The Surf could become 13 house lots on South Fletcher

the

Island Brief

Amelia Island • Nassau County • First Coast

Happy Wednesday, Nassau County. The National Weather Service has a heat advisory up from noon to 7 p.m. today, with the heat index running as high as 106 on the island and closer to 109 tomorrow. The mainland is worse. Yulee, Callahan and Hilliard are all sitting in the mid 90s before you add the humidity. Move the yard work to first thing, keep the dog off the pavement, and plan on storms building after lunch.

📰	What You Need to Know

A concept plan filed with the city would clear the 1.86 acres at 3199 S. Fletcher Ave., where The Surf Restaurant, Bar & Motel has sat across from the ocean since 1957, and put 13 single-family home sites there instead. Builder Todd Bates submitted it last week under the name "The Surf Residential." The property is owned by FLANSOUTH LLC, is zoned R-3, and the drawing shows two rows of lots, most around 5,500 square feet, with a private drive running between them. It goes to the city's Technical Review Committee on Thursday as a "First Step Review," which is a sit-down with city departments about what a project would need, not an approval of anything. Nothing has been permitted and nothing is coming down yet.

Read More → Fernandina Observer

You have four more days of early voting, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Saturday, and then the polls open Tuesday, August 18. Fernandina Beach voters have two city items: the three-way race for City Commission Seat 4 between Scott Inglis, Len Kreger and Staci McMonagle, and the citizen-initiated paid parking referendum. Countywide, the ballot carries County Commission Districts 2 and 4 and School Board District 5. The mayor's race between Genece Minshew and Tim Poynter is not on this one; only two candidates qualified, so that contest is decided at the November 3 general.

Read More → Nassau County Supervisor of Elections

Angela Ray took on the question every newcomer asks the first time they see the St. Marys. Rainwater works its way through fallen leaves, bark, roots and pine needles, pulls out tannins, and the whole river steeps like a teabag. Those are the same compounds that give you red wine, coffee and dark chocolate, and the Seminole and Miccosukee used bark extract from bald cypress and slash pine to cure hides long before anybody was bottling it. Blackwater rivers are among the cleanest there are; the color is the water doing exactly what it should. You can watch it happen where the Amelia and the St. Marys meet at the north tip by Fort Clinch, and on Little and Big Talbot, where tannic water seeps out from under the sand and leaves red pools on the beach.

Read More → Fernandina Observer

🌟	Community Spotlight

In 2024, Ryan Mendenhall's dog Biscuit was diagnosed with pancreatitis and the bill came to more than $15,000. Mendenhall and co-founders Devan Flannery and Matthew Brookshire started the Free Biscuits Foundation so the next family in that spot would not have to choose between a vet bill and keeping their dog. The Fernandina Beach nonprofit covers emergency veterinary costs, hands out supplies and works with local shelters under a motto that is exactly as plain as it sounds: Keeping Families Together. Their Puppy Palooza fundraiser filled The Palace Shipyard on Centre Street on Saturday with food trucks, trainer demonstrations and adoptable dogs from the Nassau Humane Society and Nassau County Animal Services. "Every dog deserves a treat and a chance," Mendenhall said. Next up for the group is mobile wellness care and help with pet insurance.

Read More → Fernandina Observer

💼	Business Brief

➤

The proposed city budget grows the full-time workforce from 244 to 250 at an operating rate of 4.8530 mills, up from 4.6849. City Manager Sarah Campbell says all six of the new full-time jobs sit in enterprise funds that pay their own way, while building and permitting, parks, recreation and youth programs each take reductions. (More)

➤	Countywide taxable value came in around $19.7 billion for 2026, up 8.4% in a year, and Property Appraiser Kevin Lilly says TRIM notices mail August 17 carrying every taxing authority's proposed rate and its hearing dates. Your value is already posted at ncpafl.com. (More)

➤	Coastal Tea Cafe is still pointed at an October 1 opening at 27 S. Fifth St. downtown, with artisan tea and a used-book nook run in partnership with the library. Seven weeks out.

📌	Briefly Noted

🗓️	Quick Picks This Week

Thu 13

"Annie" closing weekend at Amelia Musical Playhouse 1955 Island Walkway • 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinee (sold out) • $25 adults, $15 students

Fri 14

"And Then There Were None" opens at Amelia Community Theatre 207 Cedar St. • 7:30 p.m. curtain • Agatha Christie, directed by Gill Johnston; the run goes through August 29

Sat 15

Last day of early voting Nassau County early voting sites • 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. • The last chance before Tuesday's election day

A concept plan is not a bulldozer, but a drawing of 13 house lots where The Surf sits will still stop a lot of people this morning. What is your Surf story? The first time somebody took you, the booth you always end up in, the night you remember. Hit reply and let us know. We read every response.

The Palace Saloon at 117 Centre St. opened in 1903, back when the harbor district had more than twenty saloons competing for the same customers. It picked up a nickname in those years that stuck. What was the Palace known as?

Answer: The Ship Captain's Bar. It went into an 1878 building, and it is still Florida's oldest continuously operating bar. The 40-foot bar, the hand-carved mahogany caryatids, the mosaic floor and the embossed tin ceiling are all part of why the ships' officers drank there instead of anywhere else on the block. The adjoining outdoor space at the same address is The Shipyard, where Puppy Palooza set up on Saturday.

Enjoying The Island Brief? Forward it to a neighbor. That's how this grows.

Share With a Friend ✈️

Was this forwarded to you? Subscribe free →

f ✦