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Published by former Mayor George Gardner August 8 2012
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George Gardner 57 Fullerwood Drive St. Augustine FL 32084 |
Special Report Thursday - City Commission race | |
A Special report will be published Thursday on the race for City Commission Seat 1.
Candidates in the only City Commission race this year include Roxanne Horvath, Errol Jones, Deltra Long, and Bruce Maguire. Two other commission seats, Mayor Joe Boles and Commissioner Leanna Freeman, were unopposed this year. |
Quarter in four quadrants
Redesign to capture three centuries of city | |
 A redesigned Colonial Spanish Quarter - renamed "Colonial Quarter" - "is designed to provide heritage visitors and school students with a comprehensive understanding of colonial life in St. Augustine spanning three centuries," according to plans going before the city's Historical Architectural Review Board for a certificate of appropriateness August 16. 
The session opens at 2 pm in the Alcazar Room at City Hall.
The Pirate's Museum's Pat Croce, with the blessing of the University of Florida which manages 34 state-owned historic properties here including the quarter, describes it as "a journey through layers of history of the Nation's Oldest City, through three centuries of Spanish and British rule, and the diversity of people who left an indelible mark on its historic footprint, including Native Americans, African-Americans, and Menorcans."
From the main entrance on St. George Street, the quadrants open in the northwest and move along a typical path taken by visitors. |
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... for use as
exhibition facility
Fourteen requests for bid information have been received by the city as it moves forward with a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for full conversion of the Visitor Information Center into an exhibit hall.
City General Services Director Jim Piggott says there's no guarantee all the inquiries will result in bids.
Commissioners approved drawing $1,025,520 from city reserves for the upgrades.
"A staff committee will review all submissions and we may accept, reject, or intermix elements from various bidders," Piggott said.
The upgrades range from display cases and movable walls to audio/video and security systems. Deadline for submission is August 17. |
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18th Century Spanish: Garrison Town | |
Northwest quadrant | Time period 1700 to 1763
Directly inside of the Florencia House entrance is the "18th Century Spanish Garrison Town," with existing structures interpreting civilian life in the 1700s, prior to the transfer of the colony to Britain in the 1763 Treaty of Paris.
18th Century British: The 14th Colony
Southwest quadrant Time period 1763-84
The pathway from the "18th Century Spanish Garrison Town" heads south to the "18th Century British: The 14th Colony," which tells the story of St. Augustine's role as the seat of government in the British Colony of East Florida.
The British colonial-era DeMesa Sanchez House provides an excellent backdrop. This quadrant will help provide a familiar point of reference for many visitors to better understand St. Augustine's story in relation to the typical understanding of American history.
16th Century Spanish Outpost
Southeast quadrant Time period 1565-1600
Visitors will enter the "16th Century Spanish Military Outpost" either from the east entrance to the Colonial Quarter or from the "Flags over St. Augustine" to the south.
17th Century Spanish 'Fortified Town'
Northeast quadrant | Time period 1600 to 1700
This quadrant interprets the small "military outpost" growth into a "17th Century Spanish Fortified Town." The story of the Castillo de San Marcos and the preceding wooden forts is told in this area.
Flags over St. Augustine
South property line | Time period 1565 to 2012
This boardwalk will display the flags that have flown over St. Augustine. Planting on either side of the boardwalk will help transition between the 18th century British and 16th century Spanish quadrants. |
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Plan Board breezes thru agenda | |
In unanimous votes, the city's Planning and Zoning Board Tuesday breezed through several applications which could have been contentious.
It helped that two - a request for a movie theater on Washington Street and a bar for Local Heros Café - were tabled.
Paul and Rebecca Morris sought more time to work out parking plans for the Washington Street movie theater which has been boarded up for years. And Local Heros Café Owner Richard Josh Parks notified the Planning and Building Department Tuesday morning he wouldn't be able to make the meeting.
Approved after assurances that a Planned Unit Development (PUD) would be the only way to subdivide into two units for separate businesses was a request by potential buyers of the former Ice House on Riberia Street, and a plan by Attorney Patrick Canan to expand his law practice at 43 Cincinnati Avenue up to the corner of US 1, using a special conservation grid to preserve a large live oak tree on the site. |
Garage revenue still short of goal | |
Through three-quarters of this fiscal year which ends September 30, revenues at the Visitor Center parking facility are running 50% higher under the $10 flat fee system authorized by the City Commission last year.
