phrases.

1823
03:11:16,760 --> 03:11:16,760
saturday before thanksgiving last sunday of january.

1824
03:11:22,060 --> 03:11:24,860
the impact was interesting. I thought it was an interesting observation that it ended up being ten days shorter.

1825
03:11:30,215 --> 03:11:30,215
but that was salient point.

1826
03:11:35,300 --> 03:11:35,300
I thought. Thank you for the clarification.

1827
03:11:40,280 --> 03:11:43,145
like I said, what I was saying was, sounds like we've got three commissioners that are interested in a shift.

1828
03:11:47,855 --> 03:11:47,855
I would be interested in a shift with certain conditions under certain conditions.

1829
03:11:53,855 --> 03:11:57,440
that would be that safety and access for residents become a priority in anything that we do with a city manager and

1830
03:12:01,400 --> 03:12:04,685
any consultant that's hired and that we would begin to work with the sheriff's department as well.

1831
03:12:11,525 --> 03:12:14,570
find a way to work with them and find out what we can do, how we could share resources because we have the county commission here as well.

1832
03:12:18,845 --> 03:12:18,845
the other thing that I think we can probably expect is request

1833
03:12:23,090 --> 03:12:25,190
to the tdc for additional funding to fund some of these extra things that are going to cost,

1834
03:12:27,410 --> 03:12:27,410
but that's not part of what my provisions would be,

1835
03:12:32,750 --> 03:12:36,040
but where I would go with this. If you guys are not opposed to that,

1836
03:12:40,850 --> 03:12:42,890
I'll go ahead and make a motion. >> let's get the dates down again.

1837
03:12:45,275 --> 03:12:45,275
>> the date is, what the dates are proposed are november the shift.

1838
03:12:49,340 --> 03:12:49,340
I'm calling it the shift. November 15 through january 19.

1839
03:12:53,615 --> 03:12:53,615
it would start earlier mid november.

1840
03:12:59,135 --> 03:12:59,135
we would have to change the ordinance, I assume.

1841
03:13:03,785 --> 03:13:07,550
november 15 through january 19th. >> no, we wouldn't have to change it. >> we don't have to change the ordinance.

1842
03:13:08,750 --> 03:13:11,270
>> no, the ordinance is a completely different creature. If those are the dates you want,

1843
03:13:12,770 --> 03:13:15,170
we can substitute in this resolution. >> the resolution will overlay the ordinance that we have?

1844
03:13:22,115 --> 03:13:25,790
>> correct. You've got right now before you a resolution that says november 22 through january 4,

1845
03:13:30,980 --> 03:13:30,980
you can amend that if that's what your motion intends to do to

1846
03:13:36,530 --> 03:13:36,530
instead be commencing november 15 and running through january 19 inclusive.

1847
03:13:42,755 --> 03:13:43,805
>> that's right. >> I think this will help with the residents burnout

1848
03:13:48,050 --> 03:13:48,050
because december 25 is the peak of burnout.

1849
03:13:54,605 --> 03:13:54,605
we are shortening it by a week after that period of time.

1850
03:13:58,970 --> 03:13:58,970
I wish martin luther king that three week weekend didn't fall that late in january.

1851
03:14:04,190 --> 03:14:06,770
that'd be really nice if it was the second week but, it is a three day weekend,

1852
03:14:08,675 --> 03:14:08,675
and I think I might even be willing to move it back in my mind,

1853
03:14:14,630 --> 03:14:14,630
because that weekend may be a busy weekend anyway because it's a three day weekend.

1854
03:14:18,845 --> 03:14:21,995
that may be something to bring up. >> what to not go to the martin luther king, to go to the 11th?

1855
03:14:27,080 --> 03:14:28,805
>> it's already a busy weekend. >> it is and that's a good point.

