Hunter S. Conrad, St Johns County Administrator, made the announcement Friday that many local fishermen, beachcombers, and surfers have been anxiously waiting for weeks — tomorrow, beginning Monday, May 11, 2020, public beaches in our county are being returned to the use of members of the public. We paid for them, they are ours, and we support the beach lifestyle — because it is our lifestyle.
St Johns County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller Brandon Patty reported to Historic City News that tomorrow, Monday, May 11th, St Johns County residents will resume the option to obtain a marriage license and passport services from his office by appointment only. The resumption of marriage license issuance and passport application processing are the first steps in a phased reopening of the clerk’s office.
Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, Jeb Smith, wrote to Historic City News on Friday to bring our readers and subscribers up to date as St Johns County wraps up Week-1 of their long-awaited reopening strategy. According to Smith, we are experiencing additional openings and program offerings while we continue to monitor the impacts of COVID-19 in our community, respecting social distancing guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control.
In an official communication from the City of St Augustine to Historic City News this weekend, our subscribers are hereby notified, effective immediately, and for a period of thirty days, licensed restaurants may reduce their parking area to create temporary outdoor dining, and licensed restaurants with insufficient or no parking area may enter into agreements with other property owners to create temporary outdoor dining areas in the proximity of their restaurants.
When the City of St Augustine Beach convened its regular Commission Meeting, Monday, May 4, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, there was a sense of change in the air according to a Historic City News live correspondent.
Historic City News subscribers, after monitoring the local impact of Governor DeSantis’ Safer at Home Order and our community’s willingness to adhere to the CDC guidelines of social distancing and group size, we have developed and implemented a phased reopening approach for St. Johns County in collaboration with the City of St. Augustine, the City of St. Augustine Beach, and local health care and law enforcement agencies.
Governor Ron DeSantis laid out the steps that he will follow as we begin reopening Florida’s economy on Wednesday. A successful demonstration by citizens and members of the Saint Augustine Tea Party was held near SR-312 and US-1 South last weekend. A spokesman from that group told local Historic City News reporters that they look forward to the end of DeSantis’ statewide stay-at-home order. Ron and Casey DeSantis make their home in St Johns county.
The Florida National Guard reported to Historic City News this afternoon that they continue to respond to the needs of the state, helping to protect citizens and interagency partners under the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis. There are 2,906 Guardsmen on duty in support of Florida’s COVID-19 response and members are operating 14 Community Based Testing Sites where 85,076 sample collections have been administered to date.
