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Minutes / 08-25-99r~. MINUTES O:F 7TH SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF ATLANTIC BEACH. C:[TY COMMISSION, HELI) IN C:[TY HALL AT 6:00 PM ON WEDNESDAY Ati~GUST 25, 1999. Present: .Suzanne ;Shaughnessy, Mayor :EZichard Beaver, Commissioner :Mike Borno, Commissioner .Jolux Meserve, Commissioner 'Theo Mitchelson,, Commissioner Also: .Alan Jensen, City Attorney :Maureen King, City Clerk :David Thompson, City Manager The meeting vvas called to order by Mayor Shaughnessy. 1. Discussion: and possible action concerning possible litigation witl'~ regard to the Mayport Road/Atlantic Boulevard flyover Commissioner Meserve moved to cease spending any further tag dollars on legal fees concerning the flyover design on Mayport Road. The motion was seconded by r~r Commissioner Beaver. r Commissioner lVleserve said, in his opinion, the documents submitted by th.e attorney indicated that the city did not have a very strong case. He expressed concern regarding some of the conunen.ts rnadE; by Don Wolfson to die City Commission on August 9, 1999, wlxich, he said, conflicted with comments made to him by representatives of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). He said he called the JTA the following day to clarify any nusunderstanduxgs and was satisfied that the JTA had not nusrepresented the facts. He read into the record a letter from Miles Francis, Executive Director of the JTA, .a copy of. which is attached as Exhibit A. He believed the engineers had presented all the desig~xs and the JTA had determined that the flyover was the best solution at an affordable price, and lxe felt it would be a waste ofmoney to go to litigation. He felt the intersection should be improved, and he hoped we could work with the JTA to make it as beautiful as possible. With regards to the third paragraph on page two of Mr. Francis' letter, Mayor Shaughnessy said that the JTA. did. nat_stop the design process at her request, but was stopped after. the joint ineetuxg wlxiclx lxad been held with die Neptune Beach elected officials and the JTA. Commissioner Beaver referenced sections of the materials which he had received from the attorney, which he felt, indicated the city did not have a strong case. He felt money spent on a legal case would :not be money well spent. Commissioner Beaver said he ha.d received more telephone calls on this suL~ject than on any other, and almost all of callers were opposed to :initiating litigation. Page Two ,,,~. Minutes -Special Called Meel:ing August 25, 1999 With reference to the letter from the JTA, Commissioner Borno said he did not thuik :Don Wolfson had accused the JTA of using the words "placebo" or "red herring." He said he felt the; intersection did need improvement, but he did not feel that the proposed flyover was the best solution. Commissioner N[itchelson said he was already on record as being opposed to the flyover. He did not feel it: would do what it is supposed to do. He said he had su€;geste;d shutting down the intersection and doilag a test to see if the flyover would help the traffic flow, but the JTA was not willing to do so. However, he did not feel that proceedin€; with. a law suit would be in the best :interest of die community. Th.e Mayor then invii:ed comments from the floor. J.F'. Marchioli, 414 Sherry- L>rive, said he did not feel the flyover would improve the intersection. He said that no comment had been made regarding the width of the flyover and he did not feel that one lane tivould be sufficient to improve traffic flow. He felt that the W~./ flyover would be mare of a problem t#~an a solution and said the project would eventually cost $22 million. Michael Hoffman, l.7Ei C;amelia Street, said he was opposed to spending any money needlessly. He said he had tallied to between 125 and 130 people in Section H and he said that without any solicitation fz•om hi1n, about one-fifth of those had indicated they had a problem with the project. He noted that the berms proposed by the JTA were three meters high, and he had hoped they would be much higher. He also expressed concern regarding the noise and indicated he had spoken with JTA and had asked them to put in Somme kuid of sound mitigation as a first step in construction. He said he felt his views were representative of his neighborhood. Pat Pilhnore, 905 Camelia Street, was concerned that Section H would become .a boxed-in neighborhood and hoped some consideration would be given to this area during construction. She suggested thf; Police Department conduct a traffic study before construction begins to determine the best traffic,routes for Section H residents. Ms. Pillmore agreed vvidi earlier comments regarding noise abatement and said that while the area has a heavy tree canopy, there is currently considerable; noise from traffic on Atlantic Boulevard, and she felt the flyover would make it worse. She felt that the existing overpass would have to be replaced and that part of the project should be done before the flyover. She also felt that consideration of the Mayport flyover should have been postponed pending construction of the Wonderwood Connector which, she felt, would change traffic patterns in the area. Page Three ,,,,,w, Minutes -Special Called Meeting August 25, 1999 Mayor Shaughnessy reported that she had only received three negative .calls during the entire time that the flyover has been an issue. She said she felt responsible to the citirens of all areas of Atlantic Beach and she :fotmd wiacceptable the