March 2020MARCH 2020
Mar 5 Code Enforcement Special Magistrate Hearing 2 pm
Mar 9 Commission Meeting 6:30 pm
Mar 10 Cultural Arts & Recreation Advisory Committee 6 pm
Mar 11 Environmental Stewardship Committee 6 pm
Mar 16 Community Development Board 6 pm
Mar 18 ESC Outreach Subcommittee 6:30 pm
Mar 23 Commission Meeting 6:30 pm
APRIL 2020
Apr 4 Town Hall Meeting 10 am
Apr 8 Environmental Stewardship Committee 6 pm
Apr 13 Commission Meeting 6:30 pm
Apr 15 ESC Outreach Subcommittee 6:30 pm
Apr 20 Commission Workshop 6 pm
Apr 21 Community Development Board 6 pm
Apr 27 Commission Meeting 6:30 pm
Meetings are held in the Commission Chamber unless
otherwise indicated.
2 Yoga – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
3 Senior BINGO – Baker Center 10:30 am
Kids Yoga – Adele Grage 5:30 pm & 6:30 pm
4 Meditation – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Senior Aerobics – Baker Center 10:30 am
Mid-Week Market – Bull Park 3-6 pm
Yoga – Adele Grage 5:30 pm
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
6 Taekwondo – Baker Center 10:30 am-noon
7 Tour de Parks – Bull Park 9-11:30 am
Honoring Marina Kaplan
8 Songwriters Concert – Adele Grage 6-8pm
9 Yoga – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
10 Kids Yoga – Adele Grage 5:30 & 6:30 pm
11 Meditation – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Senior Aerobics – Baker Center 10:30 am
Mid-Week Market – Bull Park 3-6 pm
Yoga – Adele Grage 5:30 pm
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
13 Taekwondo – Baker Center 10:30 am-noon
16 Yoga – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
17 Senior BINGO – Baker Center 10:30 am
Kids Yoga – Adele Grage 5:30 pm & 6:30 pm
18 Meditation – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Senior Aerobics – Baker Center 10:30 am
Mid-Week Market – Bull Park 3-6 pm
Yoga – Adele Grage 5:30 pm
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
19 Artist Reception– Adele Grage 5-8 pm
Featuring Angelica Matev
Beaches Art Walk – Town Center 5-9 pm
20 Taekwondo – Baker Center 10:30 am-noon
21 Wild Wonders – Dutton Island 1 pm
22 Acoustic Night/Food Truck – Bull Park 6-8 pm
23 Yoga – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
24 Kids Yoga – Adele Grage 5:30 pm & 6:30 pm
25 Meditation – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Senior Aerobics – Baker Center 10:30 am
Mid-Week Market – Bull Park 3-6 pm
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
27 Taekwondo – Baker Center 10:30 am-noon
28 Wild Wonders – Dutton Island 1 pm
30 Yoga – Adele Grage 9:30 am
Taekwondo – Baker Center 6-7:30 pm
31 Senior BINGO – Baker Center 10:30 am
Kids Yoga – Adele Grage 5:30 pm & 6:30 pm
www.coab.us/facebookMARCH 2020 VOL. 16 NO. 3
C I T Y C A L E N D A R
MARCH 2020
S P E C I A L E V E N T S CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
800 SEMINOLE ROAD
ATLANTIC BEACH, FL 32233
(904) 247-5800/INFO@COAB.US
WWW.COAB.US
SONGWRITERS' CONCERTS
& ACOUSTIC NIGHTS
WITH MIKE SHACKELFORD
Songwriters' Concerts ... Enjoy talented
performing artists of all ages monthly as they
share original acoustic music in the Adele Grage
Cultural Center's Gulliford Hall. It's free -- and
there are refreshments! Whether you write, sing,
play or simply enjoy original music, join us as host
Mike Shackelford transforms the theatre into an
enviable music hall. Seating is limited and first-
come, first-serve for this alcohol-free event. The
concerts are from 6 to 8 p.m. This year's calendar:
March 8, April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5, Aug. 2.
