scooterbug44

While I wouldn't put anything past St. Joe, this isn't an isolated incident.

Parks & historic sites across the country are being closed or having reduced hours and services due to budget cuts.

Personally I could find FAR better places to cut items out of the budget - starting w/ perks, travel, and per diems for politicians.

__________________
"I hate to break it to you, but this year (and probably the next few) was going to suck even if Jesus himself was president. These problems were not created overnight and they aren't going away overnight." -Jdarg

BeachSiO2

Others are likely more well versed in your answers but I think I am right on a few of them as I was a technical advisor many years ago when the baord was first established. Also, I have numbered your original questions in hope of keeping them straight (for me).

First MR is no longer on the advisory board. As for your questions:

1. No the CDL does not have the authority to open connections.

2. In Walton County, only the County has the ability to get a permit for the opening.

3. Three St. Joe communities have property fronting the CDL, as do a number of other private owners.

4. There is no good accounting of how many CDL's exist in the world although a number of locations are frequently mentioned. There are extremely rare, but no one truly knows exactly how rare.

5. The most frequently opened lake in Walton County is Eastern Lake in which St. Joe owns no property so I don't see how they have "more influence" than anyone else.

6. I don't know.

AAbsolute

I wouldn't mind a bit to see all these parks sold off for development in private hands and the proceeds of sale going to pay off government debt. Further, at least an equal amount of government programs and offices should be closed immediately too.

scooterbug44

NO! Our parks, nature preserves, forests etc. should NOT be privatized!

Budget cuts can be made MANY other places that do not reduce our quality of life. Closing a park or selling it off affects thousands and is irrevocable - taking away an excessive government perk or looking for increased efficiency is a far better idea.

__________________
"I hate to break it to you, but this year (and probably the next few) was going to suck even if Jesus himself was president. These problems were not created overnight and they aren't going away overnight." -Jdarg

AAbsolute

When Did Mary leave the post?

Does anyone from JOE sit on the Advisory Board at this time?

I'm counting The Retreat/Draper....Watercolor/Western......Watersound West Beach/Deer Lake.....Watersound Beach/Camp Creek......Watersound(North)/Lake Powell so far.

I understand that it is on the advice of the CDL Board that the lakes are opened.

What would you estimate the increase in Real Estate valuation would be for JOE's holdings on Lake Powell if a more regularly navigable pass were openend and maintained? My guess......$600,000,000

goodwitch58

FYI for anyone who is interested:

I emailed Governor Crist this morning and asked that he reconsider the closing of Deer Lake. I received a reply from one of his aides in the Legislative Office and she indicated that my concern would be added to the information they had on park closing; she also suggested I contact my local legislative delegation, which I have done.

I know from my years in the Governor's office that information from the local community counts more than most other information, so if anyone else wants to add to the emails, you can reach the Governor via: Charlie.Crist@myFlorida.com.

__________________

"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

BeachSiO2

I will check on Mary as I may be wrong but it was my understanding that she had left the CDL Board, but she is still on the County's CDL website. I don't remember who would have filled that position but will try to find that out also.

I was thinking of the Retreat, Watercolor and Watersound as the three communities not the distinct pieces. Please be aware that Deer Lake, Camp Creek, or Draper have never been opened "officially" by anyone, unless DuneLaker knows of a time way back, and in today's permitting climate it is not getting any easier to get permits for new lake openings.

The opening of the lakes are due to emergency conditions and impacts to structures on upland properties that would lisk health and safety. Not docks and accesory structures, but septic tanks and major habitable structures. To that point, I am unaware of any St. Joe property that would meet those conditions as they are set back from the wtaer's edge far enough that the triggering event would be a single family residence outside the property boundries of a St. Joe community.

