Workshop may reveal public opinion of 450th

Historic City News readers have looked forward to tomorrow night’s 450th Commemoration workshop with great anticipation since it was announced that the majority of the meeting would be consumed with public comment.

At the last workshop, held September 26th, City Commissioner Bill Leary dominated the meeting with a report on his recent trip to Washington, D.C. with Heritage Tourism director Dana Ste. Claire — leaving little time for input from the remainder of the board.

Among other observations made during the workshop, Leary remained skeptical about “public buy-in” to the entire 450th Commemoration process. Citing a lack of formalized event planning and lack of public financial support, Leary iterated through a lengthy list of expectations in order for him to be satisfied that the City can pull off a successful celebration.

Money follows programing; and thus far, there has been too little accomplished of both.

A local editorial published by The Record encourages people to turn out tomorrow night, former Mayor and Commissioner George Gardner has done the same through his private newsletter, The St. Augustine Report.

If you are planning to attend — the regular St. Augustine City Commission meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. Monday and will be held in the Alcazar Room; on the first floor of City Hall, located at 75 King Street in St. Augustine. It will be broadcast live on Comcast Government TV (Cable Channel 3) and is streamed over the Internet.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News archive photograph