Former dairy to become home of manufacturing plant

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A portion of the former Gustafson Dairy property here will soon become the home of a concrete paver manufacturing plant.

Green Cove Development Group LLC – using the code name of Project Raven – recently closed on the purchase of 23 acres of the former dairy.

Alan Bock, the principal of Green Cove Development Group, worked with the Clay County Economic Development Corp. since May 2015 to help him find suitable real estate to open the manufacturing plant.

Bock, owner of Midstate Oil which recovers and recycles oil in Baltimore, Md., purchased a home in Ponte Vedra Beach last year.

CCED Corp. President Bill Garrison said Bock chose Clay County, in part, because of the manner in which the housing industry has recovered since the Great Recession.

“Alan recognized an opportunity to take advantage of the strong housing recovery in Northeast Florida and beyond, and decided to open a concrete paver facility. After researching the Northeast Florida region he focused on Clay County in particular because of the construction of the First Coast Expressway,” Garrison said.

After several months of searching and several false starts, he was able to purchase 23 acres of the former dairy site, according to Garrison. The Clay Board of County Commissioners approved the change in zoning from the Agricultural dairy use to Heavy Industrial in January 2016. Bock closed on the property on May 27.

In addition to manufacturing concrete pavers, the company will also offer other hard-scape related products and services.

The approximate capital investment is $2.5 million and Bock projects 10-12 direct manufacturing jobs initially at his facility. There will also be significant additional economic benefit from the indirect jobs related to deliveries, suppliers, Garrison said. The company will also be a consumer of all related utilities, and will require all typical business-related services such as insurance, accounting, and IT support. Bock’s business will use only a small portion of the 23-acre site, and he is already recruiting other tenants to Clay County’s newest industrial park.

“I look forward to Alan Bock’s latest venture becoming another successful company in Clay County,” Garrison said.

CodeRED to be replaced by Alert Clay County

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Clay County has teamed up with the Florida Division of Emergency Management to offer a new, high-speed emergency notification system available to residents and business owners.

Known as Alert Clay County, this system will replace the county’s current CodeRED system and providing better functionality at a lower cost because the new system is part of a larger, statewide alert & notification system.

Alert Clay County provides county and municipal residents and business owners with the ability to receive emergency notifications and warnings regarding emergencies, such as threatening severe weather and other emergencies, on their home phone, business phones, cell phones and email.

Residents and business owners wishing to receive emergency notifications are urged to register their contact information with the Alert Clay County portal, located on the county website at ALERT.claycountygov.com.

Residents with questions can also call (904) 284-7703 for further questions. Please note that Clay County will no longer be utilizing the CodeRED system, as of June 30, any individuals who wish to have their emergency notification service carried over to Alert Clay County must register on the Alert Clay County web portal. Users who are currently signed up for CodeRed, through the month of June may receive duplicate messages from the CodeRed and the Alert Clay County notification systems. This will allow us the opportunity to transition all users to the new system.

Anglers, be aware – tagged cobia in Florida waters

TALLAHASSEE – A cobia tagging project is underway along Florida’s east coast. Scientists with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute are tagging cobia in order to track movement of the fish to learn more about the migration of the Gulf and Atlantic stocks. Researchers are using conventional dart tags and implanted acoustic transmitters to track mature fish. An array of acoustic receivers along the coast can detect the individual fish when they swim nearby. The movement patterns will provide more information to management to make informed decisions on the stocks and to provide a geographical location of the biological stock boundary. In addition, scientists are collecting genetic samples from tagged fish.

A total of 150 transmitters – 50 each in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina – will be used for the one-year study.

“The transmitters, however, will last for up to four years allowing researchers to continue collecting information after the initial report is complete,” said Jim Whittington, FWRI assistant research scientist.

The research will employ charter boat captains and recreational fishermen to assist with cobia capture, acoustic tag implantation and genetic sample collection. Researchers from NASA Kennedy Space Center Ecological Program, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources are assisting in the project.

Cobia is a popular saltwater recreational fishery in the southeastern United States due to its ease of access, brute fighting strength and excellent culinary qualities. Although it is not illegal, scientists discourage the harvest of tagged cobia. Anglers who catch a tagged cobia (two plastic tags should be visible on the back of the fish, one on each side) are asked to record the tag number, fork length, date and general location of the catch. Release the fish in good condition, and report it by calling 888-824-7472. Anglers who accidentally harvest a tagged cobia, should report all of the information above and return both the internal acoustic tag and plastic dart tag to:

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Attn: Jim Whittington

Tequesta Field Laboratory

19100 SE Federal Highway

Tequesta, FL 33469

Anglers can also assist by collecting fin clips from cobia caught on the east coast of Florida. For more information on what to do if a tagged fish is caught in Florida waters, visit MyFWC.com/research, click on “Saltwater” then “Angler Tag Return.” For information on cobia regulations visit MyFWC.com/fishing, click on “Saltwater Fishing” “Recreational Regulations” and “Cobia.”

Soil & Water to meet

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The Clay County Soil & Water Conservation District will hold their regular monthly meeting on June 10 at 9 a.m. at the Clay County Extension Office located at 2463 State Rd. 16 West of Green Cove Springs. The meeting is open to the public.

Economic Development board to meet

FLEMING ISLAND – The Clay Economic Development Corp. will hold its monthly board of directors meeting June 10 at 8:30 a.m. at 1845 Town Center Blvd., Suite 110 Conference room in the Fleming Island Business Park. These meetings are always open to the public. For more information, call Bill Garrison at (904) 375-9394.