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Dear County Residents,

I hope you’re enjoying the rhythm of summer—whether that means a bit of travel, time with family, or simply relaxing and taking in the beauty of our beaches and parks here in St. Johns County.

While many of us are savoring a slower pace, our County team has been quietly working hard to plan for the year ahead. On July 22, I had the privilege of presenting the Fiscal Year 2026 budget recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. I’m grateful to share that the Board agreed to move forward with keeping the ceiling millage rate flat—all while advancing significant capital investments in four regional parks, three libraries, four fire stations, and multiple roadways. It’s no small feat to strike this balance, and it reflects our collective commitment to responsible fiscal stewardship—one of the four key priorities guiding our work as a local government.

This year’s proposed budget isn’t just designed to meet the demands of today, but also to prepare us for whatever challenges may come. For the very first time in our County’s history, we’ve set aside $20 million in emergency response reserves to enable us to act swiftly during a crisis without having to depend on outside resources. This reserve is planned to provide a 45- to 60-day response window and includes a dedicated Fire District Reserve to support emergency activations when needed.

This kind of forward momentum helps build strong, healthy communities—not just for today, but for generations to come. While we still have some steps ahead, including final budget adoption in September, I wanted to take a moment to share where we are. Our proposed Capital Improvement Plan includes over $169 million in projects that will serve our residents for decades. These include:

• New courtrooms and judges’ chambers to meet the needs of our growing population

• A long-awaited facility for the Medical Examiner

• Fire Station #23 in the Beachwalk area

• Critical infrastructure upgrades such as expanding the Northwest Water Reclamation Facility and widening Greenbriar Road

• And a new road project—Courtney Vista Drive—made possible through a cost-sharing partnership with the School Board.

I want to sincerely thank Tim Forson and Dr. Joseph Asplen for their leadership and collaboration during this infrastructure planning process. Partnerships like these are essential for thoughtful growth that meets the needs of our students, families, and neighborhoods.

Looking a bit further ahead, I’m excited to share that we are in serious planning stages for two major projects in the next few years: a state-of-the-art boat ramp at San Sebastian, located on what was formerly known as the Genovar property, and the revamping of the St. Johns Parkway/210 interchange. These investments will improve access, enhance safety, and support our community’s recreational and transportation needs well into the future.

We will bring the final budget back to the Board for adoption in September and will keep you informed every step of the way. In the meantime, since my last newsletter in May, a great deal has been happening across our County. It’s been a busy and productive summer, and I look forward to sharing some of the stories, milestones, and videos that highlight the impact of your County government at work.

Accomplishments & Achievements

In May, we joined members of the Field of Dreams Baseball League to celebrate the start of work on a $1.5M expansion of Field of Dreams Baseball, the County’s disability-friendly baseball field at Aberdeen Park; celebrated the first anniversary of the public awareness anti-vandalism campaign called “Enjoy, Don’t Destroy,” which has reduced park vandalism repair costs by 60%; and cut the ribbon at Fort Mose Historic State Park to mark the official completion of the park’s 1738 Fort Mose reconstruction project.

We earned the prestigious Certificate of Excellence in Government Communication from the Florida Municipal Communicators Association, becoming just one of 16 Florida governments to receive the award, the Florida Public Relations Association presented us with a 2025 Silver Pinnacle Award for “Government Team of the Year" for ongoing strategic work in communications that has a meaningful impact on the greater good of our community, and the Florida Economic Development Council awarded us the 2025 Urban Deal of the Year for the location and future development of an innovative Publix pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in our community.

In June, I was thrilled to participate in the recognition of the 23 graduates from our inaugural citizens academy called “SJC 101.” Also that month, our Risk Management Department was recognized as the Safety and Risk Management Department of the Year and Laura Dodd, Assistant Director of Risk Management and Benefits, was selected as the 2024/25 Risk Management Professional of the Year, by Preferred Governmental Insurance Trust, for our efforts to address employee safety, which saved St. Johns County hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premium costs.

Three local high school students from St. Johns County recently completed our 2025 Student Shadow Program, an eight-day immersive program that included tours, activities, and engaging discussions with County leadership and experts across various fields of County operations.

We recognized the success of the Parks and Recreation Department’s Maintenance Division at the Florida Recreation and Park Association’s 2025 Turf Rodeo as they claimed first place overall in 10 specialized challenges designed to test maintenance workers’ skills in areas such as equipment operation, irrigation, and storm preparation.

The St. Johns County Pet Center was the feature of a Flagler College student video project titled “Love, Rescued.” The video shines light on the facility’s mission and operations while capturing the compassion and care behind the shelter’s day-to-day work.



I am proud to share that the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States named St. Johns County a 2023 Triple Crown Winner for earning three distinct awards for communicating financial information openly and transparently to the public. St. Johns County is one of just 403 governments in the United States and Canada that received the Triple Crown for fiscal year 2023.

Protecting our Natural Resources

This spring, we joined state representatives, the cities of St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach, and the community to successfully stop the proposed land swap for 600 acres within the Guana River Wildlife Management Area. Also, with the help of 250 volunteers, our 22nd Annual Turtletown USA Beach Cleanup removed over 850 pounds of litter and debris from eight beach locations in preparation for sea turtle nesting season.

