TRANSKRIPTIO 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:08.129 --> 00:00:11.490
Welcome back to County Conversations, a podcast
00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.210
show by St. John's County to help build community
00:00:14.210 --> 00:00:16.829
trust by expanding opportunities for the public
00:00:16.829 --> 00:00:20.109
to gain access to information and awareness and
00:00:20.109 --> 00:00:22.329
understanding of government operations. This
00:00:22.329 --> 00:00:24.829
is episode three, and we have Greg Caldwell,
00:00:24.949 --> 00:00:26.949
our public works director, back with us talking
00:00:26.949 --> 00:00:29.449
about county infrastructure. Welcome back, Greg.
00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:32.729
Oh, thanks for having me again. Let's talk about
00:00:32.729 --> 00:00:36.130
parks. The public may not be aware, in addition
00:00:36.130 --> 00:00:39.109
to building the roads that we talked about in
00:00:39.109 --> 00:00:42.969
episode two, as well as stormwater management.
00:00:43.990 --> 00:00:46.509
Public Works also is spearheading, in partnership
00:00:46.509 --> 00:00:49.109
with Parks and Recreation Department, the building
00:00:49.109 --> 00:00:51.729
of parks. Talk to us a little bit about that.
00:00:51.770 --> 00:00:55.090
Currently, you've got 21 park projects in the
00:00:55.090 --> 00:00:59.750
budget valued at $122 million. Talk to us about
00:00:59.750 --> 00:01:02.310
how the parks are going. It's great to be a part
00:01:02.310 --> 00:01:04.709
of working with the parks team Ryan Kane the
00:01:04.709 --> 00:01:06.750
director of parks and recreation does a great
00:01:06.750 --> 00:01:09.049
job over there and We're able to work with them
00:01:09.049 --> 00:01:10.969
to understand their vision. What are they trying
00:01:10.969 --> 00:01:12.689
to accomplish? How are they trying to improve
00:01:12.689 --> 00:01:14.450
the quality of life for the residents of st?
00:01:14.569 --> 00:01:17.109
John's County and It's just amazing to be a part
00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:19.189
of that type of project because it is different
00:01:19.189 --> 00:01:21.030
than a roadway. It's different than a stormwater
00:01:21.030 --> 00:01:24.310
system It's something that has a little bit more
00:01:24.310 --> 00:01:27.250
touch with the community and listening to ryan
00:01:27.250 --> 00:01:29.790
and his team to understand how they want to deliver
00:01:29.790 --> 00:01:32.370
quality of life improvements for all over the
00:01:32.370 --> 00:01:35.129
area it's amazing to be a part of you mentioned
00:01:35.129 --> 00:01:38.109
quality of life and it's important to note part
00:01:38.109 --> 00:01:40.469
of the strategic plan which we talked about in
00:01:40.469 --> 00:01:42.650
episode two which one of those six priorities
00:01:42.650 --> 00:01:46.430
is infrastructure another part of the plan another
00:01:46.430 --> 00:01:50.530
priority if you will is community trust and so
00:01:51.380 --> 00:01:54.599
Park projects kind of bring or bridge together
00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:57.359
the infrastructure part in the community trust
00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:00.680
part together because You work with parks public
00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:02.799
works works with parks and recreation to have
00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:05.280
these community meetings and get feedback from
00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:07.439
the community Talk about that process before
00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:09.919
shovel one goes into the ground and I think that's
00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:12.620
a great thing that parks and rec does ahead of
00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:14.419
the time and then during the construction or
00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:16.659
I'm sorry during the design effort to make sure
00:02:16.659 --> 00:02:18.699
they're meeting the needs of the community because
00:02:18.699 --> 00:02:20.520
there are some passionate people in St. John's
00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:22.379
County that are looking for pickleball tennis
00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:26.960
courts or access to the beaches. Parks have an
00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:29.560
array of different components that they manage
00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:32.620
and it can range from little league baseball
00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:36.219
all the way up to boat ramps and they have a
00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:39.460
big responsibility to provide those services
00:02:39.460 --> 00:02:41.740
to the St. John's County. So meeting with the
00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:43.919
public, understanding the needs of the community
00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:47.500
