[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6095707,"mediaKeyId","2837089-f23d02a33571faf5db5f447985f432b0","parentId",2837089,"title","Putnam County commissioners approve consent items, code-enforcement orders and several appointments; form task force on state-road safety","audioSeconds",621,"startMs",3214000,"endMs",3835000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2837089-f23d02a33571faf5db5f447985f432b0&start=3214&end=3835","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2837089-f23d02a33571faf5db5f447985f432b0/thumbnail_3214000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6095707/Putnam-County/Florida/Putnam-County-commissioners-approve-consent-items-code-enforcement-orders-and-several-appointments-form-task-force-on-state-road-safety","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6095707-3ec345a2e942943bfbbc0dac1246bcd2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771184855&Signature=AA9x7V21e7s1pu2THwA1eTUg1lSupYGHwqNsgAIr9N0ibA8Fa2tCQJm0glNVSKi0KCf~NNFkn3uBoFzbTV9O9-d2WVLMj1ImIaLrT4BwSgDeJeXt9hzSQXGm4LLn8Dk2hNMsLXHF4uwEEqtrKktFmWgfF~a83CAxqLdIWkGOYxBGaPwEQz8kWkbWZxirig8oMJyLHBqGehxDnPf1746MwH6jKSGtlYSA5PdFGrTSrChHhLIJD54JkodBEHs6Om30CPKUQNAD59Yb121zv7~m9bhzdroL20IDrGovDU5tfKGNdk0w5k~Ahb8gX9vM~2QEKkHuOYWvvu3p8cHjc~FFMw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Putnam County","date","2025-04-01T13:13:38Z","article","At its public meeting the Putnam County Board of County Commissioners approved minutes, multiple consent items and a series of administrative appointments and code-enforcement actions.

The board approved the previous meeting’s minutes after a motion to “move approval of the Board of County Commission, regular meetings minutes, February as stated in our packet.” Later the board approved consent agenda items A, B, C, E and F by motion and vote; item D was pulled for separate consideration.

Commissioner Harvey moved acceptance of item D — a resolution tied to a Florida Department of Transportation small‑county resurfacing/assistance program (SCRAP) — which the board approved. Harvey explained the program is a long-standing partnership with FDOT and said combined projects can total multimillion-dollar work that the county could not fund alone.

The board also acted on two code-enforcement cases. On case 202,004-$0.00-$6.017 the board approved the recommended civil assessment of $17.80 if paid within 90 days, and on case 23-004253 the board approved recovery of $1,852 to reimburse Putnam County for “hard costs,” as presented by staff.

On appointments, the board appointed JR Grimes as an alternate member of the county canvassing board for the outstanding meetings, and the board established a State Road Safety Task Force. The task force will prioritize safety on state roads (with State Road 100 cited as a priority), include a county administrator representative, one county commissioner (the chair named herself as a member at the meeting), a sheriff’s office representative, a school-district representative and fire/rescue leadership. The board also placed Marlene Ryan as an at‑large member of the task force and directed each commissioner to appoint an additional unelected community representative, creating an 11‑member advisory group; county engineering staff were described as support staff for the task force.

The board unanimously approved a motion directing staff to draft a letter to the Executive Office of the Governor (EOG) expressing the county’s support for voluntary participation in the governor’s review process referenced in the governor’s letter to counties (the transcript refers to the governor’s \"EOG Doge team\" and section 218.503(1) of the Florida Statutes). Commissioners and the clerk said the county will cooperate voluntarily and that the county’s audits and financial reports are already available online.

