ST AUGUSTINE SHORES, Fla. — The man who has led St. Augustine through some rough times and some exciting moments is stepping down.
John Regan has been the city’s longest serving city manager since the early 1800’s when the city established an American form of government.
"It’s been a ride," he laughed.
Regan has been the St. Augustine City manager for 13 years. In this city's form of government, he’s the leader.
"It’s more like being the CEO and reporting to the board," Regan explained.
Regan has lead the city through some stormy times, literally. Tropical storms and hurricanes flooded the city over and over again. Regan said he was city manager when the city experienced ten to twelve of those big storms.
He said he feels things are different now when it comes to the city's storm preparation than when he started as city manager.
During his first tropical storms and hurricanes, he said, "Our pumps would shut down and get damaged. The water treatment plant would overloud. We would lose 10 million gallons of sewage."
Then he added, "We’ve had storms recently and we did not have a spill."
Then there was the wave of COVID that smacked the city. In early March 2020, Regan made a controversial decision that shocked the town. He chose to cancel the wildly popular Celtic Festival. He remembers it was a tough call to make.
"Because you know how much money was at stake for the community and individuals," Regan said. "The Celtic Festival lost a quarter million dollars."
He recalled, "When I made my decisions, they were based on the best available science presented."
Meanwhile, the city distributed smart digital thermometers to families at high risk of covid. Those devices successfully predicted waves of the illness. He also led the city in buying masks wholesale, making them available to local businesses which had difficulty finding masks.
Later in 2020, racial tensions were high after the death of George Floyd. The city commission, with Regan’s leadership, chose to move the Confederate monument from downtown to a private park on the other side of the county. Protests and demonstrations shook the city.
"Many of us were receiving death threats including myself," Regan recalled. "I think we all came to terms with understanding what we deeply believe and were convicted to do it no matter the result."
There were also high notes, such as the city’s 450th commemoration and the local celebrations for it.
"Those events are important because people love where they live by their sense of connection," Regan said.
Regan will now retire, after 13 years as city manager and a total of 25 yeas with St. Augustine city government.
"I feel grateful," he told First Coast News.
He's grateful for the opportunity to lead the city in providing basic services, as well as though troubled times.
It's been a rollercoaster of a ride he said. Then he added, "Yeah, but you know, we choose to ride rollercoasters."