Garbage and recycle collection continue to be a major talking point as the Ponte Vedra Municipal Service District continues to work out the situation since the St. Johns County Commission agreed to terminate its trash collection contract with FCC Environmental Servies on Aug. 20.
As part of the contract that had been initially agreed upon prior to the termination, FCC agreed to conduct an audit of the houses in the MSD to find the exact number serviced, which would in turn reduce the price of the service.
According to MSD chairman Al Hollon, there are 1,824 taxable parcels within the MSD boundary, of those 200 are vacant lots or unoccupied and 590 are condos and the MSD only services 160 of those, which means the MSD services 360 less homes than FCC charged them for and even more do not have the capability to receive the extra service of side-door pickup.
Hollon has reached out to FCC about completing the audit and FCC operations manager Ray Mazzaferro was on the agenda to speak at the MSD meeting but did not attend.
“A joint audit is in the contract to determine of family homes that are served in the MSD, and I’d be happy to ride with them and count the homes,” Hollon said.
Treasurer Rick Brown said that he would not advise short paying an invoice, and instead advised sending a letter and see if they could provide a rebate.
“A short pay is what creates a line of credit issue for a lot of people,” Brown said.
Trustee Charles Callaghan asked if the county is going to package the MSD or any other communities to try to make it more attractive for companies to bid on when it comes to the second pickup option?
“I’ve talked to two vendors and they’re looking at the number of households being served,” Hollon said. “We would need at least 3,000 households to make it worth while to some of these vendors. They look at the numbers and we just don’t have that in the MSD without going to Sawgrass, Marsh Landing and maybe even over to Nocatee, which would make it more attractive.”
Due to the recent waste collection contract adopted, the MSD did approve to make a line-item transfer of $48,000 to counteract the contingent financial difference in the allotted sanitation budget for the final two months of the current fiscal year.
In other news, the board unanimously approved to allow trustee Brad Wester to seek bids for the northern segment of the proposed sidewalk project down Ponte Vedra Boulevard from San Juan Drive to Ponte Vedra Circle.
“I think it’s a pretty simple section but good to get that going,” Wester said. “Especially with a lot of residents using the northern beach access point now that the county owns it.”
According to Wester, the tentative $75,000 allotted for the project in the new proposed fiscal budget should be enough to fund it.
The MSD will hold a special meeting to approve the final budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year on Sept. 16 at the Ponte Vedra Beach Public Library.
Wester also informed the board that the Ponte Vedra Zoning & Adjustment Board approved a concession to amend the no-parking ordinance on San Juan Drive with a 4-1 vote in favor.
The next step is for the proposed amendment to go toward the County Commission at their next meeting where they will conduct the final vote.
If passed, the ordinance would be amended to enforce no parking along San Juan Drive from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. After 5 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends guests of residents would then be able to park along the road, but contractors would still be not allowed.
