When Charlie Hunt, a familiar face at St. Johns County public meetings, strides to the podium, officials often brace for a blistering critique.
But not this time.
At Tuesday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, the Mill Creek Estates resident used his three-minute public comment to deliver a heartfelt note of appreciation — directed at unsung local work crews who toiled through the night to repair a massive sinkhole that temporarily stranded his neighborhood.
The water-filled crater — which looked like the aftermath of a mortar attack — opened up after a vehicle crashed into a fire hydrant, flooding the street and damaging the road’s underlying infrastructure.
“We didn’t have an entry or exit point — that was the only road in or out,” Hunt told the board.
According to Hunt, the massive cavity was estimated to be 40 feet wide and 10 feet deep.
He said crews arrived around 6 p.m. Saturday and worked into the early hours of Sunday morning, pumping out water and muck, then hauling in truckloads of limestone to backfill the site.
By the time the sun came up, the job was nearly complete, and the area was reconnected to outlying streets.
Hunt ended his comments with a public thank-you: “So, a shoutout not just to Public Works, but to the Roads and Bridges Department that came out.”
“It took a long time,” he said of the task. “Tt took a long time.”
Board members appeared touched by Hunt’s public note of appreciation.
“Thank you,” said Chair Krista Joseph. “That was fantastic. Thank you for showing that to the board.”
