Item 1A- Draft Minutes of 7-11-16MINUTES
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING
July 11, 2016
IN ATTENDANCE:
Mayor Mitchell E. Reeves
Mayor Pro Tern Jimmy Hill
Commissioner Harding
Commissioner John Stinson
Commissioner M. Blythe Waters
CITY HALL, 800 SEMINOLE ROAD
City Attorney Brenna Durden
City Manager Nelson Van Liere
City Clerk Donna L. Bartle
Invocation and pledge to the flag
Mayor Reeves gave the Invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Call to Order:
AGENDA ITEM #lA
JULY 25, 2016
Mayor Reeves called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. City Clerk Bartle called the roll and Mayor
Reeves noted that a quorum was present.
Mayor Reeves explained the Commission will not take action tonight on Item 3A, but they will have a
discussion. He also explained the Aquatic Drive project is not on the agenda and gave a status of the
project.
1. A. Approve the minutes of the Commission Meeting of June 27, 2016.
Mayor Reeves asked if there were any conections to the above minutes. There were no conections, so
Mayor Reeves stated the minutes stand as submitted.
Mayor Reeves explained the process for public comments and spoke about recent comments made about
the Commission.
2. Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors
Mayor Reeves opened the Comiesy of the Floor to Visitors. City Clerk Bmile called each speaker to the
podium.
Dolly McCormick, 792 Aquatic Dr. distributed a petition. She spoke about flooding at Aquatic
Gardens and suggested ways to help prevent flooding.
Louise Ann Hunley, 591 Aquatic Dr. spoke in favor of the petition presented. She expressed concerns
about the current development in the area by TriBridge and spoke against making changes to the dog
park.
James McCue, 660 Aquatic Dr., spoke in opposition of the TriBridge project, explaining his handout
to the Commission and asked that they read it and pay attention to it.
Chris Jorgensen, 92 W. 3rd St., spoke of the 4th of July event at Tideview Park at the pier. He
explained he is sony to see Freddie with Public Works has depmied and to see Jeremy going. He stated
he attended the Pension meeting and has concerns about pension, but he is also concerned about
July 11, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
AGENDA ITEM #1A
JULY 25, 2016
Page2
inadequate parking at Town Hall. He suggested 3-story parking garages. He spoke in favor of moving
the concrete sculpture that is located outside of City Hall. He suggested the extension of the trolley to
meet the needs of the citizens. He would like to see more activities for the kids such as Robotics.
Paula O'Bannon, 304 1st St., passed out a book she has written about Atlantic Beach to everyone in
attendance. She appreciates the effort put fmih regarding the disappearing sidewalks and parking. She
mentioned recent articles in the paper and hopes that sidewalks on her street will be put back and not
become one big driveway. She suggested better marking for sidewalks through driveways and asked that
the sidewalks be outlined in a noticeable way. She stated she agreed with another citizen about orange
paint to mark where the lines would be for development of new projects. She stated it is hard not to
respond back when speaking.
Lisa Herrold, 659 Sherry Dr., spoke in opposition of the Safe Routes to Schools on Sheny Drive,
stating the telephone poles are too close to the sidewalk and many will be in the actual sidewalk. She
explained the dangers of these poles once the sidewalks are in place. and asked the Commission to speak
to the citizens affected by the route. She invited each Commissioner to walk the nine blocks of Sheny
Dr. with her. She expressed concern for the trees in place and feels they will suffer damage.
Susan Perry, 179 Pine St., refened to the policy E.l.3.5 regarding private development. She explained
she is distressed and almmed over the Gate Station and now with the dog park and offered thirty seconds
of prayer for the trees and the animals that lost their lives today.
Mark Tingen, 1198 Sandpiper Ln E., thanked the Commission for what they do. He also thanked the
City of Atlantic Beach Police, stating they do a remarkable job. He encouraged anyone to take the police
course each year that is offered and learn more about the police department.
Susanne Barker, 1938 Beachside Ct, spoke regarding the tree removal on Aquatic Dr. for the
Brownfield project. She expressed concerns about the animals that live in that area and the gopher
tmioises that are a protected species. She inquired if there had been an environmental study. She also
expressed concerns that the Charter and Codes are not being applied properly and requested that the
Commission consider a stop work order.
City Clerk Bartle read the names and comments from the citizens who did not want to speak, as follows:
Henry Domingo, 405 Aquatic Dr. in support of the petition regarding the flooding.
