Due to the health and safety of the community, the following closures and cancellations have been made in St. Johns County and surrounding areas.
St. Johns County
In the interest of public safety and in an effort to minimize the impact of COVID-19, the following St. Johns County facilities and programs are closed to the public or have been canceled until further notice.
■ All St. Johns County libraries and the library bookmobile.
■ All recreational facilities, recreational programming, recreational events, and all permitted events, including organized youth and adult sports, on St. Johns County property.
■ The St. Johns County Ocean and Fishing Pier Gift Shop and all permitted events on associated County property, including the parking lot, volleyball courts and the pier pavilion.
■ All events scheduled to occur at the St. Johns County Fairgrounds.
■ All events scheduled to occur at the St. Johns County Agriculture Center.
■ All events scheduled to occur at the St. Johns Golf Club.
■ The St. Johns County Pet Center.
■ All St. Johns County recycling and community collection events.
■ All St. Johns County Fire Rescue community programming.
■ All St. Johns County beaches.
■ All boat ramps, parks, green spaces and trails remain open for the public to safely enjoy, the county said. For more information, call the St. Johns County Emergency Management hotline at (904) 824-5550.
St Johns County EOC COVID-19 Citizens Information Hotline
The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners declared a Local State of Emergency in response to COVID-19 on March 17. In response, the St Johns County Emergency Operations Center has been elevated to a level two partial activation and the COVID-19 Citizens Information Hotline is now active between 8 a.m.-6 p.m., seven days a week. St. Johns County residents can call the hotline at (904) 824-5550 for information regarding facility closures, program cancellations, and current St Johns County COVID-19 guidelines.
SJC utility customer service/billing lobby closed, additional services available
The St. Johns County utility customer service/billing lobby is closed to walk-in customers until further notice. Their on-site drive-through, drop box locations, and pay-by-phone options will remain open to accept payments and
provide services. Online bill payment and other utility services are also available at
www.sjcfl.us/utilities. The Utility Department standard operating business hours are
7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For additional information, call Utility Customer Service at (904) 209-2700.
Updated St. Augustine policies
The following decisions go into effect immediately:
■ The City Commission agenda will be limited to only those items essential to city business. Items that are not time-sensitive may be postponed.
■ In regards to public comment, and in lieu of physical attendance, the city encourages individuals to submit comments via email to cityclerk@citystaug.com which will subsequently be read into the public record.
For those organizations receiving a recognition and/or proclamation from the City Commission, the city is requesting representation by one attendee. The city has also determined that non-essential staff will not attend public meetings in person, but will monitor meetings online through the city’s website at www.CityStAugTV.com.
■ In compliance with best practices of social distancing, city staff will be minimizing person-to-person contact by holding meetings through teleconference and online virtual meetings.
■ Until April 1, to ease the burden of past due balances for utilities, the city will not shut off water service.
■ Customers who wish to submit permit applications or pickup approved permits should not appear in person, but instead correspond via email to BuildingPermits@citystaug.com for planning and building permits, and PWpermits@citystaug.com for Public Works permits.
■ Customers who wish to make payments for utilities or permits, should not appear in person, but instead call to make payment arrangements over the phone:
Customer Service (utility billing): (904) 825-1037
Planning & Building (building permits, business licenses): (904) 825-1065, ext. 2
Public Works (right-of-way and site construction permits): (904) 825-1040, ext. 6
For more information, call (904) 293-3307.
Updated Nocatee Policies
■ In an effort to maximize compliance with State of Florida Executive Orders and other social distancing recommendations, CDD playgrounds and sports courts will remain closed until further notice. CDD playgrounds are in Greenleaf Park, Cypress Park, Twenty Mile Park, Twenty Mile Post, Addison Park and Lakeside Park.
■ Currently, all CDD facilities are closed, with the exception of limited staffing of the Resident Services office.
■ Closures include all pools and waterparks, all events, activities and rentals of Crosswater Hall, the fitness center, playgrounds and sports courts.
■ Coastal Wine Market has canceled home delivery in effort to eliminate human contact. Gift cards can still be purchased via Venmo by sending the amount requested to @coastalwine.
■ The decision to close our facilities is based on recommendations to reduce health risks associated with the COVID-19 virus by the St Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the St Johns County Emergency Management and other local health officials.
■ The Nocatee Welcome Center remains open, but a scheduled appointment is required. The Nocatee Welcome Center is currently not allowing Walk-In Visitors. Call (904) 924-6863 to speak with a Welcome Center representative for more information or to schedule an appointment.
Connect Virtually
View an online Nocatee Welcome Center Presentation and Tour via this link.
A live chat feature is available on the page, and a Welcome Center Representative is available to answer any questions that you may have. The staff is available to answer questions and give presentations by phone at (904) 924-6863. Email any questions to welcomecenter@nocatee.com
Facility Closures
■ The St. Johns Golf Club, St. Johns County’s parks, open green spaces and trails remain open.
■ In addition, Veterans Services, the Permit Center, Health and Human Services, Utilities Services, and all other County business services remain open to the public and operational.
■ The Beaches Museum is closed until further notice..
■ The Cultural Center of Ponte Vedra Beach is closed until further notice.
■ The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is closed until April 3.
■ The Jacksonville Symphony has canceled concerts through April 1, with possible livestream performances to be aired for the public. .
■ The Ponte Vedra Concert Hall events that were to take place from March 19 through April 1 have been postponed.
■ The Ponte Vedra Beach Rotary Club has canceled its upcoming events for the next eight weeks. In addition to regular weekly meetings, this will also include the Local Heroes event scheduled for April 2 and the Mineral City Celebration on May 9. The club still intends to honor this year’s Local Heroes award recipients and will present their plaques privately.
■ Publix has changed its store and pharmacy hours with all stores now closing at 8 p.m.
■ The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum is closed until further notice.
■ The St. Johns Golf Club is postponing all Sunday Junior Golf Clinics until further notice.
■ The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts is closed to the public. Events from March 19 through April 1 have been postponed.
■ St. Johns County Public Libraries to host Facebook Live Storytime in response to COVID-19
■ St. Johns County Public Library will host virtual storytimes at 11 a.m., Monday through Friday, on Facebook Live.Youth services librarians will be reading stories from the library’s collection. The storytimes last approximately 30 minutes and are recorded and posted on the Library’s Facebook page for those who miss the live showing. For more information, or to watch a storytime, please visit www.facebook.com/sjcpls.
Compiled by Daniela Toporek
The weekly calendar has been suspended due to the pandemic. Email cancellations, closures, postponements and updates to daniela@opcfla.com or pvrecorder@opcfla.com
