JEKYLL ISLAND-STATE PARK
AUTHORITY
November 15,
2004
The Jekyll Island-State Park Authority met in public session on Monday, November 15, 2004 in Meeting Room 9 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Meeting was called to order by Chairman Williams at 9:30 a.m.
Members Present: Dan Williams, Chairman
Richard Wood, Vice Chairman
J.Y. Jones, Secretary
Jack Collins
Daniel Halpern
Becky Kelley (conference call)
Tom Lewis
Steve Scheer
Linda Underwood
Members Absent: None
Legal Counsel Present: Alison Spencer, Assistant Attorney General
Staff Present: Bill Donohue, Executive Director
Laura Bonds, Deputy Director/CFO
Cindy McDonald, Executive Assistant
Members of the public were present, which included Mr. Hart, Mr. DeBacker, Mr. McManus, Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Mirasola, Mr. VanIderstyne, Ms. Fry and Mr. Morrison with Jekyll’s Golden Islander.
Mr. Donohue led a review of the agenda, which included an update and discussion on the following agenda items.
Information Items: Presented financial overview and update on Holiday Lights program.
Proposed Amendment of Master Plan: Reviewed summary of public comments received from public hearings and in written communications. As a result of response received from public comments, the Amendment was revised through the elimination of specific references in the section titled Restructuring Residential Leases. Noted that legal counsel had advised the process would allow for the removal of wording from the original recommendation. Also noted that the Board Legislative Committee had reviewed and concurred with the changes made.
2nd Reading of Water Restriction Ordinance: Reviewed the process, contents and purpose of ordinance stating that Department of Natural
Resources implemented these regulations for all water permit holders, of which includes Jekyll Island. This process formally incorporates their regulations into Jekyll Island Authority ordinances. Further noted that no feedback had been received from the public on this issue.
1st Reading of Ordinance Amendment, Sales of Liquor: Reviewed the purpose for request to amend ordinance stating that a request to issue a liquor license had been received from The Emerald Princess (casino boat), along with a request to dock at property leased to Brent Thomas with GISCO, Inc, which is under the Authority’s jurisdiction. Under current ordinances a liquor license could not be issued. Much discussion ensued regarding the existing lease requirements, history of lessee’s negotiations with the board, status of previously approved amendment to lease, and the option of disallowing the first reading of the amendment to ordinance. Consensus was reached to work towards resolution of existing lease issues before moving forward on this item.
It was noted that Ms. Elizabeth Hines, Executive Director and Ms. Terry McCarthy, Communication Specialist with the Jekyll Island Foundation joined the meeting at 10:00 a.m.
Proposed Schedule of Meeting Dates for 2005: Reviewed the two options presented. Consensus reached for the second option presented.
FY 05 Capital Expenditure Request: Outlined capital expenditure request and reviewed financial recovery plan as presented in board report on pages 19-21. Noted that in the event of overage of net income, staff would present additional request in the spring. Further noted that water and sewer 5-year capital expenditure plan was approved in June 2004.
Update on Meeting with Governor: Mr. Lewis, Mr. Wood and Mr. Donohue met with Governor Perdue two weeks prior to present proposed plans for Jekyll Island. At the request of Governor Perdue, additional options have been identified and drafted. A draft memo outlining options was distributed for board review, noting that economic impacts were not complete. Discussion followed concerning the options outlined and timeframe considerations.
Mr. Donohue recognized and introduced Ms. Hines, Jekyll Island Foundation. Ms. Hines presented update on the newly implemented online fundraising campaign. Following update, Ms. McCarthy was introduced and began presentation. Ms. McCarthy demonstrated the online process to set up a team for the purpose of raising funds for the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Members were encouraged to participate in this effort.
Meeting recessed at 10:55 a.m. on Monday, November 15, 2004 following the conclusion of presentation.
Ms. Kelley joined the meeting via conference call at 11:00 a.m.