As for Lake Powell, I do not believe that they would ever get the state and/or federal permits to open and maintain an opening. Furthermore, if they did I am very confident that Walton County would stringently object due to the downdrift impacts caused from the opening of the channel. it would most likely lead to downdrift erosion of the Camp Helen/Inlet Beach area (which is already deemed "critically eroded" by the state), and impacts might be observed in the Rosemary Beach area. Moreover, the actual pass would be unable to maintained without structures leading to even more permitting and impacts. I guess my point is that on the state and federal levels the likelihood of this occurring is extremely slim.

AAbsolute

I have traversed th pass at Lake Powell several times by boat when conditions are favorable. The CDL Board has the ability to recommend the opening to the permitting authority at any time it should choose to. If anyone has the clout and motivation to have a pass maintained at Lake Powell it is JOE. I just thought it coincidental that a igh ranking JOE exec with civil engineering expertise fond her position at the Board.

SWGB

Draper lake was opened officially if I remember correctly and it was pretty recently.

AAbsolute, St. Joe can use all the influence they like, however the "land" that exists where an opening could be installed is owned by Pinnacle Port and the next land owner to the west would be the State of Florida and Camp Helen state park. I seriously doubt that St. Joe is going to try and open a permanent pass as Wild Heron doesn't really have an area to install a marina nor would the DEP allow such construction on a CDL. To go thru this effort doesn't make sense considering the amount of land that Joe owns on the intercoastal.

__________________

SWGB

It could be less conspiracy and more local involvement by Joe employees as it is one of their missions.

__________________

TreeFrog

I think this was not official, just some yahoos.

NotDeadYet

I want to make a distinction between opening a coastal dune lake and keeping it open permanently.
As to opening a lake, while it is true that the CDLAB can recommend opening a lake at any time, the actual permit to do so is issued by the DEP. Lake Powell was the first lake to receive a permit of this type from the DEP. The water level must reach a predetermined level before the permit kicks in and the lake can be legally opened. That level takes a lot of data into consideration, such as septic tanks, structure foundations, historical levels of the lake, etc., and is based on surveys. The county applied for similar permits for some of the other lakes, which are called "no notice" permits, because no notice is required. Once the designated level is reached, the county can go ahead and open the lake with no notice. I am not sure of the status of those permit applications at this time - they were, last I heard, dragging on slowly, and I don't recall exactly which lakes are involved. It is a lengthy process to do all the required surveying and determine the appropriate level for opening.
From time to time, the county opens one or another lake on an emergency permit basis. This emergency permit needs to come from the DEP. The county requests permission from the DEP, with or without advice from the CDLAB.
As to keeping a CDL open on a permanent basis, that would require some sort of armoring. Armoring a CDL would require a change to the county comp plan as it is currently not allowed. And the state would have something to say about it. Seems not very likely to be permitted at this time, but you never know.
So far as influence goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. One reason Eastern Lake gets a lot of attention is because there are active, vocal people living there who contact the county when the lake level rises.
There was a time a few years ago when JOE tried to claim the Camp Creek outlet beach. A JOE security guard ran off kayakers, and as a result a lot of people started kayaking down to the outlet and waving at JOE security. It was in the papers and JOE backed off. Probably the adjacent owners at the lake outlets are the biggest threat to the lakes. Many of them don't understand theh hydraulics or the ecology of the lakes and keep screwing around with the outlets.
As to selling off ANY of the state lands for development I am adamently opposed.

AAbsolute

I wouldn't call it conspiracy either. I think I heard someone on the message board recently call it good planning. I say more power to them.

There are plenty of docks on Lake Powell including the one recently installed on another of JOE's Executives property just inside the Walton County line. No need to break confidence, but suffice it to say he is high ranking.

AAbsolute

Something substantial has got to be done immediately with government spending. Our country has never had a government budget as large a percentage of the GDP as it has now and it's going higher and higher. Yes, it's going to hurt in some way, but there is no way around it. There really isn't. To think there is is an afront of clear macro-economic history. The Government has no place or business in the majority of areas it's involved in.

scooterbug44

I agree that we need to take a good hard look at our bloated budgets and out of control spending, but selling off our parks should be a last resort, not a first.