Mardie Le Bouton, 774 Aquatic Dr. in support of the petition for flooding.
Rita Yonder Haar, 450 Aquatic Dr. in suppmi of the petition for flooding, but not in suppmi of the 23-
unit apartments.
Linda McWayne, 510 Aquatic Dr. in suppmi of the flood petition, but not in support of the 23-unit
apartments.
Duffy McWayne, 510 Aquatic Dr. in suppmi of the flood petition, but not in support of the 23-unit
apmiments.
No one else from the audience spoke.
July 11, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
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Mayor Reeves suspended the rules and offered the opportunity for the Commission to respond to
comments they heard tonight.
Commissioner Stinson requested that the City Manager do his due diligence to follow up with TriBridge
to dete1mine whether animals are being killed at Aquatic Drive for the development. He requested the
City Attorney review the minutes of the City Commission meeting where they voted on the TriBridge
development to make sure their actions where appropriate. He requested that the City Manager give the
Commission a plan or at least a cost estimate for upgrading or updating our Stmmwater Management
system, explaining we need to do what we are supposed to do to keep our citizens from having water in
their homes.
Commissioner Hill asked staff to continue to follow up on the flooding issue to con·ect what we can fix.
He stated they need to look at putting structures back that have some grade and elevation. He spoke
about the TriBridge development and explained he would have prefened if they could have kept density
at a lower level. He suggested that when a concrete pour is made at a property line, it needs to delineate
with a different surface or a different color at a property line on every occasion in order to solve 80-90
percentage of our intrusion issues and explained why it is important.
Commissioner Waters explained to those on Aquatic Drive who did not feel as though Aquatic Drive
drainage was being addressed in the budget process; it is on the mind of the City Manager and our
Public Works Director to not only do the work, but to make sure everything needed is budgeted. She
explained the City's efforts to address the flooding issues and some of its challenges. She commented
on the Brownfield project explaining that because of recent changes to our tree ordinance, tree
mitigation is the best it's ever been; that developer will have to do more than any other developer has in
te1ms of replanting on site and paying into mitigation; the trees that they plant on site will be higher
quality trees in terms of shade and canopy than those that were taken down. She stated the City has
done a lot under previous Commissions with the help of Community members and our hard-working
staff to see that tree mitigation is addressed in a reasonable and most advantageous way possible to the
City. She explained the environmental perks of tying into the existing drainage system.
Commissioner Harding explained just prior to the last tropical storm we were threatened with, he made
a conscience effort to drive through the Aquatic Gardens and Royal Palm areas and he did see a lot of
debris and over growth. He stated he contacted the city manager and had crews sent there to clear it up.
He explained there is a lot of work to be done and stands behind the citizens in the attempt to get those
drainage areas the best they can be. He stated these issues are a priority and are being addressed. He
stated he will take the citizens up on their offer to walk SheiTY Drive and asked that she send her contact
information to him by email.
Mayor Reeves stated that some people feel it is unusual to do this, but he feels it is important so it is
known the citizens are being listened to. He thanked the first speaker for providing solutions. He
mentioned a previous suggestion for a vacuum truck, stating that the vacuum truck was in the budget for
2015-2016, but the previous Commission took it out. He explained there are other solutions to have
pumps on standby. He stated that the dog park is a wonderful park, but it was purchased as a retention
pond and planned for enlarging later if needed. He explained this Commission could vote to turn it back
into a retention pond. He asked that the citizens give the Commission a chance to solve problems. He
expressed his amazement that he heard so much over the weekend about the trees at the Brownfield, but
no comments were made about the trees being taken down at the library in Neptune Beach. He urged
citizens to call Commissioners and the City Manager for answers and facts before listening to rumors.
July 11, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meetings
A. Safe Routes to Schools Route Selection.
AGENDA ITEM #lA
JULY 25, 2016
Mayor Reeves reiterated that this item is for discussion only and will not be voted on tonight.
Page 4
Public Works Director Don Jacobovitz distributed and explained his revised report (which is attached
and made part of this Official Record as Attachment A) and his recommendation. Mr. Jacobovitz
and Mr. Van Liere answered questions from the Commission.
