8/15/19 @ 4:00 p.m. - Nassau County Fire Rescue applied for and has been awarded the Hoods to Heroes Grant valued at $15,625. This grant will provide protective hoods to our first responders to protect against cancer causing carcinogens. The foundation will present the hoods at a special ceremony being held on Friday, August 23, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. at Fire Rescue Headquarters located at 96160 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL. The public is invited to attend.

If you have any questions, please contact Fire/Rescue at (904) 530-6600.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Contact:
Sabrina Robertson
Administrative Manager, County Manager’s Office
(904) 530-6010
srobertson@nassaucountyfl.com
 
UPCOMING MEETINGS OF BEACH COMMUNITY WORKING GROUP
 
Nassau County, Florida, August 12, 2019 - On December 19, 2018, the Board of County Commissioners formed a Beach Community Working Group consisting of Mike Mullin, County Manager/County Attorney; Taco Pope, Assistant County Manager; Doug Podiak, Facilities Maintenance Director; Gil Langley, Executive Director of the Tourist Development Council; Butch Osborne, Director of Operations for the Sheriff’s Office; Mac Morriss, Ex-Officio Member; and Lowell Hall, Ex-Officio Member.
 
The group was directed to review current beach related Ordinances and use of the beach and to make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners as to any updates or amendments that need to be made. A total of seven (7) meetings have been held to date.
 
At the June 19, 2019 meeting, the Committee adopted guiding principles and goals which are being used for preparing their recommendation to be presented to the Board of County Commissioners at a future time. Those were discussed in great detail at meetings held on July 15, July 24, and August 1, 2019.
 
A facilitator is organizing all the goals and developing both short term and long term strategies on how to address the issues that have been brought forth. He will also be reviewing all of the current beach related Ordinances and combining them into one all- inclusive Ordinance.
 
Upcoming meeting dates are as follows:
 

• Wednesday, August 14th from 9:00 a.m. – noon
• Thursday, August 15th from 9:00 a.m. – noon (time may be extended into the afternoon if needed at the discretion of the Chairman)
• Thursday, August 22nd from 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

 
All meetings will take place in the Commission Chambers located at 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097 (James Page Governmental Complex). The public is invited to attend and participate. Additional meetings may be added in the future.
 
Agendas and meeting minutes of the Beach Community Working Group can be located on our website.


 
 
 

Below are public meetings scheduled for this week: 

Board of County Commissioners
Monday, August 12, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Development Review Committee
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Ask the County Manager
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Code Enforcement Board
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 6:30 p.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Beach Community Working Group 
Wednesday, August 14th from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. AND
Thursday, August 15th from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (with additional time if needed)
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Agendas can be located on our website. 

-Sabrina Robertson
​ County Manager's Office

8/7/19 @ 10:15 a.m.

The FWC Gopher Tortoise Conservation Program will be conducting a Recipient Site and Habitat Management Incentive Workshop at Huguenot Memorial Park in Jacksonville, FL on Monday, August 12 from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm. The workshop will consist of a short, 30-minute presentation, followed by a tour of the park. The goal of these workshops is to encourage participation in gopher tortoise conservation at the local level by providing information on opportunities to generate revenue through gopher tortoise recipient sites. In addition, the FWC will discuss financial incentives available to local governments and private landowners for habitat management.
 
The presentation will include information on recipient site permitting options, minimum acceptable habitat criteria, and the financial benefits of establishing a gopher tortoise recipient site. Following the presentation, attendees will tour the park to discuss habitat management history and incentive programs for habitat management which can be utilized to meet the minimum habitat criteria required to establish a gopher tortoise recipient site. Attendees will also have the opportunity to see the inside of a gopher tortoise burrow, as we will be scoping burrows we find along the way with a burrow camera.
 
Registration for this workshop is free. If you are interested in attending, please register for the workshop by Friday, August 9th, 2019.
 
To register for the workshop, please click on the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gopher-tortoise-recipient-site-and-habitat-management-incentive-workshop-tickets-66600549035. Please feel free to pass this information along to those who may be interested in attending.


 

8/5/19 @ 4:50 p.m. - According to the attached Memorandum from Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, President Donald Trump has issued a national directive for all flags to be lowered at half-staff in honor and remembrance of the victims of the senseless acts of violence in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. All flags will remain at half-staff through sunset on Thursday, August 8, 2019. 

-Sabrina Robertson
​ County Manager's Office

8/5/19 @ 8:30 a.m. - Below are public meetings scheduled for this week:

Development Review Committee
Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Planning & Zoning Board
Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
Commission Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097

Agendas can be located on our website.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

8/2/19 @ 1:27 p.m. - On July 30, 2019 a community meeting was held to provide information, discuss construction schedule options, and present plans for improvements to Pages Dairy Road.  After brief introductions, staff provided a presentation covering the project goals, history, future plans, and schedule impacts for the Pages Dairy Road Widening and Resurfacing project. (A copy of this presentation is here for anyone interested in reviewing it). At the conclusion of the presentation many options for construction scheduling were discussed including the following:

• Day work beginning after completion of the FDOT improvements to SR 200.
• Night work beginning in January 2020, with lanes reopening to traffic during the daytime.  Residents were informed of the construction noise, lighting, and vibrations they would experience if night work was pursued.
• Continuous shift work to complete the project as soon as possible.

 
After discussion the community consensus preferred pursuing the project as nighttime work, allowing for completion of the project sooner while also addressing the traffic concerns during the daytime hours.
 
The community also provided comments regarding existing drainage issues they hoped would be addressed with this project.  Engineers with the County and with the design firm Connelly & Wicker will meet with the concerned residents to discuss the drainage issues raised.
 
The FDOT project for 2021-2022 to replace the Lofton Creek Bridge was a major topic of discussion revolving around the proposed elevation of the new bridge and its ability to provide safe passage during major flood events, as well as the clearance under the bridge for boats and kayaks. The latest round of FDOT bridge plans show the bridge will be constructed at the same elevation and have the same clearance as the existing bridge structure. FDOT had the following response to our inquiry:
 
 “The bridge profile and drift clearances were thoroughly investigated during the PD&E Phase.  We evaluated raising the profile 3.5’ to achieve the required clearance.  We determined this is not a feasible option since it would significantly increase the project limits, R/W requirements, environmental impacts, and construction cost. This was well documented in the Bridge Development Report and the Design Variation prepared for the drift clearance. “ 
 
Finally, the load rating for the existing bridge and the proposed bridge was discussed, along with safety and maintenance concerns regarding large trucks utilizing Pages Dairy Road for access. FDOT had the following response to our inquiries regarding load ratings:
 
“The existing bridge is rated up to 45.2 tons (HS 20 vehicle).  Our records show this bridge did have weight limit signs posted previously.  The bridge posting requirements were lifted based on a load rating performed in 1996 .  We assume the County subsequently removed the signs when the new load rating confirmed the posting limits were no longer required.”
 
“The proposed bridge is rated up to 95.5 tons (FL 120 vehicle) and will support all design, legal and permit vehicles as defined in the FDOT Load Rating Manual.”
 
With this information from FDOT, it is clear the existing users of the roadway will be able to continue to use the roadway, including larger vehicles.  When construction on SR 200 is complete, the number of larger vehicles using Pages Dairy as a bypass should be greatly diminished.

If you have any questions, please contact Robert Companion at (904) 530-6225 or via email at rcompanion@nassaucountyfl.com.

8/2/19 @ 9:15 a.m. - The 2019 Back to School Sales Tax Holiday begins today and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, August 6th. During this period, Florida law directs that no sales tax or local option tax will be collected on purchases of:

- Clothing, footwear and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item
- Certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item
- Personal computers and certain computer-related accessories selling for $1,000 or less per item

For more information and a list of qualifying items, please click here to be redirected to the Florida Department of Revenue's website.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

UPDATED August 12, 2019 at 4:20 p.m. - FDOT has indicated they are delaying the CR 121 erosion repairs until the railroad closures implemented by CSX have been completed. We will post the new date for work to commence once that information is received from FDOT.


8/1/19 @ 12:45 p.m. - The Florida Department of Transportation has scheduled erosion repair work on County Road 121/Baldwin and Saint George Road between Carroll Corner Road and Turkey Trot Trail. The work was originally scheduled to begin August 1st but has been pushed back to August 12th. 

Detours will be necessary to repair a bridge culvert damaged by erosion. 

The detour will take northbound and southbound drivers on County Road 121 to U.S. 301 via County Road 108 and Henry Smith Road. Electronic message boards will be placed on County Road 121. Motorists are encouraged to use the Florida 511 app to plan ahead.  

CDM Contracting, Inc., is projected to complete the $387,000 repair project by late 2019, weather and schedule permitting. For questions, please contact Bianca Speights with FDOT at (904) 360-5471 or via email at bianca.speights@dot.state.fl.us. 

-Sabrina Robertson
​ County Manager's Office

​

8/1/19 @ 9:45 a.m. - On Saturday, July 20th, Nassau County Solid Waste held their annual Tire Waste Amnesty Event in which Nassau County residents could dispose of up to 12 tires at no charge. A total of 611 tires were collected during the four hour event. 

A big thank you to all the employees and volunteers who worked during the event, as well as to the residents who participated. We commend each of you for doing your part to dispose of these tires properly and reducing their environmental impact. 

-Sabrina Robertson
​ County Manager's Office