The amount realized by the sale of these community assets is comparable to the amount we outright waste in a year. Waste and perks need to go buh-bye, not our natural gems.

__________________
"I hate to break it to you, but this year (and probably the next few) was going to suck even if Jesus himself was president. These problems were not created overnight and they aren't going away overnight." -Jdarg

Andy A.

I am certainly no avid environmentalist and whiles I agree the government has no business in a lot of the areas in which it is involved, the parks should remain in the control of government. One of the best programs by the National Park Service for senior citizens is the "Golden Passport" program. If we turn our local parks over to developers and other business interests, it will be no time at all until they become gated communities available only to an elite few. Keep the parks under government control and operation, fund them properly and give all citizens the right to enjoy them at a reasonable price. There are plenty of other programs that are more suitable to being taken from government and turned over to the private sector than parks.

__________________
Congress only does two things well...Nothing at all and overreacting.

BeachSiO2

I follow you and agree that they do have clout; however, they would also be going against a variety of other gorillas if they pursued a permanent opening that would negatively impact the adjacent landowners. One which is EBSCO in Inlet Beach and then Rosemary Beach.

As for Mary's involvement, St. Joe has been involved from the beginning with the original CDL task force before it became an advisory board. The task force included a number of technical experts, local environmentalists, property owners, developers, and county staff. I am not too good on this but if my memory from 7+ years ago is correct, the first group included (and I am sorry if I included you and you weren't involved or if I left you off):

Tommy Ervin, Topsail Hill State Preserve
Scott Jackson, FL Sea Grant
Brad Pickel, TDC
Julie Terrell, Florida Lakewatch (now with CBA)
Earl Day, Eastern Lake Resident
Van Ness Butler, County Commissioner
Britt Greene, Watercolor
Celeste Cobena, Beach to Bay
Mike D'Autilla
Billy McKee (or someone else from the County's planning dept.)
Another resident on Eastern Lake that had a fisheries background.
And at least one or two more that I am forgetting.

Once it went to an Advisory Board, other changes were made like the addition of Phillip Ellis from Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, and a couple of more residents (maybe Judi Rutland and Susan Burgess?) I don't know who all is involved now.

The point I am trying to make is that unless the makeup of the CDLAB is substantially different, I cannot ever see the CDLAB advocating a permanent opening, especially not one with the structures it would require to keep it open.

SWGB

I remember yahoos at Western Lake, but I'm pretty sure that Draper was a back-hoe.

__________________

AAbsolute

I agree with everything you said and wouldn't rule out liquidating the parks if the relief was not realized through the immediate closings and cutting.

AAbsolute

Sorry we didn't get the proverbial honeymoon before our first quarrel. I disagree with quite a bit of your assertions.

Neither EBSCO or The Village at Inlet Beach AKA Rosemary Beach Land Company are adjacent landowners. Jason's (EBSCO) got a piece close, but not close enough to effectively oppose.

Next, either of the aforementioned are corporate peers of JOE who may very well acquire JOE in the next year if the table is set properly. That said, those gorilla's are as cozy as SWGB with a pretty boy from the Keys. If so, there's no man nor beast for 600 miles whose gonna effectively oppose in a Court of Equity or Common.

The lakefront property owners in favor of developing a permanantly navigable pass for passenger boats outnumber the lakefront property owners who don't by 50 to 1. The businesses that would benefit feel the same way. The pass is already being used by passenger vessels intermitantly now.

It's time for those who don't have an eminent cause to have their vote counted properly 1/50th. Are you advocating raising taxes across the State to combat the will of the majority and a bunch of corporate gorilla's if they choose to exercise their collective might?

TreeFrog

With the enormity of the state's budget, it's hard to imagine that closing one tiny little state park will have ANY useful impact whatsoever. Let's don't use the small government argument as a proxy for opening up that property to development.

