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April 2009.pdfa p r i l , 2 0 0 9 V o l . 5 N o . 4 C i t y o f a t l a N t i C B e a C h N e w s l e t t e r april 2009 Apr 8 *Tree Conservation Board / 7 pm Apr 13 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Apr 21 Community Development Board / 6 pm Apr 27 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Apr 28 *Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory Committee / 7 pm may 2009 May 11 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm May 13 *Tree Conservation Board / 7 pm May 14 **Pension Board / 6 pm May 19 Community Development Board / 6 pm May 25 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm May 26 *Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory Committee / 7 pm City offiCials John Meserve, Mayor Carolyn Woods, Commissioner Mike Borno, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Hanson, City Manager Paul Parsons, Commissioner Alan Jensen, City Attorney John Fletcher, Commissioner Donna Bartle, City Clerk www.coab.us • (904) 247-5800 Meetings are held in the Commission Chambers unless otherwise indicated. * These events will be held at Adele Grage Cultural Center, 716 Ocean Blvd. ** These events will be held in the North Conference Room at City Hall, 800 Seminole Rd. april 2009 Apr 11 Easter Egg Hunt / Jordan Park / 11 am - 1 pm Apr 16 North Beaches Art Walk / Town Center Area / 5 pm Apr 18 Wild Wonders / Dutton Island Preserve / 11 am Apr 19 Songwriters Concert / Adele Grage / 6 - 8 pm Apr 25 Arts in the Park / Johansen Park / 11 am Apr 25 Wild Wonders / Tideviews Preserve / 11 am Apr 25 Household Hazardous Waste Collection / City Hall 8:30 am - 3 pm Apr 26 Acoustic Nights – Bull Park / 6 - 8 pm may 2009 Mar 2 Bowl Bash / Jack Russell Park May 3 Songwriters Concert / Adele Grage / 6 - 8 pm May 9 Wild Wonders / Dutton Island Preserve / 11 pm May 16 Dancin’ in the Streets / Town Center / 11 am - 9:30 pm May 17 Acoustic Nights / Bull Park / 6 - 8 pm May 21 North Beaches Art Walk / Town Center / 5 pm May 23 Wild Wonders / Tideviews Preserve / 11 am Easter Egg Hunt Jordan park / april 11 / 11 am - 1 pm Bring the little ones for a classic Easter Egg Hunt at beautiful Jordan Park. Enjoy time with your neighbors, meet the Easter Bunny and enjoy refreshments and festivities with the family. For more information call (904) 247-4033. Sidewalks vs. Pavers Atlantic Beach is committed to being a bike, skate and foot traffic friendly community. Part of this commitment includes maintaining sidewalks that are easily traveled by all non-power wheeled methods. As a result, City Code prohibits replacing concrete sidewalk with pavers to ensure this wheel friendly environment is maintained. Section 19-7 (h) Driveways that cross sidewalks: City sidewalks may not be replaced with other materials, but must be replaced with smooth concrete left natural in color so that it matches the existing and adjoining sidewalks. Household Hazardous Waste Event The City of Jacksonville will have a mobile household hazardous waste vehicle at the Atlantic Beach City Hall parking lot (next to Jack Russell Park), 800 Seminole Road on saturday, april 25th from 8:30 am to 3 pm. For more information call Jacksonville’s Solid Waste Division at (904) 387-8847. A complete list of items that will be accepted at this event is located on the City’s website at www.coab.us. The City has only one hazardous waste collection scheduled for 2009, so don’t miss this opportunity to dispose of your hazardous waste items. My “real” Tideviews input: The Atlantic Beach Commission has updated our Strategic Plan and, given the poor state of the economy, it is no surprise that we have both “stayed the course”, but added very little in new programs. While the Mayport Corridor area improvement program remains a major focus, we intend to address issues in the Royal Palms area where citizens have requested assistance. Reconstruction of the stormwater lines, many of which are rusting and failed will be a top priority, and will require significant capital expenditures and we intend to concentrate City resources to assisting that neighborhood with increased staff attention. We are starting that process and will be holding town meetings with residents in the near future to blend our efforts with neighborhood needs and desires. Like most small towns, Atlantic Beach faces challenges with our economic outlook. Our revenue from property taxes is hundreds of thousands of dollars less than earlier estimates due to the lowering of property values and the decrease in new construction. Luckily, Atlantic Beach has maintained very healthy reserves over the years and will be able to weather the crisis through 2009 without the need to cut services. We are obviously taking prudent steps to curtail spending and have options available should the current economy continue into the future. Public safety and maintaining