Posts tagged HNTB

St. Augustine Mobility Institute offers community an avenue for input
Unique week-long workshop starts Monday, September 17

Moving to and through St. Augustine, whether in a personal or commercial vehicle, is a challenge. The city’s compact historical district’s small, narrow streets draw millions each year, and when volume meets capacity, there can be gridlock.

In recent years there have been many studies by governmental and private entities evaluating the existing traffic systems and proposing ways to increase the ease of moving around St. Augustine. Some studies focused just on street use, others on pedestrians and bicycles, still others on light rail and shuttle services, but there has not been one with the complete, overall view that is likely to result from the St. Augustine Mobility Institute.

Running September 17- 21, the Institute is a week long intensive effort to learn about mobility challenges along the city’s three entrance corridors – King Street, San Marco Avenue, and Anastasia Boulevard – and by week’s end propose solutions based on input from a series of public workshops.

The Institute, a partnership between the City of St. Augustine and the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization,(NFTPO) will be managed by the engineering consultation firm of HNTB. It was City Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline who, as a member of the NFTPO, became aware of the program and with the help of the city’s Planning and Building Department was able to secure an allocation of $125,000 to cover the cost of the study.

For complete details and a schedule of the corridor, neighborhood meetings, read St. Augustine Mobility Institute set for September 17-21 on the city’s web site.

Mobility Institute among topics on this week’s The Break Room

When Jenny Wolfe, the city’s Historic Preservation and Special Projects Planner stopped by The Break Room this week and took time to discuss with host Paul K. Williamson, her responsibilities as well as next week’s St. Augustine Mobility Institute.

Each week the friendly and informative style of The Break Room offers the community an opportunity to know a little more about how their city works by getting to know those who do the work every day. The Break Roomairs Wednesdays at 5:30pm and Saturdays at 8:00am, and each program is archived at www.breakroom.info as podcasts available for download anytime. To listen to this week’s program immediately, click here.

South Castillo Drive resurfacing set for Saturday night

Project scheduled for 10:00pm Saturday through 7:00am Sunday

The two northbound lanes of South Castillo Drive/SR A1A, will be closed one lane at a time for resurfacing operations starting at 10:00pm Saturday, September 15 and ending before 7:00am, Sunday, September 16. The limit of the paving operations will be from Cuna Street north to Orange Street.

During the work period the parking lot in front of Castillo de San Marcos will be closed. The signalized pedestrian crossings at Fort Alley and Cuna Street will also be closed. Pedestrians will be diverted north to the signalized crosswalk at West Castillo and south of Cuna Street to the two un-signalized crosswalks serving the bay front area. No horse carriages will be allowed in either direction on South Castillo Drive/SR A1A between Cuna Street and Orange Street.

For more information, call the Alan Rainer, Landmark Engineering, at 904.654.5919.

Next step in city’s budget process: Public Hearing # 2

The first of two public hearings on the 2012-2013 City of St. Augustine budget was held on Thursday, September 6. The second one is scheduled for next Thursday, September 20, starting at 5:05pm in The Alcazar Room at City Hall, 75 King St. The 2012-2013 budget goes into effect with the start of the fiscal year on October 1.

In preparation for the budget workshop held on August 16, staff prepared a workbook for commissioners with a budget summary of each of the funds on which the city relies for operations. To view the workbook, click here.

Additional budget information was made available to the Commission with a staff developed presentation. To see the presentation, click here.

More recycling will Make St. Augustine Cleaner & Greener
Watch for new additional recycle bin arriving week of September 24

If, as a resident of St. Augustine, you recycle, chances are you are not recycling as much material as you could. Most everyone is certain they can place newspapers, glass and cans in their recycling bin, but those are just a few of the items welcomed.

The city and its contractor, Advanced Disposal, are launching the Make St. Augustine Cleaner & Greenercampaign to encourage residents to recycle and thus increase the amount of recycled material collected. But, with increased recycling comes the need for increased capacity, so a second bin is being provided, free of charge, to every one of the city’s more than 4,600 customers. Bins currently used throughout the city are 18-gallon capacity, as will be the additional one. The new bins will be delivered the week of September 24-28.

For an up to date list of what is and what is not accepted for recycling, and a map illustrating the collection schedule, visit www.StAugRecycle.info, and watch for your additional recycle bin the last week of September.

September issue of 450th Commemoration newsletter a must read
Available free of charge, the e-newsletter is rich with news and links to resourses

The September issue of the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration newsletter is out and is a must read for anyone wanting to know anything about current activities, plans for future events, and how to be a part of all of it. Included in this issue are details on: the Spanish Wine & Food Festival coming to St. Augustine October 3-6, THE STORY of US Contest which is now in its final voting stages, the Viva Florida 500 Statewide Summit & Joint Meeting with St. Augustine 450th Commemoration, news about volunteers and much more.

To see the newsletter immediately, click here. For more information on the commemoration, visit its web site atwww.staugustine-450.com and then to be sure not to miss a single bit of news, have your name added as a subscriber by sending an email to jzuberer@citystaug.com.

