2018-2020 City Commissioners named liaisons to various regional boards

As St Augustine’s new city commission settles in, one of the pieces of housekeeping to be done each two years is the assignment of liaison positions to various organizations who typically are involved in multi-jurisdictional projects.

Historic City News readers may use these assignments as a guide to contact the correct city commissioner for assistance in dealing with problems within the purview of these regional agencies.

St Augustine City Commissioners received their individual 2018-2020 term assignments recently to represent the City on the following volunteer agency boards:

• Commissioner John Valdes: Intergovernmental Committee;
• Commissioner Roxanne Horvath: Northeast Florida Regional Council;
• Mayor Nancy Shaver: Guana National Estuarine Research Reserve;
  St Augustine Visitors and Convention Bureau;
  
• Vice Mayor Leanna Freeman: St. Augustine Sisters City Association;
• Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline: Tourist Development Council;
  North Florida Transportation Planning Organization;
  

Meet the St. Augustine City Commission

Mayor Nancy Shaver

Seat Three
2-year term expires December 2020

Contact:
Mail: 82 South St., St. Augustine, FL 32084
Phn: 904.217.4801
Email: NShaver@citystaug.com 

Nancy Shaver, currently serves the people of St Augustine in her third term as Mayor. As Vice Chair of Resiliency Florida, and Advisory Board Member of the American Flood Coalition she advocates for long-term planning and adaption strategies to address sea level rise in the Nation’s Oldest City. She received the 2017 Quality of Life Award from the Northeast Florida Regional Council for her efforts on sea level rise threats.

The daughter of a Navy captain, her childhood was spent in many states and overseas, and her career also kept her on the move. Nancy’s business experience is both national and global and includes leading a Fortune 500 marketing organization. She began her working life as a teacher, was a senior leader of a technology startup that became a publicly traded firm. She most recently served as Principal Consultant in the Strategy Practice of Experian, a global leader in information and technology. A graduate of Wellesley College, she has served on boards of businesses and non-profits, and currently serves on the Tourist Development Council, the Lightner Museum and is a trustee of the Whitney Lab. She also serves on the Continuum of Care Board which oversees the agencies serving those who are homeless. Nancy also has shared her management guidance with non-profits and small businesses on a pro-bono basis.

After moving to St. Augustine in 2009 she became an active citizen, using her business skills to help her fellow citizens be better informed on City decisions. And as a citizen activist she worked to have Riberia Pointe become Dr. Robert B. Hayling Freedom Park. This involvement led her to her first run for political office and her election in 2014. Nancy says that her best work ever has been her two children. Her son, Sean, whose work as an MD. PhD. has him leading global drug trials, lives in California with his wife and two children. Virginia is home to daughter Jenn, a marine biologist, and her husband. And they all love to visit St. Augustine.

Vice Mayor Leanna Freeman

Seat Two
4-year term expires December 2020

Contact: 
Mail: 255 West King Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084 
Phn: 904.829.1960 
Email: LFreeman@citystaug.com

A resident of St. Augustine since childhood, Ms. Freeman is married with two children. Commissioner Freeman holds a law degree and is an attorney in the firm of Freeman Law, LLC, St. Augustine. Her areas of interest are family law, business law and estate planning/probate. She is a former downtown business owner (St.George Street) and current owner of a laboratory supply company, Genesis Enterprises of Florida.

Commissioner Freeman was a member of the City of St. Augustine’s Planning and Zoning Board for five years serving one year as chair and a term as the board’s representative on the Entry Corridor Architectural Review Board before that body’s duties were absorbed into the Historic Architectural Review Board.

Ms. Freeman’s community service includes volunteer work for the St. Johns County Legal Aid and fundraising for Epic Behavioral Health Care. She previously served on the Florida Bar Adoption Committee and served as a Board Member of Good Samaritan Health Centers, Inc., Wildflower Clinic, Kids Bridge Family Visitation Center and Home Again St. Johns, where she served as President for 2013.

She currently serves as the City Commission’s representative with the St. Augustine Sister Cities Association.