The Commission discussed the project. Commissioner Hill stated he would like to see drawings on how
the existing infrastructure is going to be incorporated. He explained why he does not believe the project
on SheiTy Drive will work with the existing layout and does not want another bad project that has to be
conected later. Commissioner Waters believed it is wasteful to let a grant like this slip through our
hands when improved walkability in our city should be a goal. She stated this is for our citizens and the
safety of children. She requested data to dete1mine where the kids are coming from and where the path
is going. She would like to move forward with a project that works for the city and uses federal money,
not city money to improve walkability in our city. Commissioner Stinson explained that if they are
going to do this with a safe route to school in mind, we need to know where the children are coming
from so a path can be built for them to get to it. He explained there is a need for the larger paths, but it
needs to be for the light reason. He compared the route on Plaza Drive to the route on Sheny Drive and
believes there is more interaction with all kinds of hazards. Mayor Reeves encouraged any new data
that can be obtained before the July 25' 2016 meeting. He explained he has not seen anything written
from DOT or JT A that says here is your deadline; he would be surprised if DOT would not allow us
more time to get better data and can't imagine them putting a time clock on the project if they want to do
what is right. Commissioner Harding explained wanting to get more community input. He stated there is
a need for sidewalks to run east and west even if it is not the Safe Routes to Schools Grant and believes
we owe that to our residents. He does not see why this is time sensitive. He would like another
community meeting and see the routes in order to make a legitimate, educated decision; one that we are
not going to be sony for later.
The Commission discussed the Town Hall meeting scheduled for Saturday, July 16, 2016. There were
scheduling conflicts with tlu·ee Commissioners. Discussion ensued about the timelines and rescheduling
the Town Hall meeting. Mr. Jacobovitz answered questions from the Commission. There were
suggestions made to mark the path and to mail a bright neon notice of the Town Hall meeting to
everyone along the proposed route. Mr. Jacobovitz offered to videotape the marked path.
It was the consensus of the Commission to postpone the Town Hall Meeting, have the City
Clerk reach out to each Commissioner to see when the Town Hall meeting can be
rescheduled as soon as possible and put it on the agenda when it is ready to be discussed.
Mayor Reeves called for a break at 8:38 p,m. and reconvened at 8:45p.m.
4. Consent Agenda
ALL MATTERS LISTED UNDER THE CONSENT AGENDA ARE CONSIDERED TO BE
ROUTINE BY THE CITY COMMISSION AND WILL BE ENACTED BY ONE MOTION IN
THE FORM LISTED BELOW. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF THESE
ITEMS. IF DISCUSSION IS DESIRED, THAT ITEM WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE
CONSENT AGENDA AND WILL BE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY. SUPPORTING
AGENDA ITEM #lA
JULY 25, 2016
July 11, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING PageS
DOCUMENTATION AND STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY
SUBMITTED TO THE CITY COMMISSION ON THESE ITEMS.
A. Acknowledge receipt of the Monthly Recreation Programs/Special Events Report for
May 2016.
B. Approve Submittal ofFY 2016-2017 CDBG Grant Projects Application.
C. Approve continuing our relationship with Harden & Associates to continue to act as the
City of Atlantic Beach's Broker of Record for employee benefits and property and
casualty insurance.
City Clerk Battle read the consent agenda.
Motion: Approve the Consent Agenda Items A, B & C as read.
Moved by Waters, Seconded by Hill
Votes:
Aye: 5 -Harding, Hill, Stinson, Waters, Reeves
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED
5. Committee Reports
A. Creation of an Independent Auditor Selection Committee.
Finance Director Russell Caffey explained his report.
Motion: Have Commissioner Stinson sit on the audit selection committee.
Moved by Hill, Seconded by Harding
Mr. Van Liere explained the commitment involved in being on this Committee.
Votes:
Aye: 5 -Harding, Hill, Stinson, Waters, Reeves
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED
6. Action on Resolutions
None.
7. Action on Ordinances
A. ORDINANCE NO. 20-16-139, Introduction and First Reading
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF
ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA FOR FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1,
2015 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 FOR APPROPRIATING FUNDS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
GRANT, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
City Clerk Bartle read the Ordinance by title. City Manager VanLiere explained the Ordinance.
July 11, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
Motion: Approve Ordinance No. 20-16-139 as read.
Moved by Harding, Seconded by Stinson
City Manager Van Liere answered questions from the Commission.
Roll Call Votes:
Aye: 5-Waters, Harding, Hill, Stinson, Reeves
Nay:
MOTION CARRIED
8. Miscellaneous Business (Discussion only)
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A. 16-UBEX-101-Request for a use-by-exception as pe1mitted by Section 24-111(c)(3
and 5), to allow on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverages in accordance with
Chapter 3 of the code and limited wholesale operations at 725 Atlantic Boulevard
Unit 3 and 15.
