by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
New officers and a new vision for Nassau County were the topics at last month’s meeting of the Amelia Island/Nassau County Association of Realtors at the Golf Club of Amelia.
Regina Duncan of the Amelia Island-Fernandina Beach-Yulee Chamber of Commerce discussed the ins and outs of the Nassau County Vision, which would create a plan for the future for the county.
And Tina Scrudato of Century 21 John T. Ferreira & Son was elected the 2008 president along with other new officers and board members.
Topics the vision includes are recreational open space, cultural opportunities, the environment, public safety, tourism, economy and workforce housing, planning of schools, role of government, healthcare, roads and growth management.
“We went back and forth,” Duncan said. “Do we make this a private endeavor or a public and private partnership? We really felt like to make this happen we needed to have a government and private citizen and business partnership. So that is what you see today. You see a product that was partly funded by the county and partly funded by business community and the Chamber.”
They wrote a request for proposal, hired a facilitator and started a steering committee made up of 17 people (seven from the island area and 10 from I-95 and east) in October.
“That was very planned to make sure we represent all of the geographic areas,” said Duncan.
There will be eight public meetings on the vision.
But, if the Hometown Democracy, a ballot initiative that says any land use changes would have to go before the voters, is approved, it will make the vision practically void.
“We need to be talking in our community that this (Hometown Democracy) isn’t the way to go,” said Duncan. “We are going through a visionary process and we don’t need the voters deciding what we do with our land. There are people that are knowledgeable in that area and we have a plan in place. It will just about diminish all of the growth opportunities that we have here.”
In addition to Scrudato, the new officers are Sam Kellum of Watson Realty, president-elect, and Dean Miller of Century 21 John T. Ferreira & Son, secretary/treasurer.
Directors will be Tammie Fowler of Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty, Lila Keim of Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty, Juliana Miller of Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty, Susan Gibson of prudential Chaplin Williams, Ken Bridges of Florida Coastal Amelia Island Realty and Pam Troxel of Coldwell Banker Jasinsky and Associates.