Q: What is happening to the roadway on County Dock Road?
A: Due to the extreme popularity of the County Dock and in an effort to provide some safety for neighbors, we determined that traffic calming devices (speed humps) were needed between Mandarin Road and the County Dock.
Q: Do you have an update on the County Dock property development?
A: The neighborhood committee has been working on conditions that they would find acceptable. They are ready to meet with the applicant to go over them, likely at a meeting the first week of November.
Q: What’s the latest on the Orange Picker Road realignment?
A: JEA electric relocated the overhead power to the new right of way and low voltage utilities are working on their relocation to the new poles. The contractor is working on design coordination with JEA for water and sewer relocation. The project is 20 percent complete with anticipated completion in March 2024.
Q: Is the Julington Creek Bridge finally open?
A:Yes, the bridge is open to traffic and the contractor is working on the remaining items, including the pressure washing and painting of the side barriers. The remaining work will not require the bridge to be closed as the work can be done with shoulder closures while work is going on. Once again, on behalf of the city, I’d like to apologize for all of the inconveniences that this project caused all of you.
Q: Do you have an answer to the constituent questions at the recent Town Hall meeting regarding the “No Right Turn” sign on Hartley Road at San Jose Boulevard?
A: The FDOT informed me that: “This sign was installed to address a crash history involving westbound Hartley Road right-turning crashes. The FDOT Structures office determined the sign could not be placed at the ideal location, which would be overhead on the mast arm next to the traffic signal head relating to the right-turn movement. Given that the sign could not be placed overhead, the next best location is on the corner of the approach to which the regulation applies. The sign is large and placed as close to the corner as possible without interfering with the sidewalk. All right-turning traffic drives adjacent to the sign to approach the signal. It is understood that the Hartley Road approach is on a significant curve which makes the driving task more difficult, therefore an oversized sign size was used to convey the message.”
Q: Can you shed any insight on the proposed American Legion Post on Old St. Augustine Road?
A: The Planning Department did not recommend approval of this project because the facility will serve alcohol; however, subsequently, both the Planning Commission and the LUZ gave unanimous approval. The project will come to the full City Council in late October [after the date of this interview]. The American Legion representatives say that their membership consists only of Mandarin residents and the proposed facility will not be open to the public or used as an event venue.
Q: Do you have any general City Council updates?
A: I am spearheading a new special committee for the council tasked with exploring the location, cost, healthcare, mental healthcare and other issues involved with relocating the jail out of downtown. We’ve broken up into five working groups and have added looking at the future needs of the current administration and detention facilities to make them safe and secure for the foreseeable future as we explore potentially moving the jail at some point in the future. This was not one of our original charges.
Q: What is the best way for our readers to contact you?
A: Community members can email me at MBoylan@coj.net or call (904) 255-5206.
