The Municipal Service District (MSD) of Ponte Vedra Beach held their monthly meeting on Monday, Aug. 11, at the Ponte Vedra Library.
Chairman Kitty Switkes opened the trustee reports with an update on the beatification process of the A1A medians. She said the medians in the middle under the palm trees were being prepped to install perennial peanut grass. The first truck of the perennial peanut grass was scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 13, and the company’s goal is to do one truck a day, which will end up covering 5,000 square feet, according to Switkes.
Trustee Charles Callaghan was not in attendance, but he did send in his report, which included an update on the upcoming streetlight maintenance. The maintenance will begin on Overlook Drive and continue north and south along Ponte Vedra Boulevard. All streetlight tops will be replaced with new LED fixtures and any poles that need maintenance will be repaired or replaced. This work will be taking place through the month of September.
Trustee John Cellucci reported that the Ponte Vedra Library will be having a flag-raising ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 9:30am.
The main topic on the agenda was the sidewalk project. Several members of the community spoke at the meeting about the safety concerns and the fact that this process has been taking a while. One community member suggested installing temporary safety measures such as speed bumps and extra stop signs while the sidewalk project was still in the works.
Switkes said that speed bumps were tricky because they require approval from the county, and she noted that “we are still pushing sidewalks because we want to separate the pedestrian from the vehicle and have that distance.”
A homeowner on San Juan Drive who has lived there since 1988 said that the neighborhood has changed a lot and it’s a lot busier than it used to be. The consensus from the neighbors that were in attendance was that they want the process expedited.
“We do want answers, and we do need a sidewalk.” said a community member.
The construction of the sidewalk depends on funding, but ideally the sidewalk will extend on San Juan Drive from Solana Road to the northern intersection with San Pablo Road South by the golf course practice green.
The trustees discussed the budget for the sidewalk project at length and ultimately approved a vote to get a proposal to review a design for a sidewalk from Solana Road to San Pablo Road South. This would be phase 1A of the project.
The next MSD meeting will take place on Monday, Sept. 8.