is one of their big strengths, I would say, is
00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:49.620
how they reach out and talk through some of these
00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:54.800
issues. As you continue to work on renovations
00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:59.680
to existing parks and work on new parks, it's
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:02.139
important to note that just a few years ago,
00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:04.750
the Board of County Commissioners launched a
00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:08.530
plan to construct five regional parks in our
00:03:08.530 --> 00:03:12.370
community. And not only regional parks, but some
00:03:12.370 --> 00:03:14.189
community centers and other amenities that go
00:03:14.189 --> 00:03:16.789
along with those regional parks. Break down those
00:03:16.789 --> 00:03:19.830
regional parks, kind of where they're at. What's
00:03:19.830 --> 00:03:21.449
going to be at each one? Because although the
00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:23.389
regional parks, each of them is going to have
00:03:23.389 --> 00:03:26.409
different amenities and resources and some extra
00:03:26.409 --> 00:03:29.289
services. Absolutely. So Parks and Rec have looked
00:03:29.289 --> 00:03:31.189
at this just like we talk about roadways. They
00:03:31.189 --> 00:03:33.409
plan their approach. They try to strategize on
00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:35.430
where they need improvements for the community
00:03:35.430 --> 00:03:38.150
with the most benefit. So they have identified
00:03:38.150 --> 00:03:40.310
a park in the northeast portion of St. John's
00:03:40.310 -->
Load full transcript
00:03:43.050
County, another one off of Greenbrier Road, which
00:03:43.050 --> 00:03:46.629
is Greenbrier Park, as well as one off of Silverleaf
00:03:46.629 --> 00:03:49.000
and Shearwater Community. those improvements
00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.680
are going to be such a benefit for the entire
00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:55.560
St. John's County citizens because they're going
00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:58.319
to provide multi -purpose paths, they're going
00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:00.520
to provide fields, they're going to provide tracks,
00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:02.400
they're going to provide other amenities that
00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:05.919
are going to provide a major benefit to the community.
00:04:06.300 --> 00:04:08.639
But it is great to watch them come up with a
00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:10.830
vision. we were able to help them through that,
00:04:10.949 --> 00:04:13.990
bring on consultants for design efforts as well
00:04:13.990 --> 00:04:16.410
as contractors to make sure it's getting constructed
00:04:16.410 --> 00:04:18.850
appropriately. You mentioned the different types
00:04:18.850 --> 00:04:20.990
of amenities. You know, it's just not baseball.
00:04:21.129 --> 00:04:23.649
It's baseball and softball at some of these facilities.
00:04:24.350 --> 00:04:27.870
It's obviously playgrounds, but also an important
00:04:27.870 --> 00:04:32.009
part of this regional park plan that Public Works
00:04:32.009 --> 00:04:34.689
is spearheading along with Parks and Recreation
00:04:34.689 --> 00:04:39.420
is space for additional services like supervisor
00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:42.540
of elections and library hubs. Talk a little
00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:44.819
bit about that. I would say the county is doing
00:04:44.819 --> 00:04:48.000
an incredible job of seeing how we can benefit
00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.319
multiple departments with the use of one piece
00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.579
of infrastructure. So with the Parks and Rec
00:04:52.579 --> 00:04:55.459
projects that are going on, the library services
00:04:55.459 --> 00:04:58.279
was introduced to three of those parks. So they
00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:00.879
are going to have two hubs and then a standalone
00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:04.069
library. at one of these major regional parks
00:05:04.069 --> 00:05:06.250
that are getting constructed right now, as well
00:05:06.250 --> 00:05:08.089
as looking at the supervisor of election, see
00:05:08.089 --> 00:05:10.509
what their needs are, seeing how we can incorporate
00:05:10.509 --> 00:05:12.949
that into the design and then ultimate improvements
00:05:12.949 --> 00:05:15.550
going on out here. I think it's one of the key
00:05:15.550 --> 00:05:17.610
things that we're working on throughout St. John's
00:05:17.610 --> 00:05:20.430
County in multiple ways of trying to use one
00:05:20.430 --> 00:05:22.930
service and get multiple benefits out of it.
