BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — In summarizing his first 180 days, Bradford County Manager Scott Kornegay covered a lot of topics and received praise for his performance.
Kornegay delivered a progress report to county commissioners on April 20 that enumerated accomplishments and predicted promise for the county’s future if they are willing to face some tough decisions.
The manager said he set goals very early on that included building relationships with commissioners, building public trust, and evaluating organizational structures such as financial position and policies and procedures.
“If you don’t have good relationships between your county manager and your commissioners, nothing gets done. Things become contentious, and it’s a terrible way to operate,” Kornegay said.
He and staff meet regularly with commissioners to individually discuss their priorities and expectations. They attend trainings and conferences together where they cooperate on networking, building knowledge and discovering opportunities for the county. They also socialize at community events, demonstrating their cohesiveness as a team.
Similarly, Kornegay said they’ve built public trust and communication through activeness in civic and business groups, maintaining fact-to-face relationships with community leaders. There are protocols in place for addressing constituent concerns as well. Commissioners bring those concerns to him, and they figure out a plan together. There is an open-door policy for everyone. The manager’s office is always open, and the phone is always answered, he said.
“We welcome visitors and anyone else that needs to do business with the county manager all through the day.”
Kornegay said the county’s “very, very poor financial condition” is no secret. Work has included meeting with business leaders to identify new revenue sources, exploring grant opportunities and considering both electric franchise fees and impact fees on new development.
Airport access
Discussing some specific projects in detail, Kornegay said they have salvaged a project to create an alternate entrance to the Keystone Heights Airport. The new access road will provide a straight shot to the airport for existing tenants like MHD Rockland while opening more land for future commercial and industrial tenants.
The manager — who was previously a member of the airport authority — said the authority had resigned themselves that the $2.3 million grant received was going to go away because the project couldn’t be completed in time.
Since becoming manager and discussing the project with Project Works Director Jason Dodds, they decided to see if they could accomplish at least a portion of the original scope of work, spending as much of the grant award as they could.
Kornegay said the Department of Economic Opportunity has been wonderful working with the county on this, allowing them to modify the scope.
“We’ve jumped all the hurdles. We’ve relocated all the gopher turtles, we’ve put a silt fence, and we’re now, on Monday, supposed to get the permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District the last permit that we need, and then we can start construction in earnest,” he said.
“What great, great news this is. That access route is going to mean a lot to the to the airport and to Bradford County.”
Project Douglas
Another project Kornegay was involved with prior to become manager is the attempted acquisition of the former Division of Surplus Property warehouse on U.S. 301 south of Starke.
The 100,000 square-foot building could be used to provide some desperately needed storage for MHD Rockland.
Kornegay said when he found the property was in the hands of the Department of Emergency Management, he reached out to the director, an old friend form Jacksonville, who agreed the building should be turned over to the county for economic development.
That’s easier said than done. Months later, Kornegay said they’re still living a nightmare with the Department of Environmental Protection involved. Fortunately, the county did receive a $20,000 grant from Enterprise Florida to complete a 910-page report and carry out the environmental assessment.
They hope to have the matter on the governor’s desk within the next couple of months.
The acquisition could have a role in MHD Rockland’s plans to expand its campus with a Space Florida grant received in 2019.
High-speed internet
The Local Technology Planning Team — which includes community leaders and subject matter experts — has been on the fast track, learning how to proceed with submitting letters of support for projects to the Florida Office of Broadband. These would expand the availability of high-speed internet in rural parts of the county.
Kornegay said they have sent letters supporting two projects. A plan for Comcast in the northwest portion of the county and for Windstream in the southwest.
“They sent us their maps and their plans, and we decided to endorse both of them because the two plans were complimentary,” he said.
Oracle Lab
Kornegay was invited in January to visit the Oracle Innovations Lab opened in Deerfield, Illinois, last year. While there, he promoted Bradford County and the airport as a site for a future lab.
