ORANGE PARK – A longtime fixture of the Orange Park community who has lived at her beautiful Doctors’ Lake home since 1961, Barbara Davidson spoke out about her 98th birthday, her historical legacy and some wide-ranging problems Town Council hasn’t addressed.
She celebrated her birthday on April 24, receiving several congratulatory cards filled with well wishes from friends and family. The cards are still proudly adorned on her kitchen table.
Davidson has lived in her home shaded by oak trees for 63 years, many of those years which were spent alongside her husband, George, a Navy veteran.
Strong-willed and independent, Davidson still lives at the property, utterly void of assisted living.
This is although her husband, who would have turned 99 last December, passed away in 2014.
Together they spent several hours of quality time with friends from church and other community organizations on their dock. Their large, spacious home was amongst the highlights of memorable years.
She also spoke of many years immersed in Orange Park politics.
Davidson has been keeping a dedicated eye on fighting for the best interests of Orange Park since the 2015 Honorary Town Councilwoman selection moved to the town 63 years ago.
She settled down after traveling from port to port with her U.S. Navy husband 62 years ago, visiting Morocco and several other countries on an epic journey before finally settling down in Clay County.
Barbara began attending Town Council, Police Pension Board, Code Enforcement Board, Environmental Quality Board and several other agency meetings, which she immersed herself in for more than 25 years.
However, while she has so many great memories of a town she has poured her heart and soul into, over the years, Davidson said that Orange Park sometimes doesn’t resemble the friendly community it used to be. Part of this is due to the Town Council, she said. It all came crumbling down 13 years ago, Davidson said.
“The town started disintegrating in 2010,” she said.
It all started when 19-year Public Works Director John Bowles was not retained, she said. Davidson referenced an old letter from Ron Raymond, a friend and former political competitor of Davidson’s, whom she still admires. Raymond detailed his frustration with the decision in a blog, dated Aug. 7, 2010 – a sentiment that Davidson still shares.
“I still think that’s where we are today,” Davidson said.
Older town residents may remember two historic elections in which they went face-to-face during two of her three runs for a council seat in 1988 and 1991  – each resulting in impressive turnouts of 2,010 and 1,220 voters.
She claims the main problem she feels is that elected officials are not following the Town Charter.
Davidson remains tuned into local politics, particularly the Town Council. She’s talked about the charter and other issues during the public comments portion of council meetings.
“I’m concerned about the charter and code enforcement, which also includes tree removal. I’m concerned about public input. I’m concerned about committees and board meetings operating. It takes people resigning and being replaced,” she said. “There is no timely, on-site overview of work done when permits are issued.
The only reason why we are (at this point) today is because the citizens are not of great interest to the staff.”
Davidson also claimed issues she saw with Rob Bradley Park at Nelson Point, including the fact that a town ordinance did not approve the park’s construction. The park was instead acquired by Clay County in December 2018, for $1.8 million and deeded to the town a year later.
In approving blueprint plans for the park, which included following environmental guidelines where officials should focus on the potential impacts to wetlands or surface waters, were not followed, she said.
“That is not true. Johnson’s Slough goes right through there, and when it rains, the streets get flooded,” she said.