00:05:23.689 --> 00:05:26.910
I got to imagine the nuances between laying down
00:05:26.910 --> 00:05:30.970
asphalt. Digging ditches or building culverts
00:05:30.970 --> 00:05:33.610
for stormwater. We talked about in episode 2
00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:37.870
to the sensitivity and creativeness of Building
00:05:37.870 --> 00:05:40.550
a park and the different aspects of a park have
00:05:40.550 --> 00:05:44.189
got to be extreme It is amazing to be part of
00:05:44.189 --> 00:05:46.670
something like this because it does take me out
00:05:46.670 --> 00:05:49.129
of my comfort level But we do have great people
00:05:49.129 --> 00:05:51.089
here in st. John's County We have our facilities
00:05:51.089 --> 00:05:53.290
management team that come in and help us when
00:05:53.290 --> 00:05:55.009
we're building a facility because we want to
00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:57.509
make sure it's maintained to the lowest level
00:05:57.509 --> 00:06:00.370
possible, meaning it's the lowest cost to them
00:06:00.370 --> 00:06:01.850
because they're the ones that are going to take
00:06:01.850 --> 00:06:04.550
this over. So facilities maintenance has been
00:06:04.550 --> 00:06:07.009
a great proponent of this. Working with parks
00:06:07.009 --> 00:06:09.829
about creating something like AstroTurf field,
00:06:10.910 --> 00:06:13.769
even though it's a higher cost up front, the
00:06:13.769 --> 00:06:15.829
use that you get out of an AstroTurf field and
00:06:15.829 --> 00:06:17.970
the maintenance component of it. you're getting
00:06:17.970 --> 00:06:20.569
such a higher level of a benefit for the community.
00:06:20.569 --> 00:06:23.550
You're basically playing 365 days a year, where
00:06:23.550 --> 00:06:25.589
if you were putting grass down, when we get those
00:06:25.589 --> 00:06:28.069
afternoon rain showers here in St. John's County,
00:06:28.350 --> 00:06:30.730
sometimes those practices were delayed or you
00:06:30.730 --> 00:06:32.949
cannot practice on them for maybe multiple days.
00:06:33.389 --> 00:06:36.350
Now with these new systems in place, the new
00:06:36.350 --> 00:06:38.389
drainage that's underneath the artificial turf
00:06:38.389 --> 00:06:40.930
allows them to, as soon as the rain goes away,
00:06:41.310 --> 00:06:44.029
the drainage to evaporate or move through the
00:06:44.029 --> 00:06:46.449
field and then they're back open for service.
00:06:46.589 --> 00:06:49.610
We just got done talking about these big park
00:06:49.610 --> 00:06:51.930
projects that have facilities and a regional
00:06:51.930 --> 00:06:56.430
plan, but there are also some smaller yet significant
00:06:56.430 --> 00:06:59.389
parks projects that Public Works has been involved
00:06:59.389 --> 00:07:02.230
in, which is part of the CIP. One of them is
00:07:02.230 --> 00:07:06.009
the Field of Dreams, and the other one is the
00:07:06.009 --> 00:07:09.810
Valano Beach Ocean. park with the new ADA walkover.
00:07:09.850 --> 00:07:11.709
Talk about those types of projects, or maybe
00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:14.350
those specifically, how unique and special those
00:07:14.350
--> 00:07:17.410
are for the residents of our community. The field
00:07:17.410 --> 00:07:20.009
of dreams, if you ever have an opportunity to
00:07:20.009 --> 00:07:22.529
go out there and watch these children go out
00:07:22.529 --> 00:07:24.089
there and play on these fields, it will warm
00:07:24.089 --> 00:07:27.990
your heart. It's an incredible part to just have
00:07:27.990 --> 00:07:29.870
any involvement with a project like that and
00:07:29.870 --> 00:07:32.149
what it does for the community. But we were able
00:07:32.149 --> 00:07:35.069
to work with them to put in new bathrooms that
00:07:35.069 --> 00:07:38.879
are ADA accessible, do some improvements to the
00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.079
overall parking of the area and just make it
00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:45.019
a more a better experience for everybody that's
00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:46.879
involved with bringing these children to the
00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:49.100
field of dreams to play baseball or softball.
