Candidate for City of Fernandina Beach Commission, Seat 3: Tim Poynter
The Nassau County Chamber of Commerce recently asked each candidate running for the City of Fernandina Beach Commission to answer a Candidate Questionnaire and provide a Campaign Video that we could share with the public. Answers to each question have been copied and pasted directly as they were submitted.
For questions or additional information, please contact the Chamber at (904) 261-3248.
2024 City of Fernandina Beach Candidate Questionnaire
INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
In your opinion, what is the City's role in economic development?
The role of City government is to work with businesses and residents to establish a vision for our community. This vision includes an economic development plan and much more – infrastructure maintenance and improvement plans, environmental and climate protections, preservation of our beaches, waterfront, and historic downtown -- all the elements that make Fernandina Beach such a special place to live, visit, and run a business.
Once the vision is created, the City Commission should work with the City Manager and Staff to oversee and support its implementation.
Long-term projects should be paid for through 30-year bonds. We cannot expect citizens to pay for everything that is needed during one calendar year. These types of projects are for the future of our community and for future generations, so people moving here should share the cost of these critical improvements.
How can the City of Fernandina Beach better support our entrepreneurial ecosystem?
We can improve our entrepreneurial ecosystem by listening to each other and working together to find solutions that make doing business easier while also adhering to our Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code.
This community is filled with extremely intelligent and experienced people who have innovative ideas to share. We should find ways to tap this talent to help establish smoother checks and balances that allow our community to thrive while also preserving its character and charm.
Listening to people and discussing solutions prevents knee jerk reactions and potentially bad decisions that are based on limited and/or unfounded information.
Discuss your opinion on conducting a comprehensive and continuous review of all regulatory processes that impact businesses/industry and provide solutions that address any barriers.
Continuous improvement is foundational to all well-run operations. The City should establish a regular and transparent review process for all major departmental operations. We also should create a process for advancing a review if one is warranted based on escalating complaints or other issues.
Communicating these issues and how they are being addressed is critical to providing an open and transparent form of government where residents feel heard and valued.
BUSINESS CLIMATE AND COMPETITIVENESS
How can the City of Fernandina Beach improve the climate and competitiveness of our exisiting businesses and industry?
Listening to what business and industry need from us is the first step, and then we must consult our existing plans and codes to see how we can find ways forward that adhere to our rules and sustain what is already working well for our community. We also must include resident input in this process if significant changes are being considered.
What are your thoughts about the disparity in regulations and processes in doing business between the City of Fernandina Beach and Nassau County? Please explain.
It makes sense that the City and County governments have some differences in how they conduct business because they are different entities with different roles and scopes. However, we should work together to find ways to streamline processes and align regulations where appropriate, but always with the goal of retaining the charm and character of Fernandina Beach.
The Chamber of Commerce supports a clear, concise, accurate and expedient permitting process. Please discuss this process within the City along with any recommendations.
Difficulty in getting building permits is the reason I ran for City Commission the first time, so I fully support improving processes. That said, we must ensure that our permit process has checks and balances so that we follow the rules of our Land Development Code.
CIVIC AND GOVERNANCE SYSTEM
What, in your opinion, are the three biggest challenges facing the City of Fernandina Beach?
- Creating a vision and implementation plan that not only funds infrastructure, climate protection and other critical updates, but also ensures we practice responsible development that can sustain the vibrance of our community for future generations.
- Responsible financial We must plan for long-term capital projects that ensure the upkeep and improvements our community has been lacking.
- Leadership that actually leads including dealing with controversy rather than avoiding For the last two years, there has been a glaring lack of leadership on the Commission, and everything seems to be falling apart. Part of this has been the challenges of not having a city manager in the last year and a half. But it’s also in part because some Commissioners have been afraid of making tough decisions. The most important thing a Commissioner can do is not worry about getting reelected. When dealing with controversy, you need to get as many facts as you can, be confident in what you do, and let the chips fall where they may.
