Published by former Mayor George Gardner July 9 2016
The Report is an independent publication serving our community
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7.5 city millage rate
is likely to continue
City commissioners Monday will consider a millage rate of 7.5, holding that rate for the eighth consecutive year.
The commission meeting begins at 5 pm in the Alcazar Room at City Hall and will be live-streamed at www.CoSATV.com.
City Financial Services Director Mark Litzinger will tell commissioners the millage roll-back rate for fiscal year 2016/2017 is 7.1107 mills - that's the millage at which the city would get the same revenue amount as this year.
But city revenues will increase despite holding the current millage because property values have increased 8 percent, from $1,272,464,433 to $1,372,537,304, according to the county Property Appraiser.
And the city's consultant, Public Financial Management (PFM), suggests the city will need that revenue growth.
In special session with commissioners at 2:30 pm Monday, PFM will note life and health insurance expenditures are forecasted to grow in the forecast period to 2021 from about 8% to 12% of general fund expenditures, the largest expense impact.
Among forecasts in PFM's presentation:
- Growth in taxable assessed value will rise 8.0% in FY 2017
- Assessed value growth gradually declines to 3.1% over the five-year forecast period, and no increase to the millage rate is assumed
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World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum has opened a Road to Rio Olympic exhibition with golf's return to the Olympics this summer.
"The exhibition takes guests on a historical journey through Olympic golf, beginning in 1900 when golf was first played in the Olympics, to the 1904 Games in St. Louis - the last time golf was included in the Olympic schedule," museum officials say.
Golf will make its return to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this August, after a 112 year hiatus.
The museum is open Monday to Saturday 10 am-6 pm and Sunday noon-6 pm. Visit the website.
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 Hayling Park signage, landscaping in review
Commissioners in special session at 4:30 pm Monday, before their regular 5 pm meeting, will consider authorizing $23,000 for entry signage, landscaping and pathways at Dr. Robert B. Hayling Freedom Park on Riberia Street.
Planning and Building Director David Birchim will tell commissioners $132,003 was initially dedicated to sidewalks and infrastructure this year and there is a current balance of $113,768.67.
The Lincolnville Community Redevelopment Area (LCRA) Steering Committee last month voted to recommend the expenses to the City Commission which governs the Community Redevelopment Area.
"The Park is currently undergoing preparations for an opening date later this summer," says Birchim. "The LCRA has a unique opportunity to partner with the St. Augustine Public Works Department and Keep Riberia Green Group to contribute some essential features toward the Park's completion. The project items and estimated costs include:
* Entryway signage: $4,000
* Landscaping at entryway: $1,000
* Continuation of pathway back to entrance: $18,000
* Total: $23,000
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Commissioners Monday will consider a staff recommendation to name the former car wash site at US 1 and King Street San Sebastian Park.
The park naming process was prompted by North City resident Gina Burrell, who earlier suggested the site be named for twentieth-century African-American writer Zora Neil Hurston who lived in St. Augustine for a time.
The commission passed a policy for naming public spaces, including geographic locations and deceased notables, and a city staff committee waded through 83 suggestions for this site.
Zora Neil Hurston had 11 suggestions, most of any.
See the complete list of name suggestions here.
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Public Hearing on fire fee
A fire assessment fee increase to 7 cents a square foot for residential and 12.7 cents a square foot for non-residential properties goes to public hearing and final action before the City Commission Monday.
Under the proposed increase a 2,000 square foot residential property annual fee would go from $120 to $140, and a 2,000 square foot non-residential property from $120 to $254.
The fee since 2009 has been 6 cents a square foot for all properties, bringing in some $976,000; the increase will bring in some $1.68 million.
Unlike ad valorem property taxes, non-taxable as well as taxable properties are subject to the fee, and 30% of properties in the city - such as schools and churches - are exempt from property taxes.
Motorcycle mufflers
get a hearing Monday
Police Chief Loran Lueders will brief commissioners Monday on "aftermarket motor vehicle exhaust modifications and enforcement procedures," those louder motorcycles and police response to them.
Commissioners asked for more data on complaints and enforcement during a recent noise workshop.
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Historic saunterers return
History on the Street Saunter continues at 6 pm his evening. Beginning at the Taberna del Cabello on St. George Street, the saunter gives participants opportunity to dress in their favorite historically accurate clothing and the public an opportunity to see different historic time periods.
