Hoffmann application for vacant Commission seatFrom:michaelhoffmann@comcast.net
To:Bartle, Donna
Subject:Introduction and application for vacant Commission seat
Date:Friday, November 27, 2015 6:24:07 PM
Mrs. Bartle,
I have read Sec. 6 and affirm that I am qualified to serve on the
Commission.
I will be available at 246-9370 on Monday morning if your office
should require further information or signatures.
The statement below serves as my c.v..
Michael Hoffmann
____________________________________________________
Application to fill vacant Commission seat
I have been a resident of Atlantic Beach at 176 Camelia St.
since 1990 and active in local politics at the grassroots level
since 1999. I offer a lengthy public record of civic engagement
as the basis for my appointment to the vacant seat on the
Commission.
Here are some examples of my civic involvement:
In 1999 I was a co-founder of the Marsh Oaks Neighborhood
Association; I served as secretary during its three years of
existence. MONA's purpose was to coordinate and address
neighborhood concerns being overlooked at city hall, especially
relating to the degradation of the quality of life resulting from the
construction of the Mayport flyover. Other concerns included
recreation, sidewalks, and public safety. (The papers of MONA
are archived at BAHS.)
The MONA membership in 2001 tasked me to negotiate with
JTA for a landscaped berm to be built around the perimeter of
what became Veterans Memorial Park. JTA announced that it
would build the berm and turn it over to the city at the
completion of the construction project. Later, the AB
Commission vetoed the berm. This is why today the park is
open to the ugly view, air pollution and noise from the roadway
of the Mayport Rd.-Atlantic Blvd. intersection. (I would like to see
the city wrap the park‘s hurricane fence in opaque windscreen to
buffer the noise, grime and ugly view.)
I took the neighborhood lead in criticizing substandard and
dangerous sidewalks that the city had contracted for on Orchid
St. while Jim Hanson was city manager. The Commission
ordered some segments re-built, and they created a transparent
schedule based on metrics for future sidewalk construction
priorities. The following year I successfully lobbied to get a
sidewalk built and an additional streetlight for West Third St. (I
would like to see a model project done to make streets safer at
night for older drivers. Also, revisit speed limits on residential
streets.)
Elected and appointed city officials at the height of the real
estate boom determined to sell off half of the city-owned lots on
West First St. that are adjacent to Tideviews Preserve. I spoke
out against this plan on numerous occasions and eventually
carried my criticisms to the CDB, which voted to table the
proposal. This ended the discussion as a new Commission was
seated soon afterwards that was not in favor of selling the lots.
(These lots are a crucial buffer to six lanes of Atlantic Blvd.
traffic noise and pollution that would otherwise enter the
surrounding neighborhood. I would like the city to incorporate
these lots into Tideviews Preserve to make it more difficult for a
future Commission to attempt to sell all or part of the buffer.)
The FRA 290 fountain project committee employed me as
secretary and liaison for their cooperative beautification project
with the city to put up a lighted fountain in the retention pond on
Mayport Rd. between West Fourth and Fifth streets. This project
required two years, from proposal to completion. (An FRA 290
member put up one-quarter of the total costs of the fountain and
lights plus installation.)
Free and fair elections are the bedrock of representative
government. I have worked since 1999 to bring about single-
member representation on the Commission. The addition of a
residency requirement in 2006-7 was a first step, but the recent
defeat of a referendum on single-member districts means that
vote dilution remains an integral part of the election process. I
drew the highest number of votes among the three candidates in
our home precinct w hen I ran for the Commission in 2009 --
without spending a dime. I relied instead on a public record of
civic engagement that I explained and defended in the local
press and in the candidates' forum. I believe, as did the
Founding Fathers, that financial contributions or gifts make
elected officials susceptible to undue influence and potential
corruption.
Michael Hoffmann
176 Camelia St.
246-9370