Commissioner Mike Cella has concluded his eight-year tenure, and Clay County native John Sgromolo will take his place.

Commissioner Mike Cella was initially elected in 2016 to represent District 1. He ran unopposed in 2020 and is serving his second and final term on the Board of County Commissioners, which ends in November 2024.

He served as chairman of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC in 2020 and 2022 and served twice as BCC vice-chairman. He also served twice as the chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee. He was the Chairman of the Tourism Development Council (TDC), serving for eight years in that capacity. He also serves on numerous other committees as part of his Commission responsibilities.

He earned his Certified County Commissioner designation in 2018, Advanced Certified County Commissioner in 2019, and Advanced Certified County Commissioner Level II in 2020 from the Florida Association of Counties. He also received the FAC Presidential Advocacy Award three times for his work during the legislative sessions.

During his tenure at the BCC, Cella advocated for many projects to improve our residents' safety and quality of life.

As TDC chair, Commissioner Cella led the overall growth of tourism and increased the number of big-ticket events attracted to Clay County. Other achievements include a Tourism Strategic Master Plan, the launch of the Explore Clay website and tourism APPS, the completion of the Fairgrounds Master Plan, and the securement of grant funds to improve the Fairgrounds.

Cella supported facility improvements and during his two terms, the Board completed the Clay County Regional Sports Complex and Outdoor Adventure Park. New baseball fields were built at Neptune Park in Fleming Island, 20 new pickleball courts were added, along with a new Health Department building and many improvements to our local libraries. Improvements at the Armstrong Park parking lots are also planned.

Cella promoted several purchasing initiatives and was instrumental in passing the local preference ordinance to support our local businesses. He also initiated and hosted eight annual Clay County Procurement Conferences to help our vendors do business with Clay County.

During Cella’s terms, Clay County’s award-winning Strategic Plan was completed, the Grants Department was expanded, and the county developed a robust sponsorship program to bring millions of additional dollars into local communities. The Clay County Communications Department was expanded to include 19 social media accounts and a government-access TV channel.

Cella strongly advocated for the BCC to increase funding for road resurfacing and dirt road paving. The BCC has spent more than $282 million on road improvements in the past eight years and Cella has been a strong supporter of the Bonded Transportation Program to improve critical and deficient roadways and connect to the First Coast Expressway. Major safety improvements have also been made or are planned for Radar Road, Lakeshore Driver West, Canova Road, County Road 220 at East West Parkway, and the expansion of CR 220 and the redesign of the Henley intersection.

Cella has been a strong proponent of economic development, supporting the Clay EDC’s efforts to bring more than $819 million in new investments to Clay County and support hundreds of new high-wage jobs.

Cella has promoted and supported public safety initiatives including important pay increases for our firefighters and deputies. During his terms, the BCC successfully funded the rebuilding of four fire stations, a new burn building for firefighter training, and funded major renovations to the Clay County jail adding 90 additional beds. Cella encouraged the development of the new dangerous dog ordinance and strongly supported the recent funding of a new animal services building.

With Commissioner Cella’s support, the Board collocated our Veterans Services, Volunteer Services, Community Paramedicine, and Grants Departments on College Drive to make these services more easily accessible by Clay Community Transportation. Cella helped strengthen our community by supporting the Gateway to Clay, College Drive, and High Ridge community improvement initiatives.

Clay County would like to thank Commissioner Cella for his time and service to the community!



Commissioner Sgromolo is now officially the next Clay County Commissioner for District 1. He is a Clay County native who attended Clay County Schools, graduating from Clay High School and earning a baseball scholarship to play at Flagler College. Sgromolo was drafted out of college by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Major League Baseball Draft and spent two years playing in the Minor League System.

Following his professional baseball career, Sgromolo accepted a teaching and coaching position in Clay County. For the past 10 years, Sgromolo has served the community in education as a teacher, baseball coach, and Director of Athletics. In 2020, Sgromolo was promoted by the School Superintendent to be Clay County’s first-ever Coordinator of District Athletics and Development for Clay County Schools. He spent three years in the position serving 6,000 student-athletes and supervising the school district's 300 Coaches each year.

Today, he serves as the Director of Athletics for St Johns Country Day School in Orange Park where he has numerous responsibilities including hiring coaches and overseeing their interaction with student athletes. He's additionally responsible for producing department budgets and keeping the school within that budget.

Sgromolo has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Flagler College in St. Augustine and a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Missouri. He has also served on numerous boards such as the Florida High School Athletic Association's Athletic Director Advisory Council where he has been elected chairman for three terms and he is also on the Board of Directors for the FIAAA (Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association) where he is the Public Relations Chairman.

Sgromolo is the son of a Marine Corps veteran and the grandson of a Navy veteran. He takes great pride in supporting the over 30,000 veterans who make Clay County home!

Sgromolo resides with his wife Callie and his 3-year-old son Charlie and newborn daughter Sloane in Fleming Island where they attend River Christian Church. He serves as a member of the Clay County Republican Executive Committee, Republican Men’s Club, and Clay Young Republicans. Throughout his career, he volunteered with Special Olympics and the American Cancer Society.

Sgromolo is extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve the community that has invested in his family over the years and will work hard to protect residents' quality of life and be a positive voice for all Clay County residents.