3 min read April 2024 — Invest: was joined by Dylan Rumrell, mayor of the city of St. Augustine Beach, to discuss how the city balances a robust tourism market with meeting the needs of its residents, and how sustainability will be a key driver. “Overall, we want to make sure we are taking care of our residents and not putting a burden on them,” he says.
What makes St. Augustine Beach so unique?
Everyone comes here for the beaches. We have such a great coastline that offers the opportunity to play, live, and work. We have a lot of things that make St. Augustine attractive for visitors and residents. For visitors, it’s about the beaches, restaurants, shops, and vibrant boulevard. For residents, we have low taxes and a lot of great commercial and retail options within just two miles. I see new business continuing over the next few years, but we need to prioritize conservation as we see more people move to Florida.
How does the city balance development with sustainability?
My focus has been on infrastructure, particularly with drainage. With our geography, St. Augustine has had some flooding and sea level rise issues, as we’re bounded by the Intercoastal Waterway to our west and the Atlantic Ocean to our east. For those issues, we’ve been successful in bringing in appropriations from Tallahassee, to the tune of $15 million over the five years I’ve been on the commission.
We’re a small municipality with about 7,200 residents, and we are maxed out. So, we are trying to preserve as much commercial along the boulevard as we can while letting residential be the buffer. As a commission, we have done a good job of keeping the integrity of St. Augustine Beach by not allowing too much development, while allowing the right development. Projects have to be compatible with our communities and we have criteria to make sure developers are doing so. Overall, we want to make sure we are taking care of our residents and not putting a burden on them. We’ve done a good job of balancing what we have left for growth while upgrading infrastructure for current residents.
What initiatives have you been prioritizing recently?
As a part of St. Johns County, our initiatives have been strong in education because an educated community brings better opportunities. It’s important we have jobs because there are a lot of industries driven by tourism here. We support businesses that give people the opportunity to have jobs. We also work with colleges so they are engaging with the business community and developing innovative workforce collaborations.
How do you leverage support from the state legislature?
You can’t just bash legislators. I have a close relationship with our state government because it’s about compromise and support. When we see initiatives coming down, we have to be willing to work together, no matter the political party, because our goal is to work for the residents. If there are impacts to residents, we have to readjust and reevaluate. I’ve been lucky to have a great relationship with the people in Tallahassee and Congress in Washington D.C. South Florida has the lion share of representatives and so a lot of the governing happens for South Florida, but that’s a lot different than what is prioritized in North Florida. Governing has to be holistic because what might work in Boca Raton wouldn’t work in North Florida. We look for compromises that work for everybody.
How does St. Augustine Beach collaborate with the county to promote economic growth?
My goal when I was appointed in 2019 was to create more synergy between St. Augustine Beach and the county. We’re in a unique situation of having two municipalities under one umbrella, so we have to work collectively and it’s important that our initiatives are the same. For example, we were able to implement lit crosswalks that were paid for by the county but helped everyone. Ultimately, working together builds a stronger tomorrow.
We’re getting about $8.9 million from the state for our budget this year. Government should work like a business, which is fast and at the best price available. We have implemented piggybacks on contracts. With St. Johns County, we can use contracts they provide because they buy at bulk. As a small municipality, if we want something paid, it’s often a one off. But at the county level, there’s a lot more available. Recent evidence of this successful collaboration was a project that included paving and drainage that only took 60 days. If that was a one-off, it’d be ongoing through the year.
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