1856
03:14:31,355 --> 03:14:35,060
>> I want to give the residents a little bit more than this. >> I can go with that because martin luther king weekend,

1857
03:14:40,165 --> 03:14:43,150
it's a three day weekend. It's a weekend on its own. It's going to be a successful,

1858
03:14:44,620 --> 03:14:46,270
busy weekend on its own, whether you have nights of lights impacting it or not.

1859
03:14:50,080 --> 03:14:50,080
I'm very flexible on even shortening that end of it.

1860
03:14:56,460 --> 03:14:56,460
>> well, if you let it go to martin luther king's weekend,

1861
03:15:00,895 --> 03:15:02,815
the staff is off that monday. They could come in that tuesday and take the lights down.

1862
03:15:06,880 --> 03:15:08,630
>> yes. >> well, they would come in on monday the 12th and take it off.

1863
03:15:11,390 --> 03:15:13,820
if we did it the 11th. That's the conversation. >> I think we we're talking about not january the 19th,

1864
03:15:17,540 --> 03:15:17,540
I think we're talking what would be the sunday the 11th.

1865
03:15:22,870 --> 03:15:25,835
>> that's what I initially thought. This way we can go to the residents and we can say,

1866
03:15:28,130 --> 03:15:30,995
look, we took two total weeks off, right? >> yeah. >> it's really only a week from what I was proposing.

1867
03:15:33,440 --> 03:15:33,440
>> from what what you were proposing.

1868
03:15:38,580 --> 03:15:38,580
>> but I think it feels different before in november.

1869
03:15:43,315 --> 03:15:45,520
it feel as tired and like I said, the fatigue, it's not as awful.

1870
03:15:51,550 --> 03:15:54,665
>> I like to shift because of the rationale because you're not going to have people come in.

1871
03:15:57,395 --> 03:15:57,395
the person that really was of interest to me was ed swift with the historic doors,

1872
03:16:02,165 --> 03:16:05,030
talking about the days are compressed. Until we have a plan,

1873
03:16:07,220 --> 03:16:09,860
on the table, I know we're all working on it. I know david's doing a fantastic job,

1874
03:16:12,140 --> 03:16:15,710
but some of these, government don't move that quick sometimes. Maybe the next year after that,

1875
03:16:18,335 --> 03:16:19,580
we can re discuss it, but I feel like this is fair to the residents and fair to the business.

1876
03:16:23,780 --> 03:16:24,845
>> I have a question. Is this resolution just good for one year?

1877
03:16:28,490 --> 03:16:30,860
this is a trial balloon. This is an experiment.

1878
03:16:34,270 --> 03:16:34,270
>> just a week for the residents after this year.

1879
03:16:39,020 --> 03:16:41,375
I I just can't support that. One week is not good for me.

1880
03:16:44,555 --> 03:16:44,555
>> I think one thing that really helped me in this week was one of

1881
03:16:49,190 --> 03:16:49,190
the businesses provided us with the actual data of how much money they had,

1882
03:16:54,575 --> 03:16:57,125
they were in the red were in december. I have to take their word and trust that,

1883
03:16:59,435 --> 03:17:02,000
but it'd be really nice to get cooperation with some of the businesses not to know the actual amount of money they make and all that.

1884
03:17:05,810 --> 03:17:05,810
but for them to keep data for us to use to be able to say,

1885
03:17:11,080 --> 03:17:14,915
did it really affect you turning off martin luther king? If we had real data,

1886
03:17:16,550 --> 03:17:18,830
and it could be percentages, it could be whatever, but figure a way for the businesses to be able to

1887
03:17:21,470 --> 03:17:24,815
communicate with us to say, I think it's fair. We can get real traffic data.

1888
03:17:26,450 --> 03:17:28,880
>> well, that's what I'm saying. If we get traffic data, if we get data like in january,

1889
03:17:30,650 --> 03:17:30,650
it drop by this [inaudible] I'm hearing from people that it was a lot better.

1890
03:17:35,015 --> 03:17:37,940
I know driving through town, it was better was tougher on the weekends, but it was also cold. There weren't a lot of people out.

