A Putnam County School Board member announced a public meeting of the county’s Highway Safety Task Force and described recent enforcement activity on Highway 17 and Highway 19.

“The traffic, highway safety task force is meeting on Wednesday at 2:00,” the board member said, adding the meeting may be moved to the County Commission meeting room to accommodate public attendance. “It’s an opportunity for the public to come forth and speak, give us ideas, what their concerns or possible solutions are.”

The board member said enforcement had increased in trouble spots and that some patrols issued warnings while state troopers issued citations. “I think the sheriff alone gave, gave out 90 tickets. Now his were warnings. Where the highway patrol, there is no warning. You get a ticket,” the board member said. The transcript does not provide a formal count of citations or identify individual officers.

Board members discussed potential long-term projects to address traffic volume, including four-laning sections of road, but said such work is expensive and not currently listed in the Florida Department of Transportation’s five-year work plan. “You're looking at $60,000,000 and that is not... in the DOT’s five year work plan,” the board member said.

The board named Q. R. Roberts Junior Senior High principal Joe Theobold as a task-force member and encouraged public engagement at the meeting. No formal resolutions or binding directives were adopted at the board meeting; the announcement functions as a public outreach and coordination next step.