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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugusta Port Authority Minutes August 19, 2010 Minutes Augusta Port Authority Meeting Boathouse, Thursday August 19, 2010 - 9:00AM The meeting was called to order at 9:05 AM by Lawrence Washington, Vice Chair, Augusta Port Authority Authority members present were Lawrence Washington, Aisia Leverett, Wayne Hawkins and Harry Moore. Visitors present were Robert Brown, Johnny Christian, Chrislynne Kuhlke, Michael Cobb and Frank Carl. The agenda was approved as distributed prior to the meeting with a discussion of Authority elections added to the beginning of the agenda. Frank Carl volunteered to act as secretary for the meeting. The minutes of the June meeting were approved as written and distributed by email prior to the meeting. Frank Carl announced before the meeting that he had been informed by the Clerk of Commission that the Richmond County Legislative Delegation had appointed Aisia Leverett to the seat that he had been occupying effective July 1, 2010. Since Dr. Carl had been occupying that seat under the 1999 HB 729 provision that Authority members could continue to serve until replaced, the appointment of Ms Leverett automatically replaced him on the Authority. Since Dr. Carl had been serving as chair of the Authority, the election of a chair to succeed Dr. Carl is necessary. Lawrence Washington, Vice Chair of the Authority, will preside until such election can be held. Wayne indicated that the election should be announced ahead of time so that Authority members would have time to think about candidates for the position. Lawrence Washington suggested a special meeting Thursday September 9, 2010 at 9:00 AM for the election. The announcement will be sent to all Authority members. Johnny Christian gave the Marina Report. The economy and the hot temperatures have depressed marina business this summer. Mobile Marine replaced the worn hoses on the gasoline and diesel pumps at the Riverwalk Marina. Relations with the Southern nationals have improved and the movement of boats for the Nationals went well this year. Mobile Marine will also cooperate fully with the Ironman staff and volunteers that will be using the marina facilities. Mobile wishes to be recognized as a sponsor of the event for their efforts. The marina Christmas parade of boats will be December 3 this year, Employees of the marina have noticed individuals fishing at night using bright lights and discarding the fish they shoot into the river. Mobile Marine recommends that the Port Authority deal with these fishermen through a city ordinance prohibiting the discarding of dead fish in the river. Michael Cobb reported that as the flows in the river have decreased the egeria is again becoming a problem. He indicated that he did not think that the swimming course for the Ironman had a significant problem, but that considerable problems were developing across the river from the Boathouse, near the Tenth Street dock and at the upper end of Waters Edge. The weeds in these areas will have a negative effect on the Head of the South Regatta in November. Frank Carl reported that given the pattern of egeria problems on the river we are beginning to understand the nutrient source loading into the river. The weed problem at the upper end of Waters Edge is apparently stimulated by nutrients coming out of Hawks Gulley. The weed problem across from the Boathouse is being fed by the stream that drains the east side of North Augusta. And the weed problem just below the Tenth Street dock is apparently being fed by the storm sewer that enters the river under the dock. That storm sewer apparently drains a significant portion of downtown between Eighth Street and Thirteenth Street and has tested positive for fecal coliform bacteria. The Facilities Improvement Committee reported that the open space near the warehouse has been sodded and a fence erected around it to keep vehicular traffic out of the area. A carpet path will be laid this year to facilitate access by Ironman participants from the boat ramp to the sodded area. They also reported that the hole at the top of the ramp to the dock behind the Port Authority building has been inappropriately filled with clay. Tonya has talked to the city employees responsible for that and she believes that they now understand that clay is not an appropriate fill next to the river. Cary Rivers, Wayne Hawkins and Michael Cobb will work on getting three bids for a security system for the docks. The City Administrator in a conference with Cary, Wayne, and Frank has approved funding for that project. It was decided that we could accept the cameras from Motorola, but that since they were indoor cameras we could use them in the Port Authority Building but not for the docks or the boat ramp. To settle the controversy about whether the warehouse dock should be a dock with 8 inch freeboard or one with 24 inch freeboard, Michael Cobb suggested that we ask for a dock that can be adjusted between those specifications. Michael and Frank have talked to dock builders who can build such a dock, but no official bids have been submitted. Michael indicated that the Rowing Club would need the 8 inch freeboard dock only on special occasions and that the dock could be maintained at 24 inch freeboard 98% of the time. According to the dock builders, the dock could be floated on pontoons which could be pumped partially full of water when the 8 inch freeboard is needed and pumped empty again when the 24 inch freeboard is desired. Since the fixed wooden dock just above the warehouse has railings that are in bad need of repair, Wayne suggested that we limit access to that dock until repairs can be made. He further indicated that once repairs are made that the dock should be open to the public. Johnny assured him that the gate to the dock is opened in the morning and stays open until dusk, but that access could be limited by leaving the gate locked so that access could be gained only from the warehouse side of the dock. Chrislynne reported that she had turned in a work order to the Maintenance Shop to fix the water heater in the Gift Shop months ago. Johnny indicated that it had not yet been repaired. Chrislynne said that she would follow up. Frank indicated that he had asked Floating Docks Manufacturers to bid on repositioning the dock behind the Port Authority building and adding flotation under the connection to the ramp. Frank asked for a bid about two months ago, but has not received one yet. Todd Santee indicated that correct positioning of the dock might require a piling in the river. Frank submitted approximate costs for some of the projects that the Port Authority wants to undertake. He gave those numbers to Chrislynne. The Budget Committee (Wayne, Cary and Chrislynne) will use those numbers to create a requested budget for 2011 that would come close to supporting the kinds of improvements that we need to make our riverfront the attraction that it can be. The Administrative Committee reported that a ticket surcharge policy is supported by the City Administrator and he indicated that the funds could be directed to the Port Authority. Currently the events that the policy would apply to would include Southern Nationals, Paddlefest, Ironman, and Coastal Plain Meander. If the charge were $0.50 per ticket, Frank estimated that currently we could raise about $5820 annually, $4,000 from Southern Nationals, $1,750 from Ironman, $60 from Paddlefest, and $10 from the Coastal Plain Meander. Frank noted that Ironman voluntarily funds more for its event than the $1,750 that we would get from a surcharge, but much of that is donated to specific actions to improve the riverfront for the event. The Events Committee reported that the Southern Nationals ran smoothly again this year and that the Port Authority and the Southern Nationals Board worked out a deal to support the security and advertising expenses of the Southern Nationals at the 2009 levels. Paddlefest will be coming up in two days and Ironman and the Coastal Plain Meander will occur before the next scheduled meeting of the Port Authority. The Port Authority will track whether weed harvesting will be necessary for the Ironman, but preliminary indications are that we will not have to harvest the weeds on the swim course. The Riverkeeper and the Rowing Club continue to check the bacterial count in the water. Events remaining this year are: Paddlefest - August 21, how does it look? Ironman 70.3 – September 26, Open Space preparation? Coastal Plain Meander – October 1-4, Will it be going? Head of the South Regatta – November 12-13 Christmas Parade – December 3 Under old business the abandoned Boat reclaimed by Riverkeeper has been moved to Wade Plantation. The houseboat at Waters Edge is still sitting on the bottom. The Houseboat across from River Walk Marina broke loose and is aground about 2 miles downstream. The Riverkeeper pontoon boat has been pulled out of the river and is for sale. The Rowing Club has volunteered to help with buoy maintenance on the river. They have a pontoon boat that can be used for the purpose of retrieving wandering buoys. A special election meeting will be held September 9, 2010. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be October 21, 2010, 9:00 AM Respectfully submitted, Frank Carl Acting Secretary