1891
03:17:40,940 --> 03:17:44,225
I think we're going to be giving metrics, we want to hear metrics from the city because we're

1892
03:17:46,460 --> 03:17:49,280
responsible for this.if we're going to make these decisions, it would be good to have some sense of data.

1893
03:17:51,665 --> 03:17:54,365
the missing element is the businesses. If they could consolidate and help us on that front.

1894
03:17:57,455 --> 03:17:58,805
I know I had a business, you don't want to tell everybody exactly you're making. Believe me.

1895
03:18:01,700 --> 03:18:05,210
I know that, but some parameter, some information for me would make me feel a little bit better.

1896
03:18:08,870 --> 03:18:11,300
>> can I just say one thing. The residents that do not live in the city,

1897
03:18:15,200 --> 03:18:18,245
they come down to see the nights of lights when the business goes and they come in january.

1898
03:18:22,415 --> 03:18:25,595
because they know all of the tourists are gone, the holidays are gone,

1899
03:18:27,680 --> 03:18:27,680
and they come down and enjoy the lights before they get turned off.

1900
03:18:32,945 --> 03:18:35,180
if you have them on january 4th, they're going to miss on that opportunity.

1901
03:18:37,445 --> 03:18:37,445
if you give them that holiday weekend because a lot of people are off,

1902
03:18:43,640 --> 03:18:43,640
they get a chance to come down and see the lights that sunday of that monday.

1903
03:18:48,410 --> 03:18:52,055
some of them are coming to town just for the king celebration, and they'll be able to get that enjoyment

1904
03:18:54,425 --> 03:18:58,100
one final time before the lights get turned off. >> may I say something?

1905
03:18:59,870 --> 03:19:00,845
>> understand. >> I am a I'm empathetic to this question about data.

1906
03:19:09,970 --> 03:19:09,970
I'm a scientist. There are so many variables that go into a successful business here,

1907
03:19:17,930 --> 03:19:20,750
whether it be traffic, whether it be politics,

1908
03:19:24,290 --> 03:19:26,585
things that are intangible. Those are called confounding variables that you cannot account for.

1909
03:19:31,640 --> 03:19:33,590
those are pretty meaningless to me, those numbers because every time we're shifting the baseline.

1910
03:19:37,280 --> 03:19:40,160
every time we're shifting the baseline, on the weather, on people's experiences from previous years, all things.

1911
03:19:44,075 --> 03:19:44,075
that to me is not a deciding point that's going to help

1912
03:19:48,200 --> 03:19:48,200
me make a decision about what the right thing to do is for our residents in particular.

1913
03:19:56,620 --> 03:19:56,620
>> well, I think we all made our case.

1914
03:20:01,505 --> 03:20:01,505
I think where we are now is november 15th to january 11th, am I correct?

1915
03:20:07,085 --> 03:20:07,085
yes. No. No. Yes. Like I said,

1916
03:20:17,585 --> 03:20:20,450
I think that this will work, but we'll only be okay if we don't

1917
03:20:24,710 --> 03:20:24,710
diligently move forward on the mobility and the safety issues.

1918
03:20:30,050 --> 03:20:30,050
>> well, it's urgent. That's what commissioners bond brought to this.

1919
03:20:34,865 --> 03:20:38,480
there's a sense of urgency. I do not want to leave this meeting with less urgency just because we said the dates different.

1920
03:20:41,645 --> 03:20:44,645
>> there's a lot of value in what you've brought here tonight. I can see a lot of value in what you've brought tonight.

1921
03:20:49,430 --> 03:20:53,270
with that, I would make a motion that we change the timing and the ordinance to from november 15.

1922
03:20:58,340 --> 03:20:59,330
>> resolution you mean? >> I'm sorry, the resolution from november 15th through to january 11th.

1923
03:21:07,270 --> 03:21:07,270
with the understanding that we will continue to make

1924
03:21:16,160 --> 03:21:16,160
priority and access priority of safety and access for the residents.

