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Item 8B AGENDA ITEM #8B JANUARY 23, 2006 a~ .'~- ~ - ~~ St. Augustine, Florida Office of the Mayor CC TOE ~ ^ City Cope ~~'-% , ^ Ci:y Mager ^ City Attorney ~' ',~:~ '''I:r'~~ ^ Press f ,-y_ January 3, 2006 ©~~ ,, ~, , a ` `'~'~ may; ~-yL.~... C The Honorable Don Wolfson, Mayor City of Atlantic Beach 800 Seminole Road Atlantic Beach FL 32233 ~* Dear Don: Attached is a proposed resolution supporting St. Augustine's request for an annual State Legislative appropriation for the preservation, protection and promotion of 33 state-owned historic properties in our city. We'd appreciate your adoption of this resolution in support of our efforts to maintain the heritage program of our Nation's Oldest City. Our proposal mirrors annual funding provided for Pensacola's heritage program, which includes 20 state-owned properties. St. Augustine receives no direct state support. Our city spends $1.6 million a year on our heritage program, but with a much greater number of visitors and historic properties, it's not enough to adequately preserve, protect and promote our priceless resources. With four National Historic Register Districts, 31 National Historic Register sites and buildings, 41 colonial-era buildings and monuments, and 1,100 buildings listed as contributing to the significance of these historic districts, our Nation's Oldest City is a National Treasure that belongs to our region, our state and our nation. St. Augustine's historic sites and buildings include the largest single resource in our ~"" nation representing the contributions of Spain and the Spanish-speaking people to the settlement and development of the United States. Adoption of this resolution by the City of Atlantic Beach will be a tremendous help in this effort. Please send into the City of St. Augustine, Box 210, St. Augustine FL 32085. With best ~( 75 King Street, 32084 - P.O. Box 210,.32085 -Office 904/825-1005 -FAX 904/825-1096 AGENDA ITEM #8B JANUARY 23, 2006 RESOLUTION WHEREAS, St. Augustine, the Nation's Oldest City, is a national historic treasure that belongs to our region, our state and our nation, and WHEREAS, St. Augustine's historic sites and buildings include the largest single resource in our nation representing the contributions of Spain and the Spanish-speaking people to the settlement and development of the United States, and WHERL~'AS, in the City of St. Augustine there are four National Historic Register ~„ Districts, 31 National Historic Register sites and buildings, 41 colonial-era buildings and monuments, and 1,100 buildings listed as contributing to the significance of these historic districts, and WHEREAS, thirty-three of these historic properties in St. Augustine are owned by the people of Florida, but are without direct legislative support, and ~. WHEREAS, the success of a dynamic maintenance, archeological and interpretative program has been proven through annual legislative funding of more than one million ~,, dollars to Pensacola's heritage program, supporting 20 state-owned historic properties, and ~. WHEREAS, the historic resources of St. Augustine attract an estimated five million visitors annually, benefiting our region and the entire State of Florida; NOW, THEREFORE, we endorse and support the City of St. Augustine's request to the Legislature of the State of Florida, to provide an annual appropriation sufficient to preserve, protect and promote these historic resources, as our state's investment in the rich history -and interpretation of that history - in our Nation's Oldest City. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands and caused the official seal of the <City, County> of <City, County> to be affixed on this day of 2006. ~.