Jamie Perkins, Neighborhood Services and Community Redevelopment Agency manager for the City of St. Augustine, told the Lincolnville Community Redevelopment Association on Jan. 13 that the Eddie Vickers Park work is at roughly 60% of the construction-design documents and that each major element will be bid separately because of funding and timing constraints.

Perkins said the city expects to complete construction documents “tentatively by spring” and will move individual elements into permitting and separate bids. The implementation of the dog park and an additional parking area is “tentative for this calendar year,” she said, adding she could not give a specific month. The kayak launch requires permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and those processes are “moving along” but not complete, she said.

The city also reported high current use of the new courts: the pickleball courts are regularly full and the basketball courts are seeing pickup play. Staff finished installation of bleachers—three on the pickleball side and two on the basketball side—and said permanent shade coverings for bleachers will begin installation the coming Wednesday. Perkins said the courts are “soft open” and that a grand reopening is likely to be held in spring rather than January.

Perkins responded directly to public comment asking for registration and key-fob access for the dog park. She told the steering committee and the speaker, Tyra Kindler of 140 Twine Street, that key fobs or resident-only access would not be feasible because the park is city owned and paid for with tax dollars; “residents throughout the city and the county will be able to use it,” she said. Perkins said the city will post rules and follow the same policies used at other St. Augustine dog parks, and that incidents such as dog bites would be referred to St. John’s County Animal Control for enforcement.

On lighting, Perkins said bulb and possible electrical issues were causing darkness at the courts and that St. John’s County, which maintains the park lighting under an interlocal agreement, is aware and working to resolve it. She said some elements of the park are maintained by the county under an interlocal agreement and that she will circulate that agreement to committee members. Perkins said the interlocal currently has a renewal/expiration date in the mid-2030s.

Perkins said the kayak launch site—on the northeastern side of the park—is being planned to include kayak storage racks and could include city- or CRA-owned kayaks for public use. She noted the kayak project has partial funding from the Florida Inland Navigation District and had been applied for as a multi-year grant due to permitting timing.

Perkins cautioned that placement of the dog park could interfere with construction access for the kayak launch (concrete trucks and other equipment), and that sequencing the kayak launch first could be necessary.

No formal policy was adopted at the meeting. Committee members asked clarifying questions about access, maintenance responsibilities and sequencing; staff said design flexibility remains until “we start actually turning dirt” on specific elements and that changes after bid documents could increase costs.

Ending: Perkins said she will continue to provide updates at future LCRA meetings and circulate the interlocal maintenance agreement to committee members.