ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FL — Following this weekend’s Ironman event, which successfully tested the human limits of endurance, hydration, and trying to reach Walgreens without entering a hostage negotiation with a traffic cone, St. Johns County officials discussed a bold new strategy for future regional events: telling people they are happening.

The topic came up during Tuesday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, when Commissioner Sarah Joseph asked for a quick discussion about the triathlon and how the county could “make it better” in the future. The discussion began around the 31:34 mark of the May 19 meeting.

County Administrator Joy Andrews said the county had already discussed the event over the weekend and acknowledged that the impact was much larger than expected.

“Yes, we discussed the events this weekend,” Andrews said around 31:57. “The impact on the residents and the roadway traffic was way greater than what it was sort of conveyed to us from the City of Jacksonville.”

That sentence, according to local historians, is government language for “everybody found out at the same time as the guy trying to buy mulch.”

Andrews said an “extensive post-event action review” was already underway, which is a formal process where officials gather after something goes badly and use laminated phrases like “lessons learned” until the room feels safe again.

She also noted that the event had “international branding” and brought value to the region economically and from a tourism perspective, though several locals reported that the primary tourism experience appeared to be “sitting in your car and discovering new parts of your personality.”

Around the 33:47 mark, Andrews said the county had received a letter from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office expressing concerns related to traffic and safety. According to Andrews, the sheriff stated he does not support the event in the future.

“Certainly that is not to be underestimated,” Andrews said, which is another government phrase meaning “this letter was not written in crayon.”

Officials emphasized that the Ironman was technically a City of Jacksonville event, with the route and race course changing over time. Andrews said the impact on the northeast part of St. Johns County was “not originally planned for” and “sort of kind of evolved to that.”

Residents are encouraged to use this same explanation next time they accidentally demolish a mailbox.

Commissioner Christian Whitehurst said he loved the event and would not mind seeing it routed through District 1 if District 4 did not think it was a good fit. He then asked what could be done in the future to better notify residents.

Public Works Director Greg Caldwell said digital message boards could be used to help notify drivers.

Ryan Larson, the county’s communications director, said around 38:32 that with more advance notice, the county could integrate communications across platforms and even use boosted social media posts to reach affected areas at a “granular level.”

This would mark a historic first in St. Johns County: Facebook ads being used for something other than a dentist, a roofing company, or a man in wraparound sunglasses promising to expose corruption from his truck.

The discussion then turned to taxpayer dollars. Officials said no county assets were used for the event and that safety planning, safety measures, and traffic control were paid for by the event.

Commissioner Joseph pushed back slightly, saying the county still had the expense of picking up trash afterward. She said she personally helped pick up bottles on Sunday.

Joseph also said she visited several businesses, including Ace Hardware, McDonald’s, Walgreens, Valley Smoke, Barbara Jean’s, and others, and claimed every business she spoke with lost money because of the event.

“One of them that lost some of the most amount of money was Fresh Market,” Joseph said around 40:28, adding that it also affected the Riverside store. “At least 20,000 from that day they didn’t get.”

Joseph also said Tire Kingdom normally has 20 to 30 cars on a Saturday, but had only four.

County officials did not confirm whether those four cars were customers, employees, or residents who had simply given up and decided to become Tire Kingdom people now.

By the end of the discussion, officials appeared to agree that future large-scale events may require better communication, more coordination, and possibly alerting the public before half the county wakes up inside an endurance-themed maze.

Sources say the county is now considering several advanced notification methods, including digital signage, boosted social posts, intergovernmental coordination, and standing in the middle of Palm Valley Road with a megaphone yelling, “Not today, brother.”

The next Ironman event has not yet been approved by St. Johns County, though residents are advised to begin training now by driving to Publix using only backroads, instinct, and emotional damage.

Source: St. Johns County BCC Meeting Livestream https://www.youtube.com/watch/Il_3cHBeJDw