October 2005.pdfVOL.1 NO.3OCTOBER 2005
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Resulting partly from the experiences of
the 2004 storm season in Northeast
Florida, JEA has made vast improvements
to its outage reporting systems and will
soon begin using a new process that, in
some cases, will actually inform JEA of a
power outage even before the customer is
aware of it. At the center of this new
process is the Network Meter Reading
(NMR) system that is being installed at
all customer addresses in the JEA service
territory. NMR electric meters will talk
“wirelessly” to JEA’s Outage Management
System (OMS), an elaborate computer
system that receives the report of the
outage, analyzes the problem to determine
potential solutions, and then alerts repair
crews to the source of the problem.With
the implementation of the NMR system,
JEA customers won’t need to call to report
their power is out.When a customer’s
NMR meter senses that no power is
present, it will send a message to OMS,
just like when the customer calls JEA to
report that their power is out.As an added
benefit, NMR keeps reporting outages
until every customer has been restored.
This means, for example, that during a
widespread power outage in which JEA
repair personnel are beginning to restore
power to neighborhoods, the NMR system
will continue to report those few remaining
homes that are still without power.
This service is operational for residential
customers and will be in place in 2006 for
commercial customers. If you prefer,
you can still call JEA to report your power
outage by calling 665-6000.
I have received
several letters and
e-mails over the
last few months
concerning good
services performed
by our “first
responders,” our fire and police. We
are truly blessed to have an excellent
staff running City Hall. In particular, the
fire department and police personnel
go about their business in a quiet and
efficient manner that should give us all
a sense of comfort. Knowing that with-
in a few minutes of an emergency call
one can expect an emergency crew to
show up at the door certainly gives me
confidence in our safety. Little known
to most is the fact that we have a crime
suppression unit that works very quietly
to find and arrest “bad guys” before
they become a menace to the public.
I would also like to recognize the fact
that both police and fire crew volunteers
from our area and from Atlantic Beach
went to assist in the areas hard hit by
Hurricane Katrina. They put in long and
hard hours under some pretty grim situ-
ations. The mutual support agreements
we have with Jacksonville, the other
beach cities and the Navy at Mayport
also add to our security in having
resources available to meet any need.
Over the many years I have been part
of the Emergency Operations Center
activities in planning for hurricane
responses, I can tell you that Duval
County has a team approach towards
handling emergencies. The beach
cities are part of that team and I have
full confidence in our
ability to make the right
decisions, early on, to
any threat, man-made
or natural disaster
effecting Atlantic Beach.
city of atlantic beach newsletter
OUTAGE REPORTING SYSTEM
The City of Atlantic Beach has recently been
rated by FEMA for participation in the
Community Rating System, Floodplain
Management Program.This program rates
the City on its flood control systems and
construction of structures in the floodplains.
The City has received a rating of 8, which
gives property owners in Special Flood
Hazard Areas a 10% discount on their flood
insurance.
As part of the program, we supply lenders,
insurance agents, and real estate offices with
flood zone information.We maintain eleva-
tion certificates and finished floor elevations
in the permanent files on all properties.
Additional flood insurance data for a site,
such as the Flood Insurance Rate Map
(FIRM) zone and the base flood elevation or
depth if shown on the FIRM is provided in
the Building and Planning Departments.
For additional information, please contact us
at (904) 247-5826 or stop by the Building
and Planning Departments in City Hall.
You will need to provide us with the street
address and if available, the subdivision, lot
and block number.
COAB FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
John S. Meserve
Mayor
city of atlantic beach newsletter
CALENDAR
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 Road.
W.H.A.L.E. (We Have A Little Emergency)
is an education and identification program
for parents who have children in car seats.
W.H.A.L.E. can make a difference in the
event of a motor vehicle crash involving your
child. Providing vital information about your
child will result in a more efficient rescue
effort by emergency personnel. In many
cases, children are too young to identify
themselves or their parents, should the
driver be incapacitated. Rescue efforts may
be delayed if emergency service personnel
are unable to identify the child, emergency
contacts, or special medical needs. By having
this vital information, emergency personnel
can better meet the needs of your child, and
parents can feel safe knowing their children
will be properly identified and cared for.