Community Well-Being

One of the six priorities of our Strategic Plan is community well-being, and I am proud to share that as a part of Military Appreciation Month, we announced $125,000 in funding for Home Again St. Johns, Inc. for operational costs for Veterans Village as well as recommending annual reoccurring funding.

We also celebrated the success of our Housing Rehabilitation Program that was launched more than 20 years ago. In 2024 alone, we helped 37 residents stay in their homes with an investment of $1.9M for a variety of repairs. And, we helped Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County break ground on its Phase 1 Expansion Project that will assist the most chronically homeless families with children in our community get off the street and on the road to self-sufficiency. Additionally, we joined Habitat for Humanity of St. Augustine/St. Johns County to celebrate the dedication of three newly constructed homes.

In June, we welcomed internationally recognized Muralist Kelsey Montague to the community of Hastings for the unveiling of a mural for the Hastings Main Street and the Hastings Bike Trail. The mural captures Hastings’ small-town charm, offering residents and visitors a vibrant new way to engage with the region’s farming heritage.

The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs secured a $99,580 Rural Emergency Medical Services Training Grant to assist St. Johns County Fire Rescue with training EMS personnel serving in rural areas, with a particular focus on addressing substance use disorders and recurring mental health conditions.

As part of Parks and Recreation Month in July, our St. Johns Golf Club announced the launch of its new website at www.sjgc.com and we highlighted our All-Abilities Paddle kayaking program with all its accessibility options for inclusive opportunities for all members of our community.



More than 170 job seekers attended the inaugural Career Fair hosted by the St. Johns County Public Library System as they connected with 23 employers representing a broad range of industries.

Public Infrastructure

Our Capital Improvement Project Teams are progressing at rapid pace on so many initiatives since May. Here are links to various stories and videos that share our updates with you. Also, you can check out our new Featured Projects web page for details on all our projects.

• Recently, we celebrated the addition of four new sand volleyball courts to Nocatee Community Park.
• The beach access was expanded at the adjacent Crescent Beach Parking Lot with a newly completed ADA-compliant beach walkover which provides safer and more accessible entry to the beach for individuals with mobility challenges, families with strollers, and anyone who benefits from a smoother path to the sand.
• In the Summer Haven North area, also known as Old A1A North, we rebuilt the roadway and reinforced the surrounding infrastructure to improve resilience against future coastal storms.
• Construction is progressing on the State Road 207 Water Reclamation Facility with an initial capacity of 3.25 million gallons per day (MGD), with future expansion capability up to 6.5 MGD.
• The Board of County Commissioners moved forward to execute contracts totaling more than $25M in road improvement projects for State Road 16.

• On June 20, we held a groundbreaking ceremony next to Trout Creek Academy to celebrate the start of work on Silverleaf Sportsplex and the Shearwater Community Park and Library.
• We are making major strides in supporting the revitalization of Hastings through a series of improvements to the community’s water infrastructure.
• We launched a proactive infrastructure improvement project in the Marsh Creek neighborhood within the Sawgrass community, aiming to replace a section of aging ductile iron sewer pipe before it causes significant disruption.
• We continue elevating fire station operations by renovating two existing fire stations while building four additional fire stations to maintain excellent public safety coverage of the community by St. Johns County Fire Rescue. During these phases, there will be no reduction of fire station staffing or public safety services, and the continuity of operations for response times of approximately five minutes to 911 calls will be maintained.

In related news, we announced Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Fiscal Year 2025-26 State Budget into law, which includes $1.5 million in funding for two important initiatives in St. Johns County: the development of the Florida Museum of Black History and improvements to the Interstate 95 and International Golf Parkway interchange. We were able to share our story at the Chamber’s annual Legislative Update event.

Quality of Life

Sunny St. Johns is a new TV show produced in our community where local love meets laugh-out-loud vibes, and they invited me on their program over the summer to share my story. They also had our Parks and Recreation Department along with the St. Johns County Parks Foundation to talk about all our great park activities for National Parks & Recreation Month.

I am proud of the success of our partnership with SJC Cultural Events, Inc. as they operate the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, the newly renovated Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, the Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Series and the Sing Out Loud Festival (Sept. 12-28). We are happy to share that The St. Augustine Amp once again secured its place among the world’s top amphitheatres, ranking #2 in the United States and #3 worldwide.

A few weeks ago, we celebrated the reopening of the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall with a great load-in event. The facility looks amazing, and I am so proud of the SJCCE team and the Friends of the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall for all their efforts.



Our community has helped us save nearly 20,000 flags since the American Flag Rescue Program was launched in 2019, to provide people a path to properly retire flags with honor and respect.

Stay Engaged

As a reminder, we are in the middle of hurricane season, so please stay prepared. Our team is busy helping our community remain ready, as Public Works held a highly successful three-day sandbag distribution event, providing thousands of free, pre-filled sandbags to residents across six locations, and Emergency Management continues their public education tour around the community to remind the public of ways to stay informed.

In closing, I continue to be humbled by the dedication of the men and women who work for the County and the passion of the people who call the County home. Please stay connected and involved with us; together, we will seek ways to improve our community. Visit our special Stay Informed webpage for all the ways you can stay connected with us.

Thank you, as always, for staying engaged and for being a vital part of what makes St. Johns County such a special place to call home. I’m honored to serve alongside a team that is not only capable but deeply committed to this community.

Warmly,



Joy Andrews

County Administrator

St. Johns County, Florida



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