Numerous riverfront projects and a renovation of Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach will most likely require city voters to pass a bond issue of at least $30 million was the consensus reached by city commissioners Tuesday.
The commission, meeting as the executive board of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board (CRAAB), discussed a list of riverfront area related projects presented to them by CRAAB members.
They include:
$18 million to $20 million to complete the flood protection wall from the Atlantic Seafood building north to the city owned land at Front and Alachua Streets.
The demolition of Brett's Waterway Cafe, a city owned building, and what might be built in its place. Demolition in 2026 is expected to cost around $1.5 million.
Demolition of the existing Atlantic Seafood building to make way to build that section of the flood protection wall. A new Atlantic Seafood building would be constructed at the same location by a local restaurateur.
The renovation of the Historic Downtown including new sidewalks, trees and lighting.
"I'm in favor of a bond. I think the city has done, to a certain degree, everything they need to do to go and ask for a bond besides having the pretty pictures. We've gotten to that point," Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue said.
Commissioner Tim Poynter agreed and said "the only way we're going to get things done is with a bond. This community has let things go for too long and it's going to take some dollars to bring this stuff back up and that's the only way we're going to be able to do it."
While commissioners agreed on pursuing a bond package, they expressed concerns about project prioritization and voter communication.
"Bonds have to campaigned and have to be managed with the appropriate story that goes out to the community. It has to be planned and thought out properly," said Commissioner Genece Minshew. "The priorities are the seawall and (downtown) revitalization. I think we really need to take a serious, hard look at it (a bond)."
In early 2023, the previous commission held a visioning session that generated the goal of having a bond referendum before voters by the fall of that year. Bond representatives attended the meeting. But the appetite for the bond waned and nothing was ever done to put a bond on subsequent election ballots.
Commissioner Joyce Tuten supported going forward with a bond proposal and cautioned, "I keep thinking we won't find the money for the resiliency wall until it's too late and we're hit by the big hurricane and a significant amount of the historic downtown is really damaged then we'll say 'yeah, we should get that money." Let's sell it, let's tell the story right and let's figure out how we're going to put a resiliency wall up and protect one of our most important assets."
There was consensus that Brett's Waterway Cafe was a standalone project. Demolition of the building and what is built in its place would not be part of bond funding. The lease for Brett's Waterway Cafe expires on Dec. 31.
Mayor James Antun told commissioners that city staff needed direction on what would replace the Brett's building "we need to be proactive sooner rather than later."
Antun favored having two or three proposals for the space in place to present to residents.
"Community engagement may be one you want to hold a town hall for," Ayscue said. "That particular discussion is probably going to be...rancid is probably the easiest way to say that. It's just a lot of people being upset that Brett's is going away, that it's not going away or something else is going in there. I only think an airing of grievances is going to be able to happen in a town hall fashion like bioethanol."
City Clerk Caroline Best told commissioners a town hall could be scheduled before the next executive session of CRAAB which is in April.
"Before we go out to a town hall meeting, I think we need to have some parameters set," Poynter said. "Brett's, parking lot A & B, resiliency wall, Atlantic Seafood and the boat ramp are absolutely all tied together. We can't do one thing, without looking at the entire piece. We can't tear down Brett's until we have a good understanding of what's going back there and to make sure we can put something down there. If we drag our feet on that and the corps (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) says 'it's been too long, we're not going to let you build back over the water.' I think some of this is a little premature, for us to get a better understanding of what we're talking about.....there's a lot of moving parts there."
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