Published by former Mayor George Gardner March 24 2015
The Report is an independent publication serving our community
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Try try again
for two planned hotels
 Hoteliers Kanti Patel and Fred Ashdji - their plans for 50-foot, five story hotels on US 1 denied - are submitting new 40-foot, four story hotel plans to the city's Planning and Zoning Board for approval.
Patel's as yet unfranchised hotel would go on the former Bozard Ford site, and Ashdji's Hyatt Place would replace his Quality Inn, both on US 1 north of the historic district.
The board previously recommended Planned Unit Development (PUD) plans for both with greater height than the 35-foot city limit, but the City Commission rejected them, commissioners noting only historic buildings currently exceed the height limit.
The 40-foot height is still over the limit, but the hoteliers hope for that 5-foot concession which will allow higher ceilings demanded by today's upscale franchises. The hoteliers have pleaded that their hotel plans will draw guests seeking a recognizable, upscale hotel.
Mark Knight, representing the hoteliers for the Wright Firm, says, "They both can construct a four story hotel today within the thirty-five feet, but it would not be the upscale hotel that they can build with forty feet. The nicer hotels are seeking twelve foot ceiling heights on the first floor.
Meanwhile Planned Unit Development zoning itself is under fire, with many residents calling for a moratorium on the concept which allows developers to creatively design projects but with government control over every element in that design.
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CSpan visits
St. Augustine
CSpan television's Debbie Lamb outlined to city commissioners Monday "embedding ourselves in the city for one week to collect some of the city's highlights about its history and some of the nonfiction literary life.
CSpan Cities Tour features midsized cities' unique history.
CSpan2 carries nonfiction book-related programming, and CSpan3 focuses on American history.
Lamb said they'll be producing six to seven segments in each programming area.
Programs will be aired April 18-19, 2015. Visit the website.
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Commission resists
performer review
When I look at the spaces and how they function, I don't see something that says St. Augustine to me.
Mayor Nancy Shaver
Mayor Nancy Shaver praised Monday's legal review of the city's restrictive ordinances and commission discussion, and promised, "I will continue to have dialog" on whether and how those ordinances might be changed.
All four fellow commissioners rejected an idea "to repackage this information in one or a series of workshops for stakeholders to start that dialog," as City Attorney Isabelle Lopez put it,
Asst. City Attorney Denise May presented a comparison with Key West and Miami Beach ordinances and review of the 2000 St. Augustine ordinance banning all activity along St. George Street - since extended to 50 feet along streets on either side.
Commissioner Todd Neville remarked, "As enjoyable as the silver man and one man band were, the idea of completely congesting St. George Street - I think we're opening a can of worms."
Commissioner Roxanne Horvath added, "There are some wonderful Spanish performances, but I can see this turning into a circus."
And Commissioner Leanna Freeman, "Legally we took the safest route."
And Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline, agreeing, "I went through it."
Shaver said she's concerned with the homeless ("They have a real business plan"), youths being dropped off on St. George Street in the evening, and restrictions on street performers and artists.
"I look at these places that are supposed to be people safe, and they're not pretty," Shaver said.
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Mayor, city manager
To review 450 contracts
Anyone who's followed Mayor Nancy Shaver's efforts as a citizen to expose discrepancies in the city's Picasso exhibit and coral growing and aquarium proposals knows two things: the mayor is very thorough in research and she doesn't quit on a quest.
Rebuffed by fellow commissioners two weeks ago as she sought a review of city hall's 450th contracts, she persisted through 45 minutes of debate Monday to win authorization to review with City Manager John Regan "contract discrepancies I've identified and come back, likely, with some policy recommendations."
Her quest was supported by numerous residents during a public comment period.
Commissioners Leanna Freeman and Todd Neville led resistance, Freeman asking, "Is it just to criticize staff or is it something that can be learned from?" and Neville pressing to focus on specific discrepancies Shaver found rather than on all estimated 80-100 contracts handled by city hall's 450 trio.
The Alcazar Room audience broke into applause when Shaver said, "I am asking staff to recommend a reasonable way that we can review these contracts so that we can feel that we've done our due diligence, that we've done the right thing, and that we've improved the way we do business when we do contracts."
Shaver and Regan are expected to meet tomorrow and will bring findings to the commission to decide on whether a more extensive review is necessary.
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Veterans plan major parade
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Area veterans are planning a Veterans Day "major military parade which the city has never seen" November 11, featuring military units from Spain, England and France, service units from the southeastern United States, Army and navy bands and a flyover.
Ric Erkelens described what Veterans Council Chair Bill Dudley described in follow-up comments to the City Commission Monday as "our signature event for the year" for the Military 450th Committee.
