Published by former Mayor George Gardner November 18 2015
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 City Commission will discuss congestion resolution tomorrow
WHEREAS, the City Commission has determined the most suitable alternative design which integrates the best design options to achieve the City's goals ...
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED The City Commission recommends Alternative ___ as the preferred alternative for the May Street/San Marco Avenue intersection ...
 The City Commission meets in special session tomorrow at 8 am in the Alcazar Room at City Hall to consider filling in the blank on a resolution to ease congestion at May Street and San Marco Avenue - preliminary to a formal decision in regular session December 14. There will be a public comment period at the beginning of the session. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Urban Planning Administrator Jim Knight, in a two-hour public session Monday, pressed for an alternative that would create a pseudo roundabout using most of the city-owned former 7-Eleven site as a "very, very efficient," solution. He attempted to allay visions of a major highway interchange with landscape graphics showing parklike settings and assurances that traffic would be reduced to low speeds, bicycle traffic experts would be called in to consult, and modest signage would direct drivers.
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Nights of Lights
a time of giving
"Come to Nights of Lights with a can of food."
Mayor Nancy Shaver has decided for the 2015 Nights of Lights Light-Up Night! Saturday "Talking with United Way and the food banks, it could be a very powerful thing that we could do."
From 3 to 6 pm United Way of St. Johns County will be collecting non-perishable food donations at the exit of the Historic Downtown Parking Facility and east side of Francis Field, on the front lawn of City Hall, at Davis Park at the east end of the Bridge of Lions, and the Cathedral Basilica's east courtyard.
To light the city tree Shaver's selected "two people who represent and demonstrate the giving spirit of our community, Melissa Nelson, Executive Director of United Way of St. Johns County, and Jasraj Raghuwanshi, an outstanding student volunteer."
The mayor and fellow commissioners will turn the switch to launch the 22nd annual Nights of Lights.
Light-Up Night! begins at 4 pm with musical entertainment in front of City Hall and in the Plaza, with the lighting at 6:30.
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The Consent Agenda includes items the city manager believes need no oral disclosure, though he briefs city commissioners individually before each meeting.
Is reading the Consent Agenda at commission meetings a waste of the valuable time of elected representatives and staff, who gather just twice a month for dialog with those they serve?
In the vernacular of City Commissioner Todd Neville, an accountant, reading the consent agenda at City Commission meetings takes an average of a little under two minutes; that's .010 of the average three hour meeting, based on four most recent sessions.
"Is it the will of the commission?" City Manager John Regan asked at the November 9 City Commission meeting when asked to read the consent agenda by Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline. "I've had some feedback from the public and from my staff, but mostly from the public, that reading the consent agenda doesn't really do a tremendous amount of enlightenment."
Sikes-Kline, who has regularly had to ask that the consent agenda be read at the meeting, responded, "In the early days it wasn't read and it created a great deal of suspicion. It can be read on the city website but the way we present things at this table is orally and I think it should be read."
Mayor Nancy Shaver responded, "The reason these items are on the agenda is that they are not those that require discussion typically unless they are identified. I focus on using our time and the public's time in the wisest way."
With silence from the three remaining commissioners Regan said, "If there's not a tremendous amount of objection from the commission, let's read the consent agenda."
That reading November 9 took two an a half minutes
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The pomp and circumstance of a Grand Military Ball will be open to 300 patrons Saturday, January 16, at The Mark W. Lance Armory on San Marco Avenue.
Sponsored for the second year by Forward March, Inc., a non-profit organization created to increase public awareness of military contributions to St. Augustine's heritage, the 2016 Ball will pay tribute to Major General (Ret) Kennedy C. Bullard. General Bullard was the Adjutant General of the State of Florida from 1975-1981 and was a decorated WWII hero.
Open to the public, formal military and civilian dress will enhance the prestige of the event. Tables of 8 may be reserved and individual tickets are $100.
Proceeds benefit The Legion Legacy Project to renovate the historic C. F. Hamblen House.
Contact Nancy Birchall 904-794-2883.
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Wanted:
A good traffic cop
 "The City of St. Augustine is seeking a transportation consultant to prepare a comprehensive transportation and parking master plan and may use consultant to implement various initiatives identified in the plan.
"This is an extensive project to determine mobility solutions that will improve livability to locals and visitors through identifying and recommending solutions to mitigate severe traffic congestion in the City."
A Request for Qualifications is being advertised by the city for a consultant to sort out its age-old traffic and parking issue. Filing deadline is December 1.
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Festive weekend on land and sea
But calendar coordination would help
Entertainment abounded, as did volunteers to park, serve and guide attendees through the food music and activities at the 36th Annual Lincolnville Festival at Eddie Vickers Park to the south and Third Annual Maritime Fun Fest at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park to the north.