Public session reconvened and meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 15, 2004 in Beachside Hall at the Jekyll Island Convention Center.
A motion was made by Mr. Scheer and seconded by Mr. Collins to approve the agenda as presented, [1]a copy of which is attached and made a part of the minutes. Motion passed with no objections.
Mr. Donohue was recognized and announced that Jekyll Island Authority received recognition from Governor Perdue for participation in the statewide “Work Away” program; an initiative which encouraged all agencies to participate in telework and alternative scheduling options for eligible employees. Golf Course Maintenance, Accounting, and Human Resource departments are currently participating in program. Extended thanks to Mr. Harvey, Director of Human Resources for his help with the initiative.
Mr. Lewis made a motion, which was seconded by Mr. Scheer to approve the minutes from the October 18, 2004 meeting of the Jekyll Island-State Park Authority. Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Donohue presented information on the Proposed Amendment to Master Plan and noted that a written copy of the transcript from the public hearings, copies of all written communications, and a summary of all public comments were included in the board report. Also provided was a copy of the Amendment, which was modified by the removal of three or four sentences in the Residential Lease section in response to public feedback and represents the intentions of the Authority. Mr. Donohue made a recommendation to approve the Proposed Amendment as presented on pages 11-14 of the board report.
Mr. Scheer made a motion to approve the modified Amendment to Master Plan, which deleted a portion of wording under the paragraph titled, Restructuring Residential Leases on page three of the original recommendations in response to stakeholder input. Motion was seconded by Ms. Underwood. Motion passed with all in favor. A copy of the approved Amendment to Master Plan[2] is attached and made a part of the minutes.
Mr. Donohue made a recommendation to authorize and adopt the second reading of the Water Restriction Ordinance, noting the first reading was held on Monday, October 18, 2004.
Mr. Lewis made a motion to authorize the second reading and adopt the Jekyll Island Authority Ordinance § 15-116, titled Outdoor Water Usage,
[3]a copy of which is attached and made a part of the minutes. Dr. Jones seconded motion. Motion passed with no opposition.
Following the consensus of members at the previous session, Mr. Donohue recommended postponement of the First Reading of Ordinance Amendment , Sales of Liquor, Malt Beverages, Wine until outstanding lease issues are resolved with GISCO, Inc.
Motion was made by Mr. Wood and seconded by Mr. Lewis to defer action on the First Reading of Ordinance Amendment to the Ordinance titled Sales of Liquor, Malt Beverages, Wine until outstanding lease issues are resolved with GISCO, Inc. Motion passed with no objections.
Mr. Donohue reviewed the options presented for the schedule of meeting dates for 2005.
Ms. Underwood made a motion that was seconded by Mr. Scheer to approve option two of the Proposed Schedule of Meeting Dates for 2005 for the Jekyll Island Authority Board of Directors, [4]a copy of which is attached and made a part of the minutes. The approved schedule replaces a July meeting with a meeting in August. Motion carried, with all in favor.
Prior to presenting the capital expenditure request for 2005, Mr. Donohue reviewed information outlining the financial recovery plan, which is in response to the negative impact from the storm season. The recovery plan outlines 13 different budget cuts that produce a savings of $438, 000.
Mr. Donohue proceeded by summarizing the FY 05 capital expenditure request totaling $600,000 with funding sources identified as $400,000 from parking fees and $200,000 from operating revenues.
Mr. Collins made a motion to approve the capital expenditure request totaling $600,000, which includes $400,000 for various public area projects funded by FY 05 parking fee and $200,000 for three Summer Waves maintenance projects funded from FY 05 operating revenues. Detail on capital project expenditure request is attached[5] and made a part
of the minutes. Dr. Jones seconded motion. Following comments from Chairman, a vote was held. Motion passed unanimously.
There being no old business to take action upon, Mr. Donohue was recognized to present Information Items.
