FLEMING ISLAND — Residents got a chance to get up close and personal with a commissioner, hear about local crime statistics and meet a special member of the Clay County Sheriff's Office team at the March 13 Sheriff's Neighborhood Engagement Team (NET) Town Hall. 

The Sheriff's NET Town Hall invites the community every month to hear from local officials on what’s happening around the county.

Held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, speakers at the meeting included District 1 Commissioner John Sgromolo, Assistant Chief of Patrol South Chad Ricks and Clay County Sheriff's Office Task Force Sergeant Freeland.

Ricks began the evening by relaying a few statistics to those in attendance. In 2024, the office received more than 275,000 calls for service, made over 4,000 arrests and saw over 3,000 traffic crashes. 

With Sgromolo, residents discussed a handful of topics including current and future road construction, and project updates.

Through a federal grant of over $1 million, Sgromolo said the intersection of County Road 220 and Lakeshore Drive West will soon be getting a new traffic light. He said it’s due to the extreme dangers of the intersection. 

The county is also planning to build five new fire stations in the coming years. Fleming Island will see a new one located just off of Arena Road, replacing Station 22 on Pine Avenue. 

Sgromolo said this new location will allow for fire and rescue to service a greater radius. 

The Clay County Sheriff's Office station dog JP, however, remained the star of the evening. The gray Labradoodle, whose name stands for Justice Patrol, was accompanied by his handler, Rhonda Jett. 

Greg Wells, director of K9s For Warriors Station Dog Program, gave a presentation on how important dogs like JP are to mental health. 

JP and many other therapy dogs were donated by K9s for Warriors to agencies throughout Northeast Florida to help law enforcement officers who are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health problems.

Well said the usage of therapy dogs within the Sheriff's Office began five years ago. He said that dogs like JP, foster community engagement and ground officers, and even victims, during crises.

The next Sheriff’s NET Town Hall meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. April 17 at the Middleburg Civic Center. For a full schedule of future meetings, visit https://www.claysheriff.com/sheriffs-net/.