Commentary: Challenges and Qualifications for a New City Manager

The Fernandina Beach City Charter provides general guidelines for commissioners on the hiring of a city manager. However, commissioners and the search committee need to identify more specific criteria based on current needs.

The founding members of Conserve Nassau, formerly known as the Comp Plan/LDC Working Group, have spent four years researching issues in Fernandina Beach, interviewing experts, staff, committees and commissioners. We have provided input on the Comprehensive Plan, the Vision 2045 Plan and many Land Development Code ordinances. We are sharing our perspective on the challenges any new city manager will face in Fernandina Beach and the qualifications that we believe are needed to address those challenges.

Based on our study, the most critical challenges are:

1. Preparing for sustainability and resiliency. The greatest long-term threats we face are sea level rise, storm surge and climate change. These are threats to our economy, environment and social stability. On our barrier island, we need to:

• Protect and grow our dunes far more aggressively.
• Protect and grow our Amelia River marshes using adequate buffers and living shorelines.
• Limit development in the flood zone. We already have some limits, but we need more to minimize costly damage and reconstruction.
• Protect our wetlands.
• Conserve land more aggressively.
• Upgrade our building and development standards.
• Educate the community about best practices and emergency planning.
• Limit development to redevelopment. We are replacing native vegetation and dunes with buildings far too large for our small lots and replacing our natural protections with impervious surface.
• Ensure that we have enough native shade tree canopy and understory to process stormwater, moderate temperatures and protect us from storm winds.
• Upgrade infrastructure to protect us from future storms and flooding.
• Finish the downtown flood wall.

2. Managing overdevelopment and density. These are gradually undermining not only our environmental sustainability, but also our economic sustainability because of congestion and losing the small-town character of the city.
3. Developing a long-term planning perspective. We need a 50-year plan that schedules out maintenance, rebuilding, capital projects, etc. to limit crises.
4. Addressing the affordable and workforce housing crisis: This is a serious problem with businesses unable to hire staff and the county’s own retirees unable to live in the county. The city needs to collaborate with the county on this, but also develop its own initiatives.
5. Addressing mobility issues: We need multi-modal transportation to address congestion. This should also be addressed in collaboration with the county and studied from a broad perspective. Employers should be included in developing solutions.
6. Developing a collaborative working relationship with the county. Neither the city nor the county can make progress without meaningful collaboration.

Based on the challenges above, we consider the following credentials and skill sets advisable for a city manager:

• Master’s degree in public administration or a related field
• At least 5 years of successful experience as a city manager
• Demonstrated understanding of the coastal environment and related challenges
• Effective written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrated consensus-building skills
• Demonstrated long-term strategic planning skills
• Proven leadership skills in moving the community toward a long-term, sustainable future
• Demonstrated fiscal management skills, including long-term fiscal management
• High ethical standards demonstrated in previous positions. This is a major priority for professional organizations and will be essential for establishing public confidence.
• Demonstrated skill in working with businesses, large and small

We are available to discuss these recommendations and their foundations with commissioners and others. Our comprehensive plan drafts, webinars and our input regarding the Vision 2045 Plan are available on our new website: ConserveNassau.org.

Margaret Kirkland, Len Pearlstine, Joyce Tuten, Elise Pearlstine, Wende Burdick, Terry Grady, Lauree Hemke, Frank Hopf and Tammi Kosack, board of directors