An analysis of exhibition space for the city's upcoming commemoration period will be reported to the City Commission Monday during its regular meeting beginning at 5 p.m. in the Alcazar Room at City Hall.

    Flagler College Sociology Professor Casey Welch will outline to commissioners Monday a research project and survey focused on Lincolnville's Galimore Center and pool.

   Two public opinion surveys are planned on their future as well as the surrounding Eddie Vickers Park. 

   The surveys, developed in cooperation with a Flagler College Research Methods for Sociology class, will focus on ideas to improve the recreation area.

   The first set of surveys will be distributed at community events, including Saturday's Lincolnville Street Fair. 

   In June, a second version will be sent out in water bills to all households in St. Augustine.  Input is sought from all residents. Flagler's Dr. Casey Welch 904-826-8544 has details.

Workshops for 450^th and today

   Tandem workshops Monday and Tuesday will tackle 450^th commemoration planning and current challenges.

   City commissioners will meet at 3 p.m. Monday in the Alcazar Room at City Hall, before their regular meeting at 5 p.m., to air their ideas and concerns in planning for the multiple upcoming commemorations: the bicentennial of the 1812 Spanish Constitution in 2012, quincentennial of Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida in 2013, 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in 2014, and 450th anniversary of St. Augustine's founding in 2015.

   The private non-profit First America Foundation, designated by the city to manage the commemorations, has been largely silent since its appointment last August. Commissioners plan to call on it for a report after they've collected their thoughts.

City/county joint workshop Tuesday

   City and county commissioners will meet in a joint workshop Tuesday 9 to noon in the County Administration building to tackle a variety of mutual concerns, primary among them expected to be infrastructure development in West Augustine and the future of the Willie Galimore pool.

   While West Augustine is largely outside the city limits, the city's water and sewer service extends through the area.

   A stumbling block has been coordinating city utility work under West King Street with county redesign and paving of the street. A larger stumbling block is finding funds for the project, estimated as high as $21.5 million.

   The county has said its responsibility for the Galimore pool will end in September, unable to stretch its recreation budget to cover both the Galimore pool and the new Calhoun Center. 

  Summary of the Galimore/Vickers Park history, prepared by Lincolnville resident Theresa Segal for the citizen Committee to Restore Galimore  

   In 1935 the St. Augustine City Commission voted to establish a "temporary park and recreational center for colored people" under a lease purchase agreement. The property, located on the peninsula south of downtown, formed the southern border for the historic neighborhood of Lincolnville.

   A velodrome with competitive cycling had existed on the site, and later a nine-hole golf course, "Little Links."

   For decades the property was largely ignored, serving as an illegal dumping site, until the Little Links Recreation Complex opened in August 1987.

   The building and adjoining pool were constructed with a $650,000 Community Development Block Grant and the center was named for local football star Willie Lee Galimore. The swimming pool opened to residents in 1989 as the first public swimming pool in the St. Johns County.

    The nine-acre recreational area underwent major improvements in 1996 with a $700,000 grant from the State. Added facilities included a baseball field, basketball courts, stand-alone restrooms and a pavilion.

   A new walking trail circled the ball field and a small playground was also added. The complex was renamed for community leader Eddie Vickers and the ball field became the Malcolm Jones Field.

   The city owns the Galimore Center and park while day-to-day operation has been performed by the St. Johns County Parks and Recreation Department, through an interlocal agreement which expires in 2012.

   The Galimore Center includes a small meeting room with computers and a large hall with adjoining kitchen. The peak of public use was in the late 1990's when the center had a full-time manager, supervisor and maintenance worker and hosted popular after-school programs including a LEAP program and summer camp.

   At its peak in 1997 the aquatics programs for swimming education and water safety involved 16 lifeguards and instructors teaching 500 students.

   The pool was closed in May, 2009, one month after the opening of the Solomon Calhoun Center in West Augustine. Mounting compliance issues with the County Health Department were cited.

   A recent positive addition to this site is the successful Lincolnville Community Garden, started last year and boasting 60 garden plots, a pavilion and barn.

   City/county interlocal agreements call for the city to maintain passive parks and the county active parks, but last year county officials said they can no longer afford to operate the Galimore pool.

   A city-initiated Lift Up Lincolnville program is focused on improving the historic neighborhood's infrastructure and recreation, and a survey effort will gather public input on the future of the Galimore Center and its pool - the county's only public pool for two decades.