The Year 2005-It was a good year
By Aida Mallard, Staff Writer Clay County Leader

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS-It has been a year of growth and challenges. Construction began on a sewer system that will enable the city to grow beyond its borders.  Laying of the pipes required tearing up paved roads which was a frustrating experience for all.  But the system is close to completion.  FDOT resurfaced SR 21 through the downtown area and the work was done at night to accommodate local merchants. A skateboard park has dominated much of this years business.

Year 2005 in Review:

JANUARY-Three council members are facing the end of a two-year term: Keith Jones, Seat 5, Huntley Redfearn, Jr., Seat 3, and Peggy Dixon, Seat 1.  Besides electing three council members, the voters will be asked to increase bid requirements from $1000.00 to $10,000....Water is flowing into Lake Brooklyn through Alligator Creek for the first time in years.  And this bounty is the result of a pipeline carrying water from Southwest Lake into Blue Pond...

Water activists called for linking the vote to the lake restoration efforts of the candidates. And supporting those candidates who have proven to be lake restoration advocates...Council agrees to pursue skateboard park at Keystone Beach The project to be funded through fundraisers and donations.  Mayor Lyndel Hale said the skateboard park would be built on opposites sides of the younger kids playground... . Volunteers wanted for community wide cleanup spearheaded by the Keystone Heights Jaycees to coincide with the Super Bowl activities....The Community Redevelopment Agency will be looking at what projects will be funded this year.../ Merchant complained there is not an even playing field as far a sign requirements between downtown businesses and those business located just down the street on the SR 100/SR 21 Rails to Trails corridor. 

FEBRUARY--In a surprising turn of events, only five candidates qualified for three seats in the city council. Two incumbents are not seeking reelection, and one candidate is unopposed. Donald Johnson is unopposed for Seat 3 which will be vacated by Huntley Redfearn, Jr., who along with Peggy Dixon, Seat 1, is not seeking reelection. Incumbent Keith Jones, Seat 5, is challenged by former council member Wanda Lourcey.  Theresa Keller and former council member Michelle Curtis are vying for Seat 1... Voters will be asked to raise bid requirements from $1000 to $10,000. ...One-thousand improved slash pines were distributed during the Arbor Day ceremony, sponsored by the Garden Club of the Lakes. .. There is support for a skateboard park in Keystone Heights.  The sticky question is: "Where to put it?" Two sites are being considered: the Keystone Nature Park across from city hall, and somewhere in Keystone Beach.  Although the nature park appears to be the favored site it is underdetermined if grant requirements will allow it as the park was developed with grant funding... No pen and paper for the March 1 city elections. Instead voters will use Eagle electronic machines and for the first time ever here, early voting will be offered throughout the week and on weekends... Sewer, recreation, an a skateboard park were the issues that dominated a Candidate Forum sponsored by the North Florida Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Keystone Heights Business Association...

The outlook for Lake Brooklyn is bright. A project that will bring millions of gallons of precious water to area lakes will be funded through a cost sharing project between DuPont and SJRWMD. SJRWMD will fund $32,500 and DuPont will fund $32,500, for a total project cost of $65,000 to redirect more than a half-million gallons of processed water per day to the Etonia Creek Basin for recharge.  The Etonia Creek Basin includes Blue Pond, Magnolia Lake, Alligator Creek, Lake Brooklyn, Lake Keystone and Lake Geneva... Famous aviator and the first man in space, Col Joseph Kittinger WOW'S fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at McRae Elementary School during a visit on February 16.

