St. Johns County

ST. JOHNS COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION ROUNDTABLE

Agenda for MONDAY – FEBRUARY 13, 2006

Issues of County Interest – 9:00 am Featured Program – 10:00 am

Main County Library U&.S. 1 and San Carlos Avenue

: Program :

ST. JOHNS COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM / BUDGET Five Year Plan

Presenter:

Bobby Hall, Fire Chief, St. Johns County

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Plus Ongoing Current Issues ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Committee Reports Issues of County Interest ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ROUNDTABLE WEBSITE: www.sjcroundtable.org Email: [email protected] ST. JOHNS COUNTY: www.co.st-johns.fl.us ST. JOHNS VISION: www.stjohnsvision.com ROUNDTABLE INFORMATION: Sacha Martin, Secretary, 501-5545: 133 Coastal Hollow Circle 32084 [email protected]

ST. JOHNS COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION ROUNDTABLE Minutes for January 9, 2006

There were about 35 present including Lori Senea from State Rep. Bill Proctor’s office, Kathy Cramer, Ponte Vedra Recorder, Wayne Hickox, radio reporter. Treasurer’s Report: $1,580.50

Program: OVERVIEW OF THE ST. AUGUSTINE/ST. JOHNS COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY and USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN PowerPoint Presentation by: Jerry Cameron [ [email protected] ]

History On December 27, 1933 the City of St. Augustine contracted to buy 276 acres in the Araquay Park area for $8,000 to establish an airport. In 1939 it was upgraded for use by the military, then run by the Navy, and returned to civil service in 1946. In 1947 there were two passenger services and use for airmail, but after supporting government subsidies were cut back, it fell into disuse and was leased to the Moose Lodge in 1950 for $1.00/year. In 1955, Fairchild Engine opened an aircraft plant with a lighted 8,000 foot mil spec runway, until they shut down in 1976, succeeded by Grumman in 1980, who now own their property. In 1989 the “North 40 Hangar” was built by Grumman and in 1991 the main terminal building, substantially added to in 1994. to make or modify FedEx 727s and E2C Hawkeye aircraft. The City Commission was still responsible for administration and sought to divest. In 1963 legislation was passed to create the St. Augustine Airport Authority as a taxing entity with a 3 member board. It is the only airport in Florida run this way. In 1964, the City and County together put in $35,000 and a $900,000 bond issue was sold. In 1968 Fixed Base Operator (FBO), Aero Sport started up. The number of board members had increased from 3 to 5. In 1983 there was passenger service for 3 months. In 1996 Ed Wuellner, the current executive director, came on board. In the ‘80s and ‘90s over 100 hangars were added for 1-2 engine aircraft and there are over 200 based aircraft and a staff of 11. Board members serve for 4 years without pay.

Budget The 2005-2006 budget has been approved at $14,048,366. Of this, Operating Revenues are only $1.4 million. There are no reserves. The majority of supporting income funds come from Federal and State grants. Most of the expenditure is on capital improvements. A performance analysis or an audit has not been done. Ad Valorem taxes from county property owners furnished $2.0 million in 2000-2001. That expects to be $3.5mm in 2005-2006. Total operating revenues are half of this.

Property Acquisition in Araquay Park using Eminent Domain Since the beginning of the year 2000, the airport has bought 40 properties for $5.5 million and are now in negotiation for 8 additional properties. Seven of these were taken through eminent domain proceedings and others under the threat of its use. If property owners contest what is offered them, they get no payment. The argument is that hangars would be built getting income of $250,000 per year (at current rates). Considering the greater than $5 million outlay for land. This does not include construction cost for hangars, to be used mostly for recreational airplanes. How will this get the Authority off the tax roles in 4 years? The cost of attorneys Rogers, Towers was budgeted at $60,000. So far, charges are $108,000, not including all costs for eminent domain proceedings. It would take 5-7 years to get payback on one hangar. To do that they should charge $6 per SF, rather than current price which is at 1/3 of probable market value. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO IT, BUT IS IT RIGHT TO DO IT?

Now there is a proposal on the table to take more property, necessarily by Eminent Domain, at a cost of $1.3 million for a long, narrow piece of land to build a North Boulevard public boat ramp and make the whole area a park. Getting access to water for recreational boats will be difficult and costly, and the channel would have to be constantly dredged. They say it is because this plan is “conceptual”. Al Sesona (394 North Blvd, 824-6490) presented a letter of observations on purchase of the Kingsley property and boat ramp project. Taking of the land would put Mrs. Kingsley out of the mobile home rental business and therefore require a larger payment. The property has marsh frontage and no direct access to the ICW. There the ICW goes dry at low tide. A lot of permitting, dredging and bulkheading would be required. Additional funds are required for legal costs, park facilities, maintenance, security. North Boulevard, now only 18 feet wide, would have to be widened. There would be environmental impacts. In addition to the Kingsley property, there are others. Al Sesona’s property is in the middle of the area proposed for the park, but they haven’t contacted him.

