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March 2009.pdfm a r c h , 2 0 0 9 V o l . 5 N o . 3 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 march 2009 Mar 9 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Mar 11 *Tree Conservation Board / 7 pm Mar 17 Community Development Board / 6 pm Mar 23 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Mar 24 *Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory Committee / 7 pm april 2009 Apr 8 *Tree Conservation Board / 7 pm Apr 13 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Apr 21 Community Development Board / 6 pm Apr 27 City Commission Meeting / 6 pm Apr 28 *Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory Committee / 7 pm city officials John Meserve, Mayor Carolyn Woods, Commissioner Mike Borno, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Hanson, City Manager Paul Parsons, Commissioner Alan Jensen, City Attorney John Fletcher, Commissioner Donna Bartle, City Clerk www.coab.us • (904) 247-5800 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 Rd. march 2009 Mar 6 & 7 Late Night Skate / 6 - 10 pm Mar 8 Songwriters Concert / Adele Grage / 6 - 8 pm Mar 14 Wild Wonders / Dutton Island Preserve / 1 pm Mar 19 North Beaches Art Walk / Town Center Area / 5 pm Mar 22 Acoustic Nights / Bull Park / 6 - 8 pm Mar 28 Wild Wonders / Tideviews Preserve / 1 pm april 2009 Apr 11 Easter Egg Hunt / Jordan Park / 11am - 1pm Apr 16 North Beaches Art Walk / Town Center Area 5pm Apr 18 Wild Wonders / Dutton Island Preserve / 11am Apr 19 Songwriters Concert / Adele Grage / 6 - 8 pm Apr 25 Arts in the Park / Johansen Park / 11 am Apr 25 Wild Wonders / Tideviews Preserve / 11 am Apr 25 Household Hazardous Waste Collection / City Hall 8:30 am - 3 pm Apr 26 Acoustic Nights – Bull Park 6-8 pm Presents…HUGHIE By eugene o’Neill / Drama adele Grage theatre / april 3 - 11 One of O’Neill’s last works. Originally intended as part of a series of short plays, but became the lone survivor when O’Neill mysteriously destroyed the others. “…it has a deep interest and importance for those fascinated by our foremost dramatist…” NY Post. For reservations or more information call (904) 249-7177. Easter Egg Hunt Jordan park / april 11 / 11 am - 1 pm Bring the little ones for a classic Easter Egg Hunt at beautiful Jordan Park. Enjoy time with your neighbors, meet the Easter Bunny and enjoy refreshments and festivities with the family. For more information call (904) 247-4033. Daylight Savings Time Check Your Smoke Detectors As a reminder, Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 am on Sunday, March 8th. Set your clock one hour ahead. Remembering to change your clock for Daylight Savings Time is also a great opportunity to give some attention to the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home. Replace batteries in your battery powered detectors once a year and test them at least monthly throughout the year. Detectors that are part of a built-in fire alarm system should be tested as part of the fire alarm test and maintenance schedule prescribed by the manufacturer. It is also recommended that all detectors be given a good dusting and vacuum cleaning every six months. Renew Your Spring Garden with Water Conserving Plants Now that we’ve survived the winter “freeze,” it’s time to start planting – and the perfect time to try some new, drought-tolerant plants. Your garden can be colorful and beautiful while using very little water. Hundreds of low water maintenance plants are native to Florida. Here are just a few that are North Florida natives: • Flowers – Black-eyed Susans, Milkweed, Violets • Trees – Florida Maple, Eastern Redbud, River Burch • Shrubs – Carolina Aster, False Rosemary, Hawthorn To learn more about using Florida-friendly plants, go to www.floridayards.org. and remember our new irrigation rule begins this month on march 8, 2009 (when Daylight savings time begins): irrigate only on your two scheduled days per week, before 10 am or after 4 pm. • homes with oDD numbered addresses on weDNesDay and satUrDay • homes with eVeN numbered addresses on thUrsDay and sUNDay • NoN-resiDeNtial irrigation on tUesDay and friDay For more ideas on how to conserve water and other green living tips check out http://www.floridadep.org/green/tips/. We are now in the process of reviewing our Strategic Plan for the City of Atlantic Beach. We know that the income that the city gets from property taxes, our primary revenue source, is expected to be far less than anticipated for the next several years. Luckily the city has excellent reserves and is adjusting expenses to meet the challenge. So far we have