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Neptune Park pool OK'd
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pool project. It will be a benefit to both
residents and visitors.”
On the other hand, Fred Spaulding,
a 74 year resident of St. Simons said,
“I object to this project in its totality.
This is an unwise expenditure of tax
dollars and the voters opposed it.”
Island resident Meredith Trawick’s
concern was the material the county
planned to use as ground cover in
the children’s playground area. Her
concern was based on the fact that
the playground will be located within
the root zone of the large oak tree that
sits in the middle of the Neptune Park
picnic area.
Trawick said the original final
version of the park plan called for
the playground to be covered with
artificial turf, which she objected to
because it generates heat that could
damage the oak tree roots.
Trawick followed up saying she had
recently learned the county is now
considering three different options for
the playground - cypress mulch, sand
and a mat made from shredded rub
ber.
Trawick strongly opposed the
shredded rubber saying it was made
from old tires and that not only was
it hot, it could also possibly release
toxins into the ground which could
impact the oaks and nearby ocean.
In addition, Trawick said it would
cause abrasive skin wounds as well as
posing a cleaning problem.
Trawick said the rubber mat would
require regular cleaning that would
leach cleaning chemicals into the soil
and shorten the mat’s life span, which
could be costly.
Trawick preferred sand to the
cypress mulch, because the mulch
would lead to the continued cutting of
cypress trees.
“I prefer sand,” said Trawick, “After
all, this park is next to the beach. I
also think the playground should be
left near the pier and shops, where it
is now.”
In response, Ussery said, “We are
pretty well committed to cypress
mulch. Most of the other county rec
reation parks use mulch, so it is
readily available and it meets all the
standards and requirements for play
grounds. The rubber is expensive and
not in the budget”.
SPC member Leslie Mattingly
asked Ussery, ‘What is wrong with
sand?”
Ussery said the playground has to
meet ADA (Americans with Disabili
ties Act) standards and sand does not
compact enough for wheelchair use.
Cypress mulch on the other hand
will compact enough to meet ADA
conditions while being soft enough
to meet safety standards for children
who fall off the playground equip
ment.
Ussery said the main thing was for
the playground equipment’s “mount
ing points” to be handicap accessible.
“That’s why other municipalities
use the rubber mats,” said Ussery,
“for handicap access, but they can be
expensive and do pose a maintenance
problem. Cypress compacts, but is soft
enough for a fall.”
Ussery said to meet safety stan
dards for fall, it would require more
depth of sand than cypress. “The
cypress is readily available and sand
displaces easily,” added Ussery.
Moving on to the walkways that
Ussery said would be made of a per-
mible material, Mattingly asked, “As
much as we favor the use of permiable
materials, will the walkways by the
beach be handicapped accessible?”
Ussery said, “Yes. We are look
ing at a paver type material that is
permeable and will support wheel
chairs.”
St. Simons resident Mary Ann
Brown arrived late at the meeting,
but SPC chairman Noel Holcomb,
who is also Commissioner of the DNR,
allowed her to speak about the proj
ect.
Brown supported the pool project
saying there has been a pool in Nep
tune Park for over 50 years.
“The majority of the people who
voted in the straw ballot two years ago
said yes to the continued existence of
the pool,” said Brown, “sadly demoli
tion of the old pool has begun, but a
pool will provide a good, wholesome
activity for children. Also, in this area,
with all the beaches, its important
for children and adults to be able to
swim. The pool will provide a remark
able service for the community.”
After more discussion by the SPC,
the group crafted a motion to approve
the permit with a number of condi
tions, some of which were standard
conditions recommended by staff.
Two new conditions were added
at the behest of Ms. Mattingly based
on Ms. Trawick’s comments and con
cerns.
“strong recommendation” because the
SPC does not have authority outside
the ‘Jurisdiction Line.’
The second condition states that
no shredded rubber be used at all
anywhere in entire project and that
sand or some other natural material
such as cypress mulch be used for the
playground area.
The motion passed unanimously.
Pool construction time line
As yet there is no fixed time line on
the swimming pool project.
Prior to the SPC public hearing,
Commissioner Uli Keller (Dist. 2) said
the SPC permit was the final step
before the bid process and construc
tion can begin. Keller said both the
project design and construction bid
documents are finalized.
On Friday, July 25 County Pur
chasing Director Kay Young told The
Islander that bids on pool construc
tion are scheduled to be opened on
September 2.
“The invitation to bid will be on the
county website and a number of other
places,” said Young, “And since this
is a large project and folks are look
ing for work, I expect we will have a
pretty good response.”
Once the bids are opened they will
be reviewed by county administrative
staff who will make a recommenda
tion to the County Finance Commit
tee.
Young said on occasion recommen
dations can bypass the finance com
mittee and go straight to the full com
mission if the project is time sensitive
or urgent. She did not know if the pool
project would go to finance or straight
THE ISLANDER, JULY 28, 2008, PAGE 7
to the full board.
Once the commission makes the
final decision on a contractor, the con
tract documents are executed by the
county attorney’s office.
When that is done representa
tives from the county and the chosen
construction company meet for final
discussions, after which the county
issues the ‘Notice to Proceed’ (NTP) to
the company.
The NTP generally gives the con
tractor a set time to prepare for the
project before arriving on site and
getting started.
Barring any unforeseen complica
tions pool construction could start late
this year. □
College News
Emory University
Gregory Williams of St. Simons
Island, received a Master of Medical
Science from the School of Medicine
of Emory University in Atlanta, at
its 163rd commencement ceremony on
May 12. □
UGA offers guaranteed
Gameday parking on
campus for $120
University of Georgia Parking Ser
vices is selling season-long parking
permits for all six home football games
in the North Campus and Carlton
Street parking decks.
Passes cost $120 plus shipping and
handling and are sold exclusively at
http://gamedaygameplan.com until 5
p.m. Aug. 20. They will be sold on a
first-come, first-served basis. □
First, the SPC is requiring sand
to be used in the playground area
that is within their ‘Jurisdiction Line,’
“unless it could unreasonably inter
fere with reasonable access and rec
reational use and enjoyment of public
property impacted by the project.”
This means cypress mulch can only
be used within the ‘Jurisdiction Line’
where it is absolutely necessary for
ADA compliance. Otherwise sand
must be used.
The second condition is only a
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