ORANGE PARK– Updates on the Johnson Slough Culvert Reconstruction Project were discussed at Tuesday’s town council meeting.

The project will address stormwater flood protection and navigable crossings at Plainfield Avenue, Nelson Drive, Nelson Drive South and Carnes Street. 

In a presentation by the project team at Jones Edmunds and Associates Inc., the company noted that the project would raise the Plainfield Avenue and Nelson Drive intersection about 3.5 ft. 

Existing utilities will also be raised or relocated to remain accessible. 

The second part of the project will provide navigable crossing paths to Plainfield Avenue, Nelson Drive South and Carnes Street, raising the roads to more than five feet.

The company presented three possible options for the path to the council, including a con/span, conventional bridge and a block (Redi-Rock).

Following concerns from many residents about cost and future maintenance, the council voted 5-0 to send the Redi-Rock path out for bid. 

Although, the council did make plans to host further meetings with the public beforehand to provide more information and garner more input before making a final decision.

Last year, the town received a $7 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan to fund the project. 

The town’s goal is to officially award the project to a contractor by December of this year. Construction will take two years. 

In other business, the council began talks about possibly taking the steps to seek out a replacement for the town manager position.

The council briefly reviewed the overall job description, selection/hiring process and whether they would be choosing internal or external candidates for the job. 

Although current Town Manager Sarah Campbell has not yet accepted the offer as Fernandina Beach city manager, Mayor Randy Anderson said it was necessary to start preparing the council for the future decisions they may need to make.