Published by the Department of Public Affairs, City of St. Augustine. Florida March 5 2010
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| City projects seek $9.8 million in fed funds |
City commissioners will be briefed Monday night on federal funding requests totaling $9.8 million, for projects ranging from the King Street corridor to the North City Historic Rail Station.
The funding requests top an agenda which also includes a parking lot agreement signaling the start of Aviles Street renovation, copyright and trademark policies for 450th Commemoration products, agreements with the Florida Department of Transportation for city maintenance of the west entry and East Park of the Bridge of Lions, and grant requests for dredging the Salt Run and San Sebastian River channels.
The regular commission meeting begins at 5 p.m. in the Alcazar Room at City Hall.
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Searle's Raid
The peaceful night of May 28, 1668, was shattered as more than 100 pirates under the command of Captain Robert Searle rampaged through St. Augustine, leaving 60 dead in the assault.
That fateful Sack of St. Augustine - which prompted the Spanish Crown to begin construction of the Castillo de San Marcos four years later - will be reenacted Saturday along Aviles Street, through the Plaza de la Constitución and up St. George Street to a final pitched battle at the Santo Domingo Redoubt on Orange Street.
This is the 11th annual historical reenactment of the raid, sponsored by Searle's Buccaneers and the Men of Menendez (members of the Florida Historic Militia), with the assistance of the St. John's County Tourist Development Council.
Visit the website or call toll-free 877-352-4478 for information on the event and history of the raid.
Photo Pirateportraitsntreasures.com
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Major projects seek federal funding |
Chief Operations Officer John Regan will outline a $9.8 million package submitted to Congressman John Mica and Senators Bill Nelson and George LeMieux for projects including the King Street entrance corridor $1,760,000, historic district street improvements $3,710,000, West King Street sewage force main $1,400,000, and restoration of the North City Historic Rail Station, $3 million.
The King Street and historic district projects are part of preparations for our 450th Commemoration, while the West King Street force main is another step toward infrastructure improvements along that corridor.
The North City Historic Rail Station, opened as a rail station in the 1800s, used as a water treatment plant in the early 1900s and Garden Club Center in later years, was closed when structural weaknesses were found. A restoration proposal by Historic Architect Dave Mancino proposes its future use a civic center. |
Parking pact for Aviles Street plan
Commissioners will be asked to approve an agreement already approved by Trinity Episcopal Church, for the city to manage the church's parking area at St. George Street and Artillery Lane.
Agreement to provide additional public parking is key to a proposed $225,000 renovation of the first block of Aviles Street, which will include expanding the west sidewalk over existing parking spaces to provide outside dining areas, upgrading water and sewer lines, and resetting the street's brick pavers.
Chief Operations Officer John Regan says if our commission approves Monday, project engineering will begin Tuesday.
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| Regulating city, 450th products |
Commemoration Executive Director Dana Ste. Claire will outline to commissioners "copyright and trademark policies used by Jamestown for their 400th anniversary and how we might employ similar policies."
Ste. Claire says, "Community organizations have expressed interest in developing official City of Augustine merchandise and products, including those related to the 450th Commemoration."
He'll also present a request to add Mayor Pilar Varela of Aviles, Spain, or her representative, to the 450th Commemoration Commission Steering Committee.
The request was made during last week's city-to-city meeting with Aviles' Aviles Vice Mayor José Fernando Díaz Rañón and Councilman Roman Antonio Alvarez, visiting for the Menendez birthday celebration. | |
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| $980,000 in dredging projects |
Commissioners will be asked to approve grant applications to the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) of $390,000 each for the first phase of ten-year projects to dredge the Salt Run and San Sebastian River channels. The St Augustine Port, Waterway & Beach District (SAPWBD) has agreed to fund the other $100,000 for each project.
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City research collection online
2,100 documents from Preservation Board years |
The University of Florida Libraries and St. Augustine's Department of Heritage Tourism and Historic Preservation have partnered to provide online the Government House Research Collection.
