Here are some topics from the last Board of County Commissioners meeting. If you want to know more about what was discussed and decided, you can read the agendas and minutes as they get posted.  You can watch the meeting in full on our Facebook page or website.

First Coast Expressway brings new capital investments to Clay- Economic Development Corporation President Crawford Powell provided an update on the industrial development expected in our County due to the nearing completion of the First Coast Expressway construction. Several national developers have expressed interest in industrial development opportunities along the expressway. The construction of the third leg of the expressway from State Road 16 to the St. Johns River is estimated to be 95% complete and is anticipated to open in the spring of next year. By the third quarter of next year, the expressway is expected to be open from I-10 to the St. Johns River near Governor’s Park. Work on the new Shands Bridge has commenced, and piling installation for the bridge's main span will start soon. There is high demand for ready-to-be-developed sites, and several industrial projects are in progress, which are projected to bring millions of dollars of capital investments and hundreds of jobs to our County. For more information about the industrial developments in Clay County, the presentation begins at the 38:47 time stamp.

First full week of collection services with FCC comes to a successful close and storm debris collection begins – County staff provided an update on the first full week of curbside collection services with FCC Environmental Services. Storm debris collection began on October 7 with the County’s contracted storm debris crews working in Keystone Heights and Fleming Island. Several residents are also utilizing the debris drop-off site at the Outdoor Adventure Park, and the Rosemary Hill Solid Waste Management Facility has seen an increase in residential drop-off traffic. You can listen to the update at the 1:52:22-minute mark.

Emergency repairs at Moody Avenue to start soon –Commissioners awarded Bid Number 23/24-140 Moody Avenue Emergency Repair to Kirby Development, Inc. in the base bid amount of $827,602 for the replacement of the damaged box culvert on Moody Avenue just north of the Dye-Clay Family YMCA with a new box culvert. County staff held a pre-bid meeting on-site, which was attended by eight contractors, and five contractors bid on the project, with Kirby Development, Inc. being the lowest bidder. Kirby has been a consistently reliable contractor. The project is anticipated to begin within the next three weeks, and the contractor will have 90 days to complete the work.  You can listen to the discussion at the 2:40:09 time stamp.

Collective Bargaining Agreements approved for our professional firefighters – County and the Clay County Fire/Rescue Professionals International Association of Firefighters 3362 for rank-and-file members and 3362B for battalion chiefs, effective for fiscal years 2024-2027. Negotiations began in May and concluded in September before the current agreement expired, and union membership voted to approve the tentative agreement. Commissioners commended all the hard work by staff, counsel, and firefighters to reach an agreement and expressed appreciation for the incredible public servants we have in our County serving our growing community. You can view both collective bargaining agreements attached to this agenda item, and you can listen to the discussion at the 2:34:32-minute mark.