2/18/20 @ 4:25 p.m. - Keep Nassau Beautiful is seeking volunteers for a road side clean up event taking place on Saturday, February 29th, along Amelia Island Parkway between 8th Street and Amelia Road. Interested volunteers should meet at 8:30 a.m. in the parking lot located at 9900 Amelia Island Parkway.

Gloves, totes, safety vests, and trash grabbers will be provided. Volunteers are asked to dress appropriately with closed toe shoes and should bring bug spray, sunscreen and water.

You can register in advance here. If you have any questions, please contact Keep Nassau Beautiful at (904) 261-0165 or email knb@keepnassaubeautiful.org.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

2/18/20 @ 2:30 p.m. - At the Monday, February 10, 2020 meeting, the Board approved Resolution No. 2020-12, commending K9s United for their support of law enforcement. Commissioner Justin Taylor then presented the Resolution to Debbie Johnson, Founder of K9s United, and her daughter Emma, at a special ceremony organized by the Nassau County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, February 12th.

K9's United is a non-profit organization that provides much needed equipment and services to K9 programs throughout 30 states. They recently donated a heat alarm for one of Nassau County's K9 units. If the vehicle gets too hot, the alarm will activate a signal and then the window will drop! This will ensure the K9 is kept safe should the officer be busy apprehending a suspect.

A big thank you to Ms. Johnson and to Emma, for their generous donation. We appreciate your support of our local law enforcement officers, especially the K9s.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

Photo credits: Nassau County Sheriff's Office

2/18/20 @ 1:45 p.m. - Below are public meetings scheduled for this week:

Planning & Zoning Board
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Board of County Commissioners Meeting
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Ask the County Manager
Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 5:30 p.m.
Hilliard Community Center, 37203 Pecan Street, Hilliard, FL 32046

American Beach Neighborhood Planning Meeting
Saturday, February 22, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
American Beach Community Center, 1600 Julia Street, Amelia Island, FL 32034

Agendas can be located on our website.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

2/13/20 @ 3:15 p.m. - Attached is a Memorandum from Governor DeSantis indicating that flags will be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Friday, February 14, 2020, in remembrance of the lives lost in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting.

2/13/20 @ 9:30 a.m. - The Fire Watch Council held their first community meeting in Nassau County yesterday. Approximately one dozen individuals were in attendance to hear information on how the Council plans to address the Veterans Suicide Epidemic. Council Members in attendance today included Mike Fleming, Chairman; Vice-Chair, Lynn Schultz; Director Nick Howland; and Nassau County's Liaison, Commissioner Justin Taylor.

Presentations were made regarding the Council's mission and strategies, as well as the Council's plan to implement community outreach programs. The group heard shocking statistics indicating that there were more than 6,000 Veteran suicides between 2008 and 2016. That's a rate 2x higher than the suicide rate for an average citizen! Several local Veterans participated in the meeting and expressed their excitement about the Council's initiative and shared ideas on how to reach more Veterans.

If you are interested in finding out what you can do to impact the life of a Veteran or current military member, please contact Lynn Schultz (904) 206-7861 or via email at lynn.b.schultz.ctr@mail.mil.

Note: Fire Watch Council is a non-profit organization established in September 2019 and consists of representatives from Northeast Florida Counties including Nassau, Duval, Baker, Clay and St. Johns Counties. For information about organization, please visit their website.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

2/12/20 @ 11:30 a.m. - The Flood Outreach Event originally scheduled for Thursday, February 6 was cancelled due to inclement weather. That event has been rescheduled to Wednesday, February 19th at 6:00 p.m. Please see the Press Release below for additional information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Adrienne Burke
Director, PEO Department
(904) 530-6300
aburke@nassaucountyfl.com
 
COUNTY HOSTS FLOOD OUTREACH EVENTS IN FEBRUARY
 
Nassau County, Florida, February 12, 2020 - Rescheduled Flood Outreach Event on February 19, 2020 in Hilliard.
 
Please join the County to learn more about: 

• Results from the County's Vulnerability Assessment looking at flood and sea level rise risk on Amelia Island and West of I-95 (north of SR200/301)
• Floodplain management
• Protection strategies for flooding
• Flood zones and flood insurance

 
And we want to hear from you! Tell us about areas that you know flood or changes you have seen over time in Nassau County regarding flooding.

February 19, 2020 | 6-7:30PM
Hilliard Library
15821 County Road 108
Hilliard

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection awarded Nassau County a second Resilience Planning Grant to conduct a Vulnerability Assessment for the remainder of Nassau County. The first grant, awarded in 2018, looked at the Yulee and Callahan areas. The County selected the Balmoral Group to assist with the assessment, and they will be on hand at the outreach events to talk about their findings.
 