1925
03:21:25,040 --> 03:21:27,620
first and foremost. >> one comment before I second and this is just for this one year.

1926
03:21:32,465 --> 03:21:35,420
>> I do believe that what's [overlapping]. >> correct. Clear on that.

1927
03:21:37,130 --> 03:21:37,130
thank you for clear clarifying that because the public wants to know understand as well.

1928
03:21:42,695 --> 03:21:42,695
this is a one year provision. That is my motion.

1929
03:21:49,805 --> 03:21:51,290
>> yes, second >> okay. Further discussion.

1930
03:21:56,020 --> 03:21:59,615
all those in. Well, we'll call the roll. Madam clerk, please call the roll.

1931
03:22:02,470 --> 03:22:06,365
>> nancy sikes-kline? >> yes. >> james springfield? >> yes.

1932
03:22:06,860 --> 03:22:10,430
>> john d prater? >> yes. >> cynthia garris? >> no..

1933
03:22:11,645 --> 03:22:15,040
>> barbara blonder. >> no. >> thank you very much. We'll wait just a minute until the room clears,

1934
03:22:19,160 --> 03:22:19,160
I'm sure it will. Take a minute.

1935
03:22:31,680 --> 03:22:31,680
>> we're going to go ahead and get back to work here.

1936
03:22:36,850 --> 03:22:40,840
we have a few items. Before we go much further, I have asked the city manager if we can delay item 10(a),

1937
03:22:45,340 --> 03:22:45,340
which is the vehicles for hire presentation into another future meeting,

1938
03:22:50,940 --> 03:22:50,940
and he agreed, and I hope that you commissioners will also agree that that is acceptable.

1939
03:22:56,280 --> 03:22:59,745
we will do that at a future meeting. With that said, we have some fun ahead.

1940
03:23:06,825 --> 03:23:06,825
with resolution 2025-09, miss perkins.

1941
03:23:13,295 --> 03:23:16,990
>> good evening, madam mayor. Madam vice mayor and commissioners, jamie perkins, neighborhood services cra manager.

1942
03:23:20,470 --> 03:23:23,770
tonight, we're just asking for your approval of resolution or adoption of resolution 2025-29,

1943
03:23:27,910 --> 03:23:27,910
which is a resolution for city staff to move forward with requesting

1944
03:23:32,575 --> 03:23:32,575
our second funding from the florida inland navigation district.

1945
03:23:38,845 --> 03:23:41,230
this is just additional funding to fund the remaining costs of the kayak launch at eddie vickers park.

1946
03:23:45,160 --> 03:23:48,475
I'm available, if you have any questions. >> commissioners? >> I love it.

1947
03:23:49,735 --> 03:23:51,520
>> well, then you can do the honor. >> motion moved.

1948
03:23:53,935 --> 03:23:55,690
let's adopt this resolution. What is it 2025, you're looking for support for them.

1949
03:23:59,785 --> 03:24:03,325
>> yes. >> I don't need to make a motion, do I? >> yes.

1950
03:24:04,680 --> 03:24:07,315
>> 092025. >> I move that that we pass resolution 2025-09.

1951
03:24:13,480 --> 03:24:16,780
>> go ahead. >> opening discussion, comments. >> when is this going to be on the calendar for construction?

1952
03:24:21,415 --> 03:24:23,455
>> if this gets approved tonight, we can start moving forward very soon.

1953
03:24:25,945 --> 03:24:27,580
the design is already complete, so we're just needing to get it out on the street.

1954
03:24:31,800 --> 03:24:35,515
>> excellent. With that said, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [overlapping]

1955
03:24:39,340 --> 03:24:41,185
>> motion carries unanimously. Onto item 2025-10, chief.

1956
03:24:47,190 --> 03:24:47,190
we've got the chief tonight. Good evening.