MARCH-The good news is that existing commercial accounts within the city limits of Keystone Heights and included in the scope of the FDEP grant will not have to pay connection fees to a sewer system to begin construction this year.  The bad news is that new developments inside the city limits and existing and new developments outside the city limits which are included in the scope of the FDEP grant will pay $2,666 connection fees.  These are tentative projections until final adoption by the Clay County Utility Authority (CCUA)...City elections results: Incumbent Keith Jones defended Seat 5 receiving 123 votes and Wanda Lourcey received 45 votes. In a closer race, Michelle Curtis received 98 votes and Theresa Keller received 74 votes. Don Johnson, who ran opposed, was elected to Seat 3. Voters approved an increase for bid requirements from $1000 to $10,000... Thirty-four paved parking spaces for a day care center that can only have 29 children is an unreasonable request said Debbie Hoffman, owner of In Loving Hands Day Care Center. Following a lengthy discussion, the city council agreed to convene the Zoning and Planning Board to hear Hoffman's Use by Exception request. And agreed to set a five parking space requirement...  Thousands of Clay Electric Cooperative members converged into Keystone Heights for the 67th annual meeting... Jean Gregory, longtime city employee and waste management clerk, tended her resignation effective June, 30 2005...Cassandra Bruey was chosen Miss KHHS at the "Miss KHHS on Broadway" pageant... Fed up with violations of the city's park and beach regulations but unwilling to have those violators carted off to jail, the City Council directed City Attorney Rob Bradley to look at changing penalties from criminal to civil.

APRIL-Theatre lovers will enjoy a production of "The Boardinghouse" by Vern Harden through Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. brought to the Keystone Heights stage by the Lake Region Community Theatre and the Keystone Heights Woman's Club...By unanimous vote, council members elected Councilman Bruce Harvin to serve as Vice-Mayor... Many years in the making but it is now official: A proposed skateboard park will be built at Keystone Beach was decided by a split 2/1 council at a Friday special meeting. Councilwoman Michelle Curtis dissented saying the site at Keystone Beach is not big enough.

MAY-Armed with maps and charts, FDOT representatives held a meeting Tuesday to discuss road improvements in the Keystone Heights area. The targeted road is SR 21 from the SR 100 intersection to the Putnam County Line. The project cost is $3.4 million and the contractor is V.E. Whitehurst & Sons, Inc. of Williston...A skateboard park at Keystone Beach may not be a done deal after all.  Leona Terry, city resident and former longtime city clerk, asked the City Council to reconsider building the skateboard park at Keystone Beach. Terry said building a park there would ruin Keystone Beach for people who use it. .. After 26 years, and in 2004 the Festival of the Lakes was no more.  This year, the festival will return with a new name and a new sponsor.  The Keystone Heights Jaycees asked the city council and received permission to resurrect a Keystone Heights tradition.  The new name is Labor Fest. .. Despite some opposition, the City Council in a 4/1 vote agreed to keep Keystone Beach as the site for a proposed skateboard park.  The only change is that the park would be located on the east side rather than the west side of Keystone Beach. Councilman Keith Jones dissented saying Keystone Beach is already cluttered with too much going on... 

JUNE--A long awaited permit to bring water to the Keystone Heights area was issued on June 7, 2005 by St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD).  This means the lakes in the Upper Etonia Creek Basin which includes Lake Brooklyn stand to benefit from an additional 500,000 gallons of treated water per day. DuPont requested the permit to move water now going west to the Suwannee Water District and redirect it south to the Etonia Creek Watershed.  The permit duration is 20-year year with five year compliance reports...Following a public hearing and a lengthy discussion, the city council adopted Ordinances 2005-394 and 2005-395 establishing civil penalties for violations of city ordinances pertaining to recreational facilities...The City Council unanimously agreed to provide a one time donation of $1000 seed money for a Labor Fest to be held during Labor Day weekend and sponsored by the Keystone Jaycees...City Clerk Karen Nelson said vandals are costing the city around $5000 to repair and replace damaged property... Although the City has been struggling with money woes and a very tight budget, the City Council on Tuesday voted to keep property taxes at two mils. .. The City  is expanding its online offerings and soon folks will be able to access council meetings online by visiting  www.keystoneheights.us ...Walgreens Corporation wants an entrance from SR 100 into its store even if they have to build a tunnel over the Rails to Trails corridor to get it.  Standing in the way of the tunnel is a proposed maintenance contract required by FDOT before a permit for the tunnel can be issued. A split 3/2 council agreed to allow a proposed maintenance agreement to proceed to committee to see if a solution can be worked out between the city and Walgreens.  City Attorney Rob Bradley and Councilman Don Johnson will negotiate on behalf of the city... The city will no longer pay a reward for arrest and conviction of people vandalizing city property. Instead the city is seeking volunteers for Friends of Keystone Beach, a group charged with monitoring the beach. Although a monetary reward has never been paid out, council members worried it could cost the city thousands of dollars in pay outs because of reoccurring and blatant vandalism at Keystone Beach.

