John Foley, the General Manager of Seaboard, called me this afternoon to inform me that garbage pickup for the South Ponte Vedra area will be moved to Mondays starting May 25th, 2009. They will mail a letter to the impacted residents and also place information on their front door to alert them to this change. Recycling and yard trash pickups remain on Wednesday. This change impacts properties from 3rd Street (the castle and the way to Cap's) north.

This is a welcomed change and one that Friends of A1A championed. The residents on A1A in S. Ponte Vedra have complained for years about trash blowing on A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway as garbage pick up has been on Thursday. As there are many vacation rentals in the area, many didn't put their trash out until Saturday or Sunday when they were leaving and the trash would sit out for days. An active letter writing campaign by the residents was beneficial to this requested change.

We thank John Foley and Seaboard for their willingness to work with the residents and listen to their concerns to make this happen.

March 9,  7 p.m.

NSIA FORUM -- NEW LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION REGULATIONS

Board Members of Neighborhood Associations Should Attend & Homeowners with Automatic Irrigation Systems

At the North Shores Community Center, 120 Meadow Avenue

Directions to NSIA community building: From the Usina (Vilano Bridge) travel north less than a miles to a left onto Meadow Avenue (just north of Surfside Park). The community center is located on the right (north side) of Meadow Avenue in the second block off of Coastal Highway (A1A).

New rules in the St. Johns River Water Management District will change how homeowners and commercial properties water their lawns and landscapes to save our water supply. New 2008 Statewide Fertilizer Regulations and New Stormwater Runoff Regulations that will be coming  in June 2010 will also be discussed.  Speakers are Joe Sewards, Multi-County Horticulture Agent, and John Kordic, Florida Landscape & Nursery, who has developed a new drip irrigation system for Turtle Shores.  They will be able to answer other landscape questions as well.  Joe runs the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program ("Right Plant, Right Place") and is developing Low Impact Landscape Techniques at the Ag Center near the Wind Mitigation building. 

Here's a press release I just received that I thought might interest you.

140 Bands in Three Days to Support Migrant Farm Workers!

HARVEST OF HOPE FESTIVAL BRINGS AMAZING BANDS AND FUN TO ST. JOHNS COUNTY


Three full days of outdoor music, art, films, carnival rides, professional skateboarding, vendors, and other fun are coming to the St. Johns County Fairgrounds beginning Friday, March 6! The Harvest of Hope Festival will feature more than 140 bands from acoustic to hard rock – all of them performing to support educational and emergency services for migrant farm workers.



Festival-goers will be blown away by the musical choices available to them Friday through Sunday at the Harvest of Hope. The lineup includes: Against Me!; The National; Propagandhi; KRS One; The Mountain Goats; GZA(GENIUS); Bad Brains; Girl Talk; The Bouncing Souls; Less Than Jake; Lucero; The Gaslight Anthem; Kool Keith (Dr. Octagon vs Dr. Dooom)ft. Kutmasta Kurt; The Night Marchers; Black Kids; Tilly & the Wall; Strike Anywhere; None More Black; Tokyo Police Club; Deerhunter; Diplo; Valient Thorr; Smoke or Fire; MURS; Grand Buffet; Ra Ra Riot; Paint it Black; Yip Yip; Summerbirds in the Cellar; HEALTH; Dave Dondero; Holywood Holt; Tim Barry; Kevin Seconds King Kahn & the Shrines; The Mae Shi; Tigercity; Harlem Shakes; Kiss Kiss; This Bike is a Pipe Bomb; Rehasher; Ruby Coast; John Vanderslice; Inspectah Deck (Wu-Tang Clan) and many more!



The St. Johns County Tourist Development Council has provided a grant to support the festival. Additional support for the unique, progressive and special work of the Harvest of Hope Foundation is being provided by No Idea Records, Southern Lovin’ Publicity of Gainesville and the St. Johns County Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds are located approximately 7 miles west of I-95 (exit 311) on SR 207 in Elkton, Florida.



Advance tickets are $19.50 for a single day pass and $39.50 for a 3-day pass ($29.50 and $49.50 on the weekend of the festival). Tickets are available at the St. Johns County Pier and Music Matters, 196 SR 312 in St. Augustine or from www.ticketweb.com . For full details on retail ticket outlets, directions, performance schedules and more, go to www.harvestofhopefest.com.

On Tuesday, September 16, 2008, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners will review funding and budget requests for beach restoration. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the county auditorium at 4020 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, FL.

According to the agenda for the meeting:

“The St. John County Annual Funding Request and Local Long-Range Budget Request to use Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) consists of the following elements:

1. South Ponte Vedra/Vilano Beach/Summer Haven Beach Restoration
2. St. Johns County Shore Protection Project
3. South Ponte Vedra/Vilano Beach Restoration”

Here are the supporting documents.

There are many benefits to being a St. Johns County resident.  We enjoy a wonderful lifestyle, beautiful sights, and great attractions. Many new (and some old) residents to our county don't realize they can take advantage of many of St. Augustine's attractions at a discounted rate and in some cases free simply by showing their driver's license. When I have guests visiting me, I take them on the trains and I get to ride free (I think it's a two for one charge, but I like to think I ride free).

The St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau wants you to know that:

St. Johns County residents with a valid ID are always admitted free of charge to Government House Museum, the Lightner Museum, the Colonial Spanish Quarter Museum, the Fountain of Youth, the Ximenez-Fatio House,  and the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse.  The daily tours and wine tastings at the San Sebastian Winery are free to everyone. Also, admission is free to everyone at the Authentic Old Drug Store, Fort Matanzas National Monument, St. Photios Chapel and the Peña-Peck House (donations are welcomed).

So get out an explore your hometown. Your senses and pocketbook will thank you.

Finally! And yes, I am saying this as an impatient person that lives in the area and am tired of the "speed bumps".  The crosswalks are so nice and now will be able to be seen as crosswalks and not speed bumps. The roads in the Vilano Beach Town Center are now being paved. The work should be done within a week.

So, we will now be able to drive over the roundabout that is really a drive-over at the intersection of Coastal Highway and Vilano Road.  It should all be obvious to us soon.

Thanks to St. Johns County for all they have done for us!

Tara Dobson, Habitat Conservation Plan Coordinator for St. Johns County, has just finished the latest "Share the Beach" newsletter for St. Johns County. Click here to view it. You will learn about how to Adopt-a-Beach, where the off beach parking lots are located and costs of beach parking passes. Understand that the Conservation Zone(CZ) is 15' seaward of the toe of the dune. Pedestrian and vehicular activities are prohibited in the Conservation Zone. Additionally you will have her contact info and the Beach Lighting Officer's contact information. There will be a Sea Turtle Homecoming festival April 26, 2008. Turtle season is fast approaching (May 1st).

Please tell your neighbors that on Thursday, May 17th at 5 p.m. at St. Johns County Parks & Recreation Building at 2175 Mizell Road in St. Augustine Beach (the old Utility Building) will be a meeting soliciting your input and support for a grant to develop Nease Park. The address of the property is 3171 Coastal Highway. The county bought it for $1,200,000  on 10/25/2004.