City of Palatka, Putnam County to meet together for first time since 2018

Putnam County Government Complex

The two largest groups of county leaders are coming together April 7 for a joint meeting for the first time in four years.

The Putnam County Board of Commissioners will meet with Palatka City Commissioners at 5 p.m. in the governmental complex, 2509 Crill Ave. in Palatka.

“I think this is the perfect opportunity for us to continue what we started a few years ago,” Palatka Mayor Terrill Hill said.

He hopes the meeting will help both government bodies to “work toward creating a unified Palatka (and) Putnam County.”

County board Chairman Bill Pickens, who was elected when the last two meetings were held in 2018, also said this upcoming meeting will be a good thing because they have not met in a while.

According to Putnam County agenda documents and uploaded meeting streams, the last joint meeting with the Palatka City Commission took place in June 2018. Before then, a joint meeting happened in April 2018.

Proposed discussion topics on next week’s meeting agenda include talking about the county’s septic-to-sewer program, St. Johns Avenue roadwork, a noise ordinance, animal control and simulated gambling.

While County Commissioner Jeff Rawls has not been in office since a public meeting was last held, it is something he has been hoping would happen for quite some time.

Palatka is the “heartbeat” of Putnam County, Rawls said, and working together is going to benefit Putnam as a whole. He thinks quarterly joint meetings could be a good idea.

“I think the public would appreciate it,” he said, adding that more action could be taken on joint projects, such as septic-to-sewer or road pavings.

Hill echoed those thoughts about collaborative projects and said the meeting could help county and city leaders create a centralized strategy for countywide development.

“I think the biggest thing that we hope for is that we continue to have collaborative successes,” Hill said.