A weekly newsletter from The City of Palatka
June 5, 2023
Blue Crab Festival showcases Palatka
Palatka hosted another successful Blue Crab Festival this Memorial Day weekend. More than 100,000 people visited the city on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed beautiful weather, great music, food and shows. The annual event showcased what a special place Palatka is to live and to visit.
Ready to play? Hank Bryan Park is open again
Palatka Works: Renovating Hank Bryan Park
As part of the ongoing effort to improve the quality of life for the residents of the community, The City of Palatka, using a $50,000 grant from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program and $22,000 of city funds, has recently completed a renovation project of Hank Bryan Park, 450 South 14th Street. The project upgraded playground equipment, replaced sidewalk trails, renovated the picnic facilities, and added additional fencing around the park.
The total costs for the project to date are,
· $26,974 for Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalks and landscaping
· $17,470.39 for improvements to the playground that includes new swings and mulch
· $4,570 for new fencing around the playground area
· $13,644.99 for the renovation of the playground and picnic areas, which included new trash cans, pressure washing, and painting of pavilions and picnic tables.
· $4,999 for costs associated with grant writing and administration
· $4,500 for land surveying
For the next phase, the city is exploring funding options for adding restrooms, parcourse fitness equipment, and expanding the paved trails in the park in the future.
Click here for more photographs of the park.
City of Palatka Board Vacancies: Be a leader in your city
- Planning Board - 2 vacancies
- Police Officers' Pension Board - 1 Vacancy
- Zoning Board of Appeals - 3 vacancies
If you are interested, please fill out an application and email it to Sunni Krantz, City Clerk at skrantz@palatka-fl.gov. The application can be found at https://palatka-fl.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1764/Advisory-Board-Application
Employee of the Month: Lt. DJ Johnson
The Palatka Police Department's Lt. Demetrious “DJ” Johnson is The City of Palatka’s Employee of the Month for May.
Born in Crescent City, Lt. Johnson has been with the police department for ten years and lives in the city with his wife Rosa and children Kameron and Kaven.
“I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve this community. I have wanted to be a police officer since I was in the 3rd grade,” said Lt. Johnson, “Palatka is home. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to serve in the county that raised me.”
Lt. Johnson was nominated for Employee of the Month by a fellow police officer because of his willingness to do whatever it takes to make the department work as a unit.
“He is a very big proponent of teamwork. We applaud DJ; he is well-known in the community. Everybody knows his name. He represents The City of Palatka and the Palatka Police Department very well.” said Palatka Police Chief Jason Shaw at the commission meeting.
Congratulations to Lt. Johnson, and thank you to all the Palatka police officers for all you do.
Well-deserved recognition
Congratulations to Lt. Darren Denmark of the City of Palatka Fire Department for receiving a Fire Safety Commendation Award from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. This well-deserved recognition was presented during the Palatka City Commission meeting on Thursday, May 25th.
We would like to express our gratitude to Lt. Denmark and the entire team of dedicated firefighters at the City of Palatka for their unwavering commitment to our safety. Your selfless service, safeguarding our community round the clock, every day of the year, is truly commendable.
Making Palatka Better: Six new hangars at airport
Cost: $1,315,051.78 million
Funding: Florida Department of Transportation
The construction of six new aircraft storage hangars is near completion at Lt. Jasper Kennedy “Kay” Larkin Field, Palatka’s Municipal Airport. The $1,315,051.78 million project, which was funded by a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, will increase the airport’s aircraft storage facilities to 71.
The hangars were built because of the high demand at the airport, with more than 90 pilots on a waiting list to rent storage space for their aircraft.
The Airport was founded in 1938 on 214 acres. On June 1, 1942, the U.S. Navy, under a government lease, acquired the airport from the City and subsequently, in 1943, acquired additional land. On August 21, 1942, the airport was officially named “Kay Larkin Field”, for a local U.S. Army Air Corp pilot instructor and Palatka native killed during the Second World War. In 1946, the War Assets Administration returned the airport property to the City.
Today the airport has grown to more than 730 acres and features two active runways that handle more than 16,000 takeoffs and 15,000 landings a year.
For more information about Lt. Jasper Kennedy “Kay” Larkin Field, visit https://www.palatkakaylarkin.com/
Job Opportunities: Join Our Team
The City of Palatka is hiring.
- Planner 1
- Planning Clerk
- Firefighter
- Police Officer
- Equipment Operator (Driver)
- Sanitation Equipment Operator (Driver)
- Equipment Operator (Driver)
- Refuse Collector
- Utility Maintenance Worker-Trainee
- Water Plant Mechanic
Please visit https://palatka-fl.gov/Jobs.aspx for more information or to apply.