Resolution No. 12-11 v RESOLUTION NO. 12 -11
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA ADOPTING
THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH STRATEGIC PLAN DATED JULY 2012
WHEREAS, solving some of the largest problems or realizing some of the greatest opportunities
for a community often takes a considerable amount of time and commitment of community resources over
many months and sometimes years, and
WHEREAS, a city government only has a limited amount of time, money and resources to solve
problems or realize opportunities, so a process is needed to determine which goals are the most important,
and
WHEREAS, the City of Atlantic Beach has used a strategic planning process to determine which
goals should receive scarce time and resources and that practice over many years has led to many major
improvements in the community, and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Commission has again conducted a strategic planning process in
April of 2012 resulting in the most recent yearly Strategic Plan entitled "City of Atlantic Beach Strategic
Plan July 2012 ", and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate for the Mayor and Commission to formally adopt this Strategic Plan
for the upcoming year.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH THAT;
1. The City of Atlantic Beach Strategic Plan July 2012 is hereby adopted, and
2. City staff is directed to focus their best efforts toward the accomplishment of the goals and
objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan, and
3. The Mayor and Commission of Atlantic Beach support to the extent possible the legislative
and budgetary steps needed for the accomplishment of the goals contained in the Strategic
Plan.
ADOPTED by the City Commission of the City of Atlantic Beach this 13th day of August 2012.
1/ 2 66-1-14-t-
MIKE BORNO
Mayor
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DONNA L. BARTLE, CMC
City Clerk
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2012 - 2013
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City of Atlantic Beach
Strategic Plan
July 2012
This draft report of the strategic goals set by the Atlantic Beach City Commission in 2012 has
been prepared for commission review, amendment and adoption.
Most successful cities have utilized a strategic planning process for their elected officials to
envision and prioritize the goals, aspirations and desires of the community for the long term.
Because the plans often look ten or more years into the future, the goals that they outline are the
"big picture" items that usually require considerable time, funding and legislative support.
Strategic planning has been used in Atlantic Beach for 12 years. Numerous accomplishments
have been realized through this process. The stormwater system has been re- engineered, rebuilt
and, in some cases, installed where none existed to begin with. Major street flooding is no
longer a common occurrence. The City's park system has been developed and expanded.
Master plans have been developed and utilized for capital planning for the City's water, sewer
and stormwater systems and the levels of maintenance and operation for those systems have
improved dramatically. The City has utilized conservative budgeting with a long term focus to
maintain and upgrade service levels while getting most of the capital projects accomplished
without issuing new debt.
Each year, the City Commission has held several workshops to discuss and prioritize the goals
that are most important to the community. This process usually occurs in the spring so that the
resulting Strategic Plan can be incorporated into the upcoming budget beginning on October 1
This report includes a summary of the goals for the 2012 -13 year in priority order followed by a
description of the goals, background information and discussions held by the City Commission.
Many of these include a preliminary look at the work plan to get the goals accomplished and
expected timelines.
An essential component of this report is a spreadsheet listing the goals as well as the work plan.
It has been the City's practice to provide a status report on each of the goals to the City
Commission using this spreadsheet format on a quarterly basis. Due to the fact that many of the
goals will require Commission action to move forward, the quarterly reports often serve only as a
reminder of the steps that have been taken and that are underway to accomplish the City
Commission's goals.
Jim Manson
City (Manager
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List of Prioritized Goals for Strategic Plan Year 2012 -2013
1. Union Negotiations
2. Budget
3. Pedestrian Safety
4. Atlantic Beach West
Integration
5. Encroachment on and
expansion of parks
6. Mayport Corridor
7. Enterprise Application
8. Tipping Fee Negotiations
9. Community Visioning
Project
10. Police Building
11. Town Center Parking
12. Marsh Master Plan
Improvements
Several other issues were discussed and ranked by the Commission. These received lower
rankings and, because of time, manpower and budget constraints, are not considered to be
strategic priorities to be pursued over the next year. They include an Organizational Review, the
Selva Marina Golf Course, a Charter Review, the Interlocal Agreement with Jacksonville, a Staff
Succession Plan, the Wastewater Plant Expansion, Speeding, Beach Access, Commission
Working Relations and the Fire Service Contract with Jacksonville.
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Goal Statements, Background and Description
1. Union Negotiations
Goal; This goal is to provide a balance of pension plans and other employee benefits that are
fair to existing employees, and enable the City to recruit highly qualified applicants to provide
the necessary services, and that are sustainable from a cost standpoint in the long term.
Background and Description; Pension costs in most cities across the country have been rising
rapidly over the last ten years. Atlantic Beach is no exception. The City's contribution to the
General Employees Pension Plan will increase from $288,000 in 2002 (11.4% of payroll) to
$1.44 million in 2013 (26.3% of payroll). Most of the increases resulted from lower investment
returns in recent years although other factors have contributed. Amendments were made in 2008
to increase the employee contributions to both the Police and General Pension Funds. Several
additional changes were made to the General Employee Plan that affected newly hired
employees with reduced pension multipliers and increased vesting time. However, the savings
from these amendments have been more than offset by poor investment returns.
A study of various options to amend the pension plans to lower the future cost was presented to
the City Commission in the Fall of 2011. The current City Commission took up the issue in a
series of SHADE Meetings (not open to the public) which were ongoing at the time of the
strategic workshops. The intent of these meetings is to arrive at a consensus on proposals to be
presented to the unions and other employees with a goal of getting negotiations completed by
September 30, 2012.
The City Commission has recognized that proposals may result in higher costs initially to the
City, but would result in savings in the long term.
2. Budget
Goal; The goal this year is to prepare, present, amend and adopt a budget that provides for
the continuation of current service levels and includes funding, to the extent possible in these
difficult economic times, for various capital projects that have been identified as desirable.
Background and Description; Cities across the nation have experienced a severe economic
downturn over several years and indicators show that there is no quick recovery in sight.
Property tax revenues have declined because of lower property values, interest revenues have
plummeted to levels that haven't been seen in many years, healthcare costs have increased well
above the rate of inflation and pension costs have continued to climb.
The consensus of the City Commission during the strategic workshops was that Atlantic Beach
residents will demand that service levels be maintained at their current high levels, even if some
rates for taxes or other services have to be increased, but only as a last resort. Finding possible
ways to maintain the service levels is highly desirable and will be the subject of considerable
planning and discussion during the budget workshops.
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Several capital projects were discussed by the City Commission as desirable including a list of
public access improvements from the recently approved Marsh Master Plan, funding for a new
Police Building and other park and pedestrian improvements.
3. Pedestrian Safety
Goal; This goal is to provide the most inviting and safe environment in Atlantic Beach to
support an active beach lifestyle involving a wide range of pedestrian activities.
Background and Description; One of the most attractive things about living in Atlantic Beach is
the high level of pedestrian traffic; bicycling, walking, running, skateboarding and so on. People
of all ages are involved in most of these activities and they are generally seen as safer here at the
beach than in a more fast paced urban environment.
Unfortunately, there have been a significant number of serious pedestrian accidents in recent
years involving motor vehicles, some of which have resulted in fatalities. There are a variety of
causes for these accidents and they have occurred at numerous locations. There is no clear and
simple "fix" to make pedestrian activities safe. Various solutions have been discussed ranging
from more visible and decorative pedestrian crosswalks to additional stop signs and speed
humps. City Commissioners agreed that the first step will be in getting a report from the Police
Department outlining the causes of each of the major accidents and possible solutions.
4. Atlantic Beach West Integration
Goal; This goal is improve the quality of life in neighborhoods and commercial areas that
surround Mayport Road by identifying, encouraging and empowering community leaders to
become actively committed to the betterment of their neighborhoods by forming partnerships
with City officials.
Background and Description; While most parts of Atlantic Beach have strong and cohesive
neighborhoods and many residents are actively engaged with city government, other areas of
the Mayport Corridor continue to struggle with high crime rates, neighborhood blight and low
property values. Some neighborhoods are also known for drug activity that in turn contributes
to the degradation of housing and other environmental conditions.
A major goal of the City Commission is to find and encourage leaders in the west side of
Atlantic Beach to become involved in community decision making. This would empower and
encourage buy -in from previously neglected neighborhoods which should result in better
community cohesion, improved property maintenance and higher property values. The major
goal of this effort is to create a better sense of community and enhanced environmental
conditions for our neighborhoods.