1957
03:24:53,110 --> 03:24:55,945
>>> good evening. Carlos aviles fire chief. I'm here tonight to present resolution number 2025-10,

1958
03:25:01,780 --> 03:25:01,780
which is a resolution supporting two separate grant programs,

1959
03:25:07,780 --> 03:25:07,780
one through a federal port security grant and the other with a for matching funds from

1960
03:25:14,920 --> 03:25:18,190
the florida inland navigation district for the acquisition of firefighting and rescue vessel.

1961
03:25:23,730 --> 03:25:23,730
>> excellent. Anyone have questions?

1962
03:25:27,745 --> 03:25:29,680
>> I don't have a question, but I was surprised to hear about

1963
03:25:32,590 --> 03:25:32,590
this boat because I didn't know we actually did coast guard work.

1964
03:25:37,120 --> 03:25:37,120
the manager explained to me that we are between two coast guard stations,

1965
03:25:44,005 --> 03:25:46,150
and so therefore, they have asked us, if I'm correct, to serve as an intermediary in cases an emergency

1966
03:25:50,200 --> 03:25:50,200
near our inlet or near and this is what this boats going to be used for.

1967
03:25:54,490 --> 03:25:54,490
>> correct. It's it's services that we're doing now.

1968
03:25:58,510 --> 03:25:58,510
it's was just an opportunity that presented itself.

1969
03:26:03,145 --> 03:26:03,145
the current boat isn't slated for replacement,

1970
03:26:07,360 --> 03:26:10,975
but when the grant opened up, we were encouraged to go ahead and apply for it.

1971
03:26:14,005 --> 03:26:17,110
we do have a really great relationship with our other government agencies here in the area.

1972
03:26:20,740 --> 03:26:20,740
I pulled some call data just to give you an idea.

1973
03:26:24,850 --> 03:26:24,850
it's actually one of the most use resources that the department has.

1974
03:26:30,175 --> 03:26:31,600
over the last 12 months, it's had almost 90 calls for service,

1975
03:26:34,870 --> 03:26:34,870
26 of those have been in the area of the inlet or outside the inlet.

1976
03:26:41,430 --> 03:26:41,430
not unlike the way that we would respond to

1977
03:26:45,760 --> 03:26:45,760
an emergency on the land based side where we would send multiple units to it,

1978
03:26:50,095 --> 03:26:50,095
sending a single marine asset into dangerous environments is not great.

1979
03:26:57,280 --> 03:27:00,760
yes. The coast guard area of responsibility is split actually near the summer haven inlet.

1980
03:27:04,990 --> 03:27:08,830
everything north of that area falls under coast guard sector jacksonville, everything south of that area falls under the ponce inlet station.

1981
03:27:13,705 --> 03:27:17,020
if there are other government resources in the area that can provide assistance to folks in distress

1982
03:27:20,290 --> 03:27:20,290
and ultimately that go or no go decision is at the at the behest of the operators,

1983
03:27:29,100 --> 03:27:32,820
then we do try to lend assistance where needed. It's something that we're doing now.

1984
03:27:34,815 --> 03:27:34,815
it would just give us the capabilities of more

1985
03:27:39,120 --> 03:27:39,120
enhanced and safety we're operating in those austere environments.

1986
03:27:44,130 --> 03:27:44,130
but we're trying to do it all through grant funding.

1987
03:27:48,200 --> 03:27:51,325
>> is the intent to keep both boats or just to have? >> no. We would get down to just one boat, so yes.

1988
03:27:56,545 --> 03:27:58,255
>> thank you. >> excellent. Anyone who wish to make the motion?

1989
03:28:02,245 --> 03:28:02,245
>> I move we approve resolution 2025-10.

1990
03:28:06,475 --> 03:28:09,910
>> I'll second. >> any further discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye.

1991
03:28:12,490 --> 03:28:14,260
[overlapping]. >> thank you. >> anonymous. Congratulations. Good luck.