Jerry showed photos and examples of property that was taken. Eminent Domain was used on family residences, not commercial properties. Many of these people were more than 70 years old, some handicapped, and many properties in the family for 50 years. This is an excellent location for workforce housing. . Roundtable Minutes – January 9, 2006 – p. 2 Questions * What is the rental fee here compared to the closest similar airport facility (Craig Field), cost of tie downs and hangars? Is our rate competitive or under priced to existing users? * Recently there was a quiet sale of the FBO from Aerosport to Galaxy, with no board action. Was the Board aware of this? * Money is made selling gas. Why doesn’t the airport sell gas vs. the FBO? * Several years ago, a contractor walked away from hangar construction in the middle of the project, resulting in multi-million $ losses and an incomplete project.. * Are there long term (25 year?) deals on leases? Are these terms then transferred when the lease is given over to another party? * Could an airport be built in the western part of the county cheaper? * What is the actual benefit of this airport to the public and what public purpose is served by actions of eminent domain? Comments * A Mission Statement for the Authority should be to make it one of the best airports in Florida, but not as a commercial airport, as there are three other commercial airports within a 1-2 hour drive. There is a big difference between general aviation and commercial. There is a charter service and commercial cargo services. 80% of seats have to be filled for commercial to pay. * The airport should be beneficial and should be self supporting.. * Al Sesona stated he has done air traffic counts from his property. These counts are used as a basis for getting grants, and feels the statistics presented could be 25-30% higher than actual. * Authority member Wayne George has indicated an interest in speaking at an upcoming Roundtable meeting to address issues. * There is additional financial data to be analyzed and/or confirmed. The Roundtable felt that additional information is needed before Wayne George responds. MOTION PASSED : A study group will be formed to analyze and confirm Airport Authority operations.

ROUNDTABLE BUSINESS

Report of the Chair (Walter Rohrer) Roundtable Committees now include Budget, School, Growth Management and Land Use, Water. He would like to add a membership committee to get broader participation . Harold Baker reported that when the Roundtable was first organized, members would attend PZA and BCC meetings and approach others at the meeting afterwards who showed particular initiative and asked them to join. They also made presentations to associations. MOTION PASSED: Authorization to Create a Membership Committee. Responsible Government Accounting. (Henry Warner) Florida Statute FS 2005-32 was passed to create Audit Committees for every government entity, including taxing authorities such as the Airport Authority. The Committee could also do other reporting and control measures such as a process for resolution where conflicts arise. Comment by Nick Meiszer: The Clerk of the Circuit Court is by law the auditor of the County, even though the BCC appoints an independent CPA auditor which does a financial audit and submits a letter certifying accuracy. If we are doing two audits, what will make the new audit different? Tightening of the criteria to be applied. Is there a fear factor that auditors are sympathetic partners, as in the Enron case? Water Issues (Henry Warner, 461-3245, [email protected]) There has been a Federal District Court Decision overturning Florida’s measures under the Clean Water Act. In a suit entered by the Clean Water Network and The Riverkeeper against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Clean Water Network and The Riverkeeper against the U.S. EPA’s previous approval of Florida’s less stringent water measurement standards, which are now revoked. The judge directed Florida to establish more stringent measures as required by the Clean Water Act. This will require new TMDLs (total daily load measures of contaminants) to comply with. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has agreed to comply with the new measures to be approved by the U.S. EPA. There is a reported 60 day extension from December, with no new discharge permits allowed. Another hearing is scheduled for February 16. Henry has a copy of the judge’s decision and a letter from the Riverkeeper to Jimmy Parker of the DEP. A national Tap Water Assessment study of tap water quality identified 255 contaminants. Of that, 140 contaminants have non- enforceable safety limits. The report can be found at www.ewg.org/tapwater/findings.php . Contaminants above the standard limits were found in the case of both JEA and St. Johns County Utility water supply. Bill Young, Director of our county water department said they are in a good position to upgrade water quality to meet the criteria. Growth Management ( Mary Kohnke, 904-285-3452, [email protected]) We are in process of putting together a white paper comparing the status of the county today vs. 2002 regarding development, concurrency, county management, etc. About 4 pages include some of Kathryn Metzger’s research. As an aside, Mary is available to other communities for a book signing event (her book includes growth management issues in St. Johns County ). She will be doing one January 24 at Westminster Woods. [ Editor’s note: 1000 Friends of Florida has developed 2006 Legislative Priorities for Growth Management. Founder John DeGrove’s new book, PLANNING POLICY AND POLITICS: SMART GROWTH AND THE STATES, is now available through http://1000fof.org/about/planningpolicy.asp . ] Roundtable Minutes – January 9, 2006 – p. 3