The City Commission discussed the need to have considerably more interaction between City
leaders and residents on the west side. A consensus reached in the strategic discussions was to
use a community visioning process to provide positive opportunities to inspire community
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involvement across the entire city, with specific emphasis on residents from the west side of
Atlantic Beach. A specific timeframe for this visioning project was to have it completed in time
for consideration in the strategic workshops in 2013 which have usually been conducted in
February or March of each year. Because community visioning projects may often take many
months to complete, work on this project should begin immediately.
5. Encroachment on and Expansion of City Parks
Goal; This goal is to preserve and protect Atlantic Beach's outstanding system of parks from
future encroachments.
Background and Description; Atlantic Beach is a small community that is largely built out with
very little vacant property. Land for new parks and other public facilities is scarce and
expensive.
The community has debated the possible location of new public facilities, like stormwater ponds
and new buildings, in park lands several times in recent years. Public opposition to these
proposals has usually been extensive. The City Commission expects that normal community
needs for new facilities and buildings will give rise to similar issues in the future and park land
will be proposed as a logical or low cost solution. It is the City Commission's intent to preserve
and protect the park system against possible loss of lands in the future. Discussions in the
strategic sessions included the possibility of requiring public referendums before encroaching on
park lands or using deed restrictions to protect parks. The work plan for this item is to identify a
range of strategies and options to protect the parks while maintaining the City's flexibility to
address future needs and then to implement one or more solutions that best fit the community's
needs.
A second project under this goal is the expansion and redesign of Rose Park. This project will be
evaluated for a budget cost estimate and presented for discussion and possible funding during the
budget workshops in August.
6. Mayport Corridor
Goal; This goal is to build, encourage and support a vibrant commercial corridor and strong
residential neighborhoods along Mayport Road and adjoining neighborhoods.
Background and Description; Improvements to the commercial areas along the Mayport Corridor
have been a strategic focus of the City Commission for many years. Specific concerns have
evolved around crime levels, traffic, pedestrian safety, blighted appearance and various other
problems.
Much has been accomplished in recent years through proactive Code Enforcement, crime
reduction, street beautification, and zoning changes affecting signage, building fascias, fencing
and regulating the types of suitable businesses. Much more is needed and additional progress
will require new approaches. One factor making this difficult is that much of the manpower
devoted to the Mayport Corridor goal in recent years has been funded by various grants which
are no longer available or available at lower amounts. A second problem has been the
decommissioning of several Navy ships stationed at NS Mayport and the resulting reduction in
local workforce.
7. Enterprise Applications
Goal; This goal is to provide modern software and equipment for the City's Enterprise
Application to ensure efficient and effective operations of user departments, and to give access
for citizens and businesses to interface with their local government.
Background and Description; Atlantic Beach has used the same mainframe computer software
application for over twenty years. It is an outdated "green screen" system that is very reliable
and accurate, but difficult to use, and has only limited functionality compared with the systems
used by many other cities. It has proven very difficult to manipulate when the staff has needed
to find specific, non - routine information. It is also problematic to locate staff trained to support
such outdated equipment and software.
The City's staff has investigated various software applications extensively, and has made several
trips to other cities to see newer systems in operation and to talk with staff about their
experiences and recommendations. Two conclusions of this effort are that there is a significant
cost to upgrade to more modern software and any change to a new Enterprise Application will
require a large amount of staff time for retraining and conversion.
The consensus of the City Commission during the strategic discussions was to have staff present
the costs, advantages, and disadvantages of a new system for review at the upcoming city budget
workshops. It is understood that the conversion, if funded, will be done in phases and completed
in a three to five -year time frame.
8. Tipping Fee Negotiations
Goal; This goal is to resolve the issue of the City of Jacksonville about payment of tipping fees
for the disposal of refuse from Atlantic Beach at the Jacksonville landfills in a manner that is
fair and equitable to both sides.
Background and Description; The City of Atlantic Beach entered into an Interlocal Agreement
with the City of Jacksonville in 1995 that provided for the payment of landfill tipping charges at
a point in the future when Jacksonville no longer uses property taxes to fund landfill operations
and instead charges a solid waste residential collection fee to Jacksonville residents to cover all
the solid waste costs. Jacksonville officials have included the payment of a tipping fee from
Atlantic Beach in their FY 11 -12 Budget. Information provided to Atlantic Beach officials to
support the Jacksonville claim has been limited, inconclusive and, in some cases, contradictory.
Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach (which has a similar provision in their Interlocal Agreement
with Jacksonville) have jointly hired a solid waste consultant that is presently gathering
information to be able to form an opinion as to whether or not the contract conditions requiring
payment of tipping fees have been met. When the report is available, it will be appropriate for
Atlantic Beach officials to determine whether or not the fees should be paid and, if not, the
appropriate steps to take.
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9. Community Visioning Project
Goal; This goal is to utilize community input from a multitude of neighborhoods, groups and
individuals to outline a long term vision that captures the long term hopes, dreams and
aspirations of the community.
Background and Description; While this was scored separately as a goal under the strategic
planning exercise, it is more properly considered a tool or strategy to accomplish several of the
other goals that have been identified by the City. Community planning and integration of the
west side of Atlantic Beach were the two other related discussion topics. The consensus of the
Atlantic Beach West Integration goal was that a community visioning project will be completed
before the next strategic plan discussions in 2013. Consequently, this goal should be
consolidated with the Atlantic Beach West Integration.
10. Police Building
Goal; This goal is to provide adequate physical facilities (building) to support the present and
future needs of the Atlantic Beach Police Department.
Background and Description; The need to provide improved physical facilities for the Atlantic
Beach Police Department has been discussed by the City Commission and incorporated into
strategic plans since 2005. Several options have been studied ranging from the expansion and
reconstruction of the present building to constructing an entirely new facility. Several different
locations on city owned property have been studied as possible building sites. A decision was
made by the City Commission in 2010 to build a new 14,000 sq ft building on the east side of the
creek, directly across from the present building. Plans and specifications have been completed
and are ready for bid. These plans were completed just before the new City Commission took
office in November of 2011 and the outgoing Commission delayed any action so that it could be
handled by the newly elected commissioners. Once the new Commission took office, concerns
were raised about the location and cost. An advisory committee of citizens was created to study
the various options and make a recommendation back to the City Commission about how to
solve the problem. Meetings of that Committee were ongoing at the time of the 2012 strategic
planning workshops. It was the consensus of the City Commission to wait for the Committee's
recommendation prior to making any final decisions on construction.
11. Town Center Parking
Goal; This goal is to consider possible legislative solutions to the parking deficiencies in the
Town Center area created, in part, by granting waivers to businesses wishing to locate or
expand in the Town Center area.
Background and Description; The City Code contains requirements for the number of parking
spaces to be provided by businesses based on their type and size. Waivers to Code requirements
have often been granted when it was impractical for new or expanding businesses to acquire and
develop parking lots in increments as small as four spaces. The City Code provides for either an
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approval or denial of the parking waivers and the City Commission, wanting to promote
business, has been reluctant to deny these requests.
The City of Jacksonville Beach has instituted an innovative program where businesses in similar
situations can pay the City for parking waivers. The price for these waivers is based on the
estimated cost to purchase and construct parking lots. Parking requirements can be paid on a per
space basis. Once the City has collected sufficient funds from businesses to pay for construction
of a new lot, then public parking can be acquired, developed and maintained on a more efficient
basis.
The City Commission indicated a desire to look into a similar requirement that would help
alleviate the parking problems in Town Center while allowing for orderly and efficient growth of
new business.
12. Marsh Master Plan Improvements
Goal; This goal is to plan for, fund and construct the improvements recommended in the
Marsh Preserves Master Plan which was approved in April 2012 over a multi year period.
Background and Description; Atlantic Beach recently acquired approximately 350 acres of
mostly marsh property located on the western most side of the City that connects the Tideviews
and Dutton Island Preserves. The acquisition of this property and the resulting ability to improve
public access to the marsh has been on the City's strategic list of goals for several years. A first
project already completed was the construction of Sunset Pier which provides for public viewing,
fishing and kayak access in deep water adjacent to the Tideviews Preserve.
The next project planned is the addition of two scenic overlooks along the west side of Atlantic
Beach and a kayak launch on the north end of Dutton Island. The City has applied for a grant to
pay 50% of the cost.
The consensus of the City Commission was to continue planning for new projects as grant funds
are available and matching funds can be budgeted. Particular interest was expressed by several
Commissioners in the construction of the PedPath between the two existing parks. This is
expected to be costly and require several phased projects.
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