The Crescent City Commission met the evening of March 9th. On the agenda was “School Board Representative Q&A,” which began with a presentation by Associate Superintendent Thomas Bolling.
The good news is that the School District now seems somewhat motivated to locate the new Elementary School somewhere outside of downtown if a deal can be reached with a developer to provide a new location plus buy the existing school property…and very quickly. This perhaps is due to the realization that the existing location will be difficult and expensive to redevelop, plus due to the public outcry in opposition to locating a new school in the middle of our National Register Historic District. The bad news is that without resolute advocacy from City leadership, any developer is likely to want to simply bulldoze our Historic School to make way for whatever is in their redevelopment vision. Mr. Bolling said as much in his presentation. In this scenario the key to saving our Historic School structures is the will and expertise of City leaders to do so.
There was a handful of supporters of the historic school present for the meeting, but they were prepared and were looking forward - after two years - to having the opportunity for their questions and concerns to be heard and responded to by a representative of the School District. BUT, the Mayor surprisingly advised those present that this meeting was only for the City Commission to ask questions, not the public.
There were few questions from the dais other than an extensive and well-prepared list from Commissioner DeVitto. One of Commissioner DeVitto’s questions was regarding an Interlocal Agreement executed by the City and the School District in 2008. That agreement explicitly calls for cooperation and communication between these two government entities under Florida Statutes 163.31777 and 1013.33. This agreement has been completely ignored with no effort made to comply with its requirements. The response by the School District and the City was little more than “Oops!”
The Mayor and City Manager had no questions. After answering questions from the Commission, Associate Superintendent Bolling promptly left the building.
For the third time over the past year, the School District delivered its PowerPoint presentation and then refused to hear the questions and concerns of the community they serve. Instead, the public was advised to either attend a future School Board meeting in Palatka or to contact Mr. Bolling directly with any questions.
At this point, the best hope for those who want to see the Historic Crescent City School preserved is: 1) That the School District will join with a developer to locate the new school elsewhere outside of our National Register Historic District and, 2) That City leadership shows unwavering resolve to ensure that any redevelopment of the existing school site is in strict compliance with Crescent City Land Development Regulations and the Downtown Redevelopment Area, which emphasizes historic preservation. This includes repurposing the three historic structures (the original 1927 Main Building, gymnasium, and auditorium).
Absent a FORMIDABLE outcry from citizens, Government bureaucracy will typically push forward with their agenda regardless of public sentiment.
It is therefore critically important that you email Crescent City leadership and Putnam County School District leadership at once to voice your support of locating the new Crescent City Elementary School in some location other than in the middle of our National Register Historic District.
Decision makers may be emailed as follows:
Putnam County School District
Dr. Rick Surrency, Superintendent, rsurrency@my.putnamschools.org
Thomas Bolling, Assoc. Superintendent, tbolling@my.putnamschools.org
Holly Pickens, (Fruitland Peninsula) School Board Member, hpickens@my.putnamschools.org
David M. Buckles, School Board Member, dbuckles@my.putnamschools.org
Sandra Gilyard, School Board Member, sgilyard@my.putnamschools.org
Linda Wagner, School Board Member, lwagner@my.putnamschools.org
Phil Leary School Board Member, pleary@my.putnamschools.org
City of Crescent City
Charles Rudd, City Manager, citymanager@crescentcity-fl.com
Michele Myers, Mayor/Commissioner, mayor@crescentycity-fl.com
H. Harry Banks, Commissioner, hhbanks@crescentcity-fl.com
Cynthia Burton, Commissioner, cburton@crescentcity-fl.com
Lisa Kane DeVitto, Commissioner, ldevitto@crescentcity-fl.com
Christopher Bailey, Commissioner, cbailey@crescentcity-fl.com
Please also consider sending a Letter to the Editor of the Palatka Daily News at publicforum@palatkadailynews.com.