Development Problems in St. Augustine Shores ( Barrie Higgins ) There is one large unit of The Shores left for development. Toll Brothers was to tear down what is there and make the whole area look like Tuscany, Italy, as a gated community. There are no other gated communities in The Shores. Their roads would be closed to other Shores residents. The plat was recorded in 1988. They want to put in 1,000 vs. the originally approved 750 homes. Multifamily use has now been moved closer to US 1. Recently there was a close 4-3 denial from the PZA. Many, many people attended the session expressing disproval. Toll Brothers partnered with the former owner in order to get “Successor Developer” status, and therefore hopefully grandfathering. The BCC can overturn the PZA decision. Truth About Bird Flu ( Roger Van Ghent, St. Johns Audubon ) High pathogenic H5N1 virus has not been detected in North America. There is a low pathogenic H5 in Canada. Birds that have been killed to prevent the virus spread are poultry in confined conditions in Asia, not wild birds. You don’t have to stop feeding wild birds here. Neighborhood Bill of Rights ( Marcy Silkebaken ) St. Johns County should have a Neighborhood Bill of Rights. Duval County has this in place, and it is being implemented. Commercial property development is looking to get non zoning variances to remove buffers in Palm Valley/Ponte Vedra. The Architectural Review Committee there turned this down. The issue could have been resolved in a meeting by the developer with the community, using a Neighborhood Bill of Rights. Grandfathering is also an issue. As long as the original owner was allowed to fix cars on his property, when he moves or it is sold, the commercial use leaves. The variance runs with the person and not with the property. This should also apply to The Shores “Successor Developer”, where the old developer has partnered with the new one to get the grandfathering. There was a meeting in Gainesville last week on Charter Government, including Neighborhood Bill of Rights, coordinated by a Professor of Law at University of Florida. Natural Preserve Property (Walter Rohrer) A suggestion has been made to liberate the Mickler property from the Guana Preserve for use in building of a Ponte Vedra high school, but the State Attoryney General said this will not be considered and it is now not on the School Board’s list of potential high school sites. Growth Management “Glitch” Bill (Walter Rohrer, 543-9809, [email protected]) State Rep. Bill Proctor has asked his constituents for a list of items to take priority for the “glitch” bill to follow Senate Bill 360 on Growth Management is at the top of our list. Our county has probably $300-$500 million in transportation deficiencies which need funding, and a closer relationship between new development and school facilities needs to be forged to supply new infrastructure. Theoretically, growth should be slowed if infrastructure to support it cannot keep up. County lawyers have a property rights issue which impedes slowing down development, and currently there is no legal provision to help. We are one of 6 test counties for education concurrency, going statewide by 2008. There needs to be a legislative fix so that growth does not deteriorate the quality of life in Florida. County Commissioners have the authority to improve this situation by using growth slowing measures. In Sarasota County, using that authority to stop growth without infrastructure, of 4 decisions, 2 were won by the Commission and 2 negotiated. This action is only for current requested approvals. Of perhaps more serious consequence is the unfunded infrastructure of the many thousands of homes that have been approved where there is no supporting infrastructure. Funding sources are needed. Impact fees only cover a portion of what is needed. The “Glitch” bill should take priority in the new legislative session. MOTION PASSED: The Roundtable chair is authorized to draft a letter indicating the importance of issues on Growth Management to prioritize and suggest that they also look at the existing deficit. St. Johns Utility Purchase Clara Cowan reported that raw sewage backup into homes last August has caused the basis for lawsuits, which will be inherited by the county if it goes ahead with purchase of the utility before this matter is resolved with the current owners. In December one of two victims, Jean Lijoi at 103 Dolphin Blvd, appealed for help from the Ponte Vedra Coalition, who wrote another letter to the BCC in mid December. Even though photos were shown that the utility “to repair the situation” had ripped out appliances, bathroom fixtures and 18” of wall board and then left, leaving the house inhabitable, the utility’s insurer had offered less than 1/3 of what is required. Dan MacDonald reported that since 1996, Ponte Vedra was having a bad time with the Intracoastal plant and there was a very bad smell. When they got in touch with the DEP, DEP said the bigger problem was the St. Johns Service Company’s 2 plants in Players Club and 1 in Marsh Landing. It was sending high fecal counts into golf courses and the intracoastal. In July 1997, the DEP sued under 3 consent orders. Flow measurement devices were out of order for a year. The county closed all new development that would have to be connected to this sewer facility. There has been another request now for records relative to the St. Johns Service Utility Company purchase. MOTION: All known legal matters should be resolved before the acquisition of the utility is made by the county. (A letter from our Chair has been sent to the County Board of Commissioners supporting the Roundtable’s position.)