Published by former Mayor George Gardner January 28 2015
The Report is an independent publication serving our community
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Vote avoids public hearing
City Commission holds
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  For John Valdes, a veteran of more than two decades on city boards including chairmanship of the Planning and Zoning Board, it wasn't Monday night's City Commission rejection of applications for two 50-foot hotels on US 1, but its refusal to let the matters go to public hearing.
"I cannot believe the City Commission would not have at least allowed the applications to go to second reading (and public hearing) for no other reason than to give their Planning and Zoning Board the respect they deserve for the hard work they do voluntarily," said Valdes in the wake of a unanimous commission vote not to advance them.
Hoteliers Kanti Patel and Fred Ashdji proposed hotels exceeding the city's 35-foot height restriction, both arguing the greater height is expected by top tier hotel franchisers. The Planning and Zoning Board recommended approving the applications.
Commissioner Todd Neville made the motion to deny the first of the two applications on first reading, saying, "I think the 35 feet has served us well in the comp plan," and Mayor Nancy Shaver noted, "There are no new buildings built even though they have been approved at the 50-foot height, and the only (taller) buildings built in the city are the historic buildings."
She was referring to Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) previously approved for a Wyndham Garden hotel on the former Jones Rent-All site on US 1 the Sebastian Inland Harbor at US 1 and King Street.
"The PZB spent at least four hours in consideration of these two cases at a meeting that lasted over eight hours," said Valdes, "and never in my 28 years of watching city government in St. Augustine do I recall a City Commission turning down an applicant on first reading, particularly one with the amount of support given by the Planning and Zoning Board."
The commission didn't take up the issue of PUD zoning, which removes all zoning restrictions and lets developers create plans they want, but with government power to control every element of those plans.
Before Monday's commission action, Valdes had prepared a commentary on building height and PUDs. Read his commentary here.
Moratoriums?
Commissioners Monday briefly discussed moratoriums on both Planned Unit Development zoning and requests for heights greater than the city-restricted 35 feet. Future workshops are anticipated.
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...and the
lights go out
St. Augustine's celebrated Nights of Lights go out Sunday night, ending 2˝ months of seasonal splendor throughout the city's historic district.
Selected by National Geographic in 2011 & 2012 as one of the ten best holiday lighting displays in the world, St. Augustine's Nights of Lights features millions of tiny white lights creating a magical atmosphere in the Nation's oldest city.
The twofold expression of Nights of Lights is framing the city's historic skyline and paying homage to the Spanish tradition of displaying white candles in windows during the Christmas holidays.
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Big hotels, tough fit?
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The Report story on plans for 50-foot hotels brought a New York Times article from Georgia reader Steve Carswell on Charleston's challenge with "efforts to introduce contemporary architecture in the historic core, which was the first in the nation to be covered by a preservation ordinance."
Read the article here.
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City finances A to -AA;
Parking penalties up
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City Comptroller Mark Litzinger had double duty at Monday's City Commission meeting, walking commissioners through the first quarter of the city's fiscal year, October 1  through September 30, and shepherding passage of an ordinance to increase parking penalties through a public hearing and final action.
The city last week received a rating of "A+" and "AA-" with the ratings having a "stable outlook," from Fitch Ratings, one of the three main rating agencies for municipal bonds in the United States. The review focused on the city's financial obligation on two outstanding bonds.
"The good ratings spoke to a City that is financially well managed and fiscally sound," said Litzinger.
Commissioner Todd Neville, who called for the monthly recap on city finances, suggested future recaps add a column comparing current with previous year period.
Litzinger noted the $938,000 budget for the 450th is undergoing staff review after City Manager John Regan earlier described the main focus to be a September festival weekend.
Parking penalties increase
After public hearing, commissioners approved in a 4-1 vote an increase in parking violation penalties for meter violations from $15 to $25 and illegal parking from $25 to $35.
Commissioner Neville opposed passage, earlier calling for details of an overall parking strategy which Litzinger said is still being developed.
When congestion relief?
Mayor Shaver said, "When I took office in December I said, 'Okay, there's going to be a peak load plan for Nights of Lights because Commissioner Freeman asked for (a mobility plan) a year ago. What I'm hearing is we're spending a lot of time on planks and strategy but we're not putting them into action. We have serious problems around mobility in this city."
Added Freeman, "I would like to have a (regular) mobility update."
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Cuna Street redirected
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Flagler College WFCF Station Manager Dan McCook is a happy man.
One-way Cuna Street from the bayfront to Cordova Street - past the new college communications complex - returned to its former state Monday: one way Cordova to Spanish and from Charlotte to the Toques Place parking lot, with St. George Street blocked off.
"So, when you come in next week you no longer need to come in from the fort but by the Carriage Way B & B," McCook emailed students and faculty during the weekend.
"Sometime in the near future they will repave Cuna Street," McCook added. "I am fighting tooth and nail to garner that handy little tidbit of information. I will let you know as soon as I do."
