ST. AUGUSTINE – A temporary Verizon tower is currently sitting in Francis Field while permanent Verizon equipment proposed for the city parking garage waits on historic approval, giving residents another clean look at how St. Augustine solves problems by first making them taller.

Ko's Post: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BmbF9A9DX/

According to a post from Ko Robins for City Commissioner, the Historic Architectural Review Board still has not finalized approval for Verizon panels on top of the parking garage.

So for now, Francis Field gets the truck.

The tower is hard to miss. It sits in the field with fencing, cables, a Verizon response unit, and a mast high enough to make the whole thing feel less like a temporary fix and more like the city accidentally hosted a communications rodeo.

The part people are reacting to is simple.

A few pieces of permanent equipment on a parking garage are still under review.

A giant temporary tower in a public field is already here.

That is the St. Augustine formula.

Take the thing people might barely notice, review it for visual impact, then use a temporary alternative everyone can see from space.

According to Robins’ post, the city paid $30,000 for temporary wireless service during the Fourth of July, while the original cost for Nights of Lights could have reached nearly $100,000 before Commissioner Ann Taylor helped negotiate a better deal.

Robins also said Taylor has been working toward a permanent solution by adding Verizon equipment to the parking garage, but the proposal still has not been finalized by HARB.

Reliable cell service downtown obviously matters.

During major events, St. Augustine fills up with residents, visitors, police, vendors, business owners, rideshares, parents trying to find their kids, and tourists trying to upload the same fireworks video 18,000 times from different angles.

Nobody wants downtown communication failing because the city got overloaded by funnel cake, traffic, and one bar of service.

So the need makes sense.

The current visual solution is where the comedy shows up wearing work boots.

The city is apparently trying to avoid or reduce the look of permanent wireless equipment on a parking garage.

Not the Castillo.

Not a church steeple.

Not some fragile 1700s building held together by ghosts and grant money.

A parking garage.

A large concrete structure built to hold cars, rental SUVs, beach wagons, and people arguing over whether they parked on level three or level four.

That garage is now waiting for permission to help the city have better cell service.

Meanwhile, Francis Field has a temporary Verizon tower standing in it like the approval process got tired of being subtle.

Robins’ post also says someone has to remain on standby because if a storm comes through, the temporary tower has to be taken down.

So the temporary option may require a truck, a tower, fencing, standby attention, weather concerns, and a field full of equipment.

The permanent option is panels on a garage.

This is where the city’s historic review process starts to feel less like preservation and more like a very expensive way to choose the larger object.

HARB may have legitimate rules to follow. The city may have a process. Verizon may need approvals. Nobody is saying public safety infrastructure should be slapped anywhere without review.

But residents are allowed to look at a giant tower sitting in Francis Field and ask why the smaller, permanent fix on an already-modern parking garage is still stuck waiting for a thumbs up.

Because right now, the public gets the worst possible combination.

No finalized permanent solution.

A temporary tower in one of the city’s most visible public spaces.

And another reminder that in St. Augustine, even cell service has to stand in line behind aesthetics.

For now, the tower remains in Francis Field.

The parking garage remains under review.

And the city continues protecting the architectural integrity of the place where tourists lose their minivans.