June, 2008 For and about Fernandina Beach’s Historic District Publisher/Editor Chuck Hall
City Commission Meets Downtown Association
The Commissioners met with the HFBA on Tuesday June 10th, to discuss how the two could work together more closely to create a long-term vision for the downtown, and for the Historic District overall. The meeting covered a variety of topics such as waterfront redevelopment, maintenance of the downtown area, events for downtown, and the most important item: participation in the Florida Main Street Program!
The Main Street Program could provide a vast amount of expertise and resources to our downtown, and has been used very successfully in other towns around the State. I’m really hopeful that the City and the HFBA can work together to bring this program here.
Only a few towns are accepted annually to the program, we were unsuccessful a few years ago in our effort to become part of the program. However, thanks in part to our new CRA, we are better poised to be picked as a candidate for this program.
There has been a lot of work toward this goal by many members of the downtown merchants over the years. Perhaps someday soon, all that work will pay off. You can find out more by browsing to: http://www.flheritage.com/preservation/architecture/mainstreet/
City To Allow Musicians Downtown!?!
Finally! After weeks of waiting and meeting with the City Commission and officials, we have finally hammered out a deal that will allow Street Performers back onto the streets here in downtown Fernandina. I met with these people many times, even after our very successful ‘pilot program’ in April.
As you may know, the HFBA has been working with the City to place acoustic musicians and performers along Centre Street for entertainment. Our pilot program was a big hit, but we had to work with the City to create a better ordinance to secure our right to play downtown, and to protect the rights of other performers and citizens, too.
So, come on downtown every Friday and Saturday evening from 2PM until 8 PM to enjoy some acoustic music from our Street Musicians. Oh, and if you are a musician interested in joining us, just call me!
“My Charleston Trip”
We recently returned home from a short visit to Charleston, SC. I wanted to mention the efforts they go through there to preserve their Historic District. There are actually 2 things that really piqued my interest in the ways that they enforce their preservation ideals.
One item was the tree ordinance. They have fantastic old Live Oaks there, much like ours here, and they are really serious about keeping them alive While locally, our penalty is a serious inch-per-inch diameter replacement cost ($5,000 for a grand old oak), Charleston has a penalty of $100,000.00 per tree cut down without permission!
The second thing that I thought was interesting was their determination to keep their old buildings, even when they seemed less-than-perfect. Example: there was a huge earthquake there many years ago, and scores of homes were damaged to the point of being far from straight and level. When you look at the house from the street, it leans so far over as to appear to be falling! (yes, really)
The City will NOT allow them to tear down these structures, and people still reside in them today. While efforts have been made to secure and make the structures safe, the buildings are really strange looking. “Never-you-mind”, says the city, it’s all part of the historic record for Charleston.
We could learn a thing or two from other cities that have taken very serious steps to historic preservation. Millions of dollars in quality revenue are attracted by historic preservation. Again, the long-term view proves to be the most beneficial.
Album Debut at Florida House
Local singer – songwriters, Robert Sanders and Michael Howerton of the band “Whitby Quinn” invite all to the CD release of their debut album entitled “She’s Gone”. The Release Party is set for Thursday, June 26, 2008 at the Florida House Inn in the Frisky Mermaid. 7-10PM.
Robert brought a copy of the CD to me for a quick listen: I developed an ‘ear worm’ after listening to the first track, “Where She Goes”….it’s really catchy….I kept singing it all day!
They will be signing copies at the party. Listen for yourself at the website www.whitbyquinn.com. There are these cool links that will play the songs without a download! Neat…
Chuck Hall 904-261-6846
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