Draft Resolution for City and County Commissioners and Local Groups regarding St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of St. Augustine, Florida hereby recognizes that the National Park Service is uniquely qualified to preserve and protect our City's and our First Coast's history; and

BE IT RESOLVED, that our City hereby respectfully petitions our President and 110th Congress of the United States to enact the "St. Augustine National Historical Park and Seashore" (SANHPS) Act (SANHPSA), preserving history in a National Historical Park and National Seashore located in and around the Nation's Oldest (European-founded) City of our area's 11,000 year history of human settlements; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that our City hereby respectfully petitions for Congress to hold field hearings here in St. Augustine during the first session of the 110th Congress regarding the scope and details of SANHPS and SANHPSA, with emphasis on suitably:
1. Honoring the Nation's Oldest city's natural and human history, including our rich diversity and Native American, African-American, Spanish, Minorcan, English, Civil War, Reconnstruction, Flagler Era, Civil Rights, environmental, economic, social, religious, naval, military, agricultural, culinary, architectural histories; after
2. Understanding and planning for the current and prospective state of archaeological, historic and environmental protection, preservation and education, including recommendations of a recent panel of experts;
3. Adopting an integrated statutory approach to funding and operating SANHPSA parks, archaeology and history investigations and research, while
4. Restoring St. Augustine's historic 1928 trolley car system into an integrated public transportation system serving the VIC/Parking Garage, Downtown, Uptown, Lincolnville, West Augustine, Davis Shores/Anastasia Island, with possible future expansion to Vilano Beach, St. Augustine Beach, Crescent Beach,Marineland, Ponte Vedra, and Palatka, and
5. Creating an "emerald necklace of parks" operated by the National Park Service in and around our Nation's Oldest City, with boundaries to be determined.

(283 words)
12/15/2006
ES draft