AAbsolute

Would it be o.k. with you if we sell one of the parks and use the proceeds to put in an annuity with perpetuity with specific purpose of maintaining all the parks on the Sowal coast forever?

I'm sure we the people can craft tight and specific language whereby the funds would be untouchable and provide self support forever. No more tax money for these ever again.

TreeFrog

Interesting idea, but the park that's sold is likely to be gone forever, unless we can insure that it sells to Nature Conservancy, or someone similar, who would turn right around and donate it back to the state. All seems a bit of a stretch, doesn't it?

Besides, I'm happy to see my tax money support state parks.

AAbsolute

Let's get a quieted Deed for Camp Helen and sell Camp Helen for about $35,000,000 by way of auction to whomever wants it most. The $35,000,000 can be put into a permanent and untouchable fund. 90% of the earned interest will be used as the only budget for the rest of the coastal parks in Sowal. The other 10% of the earned interest will be reinvested in the fund to ensure that the budget can increase in perpetuity. All current taxes raised in allocation to the budgets of same would be permanently stopped forever.

TreeFrog

Like I said the first time...

BeachSiO2

Maybe I need to focus myself and hopefully our portion of the discussion to why I chose to jump in. The reason was simple, I do not believe that St. Joe participating on the WALTON COUNTY CDLAB will have any effect on the permanent opening and maintenance of a coastal dune lake located in another county. Moreover, I do not believe that there is any possibility that any other CDL located within Walton County's political borders is subject to permanent opening. Finally, if there is a movement in Bay County to permanently open and maintain the outfall at Lake Powell there will be a number of people that will fight it due to the downdrift impacts. In the state of Florida it is estimated that 85% of all beach erosion is caused by the opening and maintenance of existing inlets. There are a number of coastal engineers that will be able to clearly demonstrate the impacts that would occur due to this action.

As for EBSCO, they own the first beachfront property located west of the Bay/ Walton County line. It is undeveloped and totals 4.5 acres. It will definitely be within the erosional zone and they contract with a coastal engineer that will be able to clearly testify to the likely erosional impact if it comes to it. Like I said before Rosemary is a little further so it's a toss up.

AAbsolute

The Coastal Dune Lake you are talking about is Lake Powell. Does the health and maintenance of Lake Powell fall under the jurisdiction of the Walton County Coastal Dune Lake Advisory Board?

AAbsolute

Next question. The Village of Inlet Beach AKA Rosemary Beach was founded and developed by Leucadia International. Later, Leucadia bought the land all around the CDL, Draper Lake. That developer was granted the intense density of the Draper Lake community by arguing that it owned not just the land above the current shoreline of Draper Lake, but also the submereged lands extending from the shore under the Coastal Dune Lake. They were able to successfully assert their claim of ownership and obtain residential unit allocation's over the protest of the citizens in attendance.

Again, sorry to be contrary to fairytale beliefs, but heavy handed developers will continue to push the limits of your beliefs through the system.

BeachSiO2

A portion of the lake is Walton County. However, the health and maintenance of the lake is overseen through a management plan developed through a seperate group called the Lake Powell Community Alliance. Walton County may be a participant but the Alliance was the driving force and there is a seperate management plan. I believe the management plan was approved in Bay County, not Walton County but am not positive.

The management plan included criteria as to opening the outfall and led to the issuance of a standing permit with FDEP as to how the outfall is managed. As someone discussed earlier, these permits are based on a trigger elevation due to health and safety risks due to high lake levels, not desire to egress and ingress the lake, submerged boat docks, etc.

Moreover, the permitted outfall location is located within the political boundaries of Bay County, and Walton County has no management authority of the outfall location in our neighboring county. In this case, I believe Camp Helen is the outfall opening location and timing of openings is coordinated by the state parks.