But there was disappointment among those volunteers in bright, identifiable tee shirts at each event. Not only did both end up competing on the same weekend, but at opposite ends of the city and on a weekend before a major weekend, the upcoming Saturday Light-Up Night! for the city's annual Nights of Lights.
Statistics say weekends before or after major weekends tend to be slow.
City Public Affairs Director keeps a calendar of events which helps avoid conflicts, but that's only for events involving city property. Talk over the years of an area wide coordinated events calendar has not yet gone beyond talk.
The Lincolnville Festival was hosted by the Friends of Lincolnville and the Maritime Fun Fest by the St. Augustine Maritime Heritage Foundation.
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Those volunteer tee shirts are ready for a host of services at the 50th Annual St. Augustine Art & Craft Festival Thanksgiving weekend at Francis Field.
The St. Augustine Art Association is looking for help Saturday and Sunday for volunteers for gate greeting, association information tent, prize tickets, field strollers, artist relief, refreshment stands and kids zone.
Bonus: free tee-shirts and free reserved parking
The Nutcracker tickets on Sale
Tickets are on sale for the annual Saint Augustine Ballet The Nutcracker, this year Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20 at 2 and 7:30 pm.
Tickets are $25 to $30 with a $5 discount for 65 and older and 12 and under. Tickets are available at www.saintaugustineballet.com or call 855-222-2849. Guest artists for this seventh annual production of the holiday favorite are Adam Schiffer and Ashley Hathaway, both with the Carolina Ballet, in the principal roles of the Cavalier and Sugar Plum Fairy.
Obelisk auction benefits 2 groups $26,000 raised at an auction of Compassionate St. Augustine obelisks during the Junior Service League's recent gala will be split between two community organizations. Half goes to TAG! Children's Museum of St. Augustine for citizenship and compassion programs that target disadvantaged and vulnerable children and families, and half to the Kids Bridge Family Supervised Visitation Center. Nine of the 25 obelisks in the Compassionate St. Augustine 450th program were auctioned. All are placed at locations throughout the city through January 31.
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Solar Stik qualifies products for tax credit
Nearly a dozen Solar Stik products are eligible for the IRS Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit, a 30-percent tax credit on their federal income taxes.
"This is not only a great credit for our customers who have already purchased Solar Stik products," says Solar Stik CEO Brian Bosley, "it's also a great incentive for those considering 'self-sufficiency' for their boat or RV. Solar and wind generation can add a lot of freedom to the mobile lifestyle."
Solar Stik, home-based and manufacturing its products in St. Augustine, began with portable renewable power for boating, advanced to military support units, and is now expanded to a wide range of civilian consumer products.
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History's Highlight
 October 21, 1837, the Seminole War Chief Osceola entered St. Augustine's Fort Marion - and the history books as a legendary "Patriot and Warrior," owing in no small measure to his being captured by American forces under a flag of truce.
That inscription, "Patriot and Warrior," would be set on his gravestone three months later by respectful military authorities at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, where he quietly expired in full regalia.
He was captured under orders of the U.S. Florida commander, Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Jesup, as his band gathered at Fort Peyton on the St. Johns southwest of St. Augustine to parley with the Americans.
Both sides were exhausted from two years of battle - some 40,000 US troops against 5,000 Indians determined to hold their lands. Jesup vented his frustration with orders to take Osceola - white flag or not. His actions infuriated a nation which now saw Osceola as a hero/martyr and Jesup as a discredit to its military.
The captured band was paraded to Fort Marion, the territorial name for the Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine, where it seemed the whole town had been alerted and turned out to watch.
In the damp interior of the fort, an already ill 38-year-old Osceola's condition worsened. A month after his capture he showed no interest in the escape plans of a younger, fiery associate, Coacoochee. Perhaps as a result of this warrior's miraculous escape with 18 other braves and two women November 29, 1837, Osceola and his wives and other Seminoles were transferred to Fort Moultrie at Charleston, South Carolina.
Army doctors speculated he was suffering from quinsy - a form of strep throat - with intermittent bouts of malaria, but their efforts to treat him were interfered with by a medicine man. He was regularly visited by officers at the fort, and sat for a portrait by the artist George Catlin, famed for his extensive paintings of American Indians.
On January 31, 1838, sensing the inevitable, Osceola directed his followers to dress him in his best finery, and he laid back and quietly expired. His remains are buried outside the Fort Moultrie gate.
His fame was spread nationwide, particularly by reports of his capture under flag of truce and ultimate death within months. The image he left was one of the noble savage, defending his homeland, and he joined the legendary ranks of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Geronimo.
Image: George Catlin's painting of Osceola at Fort Moultrie
Excerpts from Osceola in St. Augustine Bedtime Stories. Click for further information on this fascinating historic series.
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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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