1992
03:28:18,270 --> 03:28:18,270
item 20205-11.

1993
03:28:23,250 --> 03:28:26,920
miss. Beach. Good evening. >> good evening, madam mayor.

1994
03:28:28,315 --> 03:28:31,030
madam vice mayor, fellow commissioners, jessica beecher, chief resilience officer and deputy director for utilities and public works.

1995
03:28:34,870 --> 03:28:34,870
I'm here to present with you resolution number 2025-11.

1996
03:28:38,935 --> 03:28:42,490
it's for your consideration for the construction and maintenance agreement that we have with the department of transportation and the city of st. Augustine.

1997
03:28:46,240 --> 03:28:50,080
this is specific for the dot c wall project that they have in design. The project has come before you in past commission meetings.

1998
03:28:52,945 --> 03:28:55,435
this is really just codifying who will be doing what? Once the projects actually constructed.

1999
03:28:57,190 --> 03:29:00,010
it's a fully funded project through dot. Once that's implemented and they're finished,

2000
03:29:02,545 --> 03:29:04,210
they will be retaining ownership and maintaining the structural integrity of the sea wall.

2001
03:29:06,550 --> 03:29:09,520
then the city will be as the maintaining agency continue to operate and maintain the property and improvements,

2002
03:29:12,790 --> 03:29:15,820
including preserving all aesthetic features of the sea wall, including landscaping mowing and litter removal.

2003
03:29:18,310 --> 03:29:20,695
the resolution goes into that detail, and there's some exhibits that show what that is,

2004
03:29:22,825 --> 03:29:25,420
and I'm here to answer any questions and maybe take it back to the commission for discussion or consideration.

2005
03:29:29,095 --> 03:29:32,785
>> commissioners, comments, questions. City manager, do you have any comments or questions?

2006
03:29:36,130 --> 03:29:36,130
>> no, this is a great project. Please approve it.

2007
03:29:40,320 --> 03:29:42,175
>> good one. >> it's a good one. Thank you for your work on this.

2008
03:29:45,025 --> 03:29:47,110
>> thank you very much. I move we pass resolution 2025-11.

2009
03:29:51,475 --> 03:29:51,475
>> second. All those in favor signify by saying aye.

2010
03:29:56,860 --> 03:29:59,395
[overlapping] anonymous. Congratulations.

2011
03:30:01,255 --> 03:30:01,255
we have decided to push item 10(a) to the another future meeting.

2012
03:30:07,690 --> 03:30:10,795
items by city attorney? >> nothing, ma'am. >> items by city clerk.

2013
03:30:13,315 --> 03:30:13,315
>> as promised, I am continuing reminding of our open positions on our citizen boards.

2014
03:30:24,780 --> 03:30:24,780
we have one term expiration on the historic architectural review board,

2015
03:30:31,210 --> 03:30:31,210
three terms expiring on our lincolnville community redevelopment steering committee,

2016
03:30:36,085 --> 03:30:36,085
one vacancy on our san augustine firefighters pension and trust fund board of trustees,

2017
03:30:41,755 --> 03:30:41,755
one vacancy on our san augustine police officers retirement system board of trustees.

2018
03:30:47,170 --> 03:30:49,555
I am happy to say that I did get a very well qualified application that I'll be

2019
03:30:51,820 --> 03:30:55,090
bringing to you for our police officers pension. This is what we are currently accepting applications for.

2020
03:30:59,245 --> 03:31:03,100
if anybody is interested. Send them away. >> share and share likes, that's word out.

2021
03:31:06,940 --> 03:31:09,115
items by city manager. >> I'd like to wish vice mayor barbara blonder a happy birthday.

2022
03:31:15,335 --> 03:31:17,610
I'd also like to quickly tell the commission and the community that the city has completed

2023
03:31:20,850 --> 03:31:20,850
the purchase of the beacon and billing street property in the fuller wood neighborhood.

