City of St. Augustine Beach

St. Augustine Beach City Hall
City of St. Augustine Beach
May Newsletter 2016
We had an amazing Arbor
Day event!!
I would like to thank all 20 of
the environmental,
educational and local
businesses that participated.
We brought a beautiful, fun,
interactive and secretly
education event!!!
We gave away 500 native
trees so people can plant and
create a healthy and beautiful
environment. Kids got to pet
a live alligator, baby
Woodpeckers, Live bees in a
demonstration hive, live
butterflies, live Ladybugs, and
the kids made bird and
butterfly houses with Home
Depot staff and much more!!
MAX’S CORNER
City Manager
Mr. Max Royle
Information from the St. Augustine Beach City Manager, Max Royle,
about various matters...
SOMEWHERE
What topic shall we explore this month? Let’s do something different by putting the spotlight on a local
restaurant, the Sunset Grille.
First, a disclaimer: The owners of this fine establishment didn’t solicit this essay, or entice me with bowls of
their delicious, spicy Minorcan conch chowder, or ply me with expensive wines or adventurous cocktails to
shamelessly “plug” their business. No, the idea came to me one day as I thought of all the restaurants that have
been in our fair city since I arrived here over 26 years ago, and I concluded that the Sunset Grille is the only
food/drink vending business on the city’s “Main Street,” A1A Beach Boulevard, that has had for most of those
years the same name AND generally the same ownership. Anyone familiar with the here-today, gonetomorrow volatility of the restaurant business knows how remarkable that record is. Yes, Jack’s Bar-B-Q and
the Beachcomber have been here longer, but not under the same ownership, and while the Oasis and Zaharias
may also have been here longer, they’re not on the Boulevard.
Click on this link to read this article in its entirety:
http://www.staugbch.com/documents/newsletter/16/mr05.pdf
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Joe Howell
Public Works Department
Director
Mr. Joe Howell gives us a peek into Public Works. Here are some of
the highlights this month: The Public Works Department replaced a failing drainage pipe under Lee Dr. in the Ocean Walk subdivision. The pipe was made of steel and was almost 35 years old. Due to one of the pipe ends always sitting underwater the bottom of the pipe had rusted away, leading to an area of the street that was collapsing. The pipe was not very deep. The top of the pipe was less than one foot below the road so steel pipe was a good choice for strength in this location, just not longevity. Due to the groundwater conditions the old pipe had exceeded its service life by close to 10 years. We replaced it with a reinforced concrete pipe with an expected service life of 50 – 75+ years.
During construction of the Versaggi Dr. elevated dune walkover we received questions about possibly including benches. Due to the timing of construction and contractual reasons we chose not to pursue benches at that time. This past month City staff constructed a pair of cantilevered benches at the dune crest. We used the same recycled plastic decking material for the surface of the benches that we used Information has been received from the Florida Municipal Investment Trust (FMIvT) through the
Florida League of Cities. For June’s meeting I will be seeking approval from the Commission to
invest some of our funds as well. I recommend participating in both investment trusts.
It has been a year since the financial policies have been adopted by the Commission. The Finance
department has begun the process of updating those policies, as stipulated in each policy. I expect
the review and update process to be completed for submission at the June Commission meeting.
Six months of fiscal year 2016 have come and gone, and budget season is fast approaching! In
preparation for this I will be meeting with various departments to get their input on what budgetary
needs they require for fiscal year 2017. During this time as well, with six months the current
budget gone, the finance department will project what the next six months will be and adjust the
FY16 budget if necessary both in revenues and expenditures. These adjustments will be brought to
the Commission at its June meeting as well.
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A Message from Mayor
ASK THE MAYOR:
Q: I heard that the Runk property at 11th St. and Mickler has been sold, what is going to be built there? A: The Runk family had owned that property for a very long time and recently a developer completed the purchase of the property from them to build a residential community called Ocean Ridge. The property is about 23 acres and Jay McGarvey is planning to build 72 homes on the property. Mr. McGarvey has had a valid development order for a number of years but did not proceed due to the slowdown in the economy but with the increase in demand for housing he began putting in the roadways about a month ago. The start of the project was surprising to many since the project was dormant for several years. To address the concerns of the community the City Commission held a special meeting on April 26th at City Hall to inform the public of the historical background of this project from its inception to date with our building official, Gary Larson and Public Works director, Joe Howell providing the information and presentations. The developer, Jay McGarvey was also present to provide information and details about the project which he compared as similar to his other local communities: Sea Colony and Anastasia dunes given their unique topography and tree canopies. To read the rest of this article in its entirety Click on this link: http://www.staugbch.com/documents/newsletter/16/ro05.pdf
★ To protect and Serve from our Police Department ★
We have been experiencing increased complaints of vehicles passing stopped school buses with our city, especially along A1A Beach. We have addressed this issue by using marked and unmarked vehicles, which have resulted in the issuance of uniform traffic citations. Please refer to the statutory language listed below as well as the fine amounts and requirement. We definitely want to get the message across to our visitors and residents that this violation will not be tolerated and we will continue to conduct aggressive enforcement. Click here to read the
laws: http://www.staugbch.com/documents/newsletter/16/pd05.pdf
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CITY COMMISSION: It will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, May 9th, 2016 the
Commission meeting room at City Hall, 2200 A1A South. The starting time will be 6:00 p.m. The public
is invited to attend.
ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD: It will hold its monthly
meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 in the Commission meeting of the City Hall, 2200 A1A
South. This is a public meeting and the public is invited to attend. This meeting will be televised or can be
viewed by streaming video on the City’s web site.
Workshop Meeting: The City of St. Augustine Beach City Commission will hold a special meeting
on Thursday, May 26th at 5:01pm in the Commission Meeting Room at City Hall. The purpose of this
meeting is to discuss and review the LDR, Comprehensive Plan, Vision Plan, and Charter with the
planner. This is a public meeting, and the public is invited to attend.
Memorial Day:
Date: Monday, May 30th, 2016
All City offices will be closed in observation of Memorial Day Holiday.
Sanitation will be collected, thank to the dedication of our Public Works Department.
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Message from our City Clerk:
ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH’S: May’s FUN FACT OF THE MONTH
The City of St. Augustine Beach issued their first building permit for repairs and remodeling
on October 1, 1964. It was for homeowner E. B Porter at 7 8th Street in Chatugua Beach. The
contractor was Portwood, Inc. of St. Augustine, FL. The estimated cost of repairs were $2,000
and the fee was $2.00. The permit was approved on October 3, 1964 and signed by our first
Building Inspector, Randy W. White, Jr. I hope you liked this flashback into history.
Beverly Raddatz, MMC, City Clerk.
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City of St. Augustine Beach, City Hall
2200 A1A South
City of St. Augustine Beach, FL, 32080