JULY-This year, the Fourth of July celebration began with a Street Dance on Saturday night, skipped Sunday and returned Monday with a full slate of activities. The theme, "Living in America" is a celebration of "country and apple pie and all those things American."...Laying out of the pipes for the sewer system entailed tearing up roads which has made residents unhappy and city officials frustrated.  CCUA has promised to restore those affected roads to its original condition.

AUGUST--The Christian Radio Station WYFB 90.5 FM located just outside of Keystone Heights celebrated its 20th year with an Open House.  David Nichols, station manager and area representative, said the station is part of the Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ...Driving over Brooklyn Bridge is now a great sight: Brooklyn Bay is brimming with water and on the other side of the bridge there is water where sand and grass stood just a short time ago.  And there is fish in the water and the aquatic birds have returned... Some thought it would never happen, while some threatened they would move away when it happened, and others could not wait for it to happen.  Local history was made this week when FDOT installed a second traffic light inside the city limits. The new traffic light is located on the intersection of State Road 100 and Commercial Circle... The Governing Board of SJRWMD voted on August 9, 2005, to join the state of Florida in buying 3,303 acres of land adjacent to Camp Blanding in Clay County. The cost of the land is $18.4 million with SJRWMD and the state funding $9.2 million each... The City has mandatory garbage pick up for its citizens and expects them to pay their garbage bill.  Fed up with non compliance, the City Council passed an ordinance that will suspend garbage collection services for people who are 30 days or more in arrears. And the garbage cans, which are provided by the hauler, will be collected. .. Faced with what appears to be mounting opposition to locating a proposed skateboard park at Keystone Beach, the City Council is eyeing McDavid park, which until last year served as the sports facility for the Keystone Recreation Association (KRA).  McDavid Park, approximately 9 acres in size and located on Orchid Avenue adjacent to the elementary and high schools, was purchased from Clay Electric by the Clay County School Board for a future middle school. .. For the Interlocal Agreement, Clay County is offering $209,377 in cash assistance reflecting a 9.4 percent increase for the 2005/2006 budget year based on the actual Certification of Taxable Value for the City as provided by the Property Appraisers Office. .. Following a public hearing which yielded no comment, the City Council quickly passed into law an ordinance that will make it illegal for pet owners or custodians to fail to clean their pets poop.  And anyone not cleaning after their pets would be charged with a code violation...

SEPTEMBER--After a one year hiatus, a popular celebration held during the Labor Day weekend returned this year with a new name, and a new sponsor.  Labor Fest, sponsored by the Keystone Heights Junior Chamber of Commerce (the Jaycees), was a huge success...It is now official.  Bicycles are banned from the city's recreational parks.

