In 2016, rebarbative Republican reprobates unanimously voted to delete 40 acres of affordable housing in Nocatee, for $800,000.
Pitiful.
As State Senator Travis (R-, VP, Hutson Companies), St. Johns County Administration knows that if average home prices are at about $364,000, no millage tax increase will be required. Thus, they approve bad projects, killing forests and wetlands and the reasons we love St. Johns County, a/k/a "God's country.'"
St. Johns County has nom pub;ic housing agency, and is run by junenightened Jim Crow apparatchiks under County Administrator MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK and Sheriff DAVID SHOAR, who legally changed his name from "HOAR" in 1994.
Perceptive article by Sheldon Gardner:
After St. Johns County takeover, S.R. 207 project focus shifts away from homeless center
By Sheldon Gardner
Posted Aug 3, 2019 at 3:39 PM
Updated Aug 3, 2019 at 5:58 PM
St. Augustine Record
In 2012, public officials in St. Johns County gathered for a major announcement.
A housing complex for homeless people would be coming to State Road 207 south of Wildwood Drive. It would be more than just a shelter; it would be a one-stop center for homeless services.
Several years later, that vision has shifted, and the project is no longer focused on homeless people. With an influx of federal grant money stemming from Hurricane Matthew and with St. Johns County now in control, the development will be focused on people with low-to-moderate incomes, according to project officials.
The original vision
The nonprofit Home Again St. Johns, which serves homeless people, announced in 2012 that it was entering the final stage of negotiating a land lease for $1 a year with The Salvation Army for about 13 acres at 1850 S.R. 207. The purpose of the lease was for the organization to build facilities to care for homeless men, women and children.
Mike Davis, vice president of the Home Again St. Johns board, said there were wide gaps in services available for homeless people in St. Johns County. The complex that Home Again would build would be a “one-stop center for the homeless,” he said at the time.
But several years went by with no buildings being constructed.
There was some progress in 2015, when the County Commission approved a rezoning to allow up to 100 apartments for the homeless and a homeless services center to be built. The plans called for five buildings to provide housing for families and single women and men. The complex was also planned to have dining areas, offices for social services and offices for medical and dental care.
The complex would get people into housing and help them transition to permanent housing elsewhere, a project official said at the time. Also, case managers would reach out to homeless people in the community to see how the facility could help them.
Fundraising went slowly, and there wasn’t enough money to build the project, said Ellen Walden, executive director of Home Again St. Johns.
Then Hurricane Matthew came.
The vision changes
After the storm, local governments applied for federal money to repair damage and prepare for future storms.
The county received approval for a Community Development Block Grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the purpose of the grant was to help people recover from Hurricane Matthew.
Part of the grant provides the funding needed to build a housing complex at the 1850 S.R. 207 site. The complex will include a community center that can serve as an emergency shelter for all residents in the event of a hurricane or other disaster.
The project would also increase the county’s stock of affordable housing, something that was in short supply after Hurricane Matthew, said Gina Vought, grant administrator for St. Johns County.
As part of getting the grant, the county took over the project from Home Again St. Johns. As a small organization, Home Again St. Johns didn’t have the financial infrastructure to handle the grant money, Walden said.
The county is preparing a concept plan for the site so a contractor can be hired to build the complex, which is expected to include 80 to 100 housing units, said Bob Quinney, a county project manager in disaster recovery. The cost for construction is expected to be more than $13 million, and the project is expected to be finished in the latter part of 2022.
The block grant does not provide ongoing funding for maintenance.
To help pay for maintenance, the plan is to rent some of the apartments at market rate, Quinney said.
The grant requires at least 51 percent of the housing to be for people with low-to-moderate incomes, Vought said.
The apartments will have up to three bedrooms and will be larger than the original homeless center concept, Quinney said.
Quinney said the original idea approved by the county several years ago “was more of a transient housing project.”
“This is not a transient housing project,” Quinney said. “This is more long-term housing.”
The county plans to work out a contract with The Salvation Army to run the daily operations, Quinney said. That agreement could go to the County Commission for review in October, Vought said.
The Salvation Army can set other qualifications beyond the 51-percent rule, Vought said. Also, The Salvation Army can decide to increase that minimum threshold of residents with low to moderate incomes.
The man in charge of The Salvation Army in St. Augustine, Major Tim Williford, said the site won’t be a homeless shelter. People will need some kind of income to live there.
Brett McGinty, who is living with friends but has lived in the woods, visited Home Again St. Johns on Friday. He said it’s important for people to have housing first and then get services so they can establish themselves. Trying to find employment when one is homeless, especially while living in the woods, is challenging.
“It’s exhausting. ... It’s almost impossible,” he said.
The original plan for the housing complex included a range of services for the homeless. Under the new plan, a community center will be built that will offer social services. The details haven’t been worked out yet. The Salvation Army will be in charge of determining what goes there, Quinney said.
Home Again St. Johns could have an office in the community center along with other services, Williford said.
Home Again St. Johns provides services to homeless people — such as meals, showers and laundry facilities — at a drop-in center at the 1850 S.R. 207 site. Walden said she believes Home Again St. Johns would have eventually raised enough funds to complete the housing complex.
When the grant opportunity came along, the board felt it was in the best interest of the community to let the county take over. There are people living in the county now who don’t have a home to sleep in, she said.
“I’m eager for the project to actually get going. ... We need it yesterday,” she said.
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