By Scott Herrington, Chairman, Community Safety Committee

Our new security system at the Mizell Gate is now more than a month old.  I wish to report to the community that we are confident that combining technology with a human presence has enhanced our existing system. Where we discovered hiccups, via testing and resident feedback, we have addressed them. We have added additional security cameras and will be adding 2 more in the community park shortly. We will continue to improve the system so Marsh Creek residents can feel secure in their homes and community.

On January 1^st, 2024, the remote Mizell Guard station (which, by the way, we would like the community to help us to name) went online from 11pm-7am (reducing our staffing expense by $77,000.00 a year).  The Mizell “remote guard”, a dark gray tower located outside the incoming gatehouse door, is linked to the gatehouse on A1A. It sends live visual images of the arriving vehicle and driver to the guard, who can communicate with the visitor by voice. Once the visitor provides proper identification and purpose for seeking entry, the guard can open the gate. 

Multiple cameras built into the “remote guard”, and others stationed around the Mizell gate, provide the “human guard” on A1A with a view of everything going on in and around the Mizell Gate. That visual data is recorded for later review should that be necessary.  Furthermore, motion detection sensors activate a flashing strobe light alarm in the A1A gatehouse whenever motion is detected at the Mizell gate.

The Community Safety Committee is tasked with managing this process through collaboration with our Board of Directors, Community Association Manager (CAM) and security contractor, Ramco Protective.  Ramco provides staff members at both gates, a roving patrol overnight and a security site manager on property 40 + hours per week.  The A1A gate is staffed 24/7, and the Mizell gate, by policy change enacted for 2024, is staffed 16 hours a day (7am-11pm).  This was primarily driven by the very few visitors entering overnight (an average of less than 5 per night), the ever-increasing expense of staffing, and the tremendous advances in technology that now allow us to monitor the gate remotely with as good or better efficiency as having a person there.  There has been NO change in how residents enter via bar code access.

The changeover to our new controlled access system has not been without challenges but most of the feedback from residents has been very positive.  The new access control system, Abdi Gate Access, allows residents to pre-clear guests and vendors through an app on their cell phone or tablet, through a website, or by telephone via an automated voice system.  As a further convenience, homeowners can text or email a QR code to a visitor or vendor, streamlining their access into Marsh Creek.  If you need help registering for this process or have questions about how to use it contact our CAM, Kimberly Willard, at (904) 263-4066 or Ramco Protective at (904) 800-1887.

To quote our Sheriff, Rob Hardwick, we live in the safest place, in the safest place in St. Johns County.  By that, he meant we live on an island which is monitored constantly by cameras at every bridge.  No one can get on or off the island without being recorded.  We live in a gated community on that island, also monitored constantly by staff and cameras, so no one can drive into our community without being observed and recorded.  Other than adding razor wire and roving armed guards, we have about the best situation here one could hope for.  We have not had any significant criminal activity in Marsh Creek over the past 2 years.  That does not mean we are immune to crime.  We allow hundreds of people into our community every week that we do not know, primarily contractors and crew’s that care for our homes and community.   Most of them are wonderful people, a few are not.  That’s just a fact of life.  Most crimes in communities like ours are perpetrated by transient workers using their position to infiltrate unidentified.  Use common sense.  Lock your vehicle and home doors all the time.  Install cameras in and around your home if you are able.

Marsh Creek is considered a premier community in our region.  Part of what contributes to this status is that we are a gated community, with staff controlling who may enter.  That “controlled access” system has gone through several changes over the years.  The Mizell gate was opened as a construction entrance/exit when the west side of the community was being developed and was secured at night with a simple chain and lock.  No guard, no gate, no cameras.  Over time (George McPherson would know when), and with the near complete build-out we now enjoy, it has become the Mizell Gate.  When first opened, it was for residents only.  Non-resident club members were required to enter through the A1A gate.  With the growth of the Marsh Creek Country Club, this policy has been stretched to allow anyone entering Marsh Creek to come and go through either gate. 

New things can be confusing and frustrating.  Your board of directors and committee volunteers are here to help when we can or direct you to the proper agency when we can’t.  A list of contact information for all committee and board members is on the community website.  The Community Safety Committee meets on the 3^rd Friday of the month at 10:00am at the club.  All are welcome to attend.