absorbed the loss of revenue without reductions in city service levels. As we go about the Strategic Planning process we will take the current economic downturn into account. Major issues include our continued efforts into raising the quality of life in the Mayport Road area, decisions towards a new public safety building, acquisition of the Buckman Trust land, meeting new requirements for water quality which will be a significant cost and ensuring proper funding of our various pension funds. On a different subject, the School system in Duval County has also been hit with a significant funding shortfall. In looking to save money, one of the alternatives was to close Finegan Elementary School, which would have had major impacts on our area. We successfully lobbied to stop that plan, but Mayport Middle School is also seeing reduced enrollment and could well be in jeopardy. That is a fine school with a dedicated staff and active parent participation. We need to support efforts to keep our beaches children in beaches schools. —Mayor Meserve Household Hazardous Waste Event recycling community waste to make a community that’s safe The City of Jacksonville will have mobile household hazardous waste vehicles at the Atlantic Beach City Hall parking lot (next to Russell Park), 800 Seminole Road on Saturday, April 25th from 8:30 am to 3 pm. Many materials used in the home and gardens are considered hazardous waste and must NOT be thrown into household trash. These materials can cause serious safety and health problems. Check the list below for types of products to take to the household hazardous waste collection on April 25th. will Be accepteD: Paint, paint thinners & strippers Fertilizer Computer monitors Rechargeable batteries Small propane (lp) tanks Terminals, CPUs Photographic chemicals Flares Keyboards Antifreeze Used oil Printers & Scanners Pool chemicals Drain cleaners Stereo equipment Aerosol cans Desk & mobile phones, pagers Pesticides Car care chemicals Varnish/shellac Vegetable Cooking Oil Acids Fire extinguishers Power tools Small kitchen appliances Car batteries Thermometers Thermostats will Not Be accepteD: Bio-Hazardous (medical) waste Explosives Tires Large household appliances (washers, dryers, stoves, refrigerators) Commercial e-waste or hazardous waste Note: the city has only one hazardous waste collection scheduled for 2009, so don’t miss this opportunity to dispose of your hazardous waste items. Arts in the Park! 2009 saturday april 25 Johansen park / 11 am - 6 pm art, music & Dance This Sixth Annual one day event is sponsored by the Atlantic Beach Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory Committee. Original art will be available for purchase in this beautiful seaside community of Atlantic Beach where 60 accomplished artists will exhibit fine arts and crafts. Enjoy the day amidst a ravine and elegant shady trees, music by acoustic musicians, all day performances by area dance troops and delightful food . . . all at Johansen Park! Bring blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets for a relaxing afternoon-in-the-park under huge oak and palm trees. Admission to the event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Timmy Johnson or Jolyn Johnson at 904-247-5828. call to artists! Come exhibit your fine arts and crafts at this one- day juried festival on Saturday, April 25th from 11 am until 6 pm. The entry fee is $50.00 per artist for early registration on or before March 6th. Late registration after March 6th and before April 3rd is $75.00. Cash Prizes will be awarded to the top three artists. For more information contact Timmy Johnson at 247-5828 or Jolyn Johnson at artsjolynjohnson@bellsouth.net Employee of the Year The City of Atlantic Beach is proud to recognize Lisa Showman, Administrative Assistant for the Public Works and Public Utilities Departments, as the Employee of the Year for 2008. She has been with the City since September 1998. Lisa has done an outstanding job providing all levels of administrative support, accepting many additional responsibilities and showing exceptional flexibility in responding to daily events for both departments Lisa has distinguished herself by her courteous, professional and thorough performance of all tasks and continues to be an invaluable member of the City workforce. Lifeguard Positions Open for 2009 Season The City is accepting applications for Ocean Lifeguards for the 2009 season. Interested parties may pick up an application at the Atlantic Beach City Hall. Eligibility criteria and more information, including an online application may be obtained on the website www.coab.us.