fact that the JTA wanted to wall off Section H. She fellt the flyover had unacceptable impacts on the quality of life for Atlantic Beach residents and would divert commercial traffic into residential neighborhoods. She agreed that the intersection needed to be improved, but she did not feel that this was the only option available to the JTA. She: felt the design was injurious to the community andl deserved heightened scrutiny before the City should agree to this project. She felt that the fl;~over was being forced on. this corrunwuty and pointed out that elected officials in Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach had voted 8 - 2 in opposition to the flyover. The Mayor also concurred that Mr. Wolfson never credited a JTA staff member with words such as "placebo" or "red herring." She felt ghat there was much that could have Ueen improved by the JTA regarding this project, and cited specifically, that the design of the bridge should have been made available much sooner,. 71~.e Mayor felt the Legislature had created a bureaucracy which was very powerful and had alttiost Rio checks and balances. ~~ The Mayor said she dial not;know if the construction of Wonderwood Connector„ by itself, would unprove the traffic glow for Atlantic Beach, but she felt that the combination of the two projects would bring increased h~affic and congestion. The Mayor a.,greed with Ms. Pillmore's suggestion that a traffic study be undertaken, and said the city would try to do everything possible regarding noise abatement. The Mayor said ghat the letter from the attorney indicated the city had grounds for legal action, however, she felt it would be difficult to prove abuse of discretion. The City Attor7rey concurred. The Mayor said that she did not find the letter very a:ncour~aging and while she would like to fight the flyover with every tool at her disposal, she did not feel we should proceed with legal action at this point. Commissioner Meserve agreed with Mr. Hoffman and Ms. Pillmore that the city needed to work with the JTA to make sure that whatever goes in is as good as it can be for the: residents of Section H. He said that all the tune and energy with respect to flus project, had been focused on design., and he felt that if the motion passed the city should work with the JTA regarding sound nutigation. Commissioner Meserve said that Miles Francis had. indicated the JTA would be willing to work with the City regarding sound mitigation and beautification, and he should be contacted as soon as possible. With respect to Ms. Pillmore's comments regardin;; the impact of the Wonderwood Comdor, Commissioner Meserve pointed out drat Wonderwood had been taken uito account in the traffic projections. He also pointed out the existing overpass has been deemed to be structurally sound and will not be considered for replacement. for 15 - 20 years. He felt it was important to defend the Page Foux ,,~, Minutes -Special Called Meeting August 25, 19y9 interests of the Sec;tion. H residents, not only during the construction of the t7yovc;r, but also during the improvemc;nts to Atlantic Boulevard and the construction of the new span over the Intracoastal Watel-wav. Commissioner Mi~tche:(son felt the City Commission needed a unanimous and unified effort to proceed along the lines that Mr. Hoffman and Ms. Pillmore had outlined and work to soften the impact of the construction on the lives of the residents who will be most affected by the project. He also agreed that a study should be undertaken to see what actions, if any, might assist the flow of traffic in that area. He also suggested the City en27age in an effort to relocate the reteiit7on pond wluch is currently proposed for an area which has beautiful oak frees. Colrunissio:ner Mitchelson said he also recognized the need for an active park in Section H, which the City Colrnnission had been asked to consider in a recent petition from the residents, alid hoped the City would pursue acquiruig land for this pw-pose. The Mayor said slle did not feel that the JTA had given a lot of thought to what the impact would be on the neighborhood, and while she had not found the JTA to be very flexible ~~~.~ dw-uig discussions on this project, Uut she hoped they would be willuig to work to lessen the impact on the residents of. Section H. Pat Pillmore, said she felt :T'I'A had not done a good job of communicating with the City. She said there needed to be moire h~~unan contact between governmental agencies and urged the Clty COInInISS:LOIl t0 C;ontinue with the law suit. The Mayor said that while she felt the JTA had abused their discretion, proving that in a court of law would be difficult. She felt based on the comments made by City CoIlulussioners that it was not the will of the City Commission to contilme with a law suit. The Mayor called for aroll-ca.ll vote which carried unanimously with all Commissioners and the Mayor voting in favor of the motion. Following the vote„ Commissioner Beaver said he agreed with the comments of Commissioners P/Ieserve and Mitchelson regarding the need to fight for the rights of the Section H citizens, Since it appeared fliat the flyover was going to become a reality, he said he would like the City Commission to direct the City Manager to meet with JTA representatives to make sure that everything possible is done to make the project as palatable as possible for the citizens. ~~~ Commissioner Mitchelson pointed out that the City Commission had adopted a. resohrtion opposing the flyower. He suggested that a resolution be