Dredging of St. Augustine Inlet flood shoal underway
Sand to be relocated to beach in Anastasia Island State Park

Dredging has begun on a $2.3 million project in the St. Augustine Inlet that when completed will have removed approximately 162,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand from the flood shoal just north and south of the Vilano Bridge.

Set to be completed by November 1, the every four-to-five year project will remove sand to a depth of 12 feet and relocate it to the beach in Anastasia State Park via a submerged pipeline the length of Salt Run. The project, funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Inland Navigation District, was awarded to Southwind Construction Corps.

Installation of the 24-inch pipeline was completed last week and dredging started September 10 and will continue until October 15. Demobilization will take two weeks and the project will be completed by November 1.
The pipeline was placed as close to the eastern side of Salt Run as possible and includes two booster pump barges, one anchored at the north end of Salt Run, and the second barge located near the Lighthouse Park boat ramp. In order to complete the project within the aggressive schedule, the booster pumps aree allowed to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For more information, contact the city’s General Services Department at 904.825.1010.

Interested in Florida’s 500th & St. Augustine’s 450th?
Then save the date: Monday, October 1

Two lead organizations working on two very significant upcoming commemorations will meet together in St. Augustine to advance the planning for both events.

Viva Florida 500 will hold a statewide summit in preparation for the 500th anniversary of the founding of Florida by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513 jointly with the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration on October 1.

Secretary of State Ken Detzner, Department of State representatives, and representatives from the Governor’s Office are scheduled to attend. Also attending will be the Consul Generals of Spain, Britain and France and members of the 450th Commemoration Federal Commission, including Chairman Jay Kislak and Ambassador Andrew Young.

The program will feature a morning session with officials and dignitaries speaking, and an afternoon educational forum with speakers from Visit Florida, Florida universities, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection/Division of Recreation and Parks, and other organizations, all designed to assist organizations in the development and marketing of its 500th and 450th event.

The community is encouraged to attend this unique opportunity to be on the front seat of some very exciting planning and idea sharing. All sessions will be held at Flagler College’s Lewis Auditorium from 10:00am until 3:00pm with a break for lunch. or more information, call the 450th Commemoration office at 904.825.1053.

Opportunity to serve: Code Enforcement, Adjustments & Appeals Board

The City Commission is accepting applications to fill vacancies on the Code Enforcement, Adjustments & Appeals Board. Interested individuals who reside within the city limits of the City of St. Augustine are invited to submit applications for this volunteer board. Applications are requested by Friday, November 30 with appointments tentatively scheduled for the City Commission meeting of Monday, December 10. For information concerning qualifications and applications please contact the City Clerk’s office at 825-1007. The application form is available on the city’s web site by clicking here.

Not too early to Get Ready to Vote!
The one-stop site for every voter is www.votesjc.com

With the national political conventions over, many might wish they could vote this week, but while Election Day is not upon us, it’s close. That’s why St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes reminds voters that even though you can’t vote today, today is a good time to Get Ready to Vote!

More than just candidates

The November ballot will be long. There are 11 constitutional amendments, and for the first time the ballot will be a two-page, double-sided ballot. Information on the amendments is available by visiting the Supervisor of Elections website see and print the amendments for easy study. The Elections Office also suggests this site for even more amendment info.

Am I registered?

“Am I registered to vote? Is my voter information correct? Where do I vote?” Voters who are uncertain of the answers to any of these questions, should visit the Supervisor of Elections website and click on “Voter Lookup” to verify your record or call the Elections Office at 904.823.2238.

As a reminder – October 9th is the last day to register to vote for the General Election. Voter registration applications are available on the website. You must print out the application, sign and mail to the office. Applications must be postmarked by October 9th if you wish to vote in the General Election. You can also register to vote at any Driver’s License Office and any Public Library.

Lines at the Polls. Vote your 2 page ballot by mail

Since General Election ballots will be very long, some voters may find use of an absentee ballot preferable to going to the polls on Election Day. It’s important to note that absentee ballots ARE NOT forwardable, so the ballot will be returned to the Elections Office as undeliverable if your address on file is not current. All voted ballots must be received in the Supervisor of Elections Office no later than 7:00pm on Election Day. To request an absentee ballot, available to all registered voters, contact the Supervisor of Elections Office.

Agendas

Historic Architectural Review Board meets on September 20. The agenda is here.

City Commission meets on September 24. When available the agenda will be here.

Planning and Zoning Board meets on October 2. The agenda is available here.

Budget public hearings

The first of two budget public hearings was held on Thursday, September 6. The second one is scheduled forThursday, September 20 at 5:05pm. When available, the agenda will be here.

All agenda, minutes and GTV info

Agendas and minutes for all city meetings can be found at www.staugustinegovernment.com with a schedule of upcoming meetings listed under City Calendar. City Commission meetings are broadcast live via GTV (Comcast Channel 3 in St. Augustine) each second and fourth Monday at 5:00pm. Commission meetings are also recorded and rebroadcast as are Planning and Zoning Board and Historic Architectural Review Board meetings. For a current schedule of all programming on GTV, click here.

Source: City of St. Augustine