I am going. We need a strong showing here.
June 14th at 9:00am in the County Administration Building, Rm 209, 12 SE first St. Gainesville, Fl.
This is a serious matter going before the board of County Commissioners in Alachua County. Not only do they have a strong organized body of anti-airboaters pushing them to pass stronger airboat restrictions and in some lakes pushing to eliminate airboats altogether but they also have the support of the County Sheriff who has recently moved to Orange Lake and decided that he does not like the airboat noise. The best that I can tell is that the anti-airboaters have already accomplished a lot with the County Commissioners and are now aggressively moving forward with the help of some $105,000 in grant money received through the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission.
If you try to find this topic on the County Commissioners Agenda for the June 14th 2005 meeting, You wont! This is how items are allowed to sneak by without any of us even knowing. The item was placed on the agenda late in the day on 6/8/05 By Robert Avery who, from best I can tell is from the Public Works Dept.
This is how his Agenda Item Summary reads:
Executive Summary: On March 22 2005, The Board approved a $105,000 Florida Boating Improvement Program (FBIP) grant administered by the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC). The grant funds will be used to hire a consultant to assist in the preparation of a Countywide Recreational Water Use Master Plan. The Consultant will be selected through the County's Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The Board directed that they first review and approve the RFP Scope-Of-Services. Their recommended changes have been included in the current scope-of-services.
(NOW THIS IS THE PART THAT BOTHERS ME, BECAUSE IT SEEMS THAT ALL OF THIS IS DERIVED FROM ONE INCIDENT AND A COUPLE OF COMPLAINTS)
Background: In July, 2000, The County Manager formed the Water Use Zoning Team as part of the County Commission's Strategic Plan, Tier 2, Quality of Life Objective. The Team was formed in response to the swamping of a canoe in Lake Alto Canal and to a pattern of water body related complaints stemming from airboats on Orange Lake, ongoing incidents at Watermelon Pond and concerns about Santa Fe Lake. Excessive boat speeds on water bodies in Alachua County and other concerns related to safety, noise and environmental impacts have prompted past discussions by the County Commission and County Staff on the use of boat exclusion and no-wake zones but additional work was needed to review issues of effectiveness, enforceability and cost.
The objective of the team was to developed a water use zoning plan to promote safety, reduce noise, and protect environmental resources on water bodies in Alachua County. The team included county staff from the Environmental Protection Department, Planning & Development, Codes Enforcement, Public Works, Fire and Rescue and the County's Attorney's Office. Other agencies represented included the Alachua County Sheriffs Office, The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Suwannee River Management District. Citizens on the team represented the Santa Fe Lake Dwellers Association, Orange Lake and Watermelon Pond. The team reviewed state laws, permitting requirements, previous actions, and County codes for applicability and effectiveness. The team also researched safety issues, noise and environmental impacts.
On October 22, 2002 the Board heard a presentation of the Water Use Zoning Team Report. A recommendation of the report was to apply for a Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Boating Improvement Program grant. On March 22, 2005 the Board approved a FWCC-FIBIP $105,000 grant for the preparation of the Countywide Recreational Water Use Master Plan. The Board needs to approve the Scope-of-Services for a request for Proposal (RFP) that will be advertised to select a consultant for the preparation of the Countywide Recreational Water Use Master Plan.
This is their
Recommendation: Approve the Countywide Recreational Water Use Master Plan Scope-of-Services and approve advertising the Countywide Recreational Water Use Master Plan Request for Proposal.
Alternative 1: Recommend changes to the Scope-of Services
To my knowledge there seems to be no opposition to this with the County Commissioners and unless they receive opposition at the June 14th 2005 meeting it will most likely be passed by the board.
I have not been able to get a copy of the Countywide Recreational Water Use Master Plan, but I'm working on it. Also I want to find out who has authored all of these proposals that have easily passed through the Board. If one county puts something like this in place, you can mark my words that other counties will follow and we will surely loose a lot of water use rights. Letters need to start being sent to these County Commissioners even if it is to ask for clarification on this topic. They need to see that there is another side to this issue because up till now they have not heard from the airboaters or anyone showing any opposition to this Master Plan they want to put into play. I had a real hard time getting what little bit of information I was able to get. If you will notice the County Manager is who formed the Water Use Zoning Team as part of the County Commission's Strategic Plan, Tier 2, Quality of Life Objective. That has to send a red flag up right there. I hope we are not too late on this one. I would like to see as many airboaters as we had in Citrus show up here. Any help is appreciated. Terri