2024
03:31:26,865 --> 03:31:28,830
we have completed the purchase of the avery theodore street property on the west side of town,

2025
03:31:32,610 --> 03:31:34,815
on the west side of the san sebastian river, and we have completed the purchase of the vacant lot on may street. Thank you very much.

2026
03:31:39,510 --> 03:31:43,080
>> if I may interject, don't tell my husband, but that might be the best birthday gift I could have gotten those depositions.

2027
03:31:47,010 --> 03:31:50,850
thank you for closing on this. >> that's very happy birthday. We're so proud of the work that you do here too,

2028
03:31:53,940 --> 03:31:53,940
and we're very fortunate to have a commissioner that's as intelligent,

2029
03:31:58,800 --> 03:31:58,800
articulate, and caring and passionate about the city as yourself.

2030
03:32:04,835 --> 03:32:08,680
>> it's very sweet and thank you. >> as well. We all admire you. >> appreciate.

2031
03:32:09,550 --> 03:32:12,445
>> we wish you the best. Yes, we do. Items by mayor and commissioners.

2032
03:32:17,010 --> 03:32:19,855
>> yeah, I have something. It's going to be short. I go to be long.

2033
03:32:23,035 --> 03:32:23,035
the property that that was voted in for the the art exhibit.

2034
03:32:31,140 --> 03:32:34,860
I have a suggestion for that. The suggestion is, we just bought that property on may street and I recall that you had

2035
03:32:40,800 --> 03:32:40,800
wanted something to go over there on that lot that we bought going over the bridge.

2036
03:32:47,095 --> 03:32:50,830
>> are you talking about the public art project? >> van dyke.

2037
03:32:52,030 --> 03:32:55,810
>> I'm talking about to go in the roundabout. >> the may street. >> the may street art project.

2038
03:32:58,180 --> 03:33:00,775
>> it was put on the peanut. I'm suggesting that that go over there on that may street property.

2039
03:33:05,875 --> 03:33:09,745
because then people can pull up and see it because that ground, I don't know if you guys ever really like look at that little roundabout,

2040
03:33:13,030 --> 03:33:15,040
but it's not even land. He's going to have to build that whole land up to put that there,

2041
03:33:20,700 --> 03:33:23,430
and it's going to need a lot of maintenance because it's cocina, and it kind of caves in and it's going to get wet a lot.

2042
03:33:27,810 --> 03:33:27,810
you had suggested you wanted something to go over there.

2043
03:33:32,030 --> 03:33:34,645
if you put that project over there, the man can get there when it does need maintenance because it's offside the road,

2044
03:33:38,740 --> 03:33:38,740
people that want to actually see it and walk around this exhibit.

2045
03:33:43,300 --> 03:33:46,465
can actually pull up in there and see it. Because if you put it in that peanut, a roundabout,

2046
03:33:50,260 --> 03:33:51,580
whatever we're calling it, it's going to cause traffic congestion.

2047
03:33:54,295 --> 03:33:56,200
people are going to be seeing it, and it's going to need more maintenance because it's not on solid ground.

2048
03:33:59,860 --> 03:33:59,860
I went out to that land and it's even.

2049
03:34:04,390 --> 03:34:04,390
it doesn't flood there according to the guy that sold us the property.

2050
03:34:09,160 --> 03:34:09,160
it would be like it would have like a tree background backdrop,

2051
03:34:13,495 --> 03:34:13,495
and it would be more like a little park for the people in that particular neighborhood.

2052
03:34:18,340 --> 03:34:21,760
if we're going to spend that money and we spend that money for the land, I think we should put them together.

2053
03:34:23,065 --> 03:34:27,040
that's just my perception. I don't know how you guys feel about that. >> interesting. Well,

2054
03:34:28,525 --> 03:34:30,970
I was thinking about that project and I think we know where we are on that contract with the artist,

2055
03:34:36,325 --> 03:34:37,945
where we are with the contract. >> we have completed

2056
03:34:40,735 --> 03:34:40,735
the first milestone and are in the process including the second milestone,

2057
03:34:46,435 --> 03:34:46,435
which we would have to pay the artist through the second milestone, I believe.