Mr. Donohue recognized Eric Garvey, Senior Director of Marketing. Mr. Garvey introduced Shirley Rayhon, General Manager of Days Inn. Ms. Rayhon announced that through a combination of direct contributions and
hard goods, the Jekyll Island hospitality community raised over $15,000 in donations for the Florida Hurricane Relief effort.
Mr. Donohue continued with update, which included the following information.
Financial: Announced positive trend in revenues for months of October and November.
Project/Clam Creek Conceptual Drawing: Directed attention to conceptual drawing of Clam Creek Picnic Area. Reported on initial plans to improve this public area. Work on the parking lot scheduled to begin immediately.
Project/Road Paving: Announced the paving of 3.85 miles of roadway at Riverview south, from the causeway to St. Andrew’s Picnic Area to the Soccer Complex. Also commented on the good progress made on the installation of the bike path in that area.
Events: The ‘holiday’ lights will be turned on beginning Friday, November 19th. The Christmas Tree Lighting event will be held on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.
COBRA: Ms. Bonds presented an update on the Coastal Barrier Resource Act reporting that all groundwork has been laid to present this issue to Congress when the session reopens in January 2005, and noted that Jekyll Island is included in a group of 25 locations. The approach for Jekyll Island is to remove the 35% developable land from the OPA mapping designation and not the entire island, which is in concurrence with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
Music Theatre: Referencing a letter on page 52 received from the President of Valdosta State University, announced that due to ongoing budget challenges VSU would no longer participate in the summer theater program. Reported that conversations have started with University of Georgia and understands that Florida State University may also be interested in pursuing this program.
Board Cover: The picture on the cover page of the board report was taken from a (Gilligan’s Island) themed presentation to the Georgia Recreation
and Parks Association (GRPA). Extended thanks to the sales group for the customized approach.
Chairman Williams opened the meeting to public comments and referred to the sign in sheet, [6]a copy of which is attached and made a part of the minutes.
Mr. Lucien DeBacker was recognized and referenced letter he wrote regarding the Master Plan Amendment dated October 6. It was noted the letter is included in the Public Comments section of the board report. Mr. DeBacker reiterated comments in his letter stating that the focus should be placed on increasing revenues in amenities, instead of from Administration (leases, parking fee, etc.), which he contends is the current objective as outlined in the Master Plan Update Recommendations provided by Robert Charles Lesser Co. Mr. DeBacker also distributed a copy of a news article for distribution regarding The Commission for A New Georgia. Mr. DeBacker further commented on the three options discussed at the previous session and include the possibility of selling the land to the leaseholders and asked that the board seriously consider that there are not currently in place zoning ordinances especially concerning the commercial properties. Further suggested that the development of building ordinances / building codes should be included as part of any recommendation made to the Governor.
Chairman Williams commented that the options mentioned by Mr. DeBacker were drafted in response to the Governor’s request to produce three or four options for his consideration on this issue. The options discussed were in draft form only and further commented that this was the first time the board had in its entirety reviewed this draft of options being considered to present to Governor Perdue.
Additional comments were heard by members to address various areas of concern. Mr. Lewis presented an overview of the meeting held with the Governor by members of the board and staff and the primary concerns facing Jekyll Island and the methods to address. Dr. Jones offered clarification on the issue of residential lease restructuring. Mr. Collins asked all to remember a final decision on the details has yet to be made. Mr. Halpern addressed Mr. DeBacker’s point stating that the board was looking for the bulk of increased revenues to come from amenities and increased lease payments from improved hotel services and not from current residential leases.
There being no other members signed up to address the board, Chairman Williams closed the public comments portion of the meeting.
There being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Mr. Halpern and seconded by Mr. Collins to adjourn the November 15, 2004 meeting of the Jekyll Island-State Park Authority.
Meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
____________________ ____________________
William A. Donohue Daniel
L. Williams, Jr.
Executive Director Chairman
Attachments
[5] Capital Expenditure Request
[6] Sign In Sheet