BeachSiO2

I understand your concerns with heavy handed developers but there are still certain issues that would have to be resolved prior to any construction seaward of the coastal construction control line. In these cases of permanent lake openings for the size needed for boat traffic, it would be impossible to document a health and safety need since an emergency permit is available if the lake needs to be opened temporarily. Moreover, they would have to address impacts caused by downdrift erosion, shorebird nesting habitat, sea turtle nesting habitat, and the easily documented concerns of a number of individual property owners that would go crazy in Old Florida Beach as they would be the downdrift owners that would be immediately affected by erosion.

I understand through some of your other posts and threads in the past your issues with developers; however, in this limited case, I continue to stand by my assertion that a permanent lake outfall with structures would not be permitted at any lake in Walton County where St. Joe has property.

FF 2

TreeFrog, although I realize that this is a small amount, but the State is cutting area that are of more concern to me than saving a park. Both State and local governments have had to make cuts. I would prefer that all these parks stay open, and I although I appreciate that there are some who don't have a problem with paying for this through their tax dollars, I really don't see this as the most important issue facing the state. We have special needs kids and home bound folks who chose not to be placed in a nursing home, but the state has cut funding for in home health care service. It cost more to place a person who only needs assistance in home than placing them in a nursing home. Their are those who feel we over spend on schools, and are happy with reducing wasteful spending, or spending in general. We find the state reducing the amount of monies back to local governments, so that burden falls to the local taxpayer. Well, we have local government officials who want to purchase propert in the county when we should be avoiding wasteful spending and taking property off the tax rolls. People before property when it comes to tax cuts.

scooterbug44

From the SWCC:

Dear SWCC Member,

I have received several emails and phone calls expressing concern about the potential closure of Deer Lake State Park. I have spoken with both local park officials and the state about the proposal. At the end of this email is a public memo provided by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. (FDEP)

Here is a synopsis of what I have been told or found through research. As we all already know, the state is experiencing a financial crunch and must cut expenses. In an effort to cut expenses yet retain employees, 19 parks are being proposed for a temporary closure. Eight of the 19 parks slated for closure are in the Florida Panhandle. Here is a geographic breakdown of the proposed closures using the FDEP park region designations:

NW FL (16 counties) 33 parks total 8 to be closed 24% proposed closure of total parks in region
NE FL (17 counties)39 parks total 4 to be closed 10%
Central (13 counties) 26 parks 3 to be closed 12%
SW FL (13 counties 32 parks 2 to be closed 6%
SE FL (8 counties) 23 parks 2 to be closed 9%

According to state officials, Deer Lake is being proposed for closure on the basis that (1) it receives a small amount of use relative to the expenses of operating it and (2) it generates no revenue. This rationale is disturbing. One problem is that there is no documentation by which to ascertain how much the park is in fact being used. Deer Lake State Park does not have a visitation kiosk in which users can register. In the other parks, (Topsail, Grayton, Eden, etc) there is a day fee with a registration form. In essence, as was acknowledged by the state, there are no actual records which quantify public use of this park. It is being estimated and assumed it is not well used.

Secondly, I was initially told the operating budget for Deer Lake was around $44,000. I have received a copy of the breakdown of the operating expenses for Deer Lake for 2007-08. It breaks down as follows:

Expense Breakdown Amt. (Approx)

Phone Bills $349.33
Freight 10.00
Repairs $1,455.96
Electric Bill 605.72
Water & Sewer 242.04
Road Maintenance 610.24
Minor Tools 297.46
Parts & Fittings 157.69
Gas 1,675.43
Field Supplies 275.09
Uniform 75.00

TOTAL: $5,753.87

I have received further confirmation that it costs $5,753.87 to operate the park. Note: Grayton Beach State Park maintains Deer Lake Park and provides ranger service.

The other parks in the area charge a day fee which helps defray some of the operating expenses. While there is some discussion of assessing a day fee to help with Deer Lake in the future, according to the state officials I have spoken to, there does not appear to be any discussion of assessing a day fee as an alternative to closure. In other parks, the day fee works off an “honor” box. No ranger is needed to collect the fee.

