Public Comment: Orange Park council vetoes $50,000 culvert design

The Orange Park Town Council approved its 2022-2023 millage rate and budget during its September 20 meeting after turning away several amendments to the proposed spending plan, including one that would have added $35,000 to the cost of designing culverts at the city-owned cemetery.

The council approved a millage rate of 5.8781 mills, a nine percent increase over the town’s rolled-back rate.

The tax rate passed with little public comment. However, Orange Park’s $30 million 2022-2023 spending plan generated considerable pushback from members of the public.

Town Manager Sarah Campbell said the budget does not rely on fund balance drawdowns, additional debt or decreases in service levels.

“The only new project that we proposed was the redevelopment of the town’s website as one of our visioning goals,” Campbell said.

The council took no action on a proposed budget amendment that would have increased the cost to design Magnolia Cemetery culverts from $15,000 to $50,000.

The proposal sparked several objections from the public, including one by former council member Eugene Nix.

“Where did this come from?” Nix asked. “We were told by your consultant that $15,000 would cover it. Now all of the sudden, they go back to the office, and it’s $50,000. How did that happen? Are we getting lied to all the time, or they don’t know what they’re talking about? This is just for design work, to design two culverts. This is madness…. You’re not looking out for our money. You’re just spending it left and right.”

Council member Susana Thompson wanted to propose a continuing resolution to keep last year’s budget in place while the town’s budget committee reviewed the proposed 2022-2023 spending plan.

Town Attorney Sam Garrison told her that would violate Florida law.

“You’ve advertised the meeting tonight for a budget meeting,” he said. “Florida law is clear that this is the substantive issue that has to be decided tonight. You can amend the budget to reflect last year’s budget, but you have to pass a budget tonight.”

Thompson then proposed cutting the $30 million budget to $22 million. The proposal died for lack of a second.

A motion to cut one of two code enforcement officers, made by Council Member Doug Benefield also failed 3-2.

The measure would have reduced the police department’s budget by $66,000.

Police Chief Gary Goble said eliminating the position would ultimately reduce the town’s level of enforcement for code violations.

“At one point, that was a high priority for the council,” he said. “Whether it still is, that’s up to y’all to decide.”

The chief added that the person formally in the vacant job is training to become a police officer. The position has been vacant for two to three months.

Vice mayor Alan Watt, who supported Benefield’s proposal, said the vacant position was not needed because the town’s previous backlog of unresolved code enforcement cases has been reduced.

“We’ve made inroads,” he said. “We’ve cleaned up the backlog, and it’s down to the level where it can be maintained by a single person.”

In other news from the Sept. 20 town council meeting:

New cell phones for police

The council approved spending $10,550.67 in American Rescue Plan funds for police cell phones. Campbell said that currently, officers are using their personal cell phones while on duty. She said that arrangement is no longer feasible because the officers’ body cameras require a cell phone connection to save, send and retrieve body camera footage.

Goble said the new cell phones would also replace agency-issued cameras officers received eight years ago to take pictures at crime scenes. Replacements for the cameras were initially proposed earlier. However, that proposal was withdrawn when the cell phones were proposed.

Golf cart study approved

Benefield moved to direct town staff to prepare a golf cart ordinance for the town. He said the town’s current code defers to state law regarding the vehicles and that now, golf carts operating on town streets must be street legal and tagged.

Mayor Randy Anderson said that before he could support a golf cart ordinance, he wanted to see a communications plan to inform residents of the change, and he wanted to know the cost of the proposed regulation.

The mayor also wanted to know how the town would handle allowing golf carts to cross over state roads.

Watt added that he wanted age restrictions placed on the potential policy.

Watt also noted that the town’s public safety committee has considered and rejected golf cart ordinances twice.

Goble told council members that when golf carts were proposed for the town a few years ago, he was against them. He added that he has since changed his mind and would support the measure if approved by the council.

Goble added that the dangers of golf carts could be seen across the river in St. Johns County, where several high-profile crashes left people injured.

The chief added that younger drivers appear more likely to have golf cart mishaps than older ones.

“You can see that the younger people really don’t care as much,” he said of operating the vehicles safely.