Monday, April 10, 2023

$12,000,000 new building for more developer-coddling permit rubber-stampers? It boggles the mind. (Jacksonville Business Journal)

Approved by 5-0 vote as part of consent agenda.  Wealthy Dull Republican developer cat's paws never even questioned it.  It boggles the mind.  Why do the wicked prosper?  

Why is our County the captive of corpulent capitalists laying waste to God's grandeur?

St. Augustine and St. Johns County are blessed with nature and history; its maladroit governments seem incapable, incompetent and unwilling to preserve and protect it.  

Why are our government officials working for land-raping scalawags, "worse than any carpetbagger," in the words of County Commission Chair Emeritus Ben Rich, Sr.?

We deserve what Lincoln promised: a government "of the people, by the people and for the people."

Why are the controlling moneybags like Senator-developer TRAVIS JAMES HUTSON and his cronies so doggone snooty about their "property rights" to build tract homes, accompanied by copious quantities of clearcutting, wetland-filling, wildlife-killing, overbuilding, ugliness and road clogging in a County where we don't make developers pay for the costs of their projects?  How many portable classrooms and decimated ecosystems are enough?

We need a temporary moratorium on development permits, not a new building.

Enough extravagance.

Enough authoritarianism.

Enough retaliation against ethical employees.

Enough flubdubs, flummery,  dupery and nincompoopery from our five County Commissioners.

Five Commissioners need to reconsider their rote vote for this latest outrage, a new outbuilding in the Taj Mahal complex, a tribute to our ethically-challenged St. Johns County Administrator's Edifice Complex and developer control over five Commissioners. 


From Jacksonville Business Journal, by Editor Stuart Korfhage, briefly the Managing Editor of the St. Augustine Record before GANNETT commenced disinvestment and layoffs.




St. Johns County expected to add $12 million permit services building

By   –  Daily Editor, Jacksonville Business Journal 

Listen to this article     2 min

The St. Johns County Commission is expected to approve Passero Associates as the designer for a $12 million addition to the Building Department.

The item is among those on the consent agenda for Tuesday's regular meeting.

The new building permit center — approximately 30,000 square feet — will be located adjacent to the existing Building Services building at 4040 Lewis Speedway.

According to county documents, the new center will be a standalone building consisting of steel structure, metal deck and concrete slabs with stucco exterior facades matching adjacent buildings. It is expected that the new building will be connected to the existing permit center building with a covered sidewalk.

Passero Associates was accepted as the top bidder to lead the project. The firm will be paid $928,875 for design, permitting, bid services and some construction administration.

Work on the project is expected to begin immediately after Commission approval is granted. Completion is expected in November 2024.

"St. Johns County is one of the top 10 fastest growing counties in the country. With this growth, SJC has seen a massive increase in permit applications," Passero said in its proposal to the county. "Passero also understands that this project is immediately following a recent large scale interior renovation to the existing facility, and this addition will give SJC the space necessary to increase staffing and keep up with the growing community. 

"Passero understands SJC's needs and will work with SJC to bring the project in on-time and on-budget."

Passero has experience working on St. Johns County projects. It spearheaded the renovation of the commercial air service terminal at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport, which opened in 110 days in April 2016.

More recently, Passero designed the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office training facility ($1 million project). It also led the $1 million renovation of the County Health and Human Services building as well as the $3 million roof replacements at the Courthouse East Annex and County Services Center building.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another money maker for some hog. Public benefits nothing from any of it. Meanwhile, piss poor wages and grifting.

Anonymous said...

Corrupt Florida GOP has their hands in every cookie jar imaginable. Florida is ruled by rich hogs who exploit their stupid voters. The corruption is baked into the society.. it's a neo slave state, incarceration state, tax avoidance state, right wing police state. Folks, this is not good government.