Published by former Mayor George Gardner March 12 2016
The Report is an independent publication serving our community
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Halls, Rangs nominated
for city's de Aviles Awards
Two couples considered among founders of St. Augustine's reenactment community have been nominated for one of the city's highest awards, the de Aviles Award.
Robert and Gudrun Hall are on tap for the 2015 award and Carl and Patti Rang for the 2016 award.
The nominations are on Monday's City Commission consent agenda, usually passed without discussion.
Nominations made by a commissioner are traditionally vetted through each commissioner by the city manager before reaching this stage.
Two weeks ago the Spanish Garrison was presented the Adelaide Sanchez Award for historic preservation as the City Commission turns its attention to what Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline described at that ceremony as, "the personal investment of time and resources and the deep commitment" of the reenactment community. "When it comes to face-to-face experience with the past, there is no substitute for live interaction with a person from the past," she said.
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Bon Summers, former St. Augustine Record staffer and owner of the online Ancient City Booksellers, celebrates St. Patrick's Day with reflections on the Auld Sod here. Bon caught a photo of the Irish Bulldog at Orlando's 1994 Irish Festival.
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The current nominees will join a long list of distinguished recipients, most recently city benefactors Joseph W. and Faith K. Tiberio and civil rights leader Robert B. Hayling.
Find details on both the de Aviles and La Florida awards, the city's two highest, here.
The recipients The Halls and Rangs both date their involvement with living history interpretation here to 1972, when Robert Hall, an art professor at Flagler College, joined the fledgling East Florida Rangers to "make St. Augustine a place where history lives" and the Rangs moved here from south Florida for the chance "to rekindle a love for history."
Robert went on to found the Historic Florida Militia, which today is the umbrella organization for nearly a dozen groups representing 16th thru 18th century St. Augustine. Gudrun developed skills in creating authentic period clothing for the volunteer units.
Patti as well became an authentic "kit" seamstress, as period clothes and accoutrements are described, along with leadership roles in the variety of militia events. Carl stepped in when a fledgling fife and drum corps was organizing and has distinguished himself since with both drum and fife.
Former St. Augustine Record writer Ann Heymen highlighted the Halls in the January issue and the Rangs in the March issue of the free monthly St. Augustine Entertainer.
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The six-year old lawsuit between the city and Wendler Properties Ill, LLC goes to a closed session with city commissioners Monday at 4 pm, before their regular meeting at 5 in the Alcazar Room at City Hall.
City Manager John Regan, City Attorney Isabelle Lopez and outside counsel Susan Erdelyi of the Marks Gray law firm will brief commissioners on the status of the case.
The Wendlers seek $3.5 million in damages under the Bert Harris Property Rights Act after assembling eight properties, then being denied demolition permits under a stiffened demolition ordinance. They had planned a replica of the Henry Flagler estate on Valencia Street - bulldozed in the 1960s and now site of several modern homes.
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Attention shifts to waterways
Suggestions have been made to use our city's waterways to help ease congestion on our streets.
If that should ever happen the City Commission will look at ways to prepare for it during Monday's commission meeting.
Resolutions for dredging the Salt Run navigation channel, installing shoal markers and the seawall/bayfront connectivity project are on the agenda.
All involve grant applications to the St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach District and Florida Inland Navigational District.
The dredging project is estimated at $200,000, four shoaling markers east of the Menendez mooring field and west of the navigational channel $20,000, and the seawall connectivity project to raise the height of the seawall from the Bridge of Lions to the Santa Maria Restaurant $400,000.
Commissioners will be asked to pass resolutions seeking funding from the two water agencies.
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Special event venues, taxis on agenda
Ordinances for a procedure to determine vested rights for special event venues and to add regulations to the city's taxi code go before the City Commission Monday for consideration to move them to public hearing and final action at a later meeting.
Special event venues
Two weeks ago Planning and Building Director David Birchim told commissioners many existing wedding venues shied from the new special event venues code because of its financial disclosure requirements. He suggested, and commissioners agreed, that the requirement be removed and the date to file be extended.