Commissioner Roxanne Horvath

Commissioner
Seat One
4-year term expires December 2020

Contact:
Mail: P. O. Box 210, St. Augustine, FL 32085
Phn: 904.825.1266
Email: RHorvath@citystaug.com

Commissioner Horvath is president and principal of Roxanne Horvath, AIA, Architect. She obtained both her Bachelor of Architecture and Masters of Architecture from the University of Florida and has gained wide experience in her field including new design and construction of commercial and residential projects and historic renovations. Her historic renovation experience includes a number of projects in St. Augustine including the Alcazar Hotel/City Hall, the Ponce de Leon Hotel/Flagler College’s art department, and Ancient City Baptist Church. Her commercial design experience includes the St. Johns County Growth Management Center, the St. Johns County Service Center, the Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront Hotel and St. Johns County S.E. Library and adjacent Service Center Annex.

Prior to her election to the City Commission, Commissioner Horvath’s public service included terms as both member and chair of the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, Historical Architecture Review Board, Code Enforcement, and the Entry Corridor Board. Since being elected to the Commission, she served as chair of the city’s visioning initiative, Visioning 2014 & Beyond, served as president of the NE Florida Regional Council (2016-2017), and currently is serving as president of the statewide organization, Florida Regional Council Association.

Her community involvement includes serving as board member of the St. Augustine Women’s Shelter, the St. Johns County Housing and Revitalization Agency, the St. Augustine Art Association, and as president of the St. Augustine Rotary Club. Vice Mayor Horvath is also an artist member of Butterfield Garage Art Gallery.  Horvath previously served as Vice Mayor.

Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline

Seat Five
4-year term expires December 2022

Contact:
Mail: 15 Mireula Ave., St. Augustine, FL 32080
Phn: 904.806.6203
Email: NSikesKline@citystaug.com

Commissioner Sikes-Kline has served on the City’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee; Vice Chair of the Parking and Traffic Committee; and the Historic Architectural Review Board. She currently serves on the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization, the University of Florida, College of Design, Construction and Planning, Department of Historic Preservation, Board of Advocates and the Florida League of Cities Legislative Policy Committee on Transportation and Intergovernmental Relations.

She is a native Floridian and has lived in St. Augustine since 1984. She received her bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Florida.

Her community involvement includes past President of Junior Service League; founding board member and past Chairperson of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum; the founding Chairperson of the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program; past Chair of the St. Johns County Historic Resource Review Board (now the Cultural Resources Review Board); past member of the FDOT Bridge of Lions Community Awareness Team; and founding board member of the St. Augustine North Davis Shores Neighborhood Association.

She has received her Certificate of Completion from the Florida League of Cities and Scott Daily Advanced Institute for Elected Municipal Officials, Level III training program and completed training from the Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council Training Institute. She is an urban land use planning consultant.

Commissioner Sikes-Kline received the Leadership Award for Public Service from the Enterprising Women’s Leadership Institute, Inc. in 2011, the Adalaide Sanchez Award for Historic Preservation in 2017 and the Florida League of Cities Hometown Hero award in 2018. 

Commissioner John Valdes

Seat Four
4-year term expires December 2022

Contact: Mail: 1395 US-1 South Suite A, St. Augustine, FL 32084 
Phn: 904-824-6150 
Email: JValdes@CityStAug.com

Commissioner Valdes has served St. Augustine for more than 22 years, beginning in 1989, as past board member of the Historical Architectural Review Board, past member and chair of Code Enforcement Adjustment and Appeals Board, and past chair of the Planning & Zoning Board.

He and his company were instrumental in restoring four Flagler-era fountains in the city, relocating the War Memorial, placing the marble lion statues in Davis Shores, volunteering in the 2016 Compassion Project, and, recently, assisting in relocating the “Spring Break Wreck” from South Ponte Vedra Beach to the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Research Reserve.   

Mr.Valdes began serving St. Augustine as a private sector building inspector in 1989, and introduced the detailed pre-purchase home inspection product to St. Johns County’s real estate industry. 

He incorporated John Valdes & Associates Inc. in 1990 with a portfolio of commercial downtown work, including The Casablanca and Casa de Suenos B&B’s, St. Francis Inn, Rembrandts, Casa Maya, and Acapulco Restaurants, to name a few.  

Born in Tampa, Commissioner Valdes is a fifth-generation Floridian and third-generation builder, arriving in St. Augustine in 1986 after selling his Saudi Arabian–based construction company. He attended St. Petersburg Junior College and the University of South Florida, before leaving to work overseas in construction. 

He currently holds several active State of Florida licenses, including Building Contractor, Roofing Contractor, Master Plumbing Contractor, Building Inspector and also an inactive license as a Real Estate Sales Associate.