The two areas studied in this second phase are: 1) Amelia Island and 2) west of I-95 and north of A1A/SR 200/301. After completion of this phase, assessment of the entire County’s vulnerabilities will be complete. This assessment will help Nassau County be better prepared in planning for flood risk and changes in sea level, which is especially important as the community is expected to grow.
 
More information is available at: www.nassaucountyfl.com/vulnerabilityassessment and www.nassaucountyfl.com/floods
 
The Nassau County Planning and Economic Opportunity Department is charged with leading long-range and current planning for the community, with a focus on technical planning, implementation and management of the Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan, development and site plan review, and assistance to citizens, the Board of County Commissioners, County Manager and other staff, advisory boards, government agencies, and the private sector regarding growth and development in Nassau County. For more information on our Plan, Code, or current initiatives, visit www.nassaucountyfl.com/planning, call (904) 530-6300 or email planninginfo@nassaucountyfl.com.

2/11/20 @ 3:18 p.m.- U.S. Water Services Corporation and Nassau Amelia Utilities will be making repairs to a manhole on Amelia Island Parkway between Almalfi Drive and Ocean Village Avenue which will require a road closure from February 24- February 28, 2020.

Signage will be placed in the vicinity on February 17th to notify residents in the area.

We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. Should you have any questions, please contact Nassau Amelia Utilities at (904) 530-6450.

2/11/ @ 11:00 a.m. - The Nassau County Extension Office is seeking volunteers to assist with two upcoming events.


Living Shoreline Citizen Science Monitoring
Tuesday, February 18th from 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. OR
Sunday, February 23rd from 2:30-5:00 p.m.
Goffinsville Park, Nassauvville

Event Description
In April, Florida Master Naturalist students and community volunteers deployed CORE (Community Oyster Reef Enhancement) modules at Goffinsville Park. These CORE modules help oysters recruit and provide habitat for crabs and fish. Overtime they help stabilize the shoreline and protect our coastlines.
Now that they've had a few months to grow, we're going to take a look at the progress. Join us for a short session about the Goffinsville Demonstration Living Shoreline being built and learn more about the science behind monitoring the health of this living shoreline.
Please wear shoes you don't mind getting muddy or wet. Bring water, hat, sunscreen and a positive attitude!

Register Here


Oyster Reef Ball Deployment
Friday, March 6, 2020 from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Goffinsville Park, Nassauville


Event Description:
Join UF and Nassau Extension Staff in deploying the second oyster reef material for the Goffinsville Demonstration Living Shoreline. These oyster reef balls will provide a habitat for oysters, crabs, fish and other marine animals to utilize. They will also reduce erosion and provide stability for the shoreline. We're looking for strong volunteers because these oyster reef balls are 50 pounds each! We'll be placing 20 out along the shoreline of Goffinsville Park.
Sign up to learn more about this local project, some ecology of our estuaries and how you can get involved with the citizen science monitoring.
Thank you to the University of North Florida Environmental Center for sponsoring this project.

Register Here

If you have any questions, please contact Justina Dacey at (904) 530-6350 or via email at jdacey@ufl.edu.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

2/10/20 @ 11:40 a.m. - The Fernandina Beach Branch Library participated in the National African American Read-In on Monday, Feb. 3rd. The National Read-In is the nation’s first and oldest event dedicated to diversity in literature. It was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month. This initiative has reached more than 6 million participants around the world.

This year the readers selected  favorite quotes, speeches, poems, historical facts, their own original writings and fiction selections.

Pictured in the photo are:
Front Row from left to right: Joyce Frink, Denise Dinkens, Nanette Autry, Beverly Lawrence Franklin. Second Row: Mike Kegler, Marsha Phelts, Len Kreger, Vice Mayor; Dale Martin, City Manager; Chip Ross, City Commissioner, Chuck Comeau, Friends of the Library;
Ron Kurtz, Neil Frink, Program Host.  Back Row: Michael Lednovich, City Commissioner; Tammi Bach, City Attorney, and Gary Autry.

Not pictured: Veronica Martin.  

2/10/20 @ 9:30 a.m. - Below are public meetings scheduled for this week:

Board of County Commissioners
Monday, February 10, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Development Review Committee
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Code Enforcement Board
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Essential Housing Advisory Committee Meeting
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at 4:00 p.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Agendas can be located on our website.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office