2058
03:34:51,640 --> 03:34:53,575
that would leave us if $162,500 that we have not encumbered on that project to date. That's where we stand.

2059
03:35:02,470 --> 03:35:02,470
>> is that 162,000 what's remaining except the include the construction cost?

2060
03:35:09,235 --> 03:35:11,275
>> that is in its entirety, yes. >> I would like to suggest that perhaps we re evaluate. Take a moment.

2061
03:35:17,395 --> 03:35:20,545
I mean, this is brought up on the fly here, but it's worthy of consideration.

2062
03:35:24,940 --> 03:35:24,940
if the commissioners are interested in investigating a little bit further,

2063
03:35:31,690 --> 03:35:34,855
and see how that would work, the feasibility of it. I would be in favor of doing that.

2064
03:35:37,330 --> 03:35:37,330
>> I tell you my first thought was when it was selected.

2065
03:35:43,650 --> 03:35:47,290
I got some word from some of our law enforcement people, they were worried that people would be sleeping in it,

2066
03:35:49,510 --> 03:35:53,155
so that would be my only concern on that site on main street. >> I get sleep roundabout.

2067
03:35:56,425 --> 03:35:56,425
>> no. I'll consider it. That's just the first thing.

2068
03:36:01,270 --> 03:36:04,195
>> that may be part of the thing that needs to be looked at. >> yeah, exactly.

2069
03:36:05,905 --> 03:36:09,565
>> I think it's worthy of consideration. If I were the artist, I would have to,

2070
03:36:11,290 --> 03:36:14,200
I'm worried about how the artist would respond because they he may have to just reconceptualize the whole thing,

2071
03:36:17,290 --> 03:36:19,060
but based on the site change. That would be a big.

2072
03:36:21,415 --> 03:36:24,115
>> worth listening hearing more. >> I think it'd be worth having a conversation about

2073
03:36:26,860 --> 03:36:29,890
what we intend to do with that property in the long run. Because it may not fit with the long run plan.

2074
03:36:33,205 --> 03:36:36,415
the timing may not work out perfect for a piece of art. I mean, for that piece of art to go there,

2075
03:36:38,500 --> 03:36:40,720
but maybe one in the future. >> perfect. Anything else?

2076
03:36:43,015 --> 03:36:46,600
>> no, that's it. >> too late. >> too late.

2077
03:36:48,570 --> 03:36:48,570
>> I think I've said enough.

2078
03:36:53,100 --> 03:36:53,100
>> I just want to say that a lot of people mentioned it was hard to do this job.

2079
03:36:58,840 --> 03:37:01,750
I don't consider it hard at all. I mean, I have my opinions and I've been the 401 vote

2080
03:37:05,230 --> 03:37:05,230
before and I've been on a 32 losing vote before.

2081
03:37:09,670 --> 03:37:09,670
but it's a great pleasure to work on all five of you and it's easy.

2082
03:37:14,200 --> 03:37:14,200
we have a great community who are respectful and give us good information,

2083
03:37:19,030 --> 03:37:21,355
and I don't consider it hard. Please consider running for a city commission in the future.

2084
03:37:25,720 --> 03:37:29,515
>> that's right. I think they just mean hard in the sense that, you're torn a lot.

2085
03:37:31,195 --> 03:37:31,195
but yeah, rarely do we get people that are just downright abusive.

2086
03:37:35,380 --> 03:37:35,380
most people are very respectful and considerate of our time.

2087
03:37:39,910 --> 03:37:41,905
but with that said, I do not have anything for tonight,

2088
03:37:44,485 --> 03:37:48,160
and I think it's time to adjourn. Thank you. >> thank you.

2089
03:37:49,480 --> 03:37:49,480
>> thank you.