our infrastructure remain top priorities. —Mayor Meserve Follow the New Irrigation Rule to Save Water AND Dollars march 8, 2009 marked the start of a new irrigation rule. Help Protect our Sea Turtles Turtle nesting season takes place from May 1 through October 31. Please help protect their safety by keeping our beaches as dark as possible during the nesting season. Some ways that you can help are: • Turn off, shield or redirect lights away from the beach. • Don’t use decorative lighting (such as runner lights or up-lighting of vegetation) in areas that are visible from the beach. Permanently remove or turn off fixtures that cannot be modified in any other way. • Close blinds and draperies in oceanfront rooms at night to keep indoor lighting from reaching the beach. • Do not construct beach campfires during nesting season. Sea turtle hatchlings are attracted to the light and may crawl into the fires. • Keep flashlights turned off when walking on the beach at night. • Use motion detector lights for lighting and set them on the shortest setting. • Reminder: Please be a responsible pet owner and keep your dogs leashed while on the beach. For more information on sea turtle nests, you can visit the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol website at www.bstp.net. Dancin’ in the Streets 2009 saturday, may 16th / 11 am – 9:30 pm Come out and celebrate with your neighbors at the 23rd Annual Dancin’ in the Streets. This one day festival is a family friendly event held in the Beaches Town Center at the ocean end of Atlantic Boulevard. A KIDS ZONE, sponsored by 200 FIRST STREET and several local schools, will offer lots of activities, games, rides and snacks in an alcohol-free area. An art show will feature local and regional artists with talents in painting, jewelry, handcrafted glass, pottery, wood cravings and more. Music starts at noon on the Ocean Stage. Several local restaurants including Ragtime, Sticky Fingers, Sun Dog Diner, Joseph’s Pizza, Gene’s Seafood, Sweet Treats, Wazzes, Mezza Luna, Culhane’s and Whataburger will have food booths set up for your enjoyment. Parking will be limited so plan to walk or bike to the event. Pets, skates, skateboards, bikes and coolers will not be allowed in the festival area. For more information contact Patsy Bishop at 246-9133. The St. Johns River Water Management District passed the rule in December, 2008 and Atlantic Beach’s City Code follows in step with that rule. the rule applies to those using City water or private wells. Here’s a summary: • Never irrigate between 10 am and 4 pm. • All automatic irrigation systems should have rainfall sensors to override the system when it rains. • During Daylight saving time (spring and summer), limit irrigation to two Days per week on specific days: – Wednesday and Saturday – Residential at odd numbered addresses or no address – Thursday and Sunday – Residential at even numbered addresses – Tuesday and Friday – Non-residential • During eastern standard time (fall and winter), limit irrigation to one Day per week on specific days: – Saturday – Residential at odd numbered addresses or no address – Sunday – Residential at even numbered addresses – Tuesday – Non-residential • Irrigate no more than 3/4” per zone per irrigation day. • Irrigation no more than one hour per zone per irrigation day. as always, there are some exceptions: • Micro-spray, micro-jet or drip irrigation is allowed any time, any day. • You may operate irrigation systems for repair or maintenance at any time, but no longer than 20 minutes per hour per zone. • You may water in chemicals at any time within 24 hours of application. Watering may not exceed 1/4” of water per application unless otherwise required by law, the chemical manufacturer, or best management practices. • If you wish to irrigate in a manner not authorized by the rule, contact the St. Johns River Water Management District to obtain a Standard General Permit. You can get a copy of the application on the District’s website at www.sjrwmd. com and click on the sprinkler. Be sure to set your irrigation timers to meet the new rule. for more information on the rule, go to www.sjrwmd.com. 4th Annual Bowl Bash Competition The City of Atlantic Beach’s 4th Annual Bowl Bash will be held on Saturday, May 2nd beginning at noon at the Oceanside Rotary Skate Park. The public is invited to see professional and amateur skaters of all ages compete for awards and cash prizes. Skaters receive t-shirts and other free giveaways. Participants may register before April 25th and receive a $5 discount for registration. Registration on the day of the event begins at 10 am with a fee of $25 for age groups and $40 for pro. Competitors 16 years old and under must have a decal and a waiver on file with the City. Registration forms are available online and participants can register at the Recreation Programs office, 716 Ocean Blvd. www.coab.us/recreation.