by Mary-Kate Roan
Staff Writer
The opportunity for what could be a significant payoff in the case of the proposed Mayport cruise terminal to be built by the Jacksonville Port Authority has caused mouths to water and people to speak.
From citizens to elected officials, there have been a plethora of opinions on the subject. Tuesday, two City Council standing committees debated the project while a handful of Mayport residents attended those meetings to voice their concerns. Among those against the cruise terminal is Dave Fischer, chair of the Mayport Waterfront Partnership (MWP).
“No way,” said Fischer when asked if any changes to the proposed terminal would garner a consent to build from the partnership. “It’s wrong all the way around.”
Gary Crumley, vice chair of the MWP, said he couldn’t find a compromise in the proposed terminal either.
“Return the property to the city for public access,” said Crumley of what he would like to see happen in Mayport. “Start a group effort to stimulate the economy at Mayport.”
At Tuesday’s City Council Transportation, Energy & Utilities (TEU) Committee meeting, the proposed terminal legislation was the subject of debate among Committee members.
“I’ve been in and out of Mayport all my life,” said Committee member and Council Vice President Richard Clark. “You drive there to drop off a boat or get on that gambling boat.”
Clark said the best argument for the project he’d heard was if the terminal doesn’t go in Mayport, then what would Mayport do?
Clark’s optimism about the proposed terminal was criticized by Committee members Art Shad, Bill Bishop and Glorious Johnson.
“This is too much for the area,” said Shad.
Johnson added the economic impact wouldn’t be profound on the community.
Bishop added the placement of the cruise terminal in Mayport was the wrong decision to make, adding the village of Mayport is too small for a development on the scale of a cruise terminal and it’s located on a dead-end road.
“Cruise terminals aren’t next to a small neighborhood,” said Bishop.
The bill passed through TEU by a 4-3 vote (with Shad, Bishop and Johnson voting against) before public hearings on the subject were held at the Land Use & Zoning (LUZ) Committee meeting later that day. The LUZ Committee passed the bill by a 6-1 vote, meaning the project now just needs full Council approval, which may come Tuesday night.
“There are two futures for Mayport,” said Atlantic Beach Mayor John Meserve, who helped start the Mayport Waterfront Partnership.
Meserve said one possible future is with cruise ship jobs and the economic stimulus that comes with them, while the other would simply be a village that sits on a dead-end road.
Linda Moore, pier supervisor at the current Port Authority cruise terminal, said each ship sailing out of Jacksonville has at least 2,200 guests and bookings for cruises have become a popular alternative even in the current economic times. Moore added the new market focus of the project is the one presented by people driving to the ship.
Donald Harris, a representative of MMI Hotel Group which represents Fairfield Inn, Holiday Inn and Hyatt Place at the Jacksonville Airport, said without the cruises coming this past summer hotels saw a 67 percent loss in revenue, with the Holiday Inn at the airport losing $300,000 alone.
“The cruise line is our future,” said Harris, who added the industry impact is highest in the summer when hotels are slowest. “This is a huge part of our business during a time of need.”
One key argument against the development of Mayport is the amount of money already spent on improvements that aren’t visible. According to Mayport resident Michelle Baldwin the lack of visual enhancement stems from money being spent on infrastructure, which doesn’t attract visitors.
The shrimp industry from Fernandina is all for the prospect of the cruise terminal.
“It’s a way to market shrimp,” said Janie Thomas, executive director for the Shrimp Producers Association. “It will revitalize the entire area and may spill over to Fernandina.”
Thomas added the cruise terminal would create much-needed jobs.
“I’ve watched opportunities come and go here,” said concerned citizen and small business owner Paul Davis, adding while Mayport isn’t a destination, something needs to be done because Jacksonville is “now just seeing the exhaust of tens of thousands of cars driving past.”
David Kaufman, the Port Authority’s senior director of planning and properties, and Tony Orsini, the Port’s senior director of cruise operations and business development, agreed to allow air quality testing the next time a cruise ship comes to port and to allow a 500-foot space for public use in the new terminal with the area closed prior to a ship’s arrival and opening back up after the ship departs.
According to Cruise Lines International Association, a single 2,000 passenger ship with 950 crew members brings in $322,700 per visit. With 78 port of calls made per year, a cruise ship pumps a little over $25 million into the local economy on an annual basis. Cruise Lines International also stated 40 percent of passengers spend one or more nights in the port city. According to Lyndsay Rossman, director of corporate communications at Visit Jacksonville, that number goes up every year.
“The newer cruise terminal will have more ships that could be newer and bigger ships to show more economic impact,” said Rossman, adding Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean are interested in sailing out of a cruise terminal in Mayport.
If the bill doesn’t get past the full Council, Mayport has a plan of its own. Fischer said he thought investors should be lured into Mayport to help with planning improvements in the village.
“We’d like to build a park on the water, a maritime museum and a waterfront boardwalk,” said Fischer. “We need money to do it, and it’s not coming from the City.”
Fischer warned the changes would not stop with the cruise terminal and said the process was being done as more of a business transaction than helping improve the quality of life for the historic village residents.
“It won’t help the citizens,” said Fischer. “There will be no new jobs because they’ve got the people to run it already with the current terminal.”
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