ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The city of St. Augustine is now having to start over its process in finding someone willing to install and operate a carousel at Davenport Park.
St. Augustine Contract Cancellation Letter by ActionNewsJax on Scribd
Last month, the city told Action News Jax it sent a letter to J.W. Brinkley, the Jacksonville man the city says came to them offering to install and operate the carousel, saying its contract with him was canceled because of health reasons, forcing Brinkley to step away from the project.
St. Augustine Original Carousel Contract by ActionNewsJax on Scribd
Action News Jax told you in May of last year when the city approved its contract with Brinkley, which said the carousel could run in Davenport Park through September 2027, with the option to continue running at least three years afterwards. The city says the original carousel started running in 1992 and was removed in 2019 after its owner died.
The city tells Action News Jax that since it never owned the carousel, it never returned until Brinkley approached them about bringing it back, but is now wanting to make an effort to find someone to pick up the project after hearing from community members, like Jim Grubb, who want to see the carousel’s return.
“We miss it because we go by Davenport Park all the time and it looks empty without the carousel,” said Grubb, who has been living in St. Augustine for more than 20 years, “it would be an asset, no doubt about it, it would be an asset to the city.”
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The city says the electrical work to install a new carousel has already been completed at Davenport Park, but it will not buy or operate the ride itself.
“We miss the carousel, we want a carousel back at Davenport Park,” said David Birchim, the city manager for the city of St. Augustine, “we’re hoping that someone will step up and say that they’d love to do this and be partners with the city on this project.”
The city tells Action News Jax it is now in the process of preparing an application to post to its website for anyone interested in taking over the project to install a new carousel at the park. We’re told it will likely take another few weeks for the application to be ready, which, when finished, will be posted here.
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