Q: Can you let us know some of the things that have caught your attention while serving on the Library Advisory Committee?
A: One thing I have learned is that our St. Johns County Public Libraries have all kinds of things besides books, audiobooks, and videos for patrons to check out with their library cards. There is a Library of Things, which includes non-traditional items such as telescopes, color blind glasses, ukuleles, chess sets, CD players, and Library Adventure Packs with binoculars, maps and a compass.
One sweet story of a patron involves a widow who had a cassette recording of her late husband’s voice, but no cassette player to listen to it on. The library was able to lend her one. Individual branches have different items, so be sure to check with your local library to see what they have available. I’m so glad we’re serving our community in this way.
Q: What’s the latest you have to report on the beach renourishment project?
A: The beach in Ponte Vedra Beach is almost finished with renourishment. It’s incredible — the beach is almost two times as wide and with this extra width, the dunes are more protected since the water is out farther. Also, the color of the sand used is causing the color of the water to just be beautiful.
Q: While talking about the beach, do you have any safety tips to share?
A: Our lifeguards are out in full force and it’s always a good idea to swim near a lifeguard. But be careful to never swim near someone who is fishing. Swimmers could get hooked or, it’s important to remember that a struggling fish on the end of a line can attract predator fish to the immediate area.
Q: Do you have any update on the nearly concluded budget process for this year?
A: I’m not thrilled with how it’s going right now. I would like to see a tax rollback in accordance with property tax TRIM notices this year. This “rollback rate,” would essentially allow the county to collect the same amount of money as last year and would result in homeowners paying less in taxes than with the new budget proposal. I think we need to find alternate funding sources, like we did with the bonds for the new parks and the public safety improvements. We also need to consider our wants and needs and adjust accordingly. I’m going to try to convince my fellow commissioners at our upcoming meetings to do the rollback to try to provide some relief to taxpayers.
Q: What is the best way for our readers to contact you?
A: Readers can email me at bcc4kjoseph@sjcfl.us or call me at (904) 679-2620.
