Republican Assembly wants details on Fiddlers Green

The St Johns County Republican Assembly reported to Historic City News that their organization has officially adopted a resolution concerning modification of the original agreement between the St Johns County Board of Commissioners and Florida Lands Trust concerning the dilapidated Fiddlers Green building on Vilano Beach.

Accordingly, they have put forth the following resolution and are asking Historic City News readers to contact the Chairman, Jay Morris, and each member of the current Board of County Commissioners and demand further public hearings.

We the St Johns County Republican Assembly hereby declare:

Whereas, the County Commission recently considered and passed a motion allowing the county to proceed with a modification of the original agreement with the Florida Lands Trust over the “Fiddlers Green” project acquired in 2006 at a cost of $5.5 million, approximately $4.0 million dollars of which was in the form of a grant from the Florida Communities Trust. That motion committed the county to build, within ten years, a replacement facility of equal size to the existing building which was approved to be demolished because the county did not maintain the property, allowing it to become a public nuisance and safety hazard;

Whereas, the original acquisition price was grossly inflated and the project was, from the beginning, very wasteful of tax dollars for both Florida and St Johns County taxpayers;

Whereas, the original agreement contained several unfunded mandates that may have been unknown to the Board at the time the original authorizing resolution was approved or to the current Board last Tuesday, specifically, the requirement to “develop and staff a museum and nature center at the site”;

Whereas, the environment of the time allowed a project of insufficient economic merit to proceed causing harm to the taxpayers of St Johns County and the State of Florida;

Whereas, it is more prudent to acknowledge the mistakes of the past and prevent further economic harm to the taxpayers of St Johns County and prevent incurring an even more severe economic hardship from continuing this project, and the original intent of preserving this land will be accomplished without the taxpayers incurring additional financial harm;

Whereas, the Agenda Cover sheet provided the County commissioners erroneously indicated that the proposed motion would have no fiscal impact on the county and no mention was made by staff, nor cost impacts detailed to the current Board for them to understand the cost to taxpayers to construct the facility, nor to staff and operate the facility.

Be it resolved – The St Johns County Republican Assembly does hereby request that the St Johns Board of County Commissioners rescind the motion passed on May 7, 2013 and schedule a meeting at night for a full briefing to community residents on all the impacts, future and present that will befall the county if they continue with the project, along with a completely detailed list of alternatives to stop and eliminate further damage to the taxpayers of St Johns County.

Membership in the St Johns County Republican Assemblies is open to all registered Republicans living in St Johns County who ascribe to the Principles of the Republican Assemblies. If you would like additional information or would like to be considered for membership, the group provides a contact form on their website.