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August 2010.pdfa u g u s t 2 0 1 0 V o l . 6 N o . 8 C i t y o f a t l a N t i C B e a C h N e w s l e t t e r august 2010 Aug 3 Budget Workshop /5 pm Aug 5 Budget Workshop /5 pm Aug 9 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Aug 17 Community Development Board / 6 pm Aug 19 Pension Board of Trustees / 7 pm Aug 23 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Aug 26 Budget Workshop /5 pm Aug 24 *Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory Committee / 7 pm Aug 30 Budget Workshop /5 pm septemBer 2010 Sep 6 LABoR DAy – CiTy offiCeS CLoSeD Sep 13 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Sep 14 Code enforcement Board / 7 pm Sep 21 Community Development Board / 6 pm Sep 27 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Sep 28 *Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory Committee / 7 pm City offiCials Mike Borno, Mayor Carolyn Woods, Commissioner John fletcher, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Hanson, City Manager Jonathan Daugherty, Commissioner Alan Jensen, City Attorney Paul Parsons, Commissioner Donna Bartle, City Clerk www.coab.us • (904) 247-5800 Meetings are held in the Commission Chamber unless otherwise indicated. * These events will be held at Adele Grage Cultural Center, 716 Ocean Blvd. august 2010 Aug 8 Songwriters Concert / Adele Grage / 6 - 8 pm Aug 19 North Beaches Art Walk / Town Center / 5 pm Aug 19 Lagniappe Night / Adele Grage / 7 pm Aug 21 Twilight Movie “The Princess and the frog” / Donner Park Aug 29 Acoustic Nights / Bull Park / 6 - 8 pm Aug 30 Registration opens for Campout Under the Stars septemBer 2010 Sep 5 Songwriters Concert / Adele Grage / 6 - 8 pm Sep 8 Mid-Market Market / Bull Park / 4:30 – 7:30 pm Sep 16 North Beaches Art Walk / Town Center / 5 pm Sep 18 Twilight Movie / Location TBA Sep 19 Acoustic Nights / Bull Park / 6 - 8 pm Code enforcement Corner As our older neighborhoods age, homes can begin to show normal wear and tear that leaves a perception of tired, worn out neighborhoods if these conditions are allowed to spread from house-to-house and street-to street. The hot florida sun and high humidity can speed this process along. Quite often, a home’s appearance can be dramatically improved with a good cleaning, a coat of paint or some minor carpentry. The property maintenance and neighborhood preservation regulations require that exterior walls must be kept in good repair and that flaking or chipped paint and oxidation stains must be removed from exterior walls. older homes are not expected to look perfect, but when surfaces that can be seen from the street or a neighboring lot are in an obvious state of neglect and disrepair, these conditions must be corrected. Take a look at your house. if it was someone else’s house would you notice anything that is in dire need of a scrub brush or paint brush? if you have any questions regarding these regulations, contact the City’s Code enforcement officer, eddie Lopez at 247-5855 or e-mail: elopez@coab.us.Volunteers Needed The City of Atlantic Beach would like to hear from citizens interested in serving on a citizen board or committee. The city has a Code enforcement Board, Community Development Board, Cultural Arts and Recreation Advisory Committee, two Pension Boards, one for police employees and the other for general employees and a Board Member Review Committee. for information about the responsibilities of these boards and committees or to obtain an application form, please contact the City Clerk at 247-5809 or visit our web site. Preventing Accidental injury over the past few months, nine children have died nationally while alone in a vehicle. Did you know that a child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult? it only takes a few short minutes before a child can become dangerously overheated. every year, more than 30 children die because they are left alone in a car. in just ten minutes, the temperature in a car can increase by 19 degrees and it continues to rise. There is no evidence that cracking the windows help prevent the temperature in vehicle interiors from reaching dangerous levels. in fact, sunlight coming through car windows makes the car work like an oven. Never leave a child in the car alone, even for a minute. if you see a child left alone in a car, call 911 immediately. The economic downturn has created difficult times for state and local governments across the nation. Service levels are being cut, thousands of police, fire and other public employees are being laid off and other drastic measures are being taken. Atlantic Beach is in better economic condition than many other cities, but better is a relative term. Revenues have fallen because of lower property values, lower sales taxes, decreasing water and sewer sales and for other reasons. However, Atlantic Beach has used very conservative budgeting and multi-year planning for a long time. During better economic times, investments were made in our water, sewer, storm water and park systems. As a result, maintenance costs are comparatively low and many new projects can be put off. it is easier to delay future capital projects than lay off employees and reduce service levels. We do anticipate some new capital projects next year. one fact of city government that most people don’t understand is that there are numerous