00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:51.980
It's one of those things that the Board of County
00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:54.220
Commissioners really saw that as something that
00:07:54.220 --> 00:07:56.279
they were passionate about and put money towards
00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:58.680
it and provided them something that they can
00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:02.800
use daily. The other Vlano is a park out there
00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:05.319
that ADA accessibility is one of the key things
00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:07.600
that Parks and Rec wanted to improve. We also
00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:09.899
did an improvement down in Crescent Beach as
00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:13.620
well that provides access for ADA compliance,
00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:15.639
makes sure people can get in and out of one of
00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:17.120
the best features here in St. John's County,
00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:20.000
right? 42 miles of beaches. How do we help people
00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000
be able to use them on a daily basis? You mentioned
00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:25.779
beaches and I would be remiss if I didn't ask
00:08:25.779 --> 00:08:28.899
you. We've got about a couple minutes left. a
00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:31.500
project that is very near and dear to your heart
00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:34.419
and that is the the rock revetment project down
00:08:34.419 --> 00:08:37.019
in summer haven i know you were super excited
00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:39.159
about the completion of that project and also
00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:41.759
the funding mechanisms behind it share with our
00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:43.600
audience what happened down in summer haven so
00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.139
summer haven was impacted by hurricane matthew
00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:49.360
back in 2016 there was a rock revetment that
00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:52.440
was been placed i believe in the 1940s and it
00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:54.759
was severely impacted with hurricane matthew
00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.879
and the roadway basically was washed away we
00:08:57.879
--> 00:09:01.620
were able to work with FEMA and the state to
00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:03.700
establish funding for that project through our
00:09:03.700 --> 00:09:05.919
coastal management team as well. They were such
00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.259
a great partner with Public Works to get that
00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:11.039
across the finish line. But that impact started
00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.940
in 2016 and we completed that project within
00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:17.419
the last year because we had additional hurricane
00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:19.559
impacts and major storm impacts throughout those
00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:22.669
processes. as well as we talked earlier in previous
00:09:22.669 --> 00:09:26.450
episodes about permitting. That is a very sensitive,
00:09:26.769 --> 00:09:28.389
environmentally sensitive area that we needed
00:09:28.389 --> 00:09:30.009
to make sure that the Army Corps of Engineers
00:09:30.009 --> 00:09:31.769
and everybody was on board with what we were
00:09:31.769 --> 00:09:34.889
doing. That project was an expensive project,
00:09:35.389 --> 00:09:37.850
about 14 million dollars I believe is what the
00:09:37.850 --> 00:09:40.509
cost was for construction and the great thing
00:09:40.509 --> 00:09:42.929
about it for St. John's County is we expect to
00:09:42.929 --> 00:09:46.490
get about 87 .5 % of that back through FEMA and
00:09:46.490 --> 00:09:48.960
the state. So, going through the process, making
00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:51.200
sure we handled our business appropriately and
00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:53.100
followed all the requirements of these grants,
00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:55.559
we expect to receive those funds back in the
00:09:55.559 --> 00:09:58.740
near future. Amazing. Amazing. As we mentioned
00:09:58.740 --> 00:10:00.700
in the first two episodes, all the projects you
00:10:00.700 --> 00:10:03.259
talked about, Greg, and more are available on
00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:06.220
our Featured Projects webpage, which is sjcfl
00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:11.600
.us slash Featured Projects or Featured Dash
00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:15.240
Projects. Greg, thank you again for having a
00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:17.259
conversation with us on County Conversations.
00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:19.840
We appreciate your time and attention to our
00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:22.419
CIP, otherwise known as infrastructure projects.
00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:24.620
I could talk about infrastructure projects all
00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:26.809
day, so thank you for having me. You've been
00:10:26.809 --> 00:10:29.149
listening to County Conversations with Director
00:10:29.149 --> 00:10:31.669
of Public Affairs for St. John's County, Wayne
00:10:31.669 --> 00:10:34.230
Larson. If you'd like to keep the dialogue going,
00:10:34.730 --> 00:10:36.850
like, share, and leave a review on our social
00:10:36.850 --> 00:10:40.070
media. For news, events, and resources, make
00:10:40.070 --> 00:10:44.529
sure you visit our county website, sjcfl .us.
00:10:45.070 --> 00:10:48.149
That is sjcfl .us.