March 17th Port Meeting

Greetings Port Observers:

Here's your Executive summary of today's Port meeting, March 17 2009.

Treasury has $2 million. Engineering reports included updates on Salt Run and San Sebastian river dredging. These projects get complicated and progress slowly when samples show excessive polluting metals in the analysis.

Cdr. Fox SAPD reported on activity with derelicts. Owners of foundered boats are granted leeway to solve their problems before City expertise and Port dollars move in. That's the case with the Colin Archer ketch beached S of town on the W side of the Matanzas.

Officer J. Richmond, FWC, outlined that agency's meeting with City, County, USCGA personnel at the Vilano ramp on 25 April to coordinate activities associated with good water management. 5 April will be the Blessing of the Fleet, which will be supervised by FWC. FWC is also coordinating Whale watch activities with National Fisheries. Officer Richmond complimented SAFD and their new fireboat, which has been instrumental in two rescue events. The attributes of the SAFD vessel lends itself to easy boarding from the water, and it can maneuver in shallow waters.

No sheriff's dept. report. Fire Chief Mike Arnold further talked of the fireboat. Port has contributed $20,000 to date for the venture, and Chief Arnold and the City would like the Port to share with the city the cost of lifts at the city marina to keep the boat out of the water. Commissioners Bliss and Benjamin listed points against, but probably the measure will carry at our next meeting.

Chris Benjamin, Environmental Coordinator for St.John's Co Solid Waste Management petitioned for $7500 for the Trashbuster program. Commissioners were all in accord that this was a worthwhile and appreciated program.

City's Harbor Management Plan still awaits permits from DEP and USACE, and has answered questions from USCG, FWC, and Tallahassee's History and Archeology division. Once those permits are in hand, City Commission will listens to hearings to approve, modify, or cancel the effort.

This Commissioner still advocates City moorings S of the Bridge of Lions. That component , 70 moorings, will be welcome to many of our liveaboards and our cruising guests.

North of the Bridge of Lions is our eventing area, where sailboat races originate, where our Parade of Lights is staged, and where cruisers and locals drop a hook. That area could be designated limited time overnight anchoring, just as Hospital Creek is designated. To pepper that area with 28 moorings is to impose a visual blight on what is now a scenic anchorage. Two vessels have sunk there in the past five years, due mostly to being battered by Nor'easters. Imposing 28 moorings N of the Bridge of Lions does not substitute for the lack of due diligence in supervising that anchorage: one boat has been abandoned there for six months now.

Salt Run has a planned 80 moorings in that quiet estuary. The waterborne biological diversity that we see there now—manatee, porpoise, shark, alligator, shrimp, blue crab, oyster, (I've seen all those in Salt Run) and the countless fish breeds all get to co-habit with 80 moorings and 80 boats with their ablative anti-fouling paints. IF you can find 80 subscribers to the mooring fees. IF those subscribers will be constant with the marked absence of amenities—proper dinghy accommodations, parking (present Lighthouse Park spaces overflow on any given weekend), showers (belated thanks to the Yacht Club for the new bathroom building).

I've tallied about ten probable renters for moorings in Salt Run. I know the City does not have a subscriber list—nor have I heard of a market analysis. Eighty moorings are planned in order to exclude the migration from the Bridge of Lions anchorages. And all because enforcement of regulations has been sporadic or non-existent. My December 1 2008 survey counted 19 out of 45 boats not having proper registration in Salt Run.

Clearly the work has barely begun if tomorrow we saw the imposition of all 178 moorings. Then westruggle through the tangle of boats migrating up the North river and South of the 312. This is clearly a lose-lose situation that no group—Port included—wants to confront.

Back to Port meeting: Board approved $120740.53 as our portion, total cost shared with FIND, for dredging and new floating dock at the Lighthouse ramp.

Port Attorney Dobson urged the board to await an opinion from the Attorney General: providing funds to a non-profit like the Lighthouse Archeological project for reconstruction of replica boats might lead to an AIG audit.

St.A Beach Commissioner R. O'Brien requested funds for sand fencing to contain beach erosion. He'll get an interlocal agreement, with dollar figures, and bring it to next meet.

See you next time,

Oops!

A correction: two projects, a Vilano Floating dock and Salt Run dredging, I presented as being assured FIND funding.  Rather, application will be made to that taxing entity, and depending on priorities and funds available, FIND will act. 

FIND, Florida Inland Navigation District, is a taxing district in 12 Florida counties having Intracoastal Waterways.  Their website is www.aicw.org.  Theirs is the responsibility of maintaining and improving our intracoast waterway here in Florida.

Feb 17th Port Meeting

Greetings Port Observers,

Here’s a brief summary of today’s Feb 17, 2009 monthly meet.   Official minutes and perspectives at www.staugustineport.com.

Treasury has $2.1 million.  Dredging for the San  Sebastian and Salt Run  are in permitting stages.  Historical Resources dept. of Florida is studying mooring fields for the known artifacts that have been located but not excavated, to ensure their continued preservation.

SAPD Barry Fox has 6 derelicts documented since last August; 3 on the hard already, three more should be removed within the week.  One boat was insured, and costs minimized with insurance reimbursement.

FWC Steve Zukowski is working to get larger “No Wake” buoys positioned  by our bridges.  Strong tidal flows lay present ones on their side, and the ticketed like to claim in court they couldn’t be seen.  The sailor who died on the N river should have been wearing his lifejacket.   Some lights may not be functioning on the inlet markers. (Anyone with firsthand knowledge plz notify the CG).

Dr. Sam Turner, Lighthouse archeologist,  outlined benefits to Port and public the yawlbuilding program they need funds for. Mark Helman, Conch House dockmaster, spoke for fast action in dredging Salt Run.  Will Smith and Vilano Beach Development asked for funding an engineering study for a floating dock at Vilano to improve public water access.  Board voted unanimously to provide $10K with matching funds coming from SJCo.   Florida Inland Navigation District money will also go into the project.

For the Salt Run dredging project FIND will also provide $450,000.  Port voted (not unanimously) to provide $150,000 for the effort.  Bliss abstained, matching City’s abstention of any matching $$.

Port sent a check to the St.Augustine Yacht club for $7000; that was their bill for showcasing Port St. Augustine at our Parade of Lights last December.  The yacht club has been doing this for some time; only in the last two years has the Port contributed to the event.