St. Augustine Beach mayor says stormwater pumping OK; county public works director says he wants formal agreement (SAR)

Another shallow story on St. Augustine Beach, leaving out key details about governmental incompetence at SAB. Pathetic. Pitiful.

The Record is hostile to public participation and rarely quotes what government watchdogs say in public comment. Journalistic malpractice?

Oddly, the Record deleted and censored Tom Reynolds' comment (below). How gauche and louche.


Posted September 20, 2017 12:01 am
By SHELDON GARDNER sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com
St. Augustine Beach mayor says stormwater pumping OK; county public works director says he wants formal agreement

As floodwaters from Hurricane Irma threatened his properties east of A1A Beach Boulevard, St. Augustine Beach Mayor Rich O’Brien said he began pumping stormwater into nearby drains.


He said some people have questioned that practice but that the county allows it.

“This was entirely composed of stormwater,” O’Brien said at this week’s St. Augustine Beach City Commission meeting. “It was not pool water. It was not sewer water. It was 100 percent Irma.”

An agreement that stemmed from conversations between the city and St. Johns County years ago allows stormwater east of A1A Beach Boulevard to go into the county’s stormwater drainage system, said Neal Shinkre, St. Johns County public works director. Shinkre believes that is the case based on talking with City Manager Max Royle, and the fact that the county built stormwater drains on properties east of the boulevard, he said.

There’s already a formal agreement that addresses stormwater treatment, allowing stormwater from the county’s pipes to go to city treatment areas like the Mizell Road pond, Shinkre and Royle said.

Shinkre said he plans to work with the city to develop a formal agreement that will address private property owners pumping stormwater into the county’s drainage system. That could lead to changes in the current arrangement.

“They’re doing something that has been a practice that has been accepted a long time back … I cannot say that it’s all OK,” he said.

In other business

Vice Mayor Undine George pointed out during Monday’s meeting that Royle was not at the county Emergency Operations Center every day during Hurricane Irma response, and other commissioners said he was providing updates to them from outside of the EOC.

“I think it’s a blatant error,” she said.

• Commissioner Maggie Kostka asked for the commission, on its next agenda, to add a discussion item about searching for a new city manager. The request stemmed from comments from citizens, she said. Commissioner Gary Snodgrass said he thought it was premature because Royle hasn’t announced retirement plans and the city hasn’t decided to replace him. Snodgrass suggested starting first with a performance appraisal of both Royle and the police chief.

• Commissioners moved forward an ordinance to prohibit medical marijuana treatment facilities from opening in the city, a measure that will sunset after 12 months if adopted and if commissioners don’t do anything to renew it.

• The city’s Public Works Department will do multiple sweeps of the city to collect storm debris from Hurricane Irma, Public Works Director Joe Howell said. As of Monday, the city was still working from the north end of the city south on its first round of storm-debris collection. The second round should begin next week, Howell said.

• The city rescheduled four public hearings for Oct. 2 because of Hurricane Irma: a request to vacate part of an alley in Coquina Gables; an ordinance to adopt the latest Florida Power & Light Company franchise agreement, an ordinance to adopt new flood regulations, and a first reading of an ordinance to change land development regulations.

• Commissioners plan to explore options for preserving the St. Johns County pier because County Administrator Michael Wanchick said the county doesn’t have the money to repair it and doesn’t have plans for its future, O’Brien said. The options could include a public-private partnership.

• The commission approved the city’s legislative agenda with six priorities: Amending state law so that the bed tax can be used to pay for city services related to tourism; preventing unfunded mandates from the Florida Legislature; working against any attempts by the Florida Legislature to limit local-government control; supporting improving disaster planning; improving public transportation in St. Johns County; and maintaining and funding beach renourishment.


Comments
(Again, the Record deleted and censored Tom Reynolds' comment (below). How gauche and louche:

Tom Reynolds · 

Public relations at Self-Employed

The pumping of Storm Water by O'Brien WAS NEVER APPROVED PERIOD!

Was the storm water tested? NO

How can a County employee make a statement that has NO PROOF?

Why is St Johns County Public Works Director Neil Shinkre making statements based of a conversion with the HIGHLY UNETHICAL City of St Augustine Beach City Manager? And NOTHING IN WRITTING!

IT IS NOT OK TO BREAK THE LAW!

THE LAW HAS BEEN BROKEN and Public Works Director Neil Shrinke NEEDS TO BE FIRED for knowingly allowing the LAW(s) to be BROKEN!

There comes a time for CHANGES and the TIME IS NOW!

CHAPTER 62-25 REGULATIONS OF STORMWATER DISCHARGE was NOT FOLLOWED Public Works Director Neil Shrinke!

FIRE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR NEIL SHRINKE NOW!

Unlike · Reply · 2 · 2 hrs

Edward Adelbert Slavin · 

Bete noir at Community Activist

1. Not one quote from citizens about the gross incompetence of City "Manager" BRUCE MAX ROYLE, including his being AWOL and not being present in the Emergency Operations Center, leaving St. Augustine Police Chief Robert Hardwick without a decisionmaker to accompany him; MAX ROYLE was AWOL, when all other local government offficials were working together in the EOC.
2. No quotes in budget article from MELISSA BURNS, who was repeatedly unable to answer questions asked by Commissioners. City staff spent more energy on trying to justify pay raises, repeating trite tropes about other cities without comparing budgets or millage rates and erroneously relying on the Consumer Price Index for pay raises when the cost of living in St. Augustine Beach is lower than elsewhere. No quotes from Commissioner Maggie Kostka on this issue.
3. Article fails to mention the National Response Center report 1189913 that I filed re: Mayor O'Brien's unpermitted emissions into the storm sewer from his business. Thanks to Mark and Rose Bailey for providing me with the video that I posted on my blog. The article begins oddly with an unprecedent action: Mayor O'Brien beginning public comment by dimming the lights and making his own "public comment" from the dais, claiming he did nothing wrong by dumping water from his business properties into the county's storm water system. Mayor O'Brien's self-serving statement about no pool water being dumped is, at best, factious and not supportable. The quote from Mr. Shinkre and the lack of any written permission for dumping is interesting, but Mr. Shinkre was not in the meeting. Apparently this reporter does not wish to interview or quote anyone who is not a government employee,elected official or business owner. Why?
4. Article fails to mention the fact that Public Works Director Joseph Howell reported a 20 foot breach of the dam on the Mizell Road pond, resulting in untreated stormwater being emitted into Matanzas River, which Matanzas Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon has testified is "one of the last healthy rivers" in the entire State of Florida, with legally protected wildlife and oyster beds. Mr. Howell stated the breach would be addressed in the "next year," but Commissioner Sherman Gary Snodgrass agreed with me that the matter is "urgent."
5. On pier, article omits possibility of pledging bed tax money for bonds to be repaid over 30 years. Florida Statute 125.0104(5a)(5b) & (5d) provides the power, but County Administrator Michael David Wanchick and County officaials won't discuss it. Wonder why?
6. If you want to know what happens at local government meetings, watch the tapes online. Or show up. Decisions are made by people who show up. It's our money.