Planner Derek Reeves presented a slide show as he explained the request and the Community
Development Board's recommendation with conditions. He asked for Commission consensus to move
the item forward to a Public Hearing on July 25, 2016.
Mayor Reeves asked the applicant to come forward to answer questions. The applicant stated his name
and address as Charles Hom, 13783 Deer Chase Place, Pablo Bay. Mayor Reeves asked Mr. Hom what
a comfortable number would be for him in order to limit the amount of people because of the parking in
the area. Mr. Hom explained the size of the place and believes 75 is more than reasonable. Mayor
Reeves asked him if he would be in agreement if they add a condition to restrict to at least 75 and Mr.
Hom agreed. Commissioner Harding asked about hazards during the brewing process. Mr. Hom
explained there is a boiler in the brewing process, but it is low pressure. Commissioner Hill asked about
shielding the back of the building directly North. Mr. Hom explained they will only open their back
door once every two weeks to send pallets out, the parking will be in parking spaces against the fence,
and the only thing at the building next to wall will be an air conditioning unit. Commissioner Hill asked
who regulates micro breweries and Mr. Hom explained there are federal and state agencies and requires
three licenses. Planner Reeves answered questions from Commissioner Hill about whether
manufacturing at this location is allowed in our Code.
Mayor Reeves asked Mr. Reeves if this item is brought back on July 25, 2016 for a public hearing,
would he have the recommended condition he asked for and could it be added as a condition. Mr.
Reeves agreed to bring something and said it could be added. Discussion ensued about getting a number
from the fire marshal to use as that number. Commissioner Waters asked the applicant if there are
concems about air quality inside the building, or brewing smell and exhaust for the surrounding area.
Mr. Hom stated there should be no concems about it whatsoever inside or outside the building. Mr.
Reeves explained the zoning and the noticing requirements.
The consensus was to move this item forward to a public hearing on July 25, 2016.
9. City Manager
A. City Manager's Report.
90-Day Calendar (July 2016 through September 2016).
• Repmied on upcoming items on the calendar: The budget workshop schedule is Monday,
August 15, 2016 and Wednesday, August 24, 2016 and the board member appreciation is
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being proposed for September 29, 2016. Mayor Reeves explained the status of the Town
Hall meeting.
• Thanked Derek Reeves for stepping up to handle planning, zoning and community
development issues.
• Reported that on July 20, 2016, the City of Jacksonville is hosting the Hunicane Season
Regional tabletop exercise.
• Repmied he spoke with Jeremy Hubsch regarding CRA. They are wrapping up with the
funding of the necessity portion of the project and a draft redevelopment plan should be
coming to city staff within a couple of weeks.
• Repmied the finance depmiment has taken over the business tax receipts. There are a
couple of issues that have not moved over.
• Reported he met with Neptune Beach and the Beaches Town Center about a plan to
develop a town center overlay. He stated they will meet again this week.
• Repmied the St. John's River Management District has approved a grant application to
install a new meter in our commercial area for radio reads so the data can be obtained
without having to physically read the meters. He explained this will be included in next
year's budget.
• Explained he would like to have a consensus on whether or not the Commission wants to
spend the funds to have the City Attomey work on some optional legislation that Ms.
Durden is ready to explain.
10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney
City Attorney Durden
• Reported there are five things that have been mentioned to her as possible projects
moving forward and asked for a consensus in regards to prioritizing what the
Commission would like her to work on.
1) A resolution regarding temporm·y signs-She explained the Supreme Comi Case
of Reed v. Town of Gilbe1i and recommended that the Commission suspend the
enforcement of temporary sign regulations that may be in the Code until such time that
the sign code can be modified to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court case. She offered
to provide something for the next meeting if the Commission agreed to make it a priority.
Mayor Reeves stated that this should be placed on the July 25, 2016 agenda under
discussion only to see if the Commission wants to move it forward. A discussion ensued.
2) A potential moratorium on service stations-She explained she has received
several comments regarding this and has spoken to the City Manager and other cities with
concems like ours. She explained the notice requirements are two readings, one public
hearing, and a notice published in the newspaper ten days before the public hearing. She
has researched some examples for moratoriums on automobile service stations. There is a
lot of concem in the community about service stations. A moratorium allows the City the
time it needs to go back and look at those concems. During a moratorium, no application
would be accepted by the City. It could be placed on the agenda as early as July 25, 2016
for discussion purposes. A discussion ensued.
