The Ponte Vedra Municipal Service District continues to consider the creation of a “no parking” ordinance along San Juan Drive and several residents attended the Jan. 8 meeting interested in the proposal.
The majority of those in attendance were in favor of having such an ordinance in place, many of whom live along the roadway and stated how dangerous it is when people park on the road.
“Every day I walk my dog I feel like I’m putting my life in my hands,” resident Barbara Roberts said.
The MSD passed a “no parking” ordinance on Ponte Vedra Boulevard in 2021, and according to MSD trustee Brad Wester, that gives a template to use this time around.
“I think it’s (Ponte Vedra Boulevard ordinance) worked perfectly,” Wester said. “It takes a couple of years for that learned behavior to go away, but this is a start.”
He also believes that San Juan Drive has the traffic numbers where an ordinance could also really make a difference.
However, after discussion it was agreed to hold a vote on proceeding with a possible ordinance until next meeting since the agenda specifically stated the “no parking” ordinance would be considered from Solana Road to North Pablo Road, but Wester suggested that the ordinance be extended to Ponte Vedra Boulevard.
Trustee Mickey White was all for the extension but asked if they should push back the vote to the next meeting because people may have read the specifics of the agenda and not come out to the meeting as a result.
MSD attorney Wayne Flowers agreed that voting at the next meeting would be a good approach and the board agreed to vote on it at the Feb. 12 meeting.
If the proposed ordinance is approved then it will go through the vetting process with the county, which takes about four to six months, according to Wester.
Another major topic of discussion was the cleanup of Sunset Park, which had first been introduced at the previous meeting in December.
Flowers found documentation of an agreement between the county and the MSD from years ago concerning the park, but the agreement was not signed.
According to Flowers, the county owns the park located on a piece of property off State Road A1A that stretches to the neighborhood behind, but the agreement states that the MSD would maintain the upkeep of the park, which the board agreed they will do.
Residents that live nearby mow and maintain the front of the lot and have done so for years and said they would be happy to continue doing it because it has become a real asset for the neighborhood as many children can often be seen out there running around and playing baseball.
However, trustee Kitty Switkes had brought it up initially because she was unaware of the back lot of the property until residents began talking to her about how much it had grown up over the years.
The MSD board voted unanimously to approve Switkes’ request to accept a proposed bid from Tree Masters for $1,500 to Bush Hog and mow the back lot and remove a dead pine tree that sits in the middle of it and haul off any debris.
“Some of the other bids I got were for $2,100, $2,600 and $1,000, but all those were just for Bush Hogging and they did not include the removal of the tree,” Switkes said.
In other news from the meeting, Wester informed the board that upgrades and repairs have been planned for all 14 beach access points in the MSD, and he is continuing to work with St. Johns County officials in the drafting of the initial plan for the proposed sidewalk project along San Juan Drive.