Any time decisions are contemplated that affect a particular segment of the community, representatives of that affected sector, such as the business/Industrial community, should be invited to the table for dialogue and input. How important is this input as a meaningful direction in developing sound policy and how will you implement it?
Listening and dialogue are the keys to making decisions that are in the best interest of our community. Decisions should not be made without transparency. Commissioners serve their constituents and are tasked with evaluating options and making decisions on their behalf, and we must consider their input before any decisions are made. Town Halls, workshops and task forces are ways to implement this approach.
Do you believe the City of Fernandina Beach has an adequate amount of funding from property taxes or do you expect to require additional resources from property owners? Please explain.
The City continues to face financial realities, and tough decisions will need to be made. Fiscal responsibility is just that – being fiscally responsible with the dollars that you get. One of the problems I’ve seen here for some time is that everyone wants to get everything to fall on the taxpayers who live here at the moment. But these are long term capital projects. We can issue a bond to do very important, needed improvements that haven't been made here for a long time. You can't do it on this year's income. We need to plan everything, and then go out to the citizens and say, ‘Look, these are the things that need to get done that have been neglected for the last 20 years. But I'm not going to ask you to pay for it all this year. You're going to pay some this year, and the person who moves in next year is going to start paying for it, the person who comes in five years from now is going to start paying for it, because this will be a 30-year bond and they're going to get the benefits of this.’ We need to spread this out so it becomes affordable for our community.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND GROWTH LEADERSHIP
How can the City of Fernandina Beach balance and pursue both natural environment protection and sustainable economic development?
We must figure out responsible development. This is a beautiful community – it is the reason people want to come and live here. They don’t want over-development. I’m 100% in favor of property rights, but the citizens also have property rights. And those property rights are in all the assets that the city has. I’m not in favor city of spinning off, selling off joint ventures on our properties for the betterment of 1 or 2 individuals. It’s important to keep our Land Development Code – that’s the reason we have what we have now. When start tampering with that, we’re going to have a big issue.
Lead by the Chamber of Commerce beginning in 2015, the now completed Public Transportation Study and recommendations concluded in 2017 with no notable improvements. Nassau County is now conducting an update to the Transportation Study. What are your specific recommendations to increase the options and availability for public transit? Do you support City funding for public transportation?
Partnerships with federal, state and county programs should be explored, and we need to get creative in finding ways to provide offsite parking and environmentally friendly transportation to major attractions. Those who visit our community (non-City residents) should shoulder the financial burden of services that are designed primarily for their benefit.
The future innovation economy and efficiency of government is dependent on technology infrastructure. How will you ensure the City of Fernandina Beach continuously improves digital options, infrastructure and faster, more stable, and more secure connectivity?
A process of regular review and upgrades should be a matter of course, planned for and executed on a regular basis as part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. This plan should incorporate public and private sector partnerships.
QUALITY OF LIFE AND QUALITY OF PLACES
Land development codes and incentives for workforce housing have not produced the needed inventory for our community. What are your recommendations for access to housing for the local workforce?
We need to get creative and get serious about how to solve this problem in partnership with the county, non-profits and land owners so that we can provide affordable housing that doesn’t change the character of our neighborhoods.
Community-based development organizations are vital to the City of Fernandina Beach. How will you strengthen the role of these organizations?
I support continuing to provide funding to non-profit organizations and encourage public-private partnerships. The City should look for additional ways to support their efforts and involve them in our Vision planning.
FINAL COMMENTS
Do you have any other comments you would like to specifically address to the business community of Fernandina Beach?
We are at a tipping point in our community. Much planning, repair and financial stewardship are needed if we are to continue to be a safe and viable community. My first priority as a Commissioner will be to get our City Commission all on the same page and figure out how to move forward. There are so many bright people in this community who offer so much on so many levels, and this Commission needs to listen to them.