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Legalistics on joining Estuarine Reserve
City Manager John Regan will seek to assure commissioners Monday there are no risks in joining the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve.
But Commissioner Leanna Freeman isn't convinced.
"In the past some related issues resulted in the cost of dredging doubling for an area in the Research Reserve. I hope the concerns are resolvable with legal language we have been discussing," says Freeman, an attorney.
Commissioners last year endorsed joining the Reserve after years of resistance for fear of outside regulation of the bottomlands owned by the city. But they asked Regan to determine any risks involved.
Regan writes in a memo, "Key issues include losing control and/or creating a streamlined pathway to a designation of the City waters as "Outstanding Florida Waters" (OFW) as a matter of state "management area" policy. However, there is a belief that joining the NERR would be an action congruent with our adopted community vision and strategic action plans.
"In a nutshell, it would align with our defined strong core values of environmental stewardship," Regan concludes.
The effort to create the reserve began in 1999 for the area from Guana in the north to the Whitney lab at Marineland "dedicated to the conservation of natural biodiversity and cultural resources through research and monitoring to guide science-based stewardship and education strategies."
GTM Research Reserve protects 73,352 acres south of Jacksonville in St. Johns and Flagler counties on the northeast coast of Florida, one of the fastest growing regions in the state.
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Medieval Sermon symposium July 22-26
 The International Medieval Sermon Studies Society (IMSSS) will hold its biennial symposium at Flagler College July 22 - 26, the first time ever outside of Europe.
More than 40 scholars from around the world will discuss "Preaching and New Worlds," focused on how sermons in the medieval and early modern periods reflect changing cultural and religious realities.
"This group has identified St. Augustine not simply for its geography but also for its history as an ideal place to explore this issue of transatlantic religion, and in particular cultural interaction," said symposium co-organizer Dr. Timothy Johnson, Flagler College's Craig and Audrey Thorn Distinguished Professor of Religion.
Among presentations, a translation project conducted in collaboration with the University of Florida on Spanish-Timucuan studies. The poster session is titled "Negotiating Sacred Space in La Florida.
To register, visit here. For more information, visit here. Image: Pope Urban II delivers sermon at the Council of Clermont in 1095 to launch the First Crusade.
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History's Highlight
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The Timucua were the Native American people living in the Northeast and North Central portions of what is now Florida. Their name may derive from the Spanish pronunciation of the Timucuan word atimoqua which means "lord" or "chief."  The Timucua probably numbered between 200,000 and 300,000, organized into various chiefdoms speaking a common language. The earliest evidence of their presence dates from around 3000 BC.
Spanish explorers were shocked at the size of the Timucua, well built and standing four to six inches or more above them. Perhaps adding to their perceived height was the fact that Timucuan men would wear their hair in a bun on top of their heads.
All were heavily tattooed, gained by deeds usually in hunting or war. These elaborate decorations were created by poking holes in the skin and rubbing ashes into the holes. The Timucua were dark skinned with black hair. They wore minimal clothing woven from moss or crafted from various animal skins.
Much of what we know about early Timucuan culture comes not from the Spanish but from the French. In 1564, French Huguenots seeking refuge from persecution in France founded Fort Caroline along the St. Johns River in present-day Jacksonville.
The Timucua's history changed dramatically after the establishment of St. Augustine in 1565 as a Spanish Presidio. Having eliminated the French settlements, the Spanish began to establish missions among the Timucuan chiefdoms.
The Franciscan missionaries Christianized and Hispanized the Indians. Fortunately the friars preserved the Timucuan language, one of the few eastern tribal languages to have survived.
By 1595, contact with Europeans and the diseases they brought had decimated the Timucuans. By 1700, the Timucuan population had been reduced to a mere 1,000.
Spanish colonization, which relied on intermarriage with local populations, also absorbed many of the Timucuans into the mestizo i.e. "mixed blood" colonial culture.
British incursions during the early 18th century further reduced the Timucua. Rival European nations relied on Indian allies to fight their colonial wars. The English allied tribes, the Creek, Catawba, and Yuchi, killed and enslaved the Timucua who were associated with the Spanish.
By the end of the French and Indian war and acquisition of Florida by Britain in 1763 there were perhaps 125 Timucua remaining. This last remnant either migrated with the Spanish colonists to Cuba or were absorbed into the Seminole population. They are now considered an extinct tribe.
Image: Timucuan man, c, 1562, from paintings by French artist Jacques LeMoyne.
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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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