Several of the routine motions were passed by voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded in the public record presented in the meeting transcript.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Putnam County BOCC Meeting March 25, 2025 (with Bostwick Blueberry Festival clip)","oneSentenceSummary","The Board approved minutes, multiple consent items and code-enforcement orders; it appointed an alternate to the canvassing board, formed a state-road safety task force and authorized a letter to the governor's office.","taxTitle","Putnam County, Florida","taxId",53569,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6095712,"Putnam County launches community paramedicine team funded by opioid-abatement dollars",104,1694000,1798000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2837089-f23d02a33571faf5db5f447985f432b0&start=1694&end=1798","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2837089-f23d02a33571faf5db5f447985f432b0/thumbnail_1694000.jpg","/articles/6095712/Putnam-County/Florida/Putnam-County-launches-community-paramedicine-team-funded-by-opioid-abatement-dollars","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6095712-9be84c0e765c7645859eca85cb419ebe/orig.mp4?Expires=1771184855&Signature=jcqnaigfRlN4Z2XeTRjN6nRV0Izj~8Q7ohC57Bpz3ulnwBCImiRyXTYUyj7Cg0Q1rJvJRkz2kDdsJDMZM18cCDQXzG2fuvgGXgj1~gYK~c6zSfjicnctk0JbIIZZl-kSAX4H9PPm7vDGDVVO9PNCndpBaoDOBIJ7t1zhvoz4sv4ezx7oaBdjKbX61sNj2KeonUaNbfZIuEFxve8rWLzTEgdERB~OYFa8sUyCFlNZns6G24M6tTgQRgF0EYPV-3ny7QZBl5aFCafzgTM9hyRb-tPrsWYzHTl3yuVD7dEWtrIhkplwsMzYw~HDb8BJDcBONPtiRTDu5t5BT0inQQiZ9A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Putnam County emergency services presented a newly launched community paramedicine program to the Board of County Commissioners, describing expanded field-based services aimed at reducing repeat 911 transports and connecting residents with primary care, behavioral health and social supports.

An emergency services presenter described the team as three full-time community paramedics who began a certification course at Seminole State College this week, an eight‑month program the presenter said will provide the framework for their work. “This program was launched on January sixth of this year. And as of Saturday, March 22, this team has answered a 43 calls for service,” the presenter told the board.

Chair Leota Wilkinson emphasized the source of funding and the program’s long-term intent: “This project isn't funded out of your local dollars. This came from the opioid abatement money that was given through the state. But the good part is it's meant to be long term.” Commissioners and staff described the program as intended to bridge gaps in care — for example, helping people find outpatient treatment, access shelters, obtain walkers or durable medical equipment, and avoid repeated ambulance trips.

Officials said the community paramedics work closely with HCA Putnam hospital emergency room staff and case management, and that the county arranged an operational relationship so paramedics can follow up on patients after ED visits. Emergency services staff said the program has already helped place people into rehab and nursing facilities and reduced repeated long ambulance responses from remote parts of the county. Staff also reported the community paramedic vehicle is stocked for advanced life support and that the county intends to pursue Medicare/Medicaid billing once the workers complete certification.

Commissioners and staff praised the program’s community hiring and oversight structure; county representatives said community members participated on the hiring panel. Officials asked for periodic updates and for the program to track call and placement metrics as it grows.

No county general-fund dollars were identified as the source for day‑to‑day operations in the presentation; county leaders said the initial equipment and program costs were supported with opioid-abatement funds allocated to the county.","County emergency services launched a three-person community paramedicine team, trained through Seminole State College and funded by opioid-abatement money, to provide nonemergency home visits, care coordination and alternatives to repeated 911 transports.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6095716,"Putnam County economic development, tourism offices report job leads and strong visitor figures",861,174000,1035000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2837089-f23d02a33571faf5db5f447985f432b0&start=174&end=1035","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2837089-f23d02a33571faf5db5f447985f432b0/thumbnail_174000.jpg","/articles/6095716/Putnam-County/Florida/Putnam-County-economic-development-tourism-offices-report-job-leads-and-strong-visitor-figures","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6095716-22037ec4a18be123239514efdd372d57/orig.mp4?Expires=1771184855&Signature=W9upJvEMKMbyOtt2clzGqSzYg66v8gg8NMQQnuLdi0wiEzvj2PPrqjWxKVVsz71BV7u9aqFJPUTbGqyVX8q9~U7MqckY0QlTrv3H-wr7HFaVDlbeRg~fplVRu1e-94hNM~puR3vrGvskWMK6ynKxGGFvPm~SWeat9dTJViE9v47X8PhhgPKURq4UxmL8S48Qehfm4XO9TQ3qvlSobHba2qxkZ7AFXUz6esU2AC-ZzmHb6LVfixqdZ8CkNC1F1Jwy8TC~0jU5lAsv2CM7VMQBba49~q0OfIY7tGf3fDaVfNyWoI9A5IG0TW0xfGvTCekKRjKA7KdY4E6dtKlg14bzAw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Putnam County economic development and tourism officials told the Board of County Commissioners they are pursuing dozens of business leads and promoting travel demand that officials say produced measurable local tax relief.