drafted itemizing the points which the City Conlmiss:ion feels would lessen the adverse impact of the project on the; Section H Page Five ,~~ Minutes -Special Called Meeting August 25, 1999 community, and si.t dawn again with th.e JTA with the express goal that they work with the City to lessen the impact to these citizens to the extent possible. The Mayor requested that Commissioner Mitchelson work wide the City Clerk to draft such a resolution, followuig which the resolution should be reviewed by the City Attorney. Any other business: Mayor Shaughnes;~y u~iquired whether the company responsible for the landscaping ui Town Center had begun their work. She commented she had noticed weeds in the Town Center Landscapuig and ~~lso ui the Atlantic Boulevard medians. The City Manager said the City did not have a contract with. anyone for maintenance of the landscaping in Town Center and said he would check into the maintenance of the Atlantic Boulevard medians. The Mayor called. a rc;cess at 7:15 p.m. The Mayor reconvened the meeting at 7:40 p.m. and there being no further discussion or ~,,,,,,, business to come before the City Commission, declared the meeting adjourned. i~ SUZANNE SHAUGFTNESSY Mayor/Presidiuig Officer A'T'TEST: MAUREEN KING Certified Mutucipal Clerk r~r+ r,l''iH1tS11 A 'y 9Q463Q3166 T-632 P.Q2/03 F-835 MINUTES -AUGUST 25, 1999 MICHAEL D. STEWAR7 Chairman JOHN :5. PEYTON -a' ~ . Vice Chairman ~`~ t ~,~ .~.:~,,. ~u V% '•- ~ CYNThIIA B. AU3TIN Socrat~ry ' L'" HUEY R. HAWKINS ~'~' JACKSON~7ILLE TRANSI?ORTATION AUTHORITY ~ MARK H. NAHON P.O. DRAINER "O' • 1 CO N. (vSYRTLE AVENUE • JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32203 DONALD R. McCLURE TELEPHONE 904/630-3181 FAX- 630.3166 CAROi_ S. SFALAINO • MILES N. FRANCIS, JR. Exacufive Olrectcr August 25, 1999 The Tdonorable John M:eserve Commissioner, City of Atlantic Beach 800 Seminole Road Atlantic $each, Florida 32233 Dear Jahn: Yt has been brought to our attention that Don Wolfson has made statements to members pf the Atlantic Beach anal Neptune Beach Commissions, and the public, of actions and statements made by J'fA concerning various design alte.-natives regarding the Atlantic Bch./Mayport 13.d. interchange improvement project. The TTA, ir> concert with the Florida Department of Transportation (FOOT) developed eight possible alterztative configurations to analyze relative to this project, with the intent ®`~ of selecting the befit possible configuration for all those traveling through this busy, failed intersecxion. Some of these were suggested by the FOOT, some by the design consultant hired by TI'A to perform the work. A preliminary analysis was made of all eight alternatives.. C)ne alternative was dropped from the analysis process due to t:he initial information which determined ii. was not an appropriate solution. Upon completion of this preliminary evaluation, a public hearing was held at which time all alte;~natives were discussed and the consultant presented recommendations for the three final altrrnatives to continue studying. All of these alternatives were developed in an aperc process considering that each of them ~~as at least possibly viable. Wye believe that a reeasonabie level of consideration was given to all of these alternatives and based an comments that the public gave, JTA allowed the consultant to proceed with, a more detailed. evaluation of the three selected alternatives. il-~danMeeerveY=.do~ao:dby PotlYQey~eC on oBrtSi99 3:YJ PN P>;;TTING YQCJR FUTURE IN MOTION Aug-25-99 05:4Tpm 'rram-JACKSONVILLE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY 9046303166 T-632 P 03/03 F-635 Commissioner john Mesc:rve 8125/99 page 2 Mr. Wolfson r~vas provided with documents prepared by the consultant sumtrcarizin;~ their evaluation and selection. process of all the alternatives. It has been alleged that the members of the 7TA staff used the terms "placebo"and "red herring" in describing particular design alternatives. Na one on my staff has used or would use such teams in describing engineering design concepts. As our project reports u-dicate, due consideration was given to all alternatives recommended for study. It should be clearly understood that the 7TA held all required public hearings plus additional. public meetings, as fulty advertised, during which alterenative designs were presented and public comments were taken. All of the comments were properly reviewed by JTA staff including our consultant and modifications were made where appropriate. These reports were provided to Mr. Wolfson when he visited the Authority earlier this summer a.nd also provided as part of the material available at our formal public meetings. These alternatives were. discussed with technical staff of the FDOT, the City of Jacksonville engineering staff and representatives of the Beaches area. It also should be clearly understoad that the 7TA stopped its design process to again study design alternatives at the request of the Mayor of Atlantic Beach. After extensive: study and review by )~DOT and JTA staff, the alternatives were deemed inappropriate and unsafe because of the necessity of closing streets and forcing traffic into residential areas. ~~~ In closing;, I tivould ~ike 'to point out that we have made significant changes .in our design at the request of Atlantic and Neptune Beaches including noise abatement berms, relocation of retention ponds, access under the "flyover" at First St. and extensive landscaping, where possible. MNF/SL'pal H:~YoOy~Memcva:2ExC:e:~cd by 4oia6atod pt OQl25f99 3:SJ PRS