Last week Eye on Jacksonville looked into complaints by residents and contractors. We noted that the Chamber of Commerce had gotten wind of these complaints and posted a survey to see if the rumors were true. The Chamber deserves a big WINK for taking the lead on this issue.

You can read our post about this survey here: A look at Fernandina: Is it too difficult to build or live there?

The results are in and candidly, they are outrageous, appalling, and any other words you can think of to say — “Not Public Service Friendly.”

Jack Knocke with Common Sense Fernandina Beach, stated, “I have heard suggestions that we immediately transfer control of our building department to the county Building Official because of the number of complaints, the seriousness of the issues and the dire impact on citizens, businesses, and contractors in the city.  Something must be done!”

Jack reached out to the City Commissioners to see what they are planning to do with this information. He was told the March 16th City Commission meeting already has a full agenda and it will have to wait until April.

That answer seems shocking due to the seriousness of the accusations and some of the tactics used by the building department. It appears the Commissioners should make this a priority at their next meeting to eliminate this type of gestapo-like behaviors immediately.

Fernandina Beach is a resort town with many who retired there to get away from the hustle of big city life. They do not need to be hounded by bureaucrats for trying to make their properties more beautiful and useful.

Let the people “pursue happiness” and bring some sense of reason back to the City of Fernandina’s building department.

It’s simple — just be kind and willing to work together to improve a residence or a community. People are weary of those who always want to make living difficult.

That’s our opinion and we welcome yours.

To read the survey results — see the PDF below: