? by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
About 30 Realtors and affiliates attended the Amelia Island-Greater Nassau County Association of Realtors meeting held at the board office last month to hear Fernandina Beach Mayor Joe Gerrity speak.
Gerrity fielded questions from the Realtors on several issues facing Fernandina Beach.
“When I was called to speak here, I was told I could talk about trash,” said Gerrity. “I asked that sanitation be reviewed in January. We sent our requests for proposals out to five different waste companies and we gave the city equal opportunity. What happened was that the equipment that the city has been driving around need to be replaced. We need about $900,000 to $1 million worth of reinvestment in equipment in the next 15-24 months. So, as the process went on it became very apparent that if we were going to maintain the level of service to the city by using city employees to pick up trash we were going to have to increase the amount you pay considerably. You pay about $14.35 a month now and it would have to go up to about $20-25 a month for about an 18-month period until we are able to reinvest and recover and then the price would settle down around $20.”
The city decided to accept one of the proposals that came in from Waste Management instead.
“The rate to pick up your trash and the level of service won’t change,” said Gerrity. “As a matter of fact, it will increase because instead of picking up yard waste up every two weeks, they will pick it up each week. Recycling will improve dramatically. They will start picking up plastic and tin cans at the curbside. We will still also stick with the two-day-a-week pick up. Rate payers will also save about $5-6 a month and have an increased level of service. That is why at this time, I have decided the city should privatize its sanitation.”
Other issues the mayor addressed included why there are no restrooms at the new park on Sadler Road and the new three-hour parking spots on 4th and 5th Street along Centre Street downtown.
Gerrity explained that restrooms at the park were in the original plans, but were voted against in the final plan. But, he said there is still a place for restrooms to be constructed in the future if they decide to put them in.
The parking spot limits were set to keep visitors from the city from leaving their cars for an extended time.
“The recommendation came from the Downtown Business Association which is very heavily influenced by the shop owners,” said Gerrity.
It seems many Realtors who work on Centre Street have received tickets for parking their car for more than three hours in the three hour limited spots available.
They asked the mayor if he could look into a parking pass for people who work in the area to pay a one-time fee to be able to park in those spots and not be ticketed.
Gerrity pointed out some alternate parking suggestions including a lot behind McCains and a new lot behind City Hall. “You can’t please all the people all the time,” he said.