W.H.A.L.E. CHECK requires the use
of three self-adhesive stickers and one
information label, which are placed in
specific places on the car and car seat.
W.H.A.L.E. CHECK is a free and easy
program to participate in.W.H.A.L.E.
packets can be picked up at any time at the
Atlantic Beach Police Department, 850
Seminole Road,Atlantic Beach.This is also
a great opportunity to have the installation
of your child’s car seat inspected (call for
Officer Layson’s hours at 247-5859).
ATLANTIC BEACH LAUNCHES A W.H.A.L.E. PROGRAM
NOVEMBER 2005
Nov.1 Commission Meeting (swearing in new
officials) | 8:00 pm
Nov.6 *Songwriter’s Concert | 6:00 p.m.-
8:00 p.m.
Nov.8 Code Enforcement Board Meeting |
7:00 pm
Nov.9 *Tree Conservation Board Meeting |
7:00 p.m.
Nov.14 City Commission Meeting | 7:15 p.m.
Nov.15 Community Development Board
Meeting - City Hall | 7:00 p.m.
Nov.17 Board Member Review Committee
Meeting | 5:00 p.m.
Nov.22 *Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory
Committee Meeting | 7:00 p.m.
Nov.23 *Tree Conservation Board Meeting |
7:00 p.m.
Nov.28 City Commission Meeting | 7:15 p.m.
OCTOBER 2005
Oct.1 *First Aid Training-$30 (CPR training
on Oct.22nd,$40 for both) |
9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
Oct.1 Fun Day/Camp-Out Under the Stars –
Jack Russell Park | Begins 11:00 a.m.
Oct.2 *Songwriter’s Concert | 6:00 p.m.-
8:00 p.m.
Oct.4 PRIMARY ELECTION - Voting
Precinct | 7:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m.
Oct.10 City Commission Meeting |7:15 p.m.
Oct.12 *Tree Conservation Board Meeting |
7:00 p.m.
Oct.18 GENERAL ELECTION (if needed) -
Voting Precinct | 7:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m.
Oct.18 Community Development Board
Meeting,City Hall | 7:00 p.m.
Oct.20 Board Member Review Committee
Meeting | 5:00 p.m.
Oct.22 *CPR Training-$30 (First Aid training
on Oct.1st,$40 for both) |
9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
Oct.23 *Acoustic Night | 4:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.
Oct.24 City Commission Meeting | 7:15 p.m.
Oct.25 *Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory
Committee Meeting | 7:00 p.m.
Oct.26 *Tree Conservation Board Meeting |
7:00 p.m.
John S. Meserve
MAYOR
Richard M. Beaver
MAYOR PRO TEM
J. Dezmond Waters, III
COMMISSIONER
Sylvia Simmons
COMMISSIONER
Paul B. Parsons
COMMISSIONER
Jim Hanson
CITY MANAGER
Alan Jensen
CITY ATTORNEY
Donna Bussey
CITY CLERK
CITY OFFICIALS
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Sidewalk Replacement
In order to protect and enhance the
pedestrian, bicycle and skateboard
friendliness of Atlantic Beach walk-
ways, the City Commission recently
approved an ordinance requiring that
any sidewalks being repaired or
replaced must be replaced with
smooth concrete.
Sec. 19-7. Construction of drive-
ways in rights-of-way.
(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.
Yard Trash
What about your yard debris?
You are limited to no more than
five cubic yards a week, not each
day but a week. No single item
may exceed five (5) feet in length
or forty (40) pounds. If what you’re
putting out for pickup looks too
big, it probably is. If a contractor
(including your Lawn Service)
cuts down a tree or trims your
palms and says don’t worry, the
City will pick it up, WORRY! Any
Contractor you pay to trim or
remove trees is also responsible
for removing and properly dis-
posing the debris from your
property and the City right-of-
way. City Code: Section 16-5
For additional information concerning
trash and yard waste pickup, call
Public Works at (904) 247-5834,
for reporting violations of City Code
call (904) 247-5855.
Classes
The City of Atlantic Beach is offering
the following classes at Adele Grage
Cultural Center: First Aid/CPR training;
Postnatal Fitness; and Scrap booking/
Photo Organization. Please call
247-5828 or visit our website @
www.coab.us for additional information.