3) A Neighborhood Assessment Program-She explained there is a desire to move
forward in the City with the Neighborhood Assessment Program. This is a utility
undergrounding program that would be geographic in nature and within that geographic
boundary. She believes 75% would have to vote an assessment on their prope1iy then
July 11, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
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JULY 25, 2016
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JEA would come in and underground the utilities. There seems to be community suppmi
for this.
4) An urban chicken ordinance for the community.
5) An ordinance to allow for golf carts in the community.
Commissioner Hill expressed concerns about getting into a legal funding issue. He
believes staff can handle the chicken and golf cart ordinances and they do not have to be
done right now. He would like to look for a more economical solution to some of these
real simple projects. Commissioner Waters offered to bring the urban chicken ordinance
if Commissioner Hill does the golf Cali ordinance.
Mayor Reeves explained the purpose of this discussion was to see what we want the City
Attorney to help us with while we try to get the legal cost down. Mr. Van Liere stated
the resolution on temporary signs and the moratorium are out of his league because of the
reasons they al'e being considered. He explained he has an extensive amount of data
regarding the overhead to underground utilities that he can give to the City Attorney and
can prepare a draft of a chicken ordinance and golf Cali ordinance for legal review.
City Clerk Bartle
• Introduced Tracy Thompson as her new administrative assistant.
Commissioner Stinson
• Thanked Ms. O'Bannon for the book.
• Wished Jeremy Hubsch all the best in his future endeavors.
• Appreciated the Mayor's thiliy second moment of silence at the beginning of the meeting
for law enforcement personnel all across the county.
• Gave the City Manager an update that he has not been able to get any pump vendor to give a
written quote for Public Works. He stated he would like the City Manager and Mr.
Jacobovitz to buy the best value that we can get.
Commissioner Hill
• Asked if there is still money being spent on the CRA if it is not being moved forward on. A
discussion ensued. Believes there is a real need to reinstate a Tree Board, stating it would
be beneficial to staff. He will bring something to the Commission.
• Would like to see a rough architectural drawing of the ped path modification necessary for
Sheny Drive with utilities included.
Commissioner Harding
• Would like to see the Aquatic Gardens drainage be put on priority with Public Works streets
and drainage and if there are blockages because of the issues brought up tonight he would
like to see some allocations in next yeal·'s budget to create a proactive maintenance program
for the drainage.
• Would like to get a report regarding the animals and the trees and what was done prior to the
removal of the trees and foliage before construction. Would like to know what effmis were
taken to preserve the animals in that area.
• Stated we are very fortunate to have Chief Deal and his officers continue to come to work
amid the negativity going on nationwide.
July 11, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
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JULY 25,2016
Page 9
• In reference to the Town Hall being postponed, please keep in mind budget meetings are
coming up next month and a lot will be going on.
• Will be attending the Hurricane Season Regional Tabletop exercise with Chief Deal.
• Would like to look at placing lighted crosswalks and the costs of placing them at busy
intersections of the City for safety. Would also like to look into some additional east and
west sidewalks for bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• August 2, 2016 thru August 7, 2016 he will be out of town.
Commissioner Waters
• Expressed thanks to Jeremy Hubsch as he moves on to other things and also thanked all the
employees for the hard work they do.
• Would like to see an update at the next meeting about the new software implementation and
how it is going.
• Expressed interest in a tree board or committee with a role of being more proactive in
bringing projects and things to the City that they would like to see done as opposed to
actually deciding on individual projects.
• Would like to see direct mailers go out to any home along the direct path notifying citizens
of the Town Hall meeting, once it is scheduled.
• Explained an incident that occmTed today of a dog dying of heat stroke. She stated she would
like to advise that dogs get hot and cannot sweat and asked to please keep your pets inside
and out of the heat.
• Expressed the tragedies that have occurred in the United States and abroad serve as a
reminder that black lives matter and blue lives matter. We have to take concerns from our
law enforcement and our citizens seriously. We have to work to reconcile the divisions and
divides that they represent.
• Gave a shout out to our police depatiment for all they do.
• Asked that we all give respect to each other.
Commissioner Hill asked the City Attorney to look into the concerns brought up about the use of
park land in our Code and provide the answers to the City Manager. Mayor Reeves repotied that
according to emails, the City Manager has already spoke to her about it.