OCTOBER--Barely into the new fiscal year, the city is looking at a lean budget of nearly $1.9 million which is $1.2 million less than the last budget year and includes $750,000 grant for a sewer system now under construction...Millions of gallons of water flowing into Lake Brooklyn.  Water augmentation projects continue to provide a bounty of water to Lake Brooklyn with daily water flow from Alligator Creek into Lake Brooklyn at 9.8 million gallons, and from Treat Road to Alligator Creek at 9.69 million gallons.... In its goal to continue water flow, the City is becoming proactive.  The City Council unanimously accepted Resolution 2205-130 endorsing the idea of installing a Floridan Well to be located in Camp Blanding in an area that will have minimal draw down in wells outside of the Camp Blanding military base. The City is prepared to submit a Consumptive Use Application to SJRWMD, and to apply for an Appropriation Grant for $500,000 which is the estimated cost of the well and contingency for future costs... Charter review Committee established and each Council member will offer an appointee. Because of time limitations, recommendations accepted by the city council will be placed in the 2007 city election ballot..., The bad news is McDavid Park is a NO GO as the site for a skateboard park. The good news is that on Tuesday the City Council voted to accept a $112,000 FDRAP grant and build a skateboard park adjacent to the sewer system and the city yard on a parcel located on Nightingale and Sunrise... The City is working to improve the other parks in the city.  Council members agreed to seek a $25,000 loan to complement $25,000 allocated in the Interlocal Agreement with Clay County.... Providing fire safety is expensive and the Keystone Heights Volunteer Fire Department (KHVFD) is struggling to make ends meet. Tuesday KHVFD received a helping hand from the City and the Lake Brooklyn Civic Association.  After hearing Fire Chief Kevin Mobley detailing funding woes, the City Council, Mayor Lyndel Hale and the Lake Brooklyn Civic Association each donated $500 to KHVFD for a total of $1500.  The City also donated grant writing services and Councilman Don Johnson promised to contact other governmental agencies to see if they would make vehicle donations to the fire department...he Keystone Airpark Authority (KAA) will enter into a contract with the United States Department of Interior-National Park Service for the sale of about 28.33 acres. The selling price is $390,000.  The National Park Service plans to build a Trail Head for the Florida National Scenic Trail which runs through the Keystone Airpark.... Land for recreation at Keystone Airpark including property leased by the Sportsmen's Club has been the subject of much discussion and controversy over the years.  Some city residents demanding land be set aside for recreational purposes. The City Council unanimously agreed with Vice-Chairman Bruce Harvin's recommendation to form a committee to develop a plan for parks and recreation activities on the 250 acres located at the Keystone Airpark.  The committee to be aptly named "The 250 Committee." 

NOVEMBER-The City Council wants to lower Lowry Lake by three feet and send that water to Alligator Creek and from there to Lake Brooklyn. The City Council unanimously passed Resolution 2005-132 endorsing Option 5 of the Schreuder Report, commissioned by SJRWMD to determine the effect of sand mining on Lake Brooklyn.  The resolution supersedes a resolution passed last month endorsing the city's installation of a Floridan Well which is Option 6 of the Schreuder Report....City residents are being asked to offer ideas for a theme for the downtown community redevelopment area. For several years now the city of Keystone Heights has been working on a Community Redevelopment Plan for downtown. And the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) requires development and application of a theme for the targeted area. ... A car wash may be built soon in Keystone Heights. Blue Lagoon Car Wash owner Charles Smith and architect Michael White met with city officials at a special meeting to discuss a relief from zoning requirements related to buffers.

DECEMBER--Parades, Christmas trees and lights, Santa Claus, Jingle Bells are some of the sites and sounds that usher the Christmas Season.  A Parade was held on December 3 at 6 p.m.  This marks the second evening parade in the town's history. /Melrose held an "Old Fashioned Christmas" Parade on December 10 at 10 a.m.  The ninth annual Madrigal Dinner performed by the Lake Area Singer's was held Friday and Saturday, December 16 and 17 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Melrose.../ In its sixth year, "Walk Through Bethlehem" was held on December 9, 10, and 11 from 6:30 p.m.-9:30p.m. at the First Baptist Church. The program endeavors to create Bethlehem during the time of Jesus... After months of haggling over a maintenance agreement, the proposed Walgreens tunnel is now a dead issue.  In a December 12 E-mail to City Clerk Karen Nelson, Walgreens developer Everett Foote said, "It is unfortunate that this decision wasn't rendered in the very beginning.  It's my feeling that it became too complicated and time-consuming for all parties involved. " ... Encouraged by success, the City Council will make permanent a provision that enables the city to suspend garbage pickup for those who do not pay their garbage bills.  Councilman Keith Jones said there were 40 delinquent accounts that have been reduced to eighteen.  He said people are coming to city hall to pay their bill or to make payment arrangements. Those who do not pay up will have a lien placed on their property.