BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Keystone Heights council members approved the purchase contract for the southeastern corner of Walker Drive and Lawrence Boulevard during their March 4 meeting.
The 0.165-acre parcel, with a street address of 125 East Walker Drive, was the site of a former Kentucky Fried Chicken beginning in the 1970s and, most recently, China Chef.
Earlier this year, a consultant commissioned by the North Florida Transportation Planning Council recommended that the triangular parcel be converted into parking and open space.
Phil Shad, with the engineering firm AtkinsRealis, also suggested the city use the open space as a marquee gateway to downtown, with a sign and other assets giving visitors a positive first impression of the city.
During the council’s February 5 meeting, the parcel’s owner, Chetam Patel, and the owner’s listing agent, Tom Germano of C.B. Issac Realty, appeared before the panel. Patel told the council he wanted to recover his $240,000 investment in the land.
The purchase agreement that the council approved during its March 4 meeting matched Patel’s asking price. Officials plan to finance the buy with money from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
In other news from the March 4 meeting of the Keystone Heights City Council:
Airport board charter amendment and appointments
City Attorney Rich Komando asked the council to amend its earlier resolution, which placed a charter amendment on the April 4 ballot.
The amendment changes the seat on the airport board designated for a Camp Blanding representative from a voting seat to an advisory one. It also increases by one the number of voting seats allocated for Keystone Heights residents.
Komando said the title for the original resolution exceeded the 15-word maximum required by Florida Statutes.
Council members said in earlier meetings that the Florida National Guard requested the charter amendment because it did not want its members voting on city matters.
In a separate matter, City Manager Charlie Van Zant asked the council to table appointments to the airport board until the council’s April meeting.
He said the advertisement about the openings erroneously stated both seats were for three-year terms ending in May 2027.
“That is true for Seat 3,” he said. “It is not true for Seat 1. Out of an abundance of caution…I would like to advertise it correctly, put the correct terms on it, and bring it back to you in April.”
Strategic Plan
Council member Dan Lewandowski proposed that the city develop a strategic plan.
He told his colleagues that many grants require the document and that the plan would outline the municipality’s short-term and long-term goals, help the council prioritize projects, and include a wish list that could become useful when funding sources suddenly become available.
The council member added that Keystone Heights already had written plans for its parks, the Walker Drive-Lawrence Boulevard intersection, and its Smart Cities proposal. He said additional sections the city may want to consider include plans for a new city hall, a museum, and the municipality’s infrastructure.
Lewandowski recommended that a citizen advisory board draft the document after holding a series of public meetings.
“My intent is the first two or three meetings are going to be an education process, and I will lead that education,” he said. “This is what a strategic plan is; this is what a comprehensive plan is, and then I will suggest parts of the plan that we need to get done. And then I will look at who is available, who has attended, who is interested, who has the requisite skill sets, and ask them to step forward and help me out.”
Van Zant recommended the council talk to Dr. Joe Saviak, whom Van Zant said has authored several strategic plans for local governments and who is an expert in the field.
The council agreed to discuss the matter at a future workshop.
Parks and vandalism plans tabled
Mayor Nina Rodenroth said that after listening to public comments made during a February 28 workshop, she is postponing discussions of her plan to reduce vandalism at city parks and of the city’s parks plan.
Christmas market
Lewandowski repeated his idea for a Christmas market, a concept he first explained in the February 28 workshop.
The council member added that since the workshop, he has found funding for the idea.
“The basic concept or idea is to create a festive Christmas market gathering place,” he said, adding that the kiosks used for the Christmas celebration could also be used for Our Country Day, the MotoSurf competition, and other city events.
“The stalls are such that you can lock them up,” he said, “and so vendors can leave their goods inside the stalls.”
“I first saw these when I lived in Europe,” the councilman added, “and they had them in big cities, and they had them in small towns, and it was a really beautiful community gathering place.”
Airport projects
Airport board chair David Kirkland told the council that the Florida Department of Transportation’s project list over the next five years for the facility includes 17 projects with a total budget of nearly $18 million.
He added that the airport plans to purchase a bush hog-type trimmer attachment for its tractor, will soon improve its security camera system, and embark on a $950,000 fuel facility upgrade.
Kirkland added that he and Van Zant will meet with Florida State Guard officials to discuss the guard’s establishment of a permanent presence at the airport.
“They have received a green light to purchase their aviation assets,” Kirkland said, “and so we’ve had a couple of other meetings previously. I look forward to meeting with them Wednesday to delve a little more deeply into what their needs will be as far as acreage, location, etc.”
The chairman also said the Snowbird Aerobatic Competition will return to the facility for the second consecutive year from March 19 through the 22.
Heritage Commission projects
Heritage Commission Chair Christine Arnold told the council that the commission’s next project is an elementary student field trip, which will be the second such event the commission has hosted for students.
Arnold added that the commission is seeking a historical designation for the large oak tree between city hall and the public library.
“We hired an arborist who came by, and he designated it over a hundred years old,” Arnold told council members, “but he can’t be exact without boring into the tree, and that could risk harming the tree, so we’re not going to do that.” The commission chair said the arborist’s external evaluation is enough to designate the oak as historical, and the paperwork is underway to secure a plaque.
Complaints about RV park
Council member Tony Brown said he had received several complaints about traffic tie-ups caused by Keystone Heights RV Resort residents. He added, however, that the facility’s economic benefits to Lake Region businesses outweigh any traffic inconveniences it may cause.
“It might be in Bradford County,” he said of the RV park, “but where are those people going? They’re coming to our town to eat, to shop, and to do stuff. It does take us a little longer to get out on Highway 100, but it is what it is. That’s a good addition to our community.”
Brown added that the new Bradford County fire station under construction in Speedville will also benefit Keystone Heights residents because of mutual aid agreements between Clay and Bradford counties.