Mayor Reeves
• Supports a tree committee that would do positive things for the City such as one that would
educate new people moving here and builders.
• Repotied he has met with the City Manager and Don regarding the drain on Magnolia and
Pine and asked that a letter go out about a neighborhood block meeting.
• Thanked Chief Deal for the great job the officers did on the 4th of July.
• Apologized that his phone went off during the meeting, explaining he forgot to put it on
airplane mode and that the message was from his wife letting him know his dinner was in the
refrigerator.
• Expressed how enjoyable it was this weekend as several citizens approached him and stated
that he and the Commission are doing a great job.
• Read a quote from Willie Nelson and asked everyone to think positive and get the facts
before assuming things.
Adjournment
July 11, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING
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Page 10
There being no further discussion, Mayor Reeves declared the meeting adjoumed at 10:05 p.m.
ATTEST:
Donna L. Bartle, CMC
City Clerk
Mitchell E. Reeves
Mayor/Presiding Officer
AGENDA ITEM:
DATE:
SUBMITTED BY:
BACKGROUND:
STAFF REPORT
City of Atlantic Beach
Commission Meeting
Safe Routes to Schools Route Selection
ATTACHMENT A
MINUTES
JULY 11,2016
July 11,2016 _//. ()/-;, j~:f ~~&~ Donald D. Jacobovitz, P.E., Public Works Direct~ J?
The Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) Route Selection was discussed at the June 27, 2016
Commission Meeting and aWorkshop preceding that meeting. At those meetings, the
Public Works (PW) recommendation was to select the path that followed the east side of
Sherry Drive and Seminole Road for many reasons including that it was the safest route
of the various routes considered, it provided the least amount ofuncontrolled crossings,
sufficient right-of-way exists, and surveying and design for this alternative is
approximately 30% complete.
During discussions at the above mentioned meetings, it was suggested that students may
be coming from other directions than supported by the proposed path. I mentioned that
demographics change from year to year. A path selected and built this year, may not
support the greatest number of users in future years, but from all the information we
have, it does support the greatest number of users at this time. A SRTS should be
selected based upon the best known facts available at the time of its construction. It was
suggested that east-west routes leading to and from the school from its rear entrance
using David Street and Seaspray Avenue should be evaluated. It was also suggested that
the City may consider building more than one alternate route to branch out where the
students live.
I discussed the selection ofalternate routes with the Florida Department of Transportation
(FDOT), the Atlantic Beach Elementary School (ABE), the Jacksonville Transportation
Authority (JTA), and the City's Consultant who has supervised this project design. I also
inspected the proposed alternative routes. The following are the results ofthese
discussions,and my inspection.
The FDOT representative, Roo.sevelt Petitihomme, reiterated his comments he had given
the City in the past. The path provided already to FDOT can be changed, the amount of
funding for this SRTS project remains the same, and it is good that the City has engaged
the public on this project. With this in mind, the amount spent to date would be coming
from the entire project budget of$671,034 ($125,000 for design, $461,974 for
construction, and $84,060 for CEI services). Any additional funds expended above this
amount to complete, change, or extend the path would be the responsibility of the City.
This includes the design fees as well.
The FDOT representative was not supportive of using four or five feet wide sidewalks as
a SRTS or to extend a SRTS. The right-of-ways on David and Seaspray up to Seminole
are limited in width and will not support a multi-purpose path (MPP) of 8 feet or more in
width which is preferred by the FDOT. The Seaspray right-of-way widens after crossing
Seminole Road to the west. A MPP could be constructed here; however, there would be
telephone utility and tree conflicts all along this path. These conflicts would be more
than on the currently proposed path. The path could eventually meet up with Sailfish
Drive and travel north to tie into the existing MPP on Plaza Drive. This path could go
east to the five-way intersection at Seminole Road. The MPP could then travel down
Sherry Drive to the ABE. As I mentioned, the FDOT representative was not supportive
of the SRTS along the portion of Seaspray with limited right-of-way. Any improvements
in this area or any other path than the originally proposed route would probably be the
responsibility of the City especially if any of the design, survey, and utility coordination
fees exceed the amount originally programmed for the project.