state mandates on how we can spend various funds. While property taxes can be used for just about any legitimate city purpose, there are several sources of revenue that can only be used for capital projects or that have other restrictions. The City Commission will hold several budget workshops during August to review the projected revenues and expenses. The public is invited to sit in or to keep track of the issues by reading news stories. you can communicate any concerns to us in person, by calling or by using the e-mail page available on the City’s website www.coab.us. Cutbacks have been made to the City’s budget over the last two years and there are undoubtedly more to come until the economy turns around. However, you can rest assured that Atlantic Beach will continue to provide a high level of service and remain one of the best places to live and work. — Mayor Borno It’s Hurricane Season Turn Off the Water Before You Evacuate When strong hurricanes hit, water lines can break if your house is damaged by the storm, leading to even more damage to your home. That’s why it’s important to turn your water off before you evacuate. At the start of hurricane season, make sure you know where your main house water valve is located and test it to make sure it works. Make sure all family members know how to turn the water off as well. When an evacuation order is issued, close the valve before you leave. KNow your Days: irrigate only before 10 am or after 4 pm and only on your days. odd addresses – wednesday and saturday even addresses – thursday and sunday Non-residential – tuesday and friday for information on how to conserve water, go to www.floridaswater.com. JeA Makes improvements to improve electric Reliability Jacksonville electric Authority (JeA) officials have advised that they have invested over half-a-million dollars in distribution improvements to improve electric reliability for the City of Atlantic Beach. Since the winter, JeA has replaced 296 wood poles in Atlantic Beach. The new poles will provide increased strength to any tropical winds or falling trees as we enter our 2010 storm season. All poles have new hardware, including fuse cut outs, lightning arresters and fiberglass brackets, which will provide maximum resistance to flashovers that occur due to the proximity to the coastal environment. JeA has also installed 5 new SCADA controlled Automatic Reclosers (AR) in Atlantic Beach to help isolate any future feeder problems and to allow JeA operations to back feed customers, which will reduce outage times. All ARs were in service as of June 1, 2010, coinciding with the official start of the storm season. Sharing the Road with Bicycles in florida, the bicycle is legally defined as a vehicle. Bicyclists using a public roadway are considered operators of motor vehicles and are responsible for observing traffic laws. With few exceptions, there is only one road and it is up to motorists and bicyclists to treat each other with care and respect. Adherence to law is the foundation of respect. When sharing the road with a bicycle; • Allow three feet of clearance when passing a cyclist (f.S.S. 316.083). Reduce your speed if the roadway is narrow. • After parallel parking, check for bicyclists before opening a street-side door. • At night, avoid using high beam headlights when a cyclist is approaching. The cyclist could be temporarily blinded. • Do not follow a cyclist closely. if you are too close and the cyclist must lay their bike down on the road in an emergency, you could run them over. every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian or bicyclist (f.S.S. 316.130(15)). Help make sure that you and everyone else on the road is safer by paying attention to these tips and adhering to the traffic laws of florida. Traffic Law Highlights – for Pedestrians pedestrian regulations (section 316.130, f.s.) • Pedestrians must obey any official traffic control device – sign, signal or pavement striping – specifically applicable to the pedestrian unless otherwise directed by a police officer. • Where a sidewalk is available, a pedestrian is not allowed to walk upon the roadway. Where sidewalks are not provided, pedestrians shall walk on the shoulder on the left side of the roadway facing traffic. Crossing the roadway (sections 316.075, 316.130, f.s.) • Pedestrians are subject to traffic signals at intersections. • A pedestrian may not leave the curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield. • Pedestrians crossing the roadway at any point other than within a crosswalk must yield the right-of-way to the vehicles upon the roadway. • No pedestrian shall cross a roadway intersection diagonally unless authorized by official traffic control devices. standing in the roadway (section 316.130, f.s.) • No person shall stand in the portion of a roadway paved for vehicular traffic for the purpose of soliciting a ride, employment or business from the occupant of any vehicle. Twilight Movies Return The first summer Twilight Movie in the Park returns on Saturday, August 21th at Donner Park with the showing of the Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog”. Remember to bring your blankets, chairs, snacks, and bug spray. Arrive early and enjoy free refreshments in the park. The movie will begin at dusk and is free and open to the public. All children must be accompanied by parent or adult.