More than 2,100 documents, from Spanish colonial history, archaeology, architecture, and cultural resource management to decorative arts are included in the collection, compiled during the State's Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board years, 1959 to 1997.
The actual collection is under lock and key, for pre-approved researchers and by appointment only through the Department of Heritage Tourism, 904-825-5033, but you can browse the catalog here.
And a detailed account of creating its accessibility is at historicity.com.
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| Click It or Ticket |
The Ides of March will be much more comfortable if you click it.
Our Police have joined hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the nation intensifying efforts to enforce seat belt laws - 24/7 - during the Click It or Ticket Mobilization through March 15.
Increased law enforcement, including seat belt checkpoints, will be conducted nationwide during the mobilization.
According to 2008 data, 2,983 died in motor vehicle related crashes on Florida highways. Surprisingly, 1,188 were in vehicles without seat belts.
Of the remaining 1,795, sixty percent (1,085) were not wearing a seat belt.
The number rose to 68 percent for youths under 17. St. Augustine Police Commander Barry Fox says, "It's clear that far too many people still don't take the safety belt law seriously. "Worn correctly," he said, "seat belts have been proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury in a crash by 45 percent for front-seat passengers and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans. In fact, data shows that more than three-quarters (77%) of passengers who were in a serious crash in 2006 and were buckled up survived the crash." For details on seat belt use and the Click It or Ticket campaign, visit www.nhtsa.gov. |
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Flagler professors airborne in lectures |
That graphic art on model airplane kits half a century ago, that "jumped off the shelves into the imaginations of young model makers," will be relived March 11 as Tom Graham, Flagler College professor emeritus and author of Box Top Air Power, shares highlights of the art and top illustrators who created it.
The free presentation is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the sponsoring St. Augustine Art Association on Marine Street. It will be followed by another "airborne" lecture March 25 - those exquisite murals at Flagler's Ponce de Leon Hotel and contemporary large-scale works in the surrounding area. Don Martin, artist and Flagler College Professor of Fine Art, will provide an engaging look at the colorful art of murals and their role in civic life from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in a free program at the Art Association, sponsored in part by the Florida Humanities Council.
Both presentations require reservations. Call 904.824.2310.
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History's Highlights
Searle's Raid - retribution or revenge?
One in a series of historic features as we prepare for our commemorations, drawn from research by George Gardner
The parish priest said it was God's retribution on Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega - along with a drought, a storm, and two ships lost since the governor began carrying on with ladies in the town. 
Others say the governor's abuse of Pierre Piquet, a Frenchman appointed surgeon of the Florida presidio who, when he was unceremoniously ordered to leave, was aboard the town's frigate off Havana when the Pirate Captain Robert Searle captured it. The surgeon may have had a suggestion for the pirate captain.
That frigate returned to St. Augustine the evening of May 28, 1668, and caused no more alarm than the arrival of another recognized ship earlier that day.
Both stood offshore until, in the deep of night, their pirate crews of more than 100 stealthily rowed toward the sleeping town.
At 1 a.m., Corporal Miguel de Monzon, fishing in his piragua on Matanzas Bay, heard the muffled sound of oars and immediately rowed to the town wharf to report. The corsairs raced after him, shooting him twice as he reached shore.
Despite his wounds, Monzon shouted a warning and managed to reach the safety of the fort as the pirates stormed ashore.
The sack of San Augustine lasted 20 hours and left 60 Spanish soldiers and townspeople dead, another 70 captured, to be ransomed over the next six days.
Based on research by Davis Walker of the Searle's Buccaneers reenactment team.
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The St. Augustine Report is published by the Department of Public Affairs of the City of St. Augustine each Tuesday and on Fridays previewing City Commission meetings. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, former St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and Commissioner (2006-2008) and a longtime newspaper reporter and editor. Contact The Report at gardner@aug.com | |
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