I then met with the Principal of Atlantic Beach Elementary School (ABE), Mindy
McLendon. Mrs. McLendon was well aware of the proposed path down Seminole Road
and Sherry Drive. The infonnation she gave me was based upon her observations and
was not an official policy of the ABE or the School District. The following comments
represent the results of our meeting:
• Mrs. McClendon said she could not give us information from where the students
originate. It does seem that 80% or more of the ABE students are residents of Atlantic
Beach.
• The school only has one bus to pick up its students.
• There is a large percentage of walkers and bike riders, perhaps greater than 50%.
• Ofthe other students, approximatelyhalfride the bus and half are brought to school in
private vehicles.
• Students can enter the rear gate of the school in the moming and leave by that gate after
school; however, the school does not endorse that mainly because of the neighborhood's
complaints of the restrictions in their access on Seaspray Avenue and Poinsettia Street. If
the back gate becomes part of the SRTS project, the increased traffic on Seaspray and
Poinsettia will exacerbate the access problems (and complaints). It appears that most of
the students who enter that gate are being dropped off by private vehicles. There is a
Crossing Guard posted at that gate in the momings, and the gate is locked during the day.
• Based on Mrs. McClendon's observations each day, she feels the majority of the students
who walk or ride to school would be best served by the SRTS route recommended by
City Staffbecause they appear to be coming from the north and east of ABE
I next spoke with Chris LeDew of the JTA. The JTA is the Local Agency Program
(LAP) coordinator for projects in our area which use FDOT, or in this case, Federal
Highway Administration funding to complete. Our SRTS project has been coordinate.d
through them. Mr. LeDew was concerned that we had not progressed further through the
design scope of our originally selected path. He made several points which we should
keep in mind while moving forward with this project. These points are as follows:
• We performed our due diligence in selecting this project, qualifying it through the LAP
process, and getting it awarded.
• At some point, the City needs to let our residents know that the City does own the right-
of-way through which the SRTS MPP will follow and it intends to complete this project.
• Minor changes in the deviation of the path would be acceptable, but the cost of major
route changes would most likely have to be borne by the City.
• The drainage and utility reviews for the proposed path have already been completed
through the design process so far. The cost of these activities for any other route would
be significant and would become the responsibility of the City.
• The ITA is willing to wait until the end of this month for the City to move forward with
this project. After that, they most likely would put the City on notice that significant
progress needs to be made to ensure the design of this project (which has been placed on
hold at the 30% mark) occurs so that construction can be completed in the next fiscal
year.
• The funding of this project plans for the construction to occur in the State's 2017-2018
fiscal year which begins next July 1st. Funding for this program has been affected by a
movement from the SRTS program to a new "Safety Walk" program. Since this project
is one of the first of this kind within FDOT's District 2, it is being significantly observed
as a way to program and expend funds for safer transportation alternatives. Construction
may actually become available before July 1st, 2017.
I also spoke with Derek Gil of our consulting firm, ELEMENT Engineering Group, who
is designing our SRTS project. He told me their work began after the City had already
selected the path along the east side of Sherry and Seminole. Their survey, design work,
and utility coordination were all performed for the east side of these roads. Their design
work was based upon a need for the 449 of 461 enrolled students at ABE that lived on or
near the selected path. This information was provided by the City in their application for
the SRTS grant. They received a fu1iher work request after a Town Hall Meeting to draw
a proposed path along the west side of Seminole from Five Points to 15th Street. This
Alternate Design was drawn without additional survey or utility coordination being done.
That would have to be completed if this path is chosen for the SRTS.
While not specifically mentioned by either Mr. Petitihomme or Mr. LeDew, I firmly
believe that the City's resolve, or lack thereof, in completing this project as originally
requested may seriously impact our ability to receive future grant funding through the
FDOT or other funding sources managed by the ITA for roadway and off-roadway
projects. Our request for these funds was taken by each of their agencies as a genuine
need for improvements. Now that we are several years down the road from their
approval of these funds, and we haven't shown progress towards agreeing on what we
want to do, they may be hesitant to review our future requests because they may not
believe we would accomplish what we sought out to do.
BUDGET: The negotiated public involvement support fee ($6,136.57) is being paid from the
Public Works Professional Services account (001-5002-541-3100) with no additional
funding required. The City will be obligated for design fees (~$50,000) if the project is
canceled, funding source to be dete1mined, if needed. FDOT has budgeted $687,000 for
design, construction and construction support efforts.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends the Commission approve the original route
keeping the entire multi-purpose path on the eastern side of ShelTY Drive and Seminole
Road.
ATTACHMENTS: None
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER: _______________ _