by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Waterways Commission approved legislation Thursday for the installation of new water and electric pedestals at the Metropolitan Park Marina. The project will cost a little over $1.2 million, with $607,500 coming from a grant from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. The other $600,000 is coming from the City.
Jody McDaniel, planning and grants manager for the City’s Planning Department, said there are not enough electrical outlets to meet the demand at the marina. She also said the grant was supposed to be awarded eight months ago, but the project should be completed by August or September.
McDaniel said she is in the process of reaching an agreement with a company that installs such equipment.
“It is patent pending technology and they are the only company that makes this kind of equipment,” she said.
The legislation still needs the approval of the City Council Finance and Recreation & Community Development committees.
In other news from the Waterways meeting:
• Dr. Quinton White of Jacksonville University gave his opinion of a study conducted last fall by the St. Johns River Water Management District. The study was a Phase I look at proposed water withdrawals from the river and the impact on the ecology of the river. It was posted in December and released in hard copy in early January and was over 700 pages long. In late January, an 818-page revision was released.
White said the study is called “St. Johns River in the Balance” and, according to White, the SJRWMD considers it a “cumulative impact analysis” of how the ecology of the river would be affected by the withdrawal of upwards of 262 million gallons of fresh water a day.
“Phase I is well-presented and thorough,” said White. “I also came to the conclusion that the CIA is misnamed. Cumulative impacts have not been addressed. There is no systematic-wide study of the impact on the ecosystem. There is no comprehensive study.”
White said many of the answers to questions in Phase I have been deferred to the Phase II study.
One of White’s biggest issues with the study is the limited number of river species it examined. He said basically only blue crabs and edible shrimp were looked at in Phase I while the American shad will be studied in Phase II, despite the fact there are 170-180 species of fish that inhabit the St. Johns River.
“They all respond to different salinity shifts,” said White, adding the study only touches on fresh water withdrawal and the impact an increase in salinity will have. “Small change translates into big impacts.”
White said he will present his final report on the study to the State Environmental Protection Board.
• There was one cold stress related manatee death in February, according to Dr. Gerald Pinto of JU. He also said another manatee death was reported recently in the Mill Cove area and that death appeared to be due to a manatee being trapped by a falling tide.
Pinto also said he will resume twice-monthly manatee flights in April after only taking one flight a month during the winter.
• The Commission also approved the Duval County Manatee Protection Plan. McDaniel will address the RCD Committee on the specifics of that plan at a future RCD meeting.
• Finally, the Commission approved legislation that will allow the City to seek Florida Inland Navigation District grants for $1.78 million worth of projects. Those grants will cover half the cost of the projects while the City will pay for the other half.
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