If in fact the operating expenses are so minimal, it would seem the imposition of a day fee and/or a fundraising drive could produce the funds to keep the park open. The closing of a gulf front park with its contribution to tourism and local year-round use should be a last resort if alternatives to help cover the operating costs are not possible. I would be interested in knowing whether our membership would be willing to pay a day fee (typically $2-3) to use the park. Please give me your thoughts.

The timing and procedure work like this: FDEP must make a recommendation of closure to the Governor’s office. If the Governor approves the closures, the proposal must go to the state legislature. The legislative session is from February through May 1st. A decision must be made during that time frame. If the state legislature votes to adopt the FDEP proposal, the closing could take place the first of July with no fixed expiration. The park will be re-opened when it is deemed financially feasible.

Some fear has been expressed as to whether Deer Lake State Park may ultimately be sold to a private purchaser. The normal procedure for sale of a park would work like this: Title to the park is held in trust. The Trustee is the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. The Florida Division of State Lands is the administering agency for the Trustees. Parks and Recreation (P & R) manages the parks.

The first step in selling a park would be for P & R to determine that the park serves no conservation or other public purpose and recommend it be designated as “surplus” land. Before it is considered for surplus, a notice is sent to other state agencies and the county to determine if any other entity would want the parcel. If no one responds affirmatively, the parcel is released to the Trustees and goes before the ARC (Acquisition and Restoration Council). That committee decides whether the park should be surplused. The public can speak at the ARC meeting. The notice of the meeting is on the FEDP website.

If the ARC decides to surplus the park parcel, a notice for bids must be given to property owners within 500’ and a notice will be given in the newspaper although the statute provides “(4) Failure to provide the notice as set out in subsections (1) and (3) shall not invalidate the sale, exchange, lease, or easement.”

I cannot yet verify whether this is the procedure that would have to be used for Deer Lake State Park. Deer Lake is subject to an agreement between several agencies and St. Joe and I don’t know if the documents cover discontinuance of Deer Lake as a park.

The Division of Lands has assured me there is no intent to sell Deer Lake State Park. In addition to providing a wonderful “old Florida” experience for locals and visitors, an important function of the park was to provide habitat for endangered species. Undoubtedly there would be a large public outcry if Deer Lake State park were offered for sale.

>From the emails and phone calls I have received, I am aware that there are those who uses the park on a regular basis. Public input should be directed to the governor’s office and FDEP.

The Governor’s email address is: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com His mailing address is:

▪ Office of Governor Charlie Crist
State of Florida
PL-05 The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

FDEP accepts only letters into the official records.

Therefore, you must send a letter to:

Mr. Mike Bullock
Director, Florida State Parks
3900 Commonwealth Blvd.
Mailstation 500
Tallahassee, FL 32399

__________________
"I hate to break it to you, but this year (and probably the next few) was going to suck even if Jesus himself was president. These problems were not created overnight and they aren't going away overnight." -Jdarg

SWGB

Where is the water, sewer, and electricity cost coming from? My understanding that the self sustaining composting solar powered toilet on premises didn't need those three things and was great for remote (when it was installed the park was remote) areas. Is this a breakdown of what the ranger at Grayton needs for housing and due to maintaining Deer Lake it is in turn due some of that for budgeting purposes?

In addition, what if those monies are raised privately and donated to the State, would they be able to accept it and keep the park open?

__________________

TreeFrog

Geez, surely we could set up an annual fundraiser event or drive sufficient to come up with $5700 a year...

TreeFrog

Which leaves the possibility that a sale to St. Joe is already lined up, wouldn't you think...

Sure would be nice to see these agreements, wouldn't it?

goodwitch58

any agreement should be available under the public records law.

__________________

"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

mikecatadjuster

I went today. One vehicle was leaving as I arrived, another was there. I walked to the beach, enjoying the dunes along the way. Yes, $44,000... no way! The $5,700 seems more like it. I actually am scheduled to go there tomorrow to take some pics for a magazine article. I go there several times a month and have brought people there who are visiting the area. The dunes there are exquisite. Makes me ponder how beautiful this entire coast was at one time. It's almost difficult to imagine the immensity of that kind of beauty.