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1928 Fire engine coming home
City commissioners Monday were enthusiastic in approving a $20,000 purchase price for the 1928 Fire engine that was the city's first motorized equipment and has sat in storage for years.
Fire Chief JC Costeira told commissioners "a collector in Deland said it belongs in St. Augustine, and wanted the city to have first opportunity to buy it at what it cost him.
The Fire Department has received more than $20,000 in pledges to refurbish and maintain the historic truck, which will be housed at the main fire station.
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City Commission actions
Kayak launch study approved
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While the Lincolnville community has not yet vetted it, and Mayor Nancy Shaver noted, "We have not yet prioritized any of our capital expenditures," city commissioners Monday approved $10,000 for a feasibility study for a kayak launch at Vickers Park in Lincolnville.
The study will prepare the city to seek grants in mid-June for the project which could cost up to $150,000.
El Galeón fees lowered
"We're trying to give them a better financial profile to keep them through our September anniversary," City Manager John Regan explained to commissioners Monday of a revised dockage agreement with the replica Spanish tall ship harbored here. The monthly dockage will be reduced from $5,340 to $4,586.
While St. Augustine is North American home port for the ship, she normally cruises along the east coast during the summer.
Meanwhile, Regan said, plans for a replica of Founder Pedro Menendez' flagship San Pelayo have been stalled by the Nao Victoria Foundation's difficulty in closing commercial loans for the project in Spain.
Plans are to berth the San Pelayo here as a museum ship.
Minorities in new police officers
Six new police officers were sworn in Tuesday. The significance, City Manager John Regan told commissioners Monday, is that this new group includes two female and two African American officers.
Regan thanked residents "who helped us recruit and retain quality minority officers."
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The weekend
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Chalking Workshop - The St. Augustine Regional Council hosts a free chalking workshop Saturday to prepare for the annual St. Augustine Chalk Walk, this year May 1-5. Nationally-known chalking instructors will be on hand 9 am-noon at the Limelight Theatre. Call 904-315-3963. Visit www.staugustinechalkwalk.com.
Uptown Saturday Night - 5 - 9 pm on the last Saturday of each month, live music, refreshments, new exhibits, book signings and more at the galleries, antique stores and unique shops on San Marco Avenue, with free parking at the Mission Nombre de Dios.
Paella Tasting aboard El Galeón - Join the Spanish crew aboard El Galeón 7 - 8:30 pm Saturday for traditional Spanish Paella with wine and live music. $35 per person (includes two complimentary glasses of wine). Purchase tickets at http://elgaleon.org or on the dock.
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Walking St. Augustine
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 Architectural historian Elsbeth "Buff" Gordon, who produced Florida's Colonial Architectural Heritage and Heart and Soul of Florida: Sacred Sites and Historic Architecture, now presents Walking St. Augustine, a walking guide dedicated "to the time-honored Oldest City."
It's filled with stories and images to fill you with St. Augustine, and the Florida Humanities Council has created an audio walking tour of several sites using a QR code reproduced in the book.
In three parts Buff describes the beginning, street by street, and characteristics, reenactments and even recipes that keep the city's history alive.
A good read - and guide - by an author who knows very well whence she speaks.
Available at Barnes & Noble, St. Augustine Historical Society, Pena-Peck House and the Ximenez-Fatio House and other locations.
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North of the Plaza
168 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
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From Walking St. Augustine, Elsbeth "Buff" Gordon
North of the Plaza is the reconstructed area. What is the reconstructed area?
 Early in the 1900s, St. Augustine's colonial buildings between Cathedral Place and the City Gate were inundated by a rising tide of large brick buildings and a forest of telephone poles and electrical wires. Cars and trucks careened down St. George Street, some hitting balconies.
Americans rolled up their 1930s shirtsleeves and launched a plan to save the Oldest City's colonial Spanish and British heritage.
The restoration plan was slowed by the Great Depression and World War II, but by the 1970s, north St. George Street was returned to pedestrians, and colonial houses were authentically restored and reconstructed by the State of Florida and private donors.
As you travel through time on this tour, walk into the buildings that have been brought back to life. Once again they are eighteenth-century shops, eateries, taverns, and residences.
You will step back into their world in amazing never-told-before stories about their colonial owners: the tavern- and shopkeepers, the fifteen-year-old brides, the soldiers and officers, and the rich and poor, enslaved and free.
Their large families, deaths at sea, widowhoods, and multiple marriages come to light in their wills, property deeds, records of births and marriages.
Their lives and livelihoods are yours to explore-house by house in the reconstructed area and in the Colonial Quarter Living History Museum as well as on the ramparts of the massive stone Castillo de San Marcos.
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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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