BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
Starke commissioners are following through with a land trade that will make way for a new townhome development and move veterans park closer to the Downtown Square.
Dwight Hewett of The Doran Jason Group of Florida and engineer Chris Raley, president of Sustainable Construction Group, presented the plan to commissioners in October, requesting a property swap to raise the number of townhomes to make the project viable.
The 45 modern and environmentally sustainable townhomes known as Citywalk is part of a plan to revitalize the Call Street corridor.
Some continued to oppose the swap because they didn’t want Charles Schaefer Veterans Memorial Park moved. Businessman and veteran Albert Mize told the commission that support for veterans should be showcased, and that is what having the park on “Main Street” does. He didn’t want to see it tucked away behind a housing complex. Instead, he wanted the city to “stop the swap” and purchase the adjoining properties to expand it.
Commissioner Andy Redding said the intent was to improve the park, not minimize its importance or the importance of the community’s veterans. Since a move was first proposed, veterans have come to support the plan because the park is staying on Call Street.
“This piece of property with this swap will substantially improve the veterans park … that will be downtown by the square where we can showcase and celebrate all of our veterans,” Redding said.
Something Redding has pointed out in the past is that the park doesn’t feature all conflicts and hasn’t been updated in years. Norman Dowdy, commander of American Legion Post 56, agreed this was an opportunity to upgrade the park with additional monuments.
Speaker Carl Peterson criticized the supposedly “broke” city spending additional money, and he and Deborah Mize both said there was a lack of public knowledge about what was happening. Progress isn’t always good, Deborah Mize said, and like politics everywhere, money was doing the talking.
John Cruz, JROTC instructor for Bradford schools, is someone whose opinion changed when the city sat down with veterans to discuss the plan. That resulted in an overwhelming vote of support by members of the American Legion. Cruz said he supported them.
“My cadets participate in multiple events down there, and I think it’d be better at the new location, which is less than a block away,” Cruz said, adding the park will remain visible from Call Street.
Redding said the result of the city and veterans sharing their points of view is a is a shared vision to celebrate the contributions of local veterans.
Commissioners Danny Nugent and Shannon Smith wanted some assurance that if the property swap were approved, the former park property would be used to develop the Citywalk project as presented by Hewett and Raley. Hewett confirmed their commitment to townhome development. They asked the city attorney to include a copy of the site plan with the resolution.
Hewett also reminded the board that veterans and first responders would be among the prioritized groups offered housing along with teachers and nurses.
“We want to honor the veterans, too, by saying here’s an opportunity for you to have a nice home in this town, where you can walk to the downtown merchants like Mr. And Mrs. Mize, and other merchants. We think this is a fantastic opportunity for not only for us, but also for the veterans and for the city of Starke,” he said.
Commissioners voted 4-0 to move forward with the agreement, with Mayor Scott Roberts absent.
City attorney Clay Walker explained that the property swap isn’t final until the city approves the site plan. The city must also rezone the property.
Hewett said as soon as the permitting process with the city and water management district is complete, they are ready to get started on construction.
