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First town hall meeting is start of new mayoral vision

By Eric Cravey
Posted 10/17/18

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – Mayor Karen Lake rolled out Tuesday the second of multiple initiatives she wants to put in place during her term as leader of city council.

Although the 30-minute gathering …

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First town hall meeting is start of new mayoral vision


Posted

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – Mayor Karen Lake rolled out Tuesday the second of multiple initiatives she wants to put in place during her term as leader of city council.

Although the 30-minute gathering was attended by fewer than 10 residents, Lake deemed the first Town Hall meeting a successful first start. She said the idea originated with the city’s voters.

“You know, when you run for an elected office, you pound the pavement and you knock on doors. As I was knocking on doors during this past election cycle, lots of folks had lots of great ideas, so I brought many of them to the awareness of the city manager and city clerk and showed them to the city council,” Lake said opening the meeting.

While the remaining four city council members were in attendance, the council sat scattered in the audience while Lake spoke informally from the podium that is usually used for citizen comments at each council meeting.

She said once she discussed the town hall concept with other council members, they all said they had fielded similar requests from residents who wanted similar types of meetings outside of the formality associated with a regular council meeting. Also present were City Manager Scott Kornegay and City Clerk Lynne Rutkowski, but no votes could be made at the meeting.

Lake said the town hall concept is a great way for residents to “just to come down, meet with their elected officials and find out what’s going on” in city government.

“We collectively agreed that we would host a town hall meeting to give folks an opportunity to share with us how we’re doing, what we could improve on to improve our quality of life here in the city,” Lake said.

Lake then gave attendees with a brief overview of the some of the long-term projects underway that will address quality of life in the new budget cycle.

Like her predecessor, former Mayor Tony Brown, Lake is excited about the Palatka-Lake Butler Trailhead that runs through the city. She said the project is now moving into phase two, which will involve building a parking lot and restrooms, so cyclists can have a respite on the trial.

The city is also in the process of building a new public works building behind Hitchcock’s on city-owned property. She also announced the city will soon be replacing the city’s sign at the curve at Keystone Beach and Lawrence Boulevard that was destroyed in a car crash during the past year.

“It’ll be a digital sign. I think it’ll be a great addition in terms of keeping residents informed of information on what is going on,” Lake said.

The city is also working with the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization in Jacksonville to install an elective vehicle charging station in the city tennis courts parking lot across from city hall.

She encouraged residents to attend the Oct. 25 Open House meeting at city hall council chambers in which engineers from the Florida Department of Transportation will share information and ask questions regarding upcoming upgrades to Lawrence Boulevard and State Road 21. The meeting, which has not set presentation, is a drop-in, discussion format that begins at 4:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. the same evening, city council chambers will host the Clay County Sheriff’s Office Neighborhood Engagement Team meeting.

The SR 21 upgrade project, which is part routine five-year scheduled maintenance of State Road 21, will now involve sprucing up the city’s core business district.

The city’s long-planned and discussed Streetscape 2020 project will now be included in the state’s routine resurfacing project for the roadway. Streetscape 2020 includes reshaping the city’s downtown to give it a more walkable look while also calming traffic flow.

The main topic of discussion brought forward by a town hall attendee surrounded re-opening the once-a-month farmer’s market in Keystone Heights Natural Park across Lawrence Boulevard from City Hall.

Kornegay cautioned council members and Ron Hutto of Melrose, who lead the farmer’s market discussion, that the Streetscape 2020 construction could place a four-month interruption on any activity at the city park. Hutto currently serves as the interim manager of the Midway Farmer’s Market in the Midway community between Keystone Heights and Melrose.

“The reality is, during the construction phase, it’s going to mean some discomfort. It will be messy, it will cause some aggravation, but by the time we see the end results, the product we’ll have, we’ll be happy when they’re done,” Kornegay said.

From the audience, Council Member Larry Peoples Sr. chimed in and added that downtown is going to look like Disney World when it’s completed.

The town hall was the second new initiative Lake introduced since becoming mayor. The new Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council – Lake’s first new initiative – will hold its kickoff meeting at 5 p.m. on Nov. 26. Youth will sit in city council members’ seats and ask and respond to questions with City Attorney Rich Komando, who will join in a discussion and lesson on Florida’s Open Government or Sunshine Laws. Rutkowksi and Kornegay will also be there with Lake, who will serve as lead mentor and maestro, of sorts for the new “council.”

Lake said the Youth Council idea is not re-inventing the wheel. She is patterning her council on a model previously developed and implemented by the Florida League of Cities that can be used by any Florida governing body that wishes to engage youth.

“As mayor, I just love the engagement piece. There’s a lot of ways to engage people; it can be as simple as going out and having lunch at the senior center and just going out and finding out who is in your community and asking what we can do for them,” Lake said.