The Municipal Service District (MSD) of Ponte Vedra Beach held its monthly meeting on Dec. 8 at the Ponte Vedra Branch Library.
Chair Kitty Switkes opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and then moved into public comments.
There were several members of the community present, and the main topic of conversation was sidewalks.
Several community members expressed their appreciation to the MSD board for the sidewalk that was recently put in on the north side of San Juan Drive.
“I appreciate so much that you guys are pushing forward with this,” said one resident.
The next phase of the sidewalk project will be the installation of a sidewalk from Solana Road to Miranda Road. This project has been in the works for a while, and several community members spoke up about their concern for safety.
“Our community truly lives outdoors, and this is a really good change and a necessary one,” said a resident who lives on Ponte Vedra Boulevard.
One resident who lives on San Juan Drive brought up several questions about the project, including how it is being funded and if the county has signed off on it.
Switkes assured all those in attendance that the MSD is making this a top priority.
“This is something we have been working on and discussing for the last three years,” she said. She also encouraged residents to check the MSD’s website to stay up to date with the latest information regarding the project.
There are still a few steps that need to take place before actually breaking ground for the sidewalk including obtaining permits from the water management district and the county, collecting surveys and drawing up plans. There was also some discussion on which side of the road the sidewalk would go on.
“As of right now, all indications are that it is going to be on the west side of the road because of the significantly lower amount of conflicts,” said Trustee White.
Residents had concerns about who would be responsible for paying for damages to their property due to construction.
“It is our intention before we release any actual construction work to have a budget to restore landscaping, mailboxes, etc.,” said Trustee Burch.
The next step in the process is to do a civil engineering design for the Solano to Miranda phase.