SWGB

You should've taken pictures today. Looks like it's gonna rain for the next couple of days.

__________________

scooterbug44

I'd be willing to forego a blue sign or 2 (or 3) and put that $ towards keeping a park open.

I will be SOOOOOOO pissed if St. Joe or another developer takes/buys this park!!!!

__________________
"I hate to break it to you, but this year (and probably the next few) was going to suck even if Jesus himself was president. These problems were not created overnight and they aren't going away overnight." -Jdarg

SWGB

I don't have a problem with it if they are given a restrictive deed requiring the park remain as is.

__________________

Smiling JOe

I didn't see mention of the fact that the Florida State Park System charges people for annual Park Passes. At least a portion of money collected goes to fund the Parks, including Deer Lake SP. I am outraged that this Gulf Front Park, which operates on less than $6,000 per year, is being considered for closing. As mentioned, a tiny local fundraiser could generate the money needed to keep it in operation, if that was really why it was being considered for closure. I think that is a bunch of horse-pooh. I guess that Prominence is about to lose their closest beach access, as the idea of shuttling owners and guests to Deer Park, was their plan for getting people to the beach.

I will certainly be writing Gov Charlie Christ on this issue, and strongly encourage everyone else to do the same.

__________________

SWGB

I guess the ultimate question here is if they are closing the park does that mean that they will lock the gates and restrict access or someone just won't clean the toilet?

__________________

Smiling JOe

First, there is closure. Then, after several years of no use, the State declares the property as "surplus" land. Every once in a while, the State will map out and sell off parcels which it can no longer manage/maintain. I'm beginning to see the writing on the wall, and I'm not liking what I see.

__________________

goodwitch58

I have already written the Governor; perhaps it would be wise for us to write to our local Legislative Delegation as well.

__________________

"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

AAbsolute

Just let a developer buy it already. We could put the money into some sort of investment vehicle that pays the bills at all the other gulf front parks in perpetuity.

TreeFrog

Response from the Gov's office to my EMail.

Dear Mr. TreeFrog:

Thank you for writing to Governor Charlie Crist regarding funding for the State Parks in Florida. The Governor appreciates receiving your comments and asked that I respond on his behalf.

The Governor and the Legislature work together to develop budget priorities with a focus of maximizing the use of existing programs and ensuring that Floridians are getting the best value for their dollar. Within this context, please be assured the Governor will carefully consider your comments and those of other concerned Floridians regarding the Fiscal Year 2008-09 budget.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your views with Governor Crist. You may also wish to share your comments with your local legislative delegation.


Sincerely,




Aundra Bryant

Office of Policy and Budget

Executive Office of the Governor



Here's another source suggesting you write your local legislators.

Smiling JOe

In addition to writing our local State legislators, I will also be writing our County Commissioners, urging them to also make a push, on behalf of the County, to keep the Park open. I hope others will join me. Seriously, we should be able to locally raise $6000, to keep the Park open, if costs was the reason why it was being considered for closure.

__________________

2bohemians

Why is it that we don't have to pay to enjoy this park? We've often wondered this. We would be more than happy to pay a few bucks each time we visit to enjoy such an incredible view.

__________________

Smiling JOe

good question, and the answer it would likely cost more to staff someone to collect the money from the box, account for it on paper, make deposits, etc, on a daily basis. In reality, it is likely cheaper to not collect money.

__________________

AAbsolute

Sorry, once again I'm questioning the statement that this has to do with the operating budget of the park. If you want to keep the park Public longterm you might want to consider this as well. It's more probable that this has to do with something other than the State budget.

I'm fine with it going private if the State and County use the proceeds for something that will have budgetary permanence. I'm completely against closing the gate strictly because of next years budget.