Since then, there have been three follow-up meetings. They are interested in Bradford, and a steering committee is being formed.
“I don’t want to jinx anything or say anything that’s not true, but I’m very excited about this,” he said.
According to Oracle, their labs provide customers a hands-on environment to develop new ideas and create solutions leveraging technology from Oracle and more than 30 industry partners. In the labs, customers from a variety of industries can test and validate new technologies in a simulated environment.
The Deerfield lab focused first on energy and water, construction and engineering, communications, and manufacturing.
The enormity of the possible
The county doesn’t have a single individual assigned to human resources, much less a department. Kornegay is looking at placing a consultant on retainer to provide that function. The county needs help with recruitment and retention, as well as updating its policies and procedures.
“I don’t think archaic is too strong of a word to use when it comes to our policies and procedures. They’re just so outdated, and they need attention desperately,” he said.
The county knows growth is coming, and impact fees will be evaluated to help pay for the demand on public services. As for electric franchise fees, he said Florida Power and Light is on board, and all that remains is for the commission to vote and the documents to be signed. Clay Electric is a “different animal,” he said, and they are still evaluating how to handle that.
Kornegay closed with his wife’s favorite quote, an observation by First Lady Rosalyn Carter: “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”
The manager said that is where Bradford is right now, facing some hard decisions that nevertheless must be made.
“I think that’s what we’re doing, and I think we’re doing it thoughtfully, deliberately and correctly,” he said.
What city and county managers around the state share is that none of them get any sleep because of all the job entails, Kornegay said.
“What scares me is the fact that there’s so much possibility and so much potential here in Bradford County, and so I think we shouldn’t be afraid of the enormity of the possible.”
Commissioners and partners alike heaped praise on Kornegay at the conclusion of his presentation, with the unanimous agreement being that his hiring was one of the best decisions the commission has made. Commissioner Kenny Thompson called for a standing ovation from the board, and officials and partners from the city of Starke, airport and business community took turns sharing how impressed they are with Kornegay and his past and present accomplishments.
Kornegay said the presentation wasn’t all about him.
“These department heads that we have — unbelievable,” he said. “That’s what’s gotten us where we are: the leadership of our departments and their willingness to work through problems and enjoy the success that comes with it.”
Other presentation highlights
—When Kornegay started, there was no executive assistant, county attorney or auditor. All those positions were successfully filled, although because of personal issues, he is searching to replace his executive assistant.
—There was also no spending plan for more than $5 million in federal ARPA funding, but since that time, the money has been allocated for courthouse climatization improvements, the RJE gymnasium renovations and — at $4 million — a plan to extend water and sewer lines down State Road 16 to the bypass to serve future development. This partnership demonstrates work toward building better relationships with other local governments, Kornegay said.
—The status of the phosphate mining application was finally resolved by its withdrawal.
—The commission and school board have agreed upon a redistricting map. Both boards will be voting to approve the map in May.
—Vincent Esson and the Keystone Heights RV Resort have agreed to fund construction of living quarters for fire personnel at Station 10 in a fast-growing portion of the county. Esson and the county area also working together on the placement of a solar farm at the closed landfill that could power the resort and benefit the county as well.
—In the past few weeks, working with the health department, they’ve implemented a solution for contractors who were waiting months for septic permits. The Department of Health is now compensating the county to accept those application in-house through the Building and Zoning Department.
—CareerSource is leasing vacant space in the courthouse annex through an $1,800 a month lease that was finally approved.
—Kornegay is encouraging the county let go of its “lazy assets” — properties the county is not using that could be returned to the tax rolls while reducing insurance liability costs.
—The manager also summarized some very active departments, including the library and UF/IFAS Bradford County Extension Office.
—Kornegay has been invited to appear as part of a five-person panel at the annual conference of the Florida City and County Managers Association. The topic will be building relationships between managers and commissioners. It will be another opportunity to elevate Bradford at the state level.