The increase is short of the city's goal in new revenue, and projected to be $399,323 shy of its $1,050,000 goal at fiscal year's end.
The hope was that the higher charge (ParkNow card holders - mostly residents - pay $1 to park all day) would generate another $1,050,000 to support city projects: debt service on the parking facility ($450,000), the city's $2 million share of the $7 million seawall project ($207,000 a year for ten years), Visitor Center remodeling for exhibition space ($65,000 a year for three years), and the 450th commemoration ($328,000 a year for four years).
Through June 30 the facility has brought in $1,530,791.15, compared to $1,020,733 for the same period last year.
If the trend continues through September 30 the total revenue will be $1,952,649.65 for the year, an increase of $650,677.65 from last year and $399,323 shy of the $1,050,000 goal for additional revenue.
City management and commissioners will likely look for adjustments in a budget workshop August 16.
Vehicle count through June 30 was 228,224, down 42,748 from last year's 270,972.
Peak months were December (32,553 compared to 28,689 last year) and March (35,612 compared to 42,302 last year). Weakest months: January and May, each a little over 20,000.
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Compassion, gratitude as 450 goals | |
Caren Goldman, wife of St. Cyprian Vicar Ted Voorhees, sent along information on The St. Augustine Initiative for Compassion, dedicated to "efforts to enliven the Golden Rule community-wide." 
Pat Wood, who pulled her Cottages at Winding Creek neighbors together to erect and dedicate a flagpole in their gated community, sent along "a gift idea that honors the City of St. Augustine," stemming from "my belief that the world needs more gratitude." She calls it The American Honored Award Society of St. Augustine.
Told of Caren's initiative, Pat wrote, "So beautiful. I didn't think anyone shared my thoughts for this country much less the World."
The Charter for Compassion is an international movement to inspire the Golden Rule around the world, while the American Honored Award Society of St. Augustine is a homespun offering of tributes.
Got to be two of the greater legacy goals for commemorating 450 years of history and paying forward the City of St. Augustine.
Visit http://compassionstaugustine.org/ and http://www.americanhonoredaward.com/.
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| Commentary | |
Lest we forget - community tools
City government has many tools in its toolbox, but they're only as effective as the willingness to use them.
Tree removal permits - The City Commission several years back moved from the Code Enforcement Board to the Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) approval for removal of protected trees. Reason: PZB is better qualified to look at possible ways to adjust building plans to save trees.
Planned Unit Development- The dreaded PUD, which allows development plans to work outside city codes, can only be dreaded if government allows plans which go against the public will. Through the PUD, government bodies can require adjustments of everything from style of door knobs to height, mass, and scale of a project.
Entry corridor guidelines for San Marco Avenue, King Street, and Anastasia Blvd. were decried when the commission put them into code, fearing lawsuits over loss of property rights. The guidelines dictate architectural style, landscaping, signage and the like.
But in the decade since their enactment, with hundreds of permits issued, only six disputed the guideline restrictions, and all were resolved without going to court.
It suggests that if people understand the community's will, they will make the effort to conform.
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History's Highlight |
It's an old house when...
3 years, 1 month, 1 day to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
Dedicated to all the hardy folks who have taken on the sometimes daunting task of restoring historic property in our Nation's Oldest City. Reflections by Patrick Kee of Ida Grove, Iowa, found in a Vermont real estate brochure years ago.
You Know You've Got An Old House When... The living room light dims when you run the Dust Buster.
You get personal Christmas cards from natural gas company executives you don't even know.
Everyone in town insists "that isn't the color the house used to be" - but no one remembers what color it was.
A four-foot stepladder is useless to you.
The only man who knew where your city water shut-off is died in 1919.
Your change dish includes plaster washers, finish nails, and a radiator key.
The local lumber yard can supply only one out of every ten items you want.
You get more evening phone calls from siding salesmen than from your mother.
You'd rather read a paint-chip chart than the sports section.
You start writing notes to future owners and hiding them behind the wainscoting and mop boards.
The terms 'warmth' and 'patina' replace 'worn out' and 'dirty.'
People are talking about 'tennis elbow' or 'Army arches,' and you want to tell them about 'scraper knuckle' and 'rung foot.'
You drop someone from your guest list for referring to your bungalow as a Victorian.
Photo: Spanish Street Victorian
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The St. Augustine Report is published weekly, with additional Reports previewing City Commission meetings as well as Special Reports. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and Commissioner (2006-2008) and a former newspaper reporter and editor. Contact the Report at gardner@aug.com |
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