The Taxi code
Commissioners rejected one cab company's proposed ordinance to strengthen the taxi code, but decided at least one of its elements might be a good addition - requirements for minimum vehicle age and mileage. Assistant City Attorney Denise May suggested in January that other elements of the code might be best addressed as part of a holistic mobility study.
 Public hearings on
park, HARB alternates
Ordinances to correct boundaries on the recently created Robert Hayling Freedom Park on Riberia Street and to add alternates to the city's Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) face public hearings and final action at Monday's City Commission meeting.
The boundaries of the former Riberia Pointe unintentionally included a horse carriage station, which will remain in city control outside Hayling Park.
And a shortage of voting board members at some HARB meetings prompted a commission proposal to add two alternate members, appointed by the commission.
Mayor to propose Greek sister city
Mayor Nancy Shaver will suggest to fellow commissioners Monday exploring a sister cities relationship with a city in Greece.
A visit last week by the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Terens Spencer Nicholas Quick of Greece, prompted the idea.
Greece has strong ties to St. Augustine in its history of Greeks first landing in today's America at St. Augustine in 1768 on their way to Dr. Andrew Turnbull's indigo plantation in New Smyrna, and in the St. Photios National Greek Shrine on St. George Street.
Rotten eggs for Easter
I am asking each and every one who loves the Easter Parade to call and email the St. Augustine City Commissioners asking for their support to waive or offset the costs city officials are attempting to charge for this historic festival Parade event.
Patricia Alexander, Easter Week Festival Committee
The Easter Week Festival Committee is up against some hard boiled eggs, "to pay to the City up to $8,000 to produce the Easter Parade, including requiring the Committee to separately pay the city police officers to work on Sunday afternoon," committee spokesperson Patricia Alexander says.
"Unlike other events that may benefit a particular charity or organization, the Easter Parade is not a fundraiser nor does it benefit a particular cause. It is part of the fabric of our city and heritage and needs to be supported by the City of St. Augustine, not the other way around."
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History's Highlight
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Celebrating Women's History Month, this is the first of two highlights on notable women in the history of St. Augustine. These excerpts are from Florida Women's Heritage Trail, a Florida Heritage Publication of the Florida Division of Historical Resources.
Maria de Los Dolores Mestre Andreu (1801-1871) became one of the nation's first female lighthouse keepers in 1860 upon the death of her husband.
Lucy Abbott spearheaded development of the Abbott Tract, twelve blocks between San Marco Avenue and Matanzas Bay. She came to St. Augustine in the 1860s and was one of the city's earliest real estate speculators.
Clarissa Anderson Gibbs (1895-1990), daughter of Dr. Andrew Anderson. Her philanthropic endeavors included Echo House - an African-American learning and social center, the Dr. Peck House and Women's Exchange, Flagler Hospital, Flagler College, and the St. Augustine Historical Society.
 Abbie M. Brooks (1830-1914) was a writer who sometimes worked under the pen name Silvia Sunshine. She lived in St. Augustine for many years and was best known for her travel guide, Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes, which told of her travels throughout Florida between 1876 and 1878. She also traveled to Spain to research and transcribe colonial archives resulting in her 1907 Unwritten History of Old St. Augustine. She lived her last seven years under the care of the Hopkins family at 50 Water Street, known as the Abbie M. Brooks House.
Luella Day began the legend of the location of the magical Fountain of Youth, promoting the park as one of the city's first tourist destinations. Day was a pioneering woman physician during the Canadian Klondike gold rush and wrote of her experiences in The Tragedy of the Klondike.
Fannie Louise Fulwood (1910-1944), a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) during the 1960s civil rights movement in St. Augustine, earned her living as a housekeeper and maid, was the recipient of numerous awards, including the St. Augustine de Aviles Award and a fellowship award from the Unitarian Universalist Church. Her residence for 71 years was 83 Kings Ferry Way.
Mary Evans Fenwick (1730-1792), married Major Joseph Peavett, paymaster for the English military, when the British took control of St. Augustine and lived in today's Gonzalez-Alvarez (Oldest) House. In addition to her business as a midwife, she operated an inn and tavern in her home. A fictional account of her life and times was recorded in Eugenie Price's book, Maria.
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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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