Mark Linton, vice president of economic development, told commissioners his office is “currently working with 18 clients interested in either attraction, relocation, or expanding existing operations here in Putnam County.” He said five of those leads came through partner economic development organizations, 10 were organic inquiries to the office, and three were local industries considering expansion. Linton said the prospective projects represent “4,045 new jobs” if all come to fruition and noted “over 2.3” in capital investment to the county (the transcript cut off the unit for that figure).

The report highlighted partnerships that county staff and the Putnam County Economic Development Council maintain with state and regional organizations, including Florida Commerce, JAXUSA, North Florida Economic Development Partnership and others. Linton said the county hosted the NFEDP board meeting in February and presented at the I-10 regional state-of-the-region event in Jacksonville.

Kimberly Morgan, vice president of tourism for the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, gave data on visitor impacts and lodging. Morgan said 2022 tourism activity translated into roughly \"$370.18 in tax savings for Putnam County households\"—a figure she described as the additional tax each household would have had to pay to maintain existing service levels if tourism dollars disappeared. For 2024 lodging, Morgan reported an annual hotel occupancy rate of 74.7 percent and an average daily rate of $125.66, figures she said make Putnam County competitive with neighboring counties and attractive to hotel developers.

Both presenters described ongoing work to support workforce development, infrastructure conversations with the city of Palatka on extending water and sewer to areas outside city limits, and outreach to recruit resort and tourism projects in South Putnam. Linton said a significant resort project is under support but is not the long-rumored project residents have discussed for years. Morgan described plans to build a visitor research profile over the next year and run multiple “town hall listening tours” with local tourism operators.

Commissioners pressed for clarity about prior speculative leads at the county business park and emphasized the county’s limited local funding for large infrastructure projects. Commissioner Larry Harvey noted public-safety and other budget priorities constrain the county’s ability to make large up-front infrastructure investments and recommended pursuing state and federal grants as a practical path forward. Chair Leota Wilkinson and other commissioners said continued cooperation with the city of Palatka will be necessary to expand utility service and support industrial recruitment.

The presentations concluded with a pledge to increase public promotion of the county’s job-growth ranking. Linton cited a county ranking—produced by a scorecard he said was from Florida Commerce and the Florida Chamber of Commerce—showing Putnam County as the top county for job growth in 2024, with a 2.4 percent increase in primary jobs.

Looking ahead, staff said they will circulate the economic development presentation materials online and continue coordination with local education and workforce partners, and that tourism leaders will publish more detailed visitor research and a consolidated community events calendar.","County economic development and tourism officials reported 18 active business leads representing 4,045 potential jobs, and said tourism generated measurable tax savings and strong hotel performance in 2024 and 2022 data presented to the Board of County Commissioners.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Putnam County commissioners approve consent items, code-enforcement orders and several appointments; form task force on state-road safety

Putnam County launches community paramedicine team funded by opioid-abatement dollars

Putnam County economic development, tourism offices report job leads and strong visitor figures