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The mailbag
Please convey my gratitude and thanks to Mayor Shaver for the recent Commission votes. For the first time in almost a decade, we feel like the City has been returned to the residents and not the "branders" and the tourists. The difference in the air at her first Commission Meeting was unbelievable - residents were actually listened to and solutions sought, rather than outright arrogance and disinterest.
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To Veterans Council Chair Bill Dudley's criticism of the VA for "arrogance and incompetence" in relocating its veterans outpatient clinic here, VA officials could respond, "We've been busy elsewhere."
As in facility project cost overruns ranging from 59 to 144 percent in four major metropolitan areas, with delays of one to six years.
The VA clinic here, serving some 5,000 veterans, should move in March when Lowe's takes over the current county health facility on US 1, but only plans for temporary modular facilities have been announced, and those not ready until the end of summer.
Report reader Berry Moore shared a story carried in the national Military Officers Association e-newsletter: GAO Highlights VA Construction Woes.
"The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report this week highlighting measures taken by the VA to correct substantial cost overruns and scheduling delays at several of the VA's major medical facility construction projects since 2013," according to the e-newsletter.
Among those four major projects, Las Vegas, estimated at $325 million, now $585 million, completion April 2009 now Summer 2015;Orlando, $254 million, now $616 million, completion April 2010, now January 2015; Denver, $328 million, now $800 million, completion February 2014, now April 2015, and New Orleans, $625 million, now $1.035 billion, completion December 2014, now February 2016.
Read the e-newsletter article here.
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What a weekend - for history
Dulcimer Performance by Robert Burns - Thursday 7 - 8:15 pm in the historic swimming pool area of the Lightner Museum, where Robert Burns will perform in free concert on the ancient Hammered Dulcimer. The Lightner Museum's special exhibit of paintings by Felix de Crano will be open following the performance.
Castillo by Candlelight: The Enemy at the Gates - Friday, relive the siege of 1740 in special nighttime candlelight tours of the Castillo de San Marcos. Throughout the evening, National Park service staff and volunteers in 18th century period clothing will tell stories of the siege during which the town's residents sought refuge in the Castillo while British cannon bombarded the town. Tours depart from the ticket booth at 6:45, 7:00, 7:15, 7:30, 7:45 and 8 p.m. Tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis at the ticket booth or call 904-829-6506, ext. 232.
Spanish Garrison Grand Muster - Saturday 10 am - 9 pm the Spanish Garrison of 1740 encamps at the Colonial Quarter. At 8 pm a colorful torchlit parade marches from the Castillo de San Marcos to the Governor's House in the Plaza de la Constitución. The public is invited to follow the soldiers, militia and townsfolk on the parade route.
Uptown Saturday Night - 5 - 9 pm on the last Saturday of each month, live music, refreshments, new exhibits, book signings and more at galleries, antique stores and unique shops on San Marco Avenue between Ripley's Museum and the Mission Nombre de Dios. The Mission provides free parking.
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History's Highlight
Important Historical Events
224 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
Timeline excerpts through the 20th into the 21st century, from Important Historical Events for the Nation's Oldest City, compiled by Historical Society Director Susan R. Parker, Ph.D. Read the complete timeline through 2011 here.
1909 Town of Hastings is incorporated.
1914 Fire destroys five blocks of downtown St. Augustine, including the Historical Society's first museum.
1914-1918 World War I. 
1915-1935 St. Augustine Historical Society operates Castillo de San Marcos for War Dept.
1918 Florida Memorial College relocates from Jacksonville to St. Augustine.
1920s Florida's real estate boom sweeps the state. Davis Shores is created by filling marshland on Anastasia Island.
1924 Fort Marion (including City Gate) and Fort Matanzas are declared National Monuments.
1927 Florida real estate boom crashes. Bridge of Lions, North River Bridge, Matanzas Inlet Bridge open.
1936 City Commission initiates study of historic preservation program in city. Results in establishment of St. Augustine Historical Preservation and Restoration Association.
1941-45 World War II.
1942 Coast Guard establishes training school in St. Augustine. German submarines attack shipping along Florida coast; blackouts are enacted and activities on barrier islands are restricted.
1942 Fort Marion is returned to its original name, Castillo de San Marcos.
1947 Lightner Museum established in the former Alcazar Hotel.
1959 The historic preservation movement is revived with the establishment of St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission (later reorganized as Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board [HSAPB], a Florida state agency).
1959 Town of St. Augustine Beach is incorporated.
1962 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) files integration suit against St. Johns County School Board.
1964 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Andrew Young, and other civil-rights activists assist local leaders in St. Augustine in marches, sit-ins and swim-ins.
1965 St. Augustine commemorates its 400th anniversary.
1968 Flagler College opens in the former Ponce de Leon Hotel.
1973 St. Augustine's City Hall moves to former Alcazar Hotel.
1986 City of St. Augustine adopts first archaeological ordinance.
2001 King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain visit St. Augustine.
2005-2011 Bridge of Lions is restored.
Image: Restored Bridge of Lions, www.electricshamrock.com
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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 a former newspaper reporter and editor. Contact the Report at gardner@aug.com or gardnerstaug@yahoo.com
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