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Published by former Mayor George Gardner July 30 2014
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Plea to open St. George
Street to reenactments
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Light
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City commissioners agreed with reenactor Chad Light Monday - there has to be some way to open St. George Street to more historic reenactments.
Light, familiar as the persona of Founder Pedro Menendez, spoke for the 1740 St. Augustine Spanish Garrison as well as its umbrella organization, the Historic Florida Militia, whose groups annually reenact such historic events as Drake's Raid of 1586 and Searle's Sack of St. Augustine in 1668.
One focus Monday was the Changing of the Guard, in which Garrison soldiers march from the City Gate to Government House to relieve the stationed guard.
Restricted to three such reenactments a year by an ordinance blocking virtually all activity on the street, Light pleaded for monthly Changing of the Guard reenactments during the city's 450th Commemoration next year.
Without commission pressure, city staff is not likely to move quickly on the matter. A provision in a Tourist Development Council agreement to provide $160,000 for the Visitor Center, executed in January, calls for period-dressed "On-the-Street-Hosts" in the historic district.
Assistant City Manager Tim Burchfield has repeatedly responded to queries, "We are attempting to develop some sort of street presence that will not violate the City Code."
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Literary
legends
The late John D. MacDonald (right) and Robin Cook need no introduction to novel readers, but they will get an induction - as Florida Literary Legends, at the seventh annual Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers Conference in September.
The Book Festival September 25-27 features a Writers Conference September 25-26 at Flagler College, with more than 100 writers in critique workshops and multiple sessions, and Literary Legends Banquet September 26 at the St. Johns County Convention Center.
The festival will also honor the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act with a special panel on north Florida's place in that history.
Visit the website for details.
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Commentary
The 'Sacred Ordinance'
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Back in 2000 the City Commission, ignoring pleas for compromise in a deluge of uncontrolled street performers and vendors, hired First Amendment Attorney Michael Kahn of Melbourne to fashion an ordinance that would hold up in court.
The result was restricting any form of performance, vending and panhandling.
The ordinance preamble justified banning all activity including historic reenactments as the street "serves the community and visitors to St. Augustine as the frontispiece of the story and life of this oldest city in the United States."
Public pressure resulted in some easing - a parade ordinance permitting no more than three parades to any one organization in a year.
When the Spanish Garrison was able to obtain more permits through its umbrella Historic Florida Militia, City Attorney clamped down. Permits can't be transferred. He defended his action, saying, "(Attorney) Kahn advised us not to allow parades at all."
So swift action to modify that sacred ordinance is not likely.
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Commission OKs first step
in revitalizing Inland Harbor
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An indemnification agreement signaling a developer/buyer interest in the Sebastian Inland Harbor project made it off the usually silent consent agenda Monday, City Manager John Regan telling city commissioners, "The property is not transacted yet (but) this was a key issue for the buyer."
That buyer appears to be the Summit Hospitality Group of Daytona Beach, which is currently remodeling the former Ramada Inn on San Marco Avenue to reopen as a DoubleTree.
The indemnification agreement dates back to the city's purchase of the King Street/US 1 parcel from Atlanta Gas Light Company which operated a manufactured gas plant on the site from 1885 to the late 1950s.
As a result, it was contaminated with coal tar, and the company spent $7 million cleaning the site. The indemnification agreement protects the city and subsequent buyers in the chain of title from environmental legal action.
The city was careful when it sold the property to developers for $3.6 million in 2004 to retain control over development, at the time a planned mixed use with hotel, condominiums, and retail space. A three-member citizen review committee will preview any proposed changes before City Commission review and action.
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Starbucks interest
In 7-Eleven parcel
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There are unconfirmed reports coffee house giant Starbucks has approached 7-Eleven officials to purchase its contentious store/gas station site at San Marco Avenue and May Street.
But without success ...
The city's denial of the project is now awaiting a hearing in circuit court, where, "the court can confirm the (city) decision or can grant the writ for certiorari and indicate what errors the city made in rendering its decision," according to City Attorney Ron Brown.
"If it grants the writ," he says, "the court cannot grant or deny the actual development permit but can give, and must give, instructions on identifying the errors and ordering correction of the errors."
The city's hopes hang on a turning radius at San Marco, larger than allowed in its Entry Corridor Code. Recent city legislation emphasized its protection of the corridor as it bans future gas stations along San Marco.
7-Eleven officials likely see the congested intersection as a "cash cow," more profitable than selling the parcel.
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Espiritu, a 20th century shrimp boat converted to a 16th century Spanish caravel by a community volunteer team, meets the Black Raven pirate ship (left) and Nao Victoria Foundation's El Galeón (right) on its maiden voyage in Matanzas Bay. City commissioners Monday night waived dockage fees for Espiritu to dock next to the foundation's Nao caravel in the space vacated by El Galeón.
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Forum - candidates and tourism
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Offering "individuals working in our local tourism industry the opportunity to learn more about candidates in the August 26 Primary Election for St. Johns County, St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach Commission seats," the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce Tourism & Hospitality Council plans a Candidate Forum Monday, August 4, from 5 - 7 pm at Lewis Auditorium .
Organizers say the forum will be a panel-style discussion format in which candidates will be asked tourism-related policy questions.
There are four candidates in the primary for County Commission Seat 2, five for Seat 4, three for St. Augustine mayor, three for commission, and two for St. Augustine Beach commission.
Forum sponsors include the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, the St. Augustine Ponte Vedra the Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, the St. Augustine Attractions Association, Flagler College, Tour St. Augustine, the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse and the Fountain of Youth.
The event is free and open to the public.
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Commentary
Really, Joe??!!
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 Current Mayor Joe Boles, at the July 15 city candidate forum, included in his list of city accomplishments - to a round of applause, "I'm proud that we have a permanent moratorium from the State of Florida that FSDB (Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind) can never try to grab another piece of property ..."
Really, Joe?
First, the citywide moratorium is only for ten years. The permanent moratorium is for the historic neighborhoods surrounding FSDB.
And it was achieved by residents, travelling to Tallahassee in the predawn hours, twice, to plead before House and Senate committees, while Boles' answer to residents' pleas before the City Commission was, "It's not before us; we can't do anything."
The current mayor did finally make a predawn trip to Tallahassee, at the order of Senator John Thrasher, to accept legislation modifying citywide eminent domain legislation for FSDB pushed by then Representative Bill Proctor.
You should be proud, Joe, but of residents who stood up when you didn't.
Really, Joe ...
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History's highlight
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Menendez takes Fort Caroline
406 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
From the Memoir of Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, principal priest to St. Augustine Founder Pedro Menendez, recounting Menendez' capture of the French fort near present-day Jacksonville in 1565.
I have previously stated that our brave captain-general set out on the 17th of September with five hundred arquebusiers and pikemen, under the guidance of two Indian chiefs, who showed them the route to the enemy's fort.
They marched the whole distance until Tuesday evening, the 18th of September, when they arrived within a quarter of a league of the enemy's fort (Caroline), where they remained all night up to their waists in water.
 ... It appears the enemy did not perceive their approach until the very moment of the attack, as it was very early in the morning and had rained in torrents.
The greater part of the soldiers of the fort were still in bed. Some arose in their shirts and others, quite naked, begged for quarter. In spite of that, more than one hundred and forty were killed. A great Calvinist cosmographer and magician was found among the dead. The rest, numbering about three hundred, scaled the walls, and either took refuge in the forest or on their ships floating in the river, laden with treasures, so that in an hour the fort was in our possession, without our having lost a single man, or even one wounded.
There were six vessels on the river at the time. The enemy took one brig, and an unfinished galley and another vessel, which had been just discharged of a load of rich merchandise, and sunk. These vessels were placed at the entrance to the bar to blockade the harbor, as they expected we would come by sea.
Another, laden with wine and merchandise, was near the port. She refused to surrender and spread her sails, when they fired on her from the fort, and sunk her in a spot where neither the vessel nor cargo would be lost.
The taking of this fort gained us many valuable objects - namely two hundred pikes, a hundred helmets, a quantity of arquebuses and shields, a quantity of clothing linen, fine cloths, two hundred tons of flour, a good many barrels of biscuit, two hundred bushels of wheat, three horses, four asses and two she-asses, hogs, tallow, books, flour, and many other things of little value.
But the greatest advantage of this victory is certainly the triumph which our Lord has granted us, and which will be the means of the Holy Gospel being introduced into this country, a thing necessary to prevent the loss of many souls.
Image: 1670 lithograph of Fort Caroline
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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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