5/6/07 Fiddler's Green held a great Farewell Party on May 6th. Here are some pictures I took that I made into a DVD. Let me know if you'd like a copy of it and I can mail you one. Click here to view video.
3/6/07 The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-0 for agree to accept the FCT grant and move forward towards the purchase of Fiddler's Green for an oceanfront park. There was a tremendous turnout. Thanks to all that came and e-mailed and called the commissioners. Your support made the difference!
3/4/07 Here's a copy of the letter of support that was sent from the Friends of A1A to all the County Commissioners
Click Here to View Letter of Support
Please come one, come all this Tuesday, March 6, 2007 to help preserve Fiddler's Green as an oceanfront park. The current commissioners want to slow growth, well here is a great opportunity for them to do just that. If they don't buy the property at 25% of its value as being offered to them (the state pays the other 75%), it will become condos. It is agenda item #4 so it should be heard in the morning. I'm guessing around 9:45 or 10 a.m. Please speak out. Here's more info that has been circulating:
The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners will vote on a key land acquisition grant on MARCH 6, 2007:
Issue – Should the County accept a land acquisition grant in the amount of up to $4.16 million from the Florida Communities Trust for 75% of the purchase price for the Fiddlers Green Restaurant Property to make it a Park – or lose the property to Condo developers.
§ This is a one time opportunity with a final decision date of 3/6/2007
§ Three quarters of the funding has been committed by the State of Florida and will not impact taxes
§ A yes on the vote will allow the county to have the legacy of a high quality park for the public and area visitors forever
Email County Commissioners – www.co.st-johns.fl.us > County Commission
Show up and be heard:
Where: St Johns County Commission Auditorium
When: Tuesday - March 6, 2007
Who: Public invited in full force to show the need for a Park NOT Condos
ST. JOHNS COUNTY OCEANFRONT PROPERTY
…. would you choose to have …..
A COUNTY PARK FOREVER - or - CONDOMINIUMS
! ! ! Only Concerned Citizens Can Save This Property ! ! !
One Time Opportunity to Save Fiddler’s Green Property for Public Use
à Before, and On, Tuesday, March 6, 2007
~~ Contact St. Johns County Commissioners ~~
Speak Up ~~ Call, Write, Email PLUS Help Fill the County Auditorium
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- 75% of Purchase Price of this 1.7 acre parcel will be paid for by a Florida Communities Trust (FCT) Florida Forever Program Grant. Up to $4.16 million. If purchase is not made by St. Johns County, this funding will default to another Florida County.
- Ask Commissioners AT LEAST to do the Due Diligence – Appraisals and Environmental Study – to determine the actual purchase price -- and then to investigate any and all creative means to finance 25% of the purchase price.
- This Project received a maximum Ten Excellence Points at the FCT presentation by a group of citizens, county staff and property owners in Tallahassee.
- County 2006 Contract to Purchase and FCT Grant expires shortly.
- This is a Florida Heritage Site. The historical marker tells the story of the Vilano Beach Casino on this site from 1926 to 1939. It has an historic building with unique architecture that has been there for 39 years.
- Management Plan for this site includes use as a community center, museum, cultural and educational programs, sea turtle patrol, use as a lifeguard HQ, experimental natural seaside garden, sports venue, special events.
- If this grant is refused and new condos are built, the County would lose beach parking to the high tide line along the oceanfront for DEP required re-vegetation, blocking current beach parking roadway and restricting vehicle access to lifeguard stations.
- As condos, these buildings would tower over adjacent county park and public pavilion and block river to sea view of the ocean.
- This beach concerns everyone in our County , And it is adjacent to the State and Federally designated A1A Scenic Byway.
- Near the St. Augustine Inlet, It now provides the site for National Skim Boarding Championships, Easter Sunrise Service, sea turtle nesting.
- Don’t let this go the way of the lost oceanfront Fleeman and London Tracts.
Board of County Commission mailing address 4020 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, FL 32084,
Phone: 209-0300, Fax: 209-0310. Go to County web page: www.co.st-johns.fl.us, then Board of County Commission for a send-to link or individually to bccd1@co.st-johns.fl.us, and bccd2@, bccd3@, bccd4@, bccd5@. Check the BCC Agenda for March 6 on March 5 for item number, check Government Channel 3, bring a book to read until item addressed..
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
2/13/07: Scott Singleton reported last night at the North Shores Improvement Association's meeting that there is not a need for a meeting on February 20th as reported below. The DEP is in the process of approving the permit which should be done by March 13th. The county's due diligence ends April 19th and closing should be May 19, 2007. The contract will be extended as necessary based on the status of receiving an appraisal. It was reiterated last night that the state of Florida will pay 75% of the purchase price based on a purchase price of $5,500,000.
1/26/07: Meeting with Board of County Commissioners on February 20th to ask for an extension of the due diligence period in order to get DEP permit to get true value of property for appraisal purposes.
12/18/06: I spoke with the owners of Fiddlers Green. Things are still moving along nicely awaiting the DEP permit. There will be an update from the county on 1/23/07.
My previous notes were:
Fiddler's pulled the request for variances from the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting. The county is hiring an appraiser once the DEP permit gets issued. Then this will be presented to the BCC and a vote taken. The contract is through March 2007.
Florida Communities Trust (FCT) has funded 75% of the purchase price of Fiddler's Green for an oceanfront park. A group of citizens went to Tallahassee on September 14th to support this request. It ranked 15th on the list for the entire state! Great job!
It's called Vilano Beach Oceanfront Park #15 on the attached list.
http://www.floridacommunitydevelopment.org/fct/documents/Cycle06FundingStatusReport.pdf
A DEP permit is still needed before the appraisal can be completed. The appraisal must be completed before it gets put on the BCC agenda for the BCC to approve the contract to purchase. As I understand it, the purchase price is $5,550,000 with FCT paying $4,162,500 and St. Johns County paying $1,387,500. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for the county to acquire 1.7 acres of oceanfront to be protected and provided for the public.
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