& Acoustic Nights ... Take in the beachy Sunday-
evening breeze in Bull Memorial Park, bring a
blanket and chairs, and enjoy the monthly
acoustic sounds of our local performers. It's free!
Mike Shackelford hosts Acoustic Nights from 6 to
8 p.m. This year's calendar: March 22, April 26,
May 31, June 28, July 26, Aug. 30.
Greetings! My letter this month is about two totally different,
but related, things: trees and signs. You may wonder how
they could possibly be related, but I’ll explain. Each impact
our “view”, and both are things the City oversees in an effort
to improve that view. I’ll elaborate below.
On January 17, 2020, Atlantic Beach celebrated Arbor Day
by planting trees in all four of the city’s districts and at its
entrances, coordinated by our Environmental Stewardship
Committee. It is one of the things we do to maintain our
designation as a Tree City. The citizens of COAB benefit from
our trees by enjoying their beauty and shade from the
Florida sun, of course, but so much more occurs when we
plant and grow trees.
Trees clean the air, absorbing carbon dioxide and pollutants
that trigger asthma attacks, then exude life giving oxygen.
Stormwater runoff can be reduced by tree canopies by as
much as 65%, reducing flooding. Houses with healthy trees
can increase their property value from 7-20%, as compared
to those without. Equally important, a tree planted today on
the west side of a house can reduce energy bills by 3% in
five years, and by 12% annually in 15 years. Not to mention,
research has shown that trees have a positive impact on
mental health and social interaction [Arbor Day Foundation].
So, trees don’t just enhance our view, they enhance our
lives.
Meanwhile, the COAB staff and the Community Development
Board (CDB) have been working to replace the City’s “old”
sign ordinance with a new and improved version. This
became a necessity after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that
municipalities must avoid making rules which could result in
content-based regulation of the message conveyed on the
signs. The intent of the new sign ordinance is to, among
other things, “maintain a safe and esthetically pleasing
environment where signs do not create excessive visual
clutter and distraction or hazards.”
To ensure the city’s ordinance complies with both the spirit
and the letter of the law, the COAB staff drafted new
language to address the concerns raised by the Supreme
Court. It is now being reviewed by the CDB before it comes
to the Commission. If this is an issue which concerns you,
now is the best time to become involved in the process.
Read the proposed ordinance, and voice your concerns or
questions at the next CDB meeting. Just remember, the
board members, like the City Commission, are made up of
fellow citizens doing their best to serve their community.
Please be nice!
See you around town!
Cindy Anderson (canderson@coab.us)
Atlantic Beach is rated as a Class 7 by the
Community Rating System (CRS), which
allows a 15 percent discount for flood
insurance.
The CRS rating is based upon the City’s
participation in the Federal Emergency
Management Agency programs, including
outreach, maintaining flood plain
management materials, preserving open
space within the floodplain, providing
floodplain map information to citizens,
enforcing current building code and storm
water management regulations, and
maintaining City drainage systems.
For additional information, visit
coab.us/emergencypreparedness, call 247-
5813, or stop by City Hall.
TREES & SIGNS
FROM
COMMISSIONER
ANDERSON
GET THE SCOOP
ON FLOOD PLAIN MANAGEMENT
WILD WONDERS
DUTTON ISLAND PRESERVE
Saturdays at 1 p.m. – March 21, 28; April 11,
25
Saturdays at 11 a.m. – May 9, 23; June 13, 27
Do you enjoy the great outdoors and nature? A
hands-on nature program for the entire family
will be held at Dutton Island Preserve
beginning in March.
Local educator Mike Rossi will bring a variety of
small creatures for his presentation, “The
Kapok Tree”. Dance, storytelling and humor
are interwoven into this delightful program.
Wild Wonders will be held on these dates: