Resident raises concerns about Penman project, missing traffic engineer and use of water/sewer revenues

During public comment, resident Pat Missouri raised several infrastructure and transparency concerns, focusing on the Penman project, the status of a traffic engineer and allocation of water/sewer revenues.

Missouri said she attended early meetings on the Penman project and reported that "Robin Smith, who was the head traffic engineer of the project... has disappeared," and she worried that project decisions could be rushed before broader public review. She also questioned where funds for a deferred water-trailer item and other infrastructure projects would come from and said water and sewer funds have generated significant revenue that has not been used for local infrastructure. "We do pay too much," she said, urging clearer accounting of money flowing to JEA and developers and asking the city for written follow-up.

Councilor Messenger responded that the meeting packet and online materials include fund sources and balances for deferred items and noted that council legislation requires expenditures to be budgeted and included in the packet. Messenger said residents can consult the packet to see which fund an expenditure will draw from and the background justification.

Mayor Brown and staff acknowledged the comments; the council did not take immediate formal action on the concerns but members said staff will provide further information and that some items are deferred for later consideration.

The council also briefly recognized Doug Conkey from St. John's River Water Management during the meeting; no funding commitments to that agency were made during this session.