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THE
yfSLANDER
Published by
Permar Publications
www.theislanderonline.com • ssislander@bellsouth.net
May 24, 2010 Established 1972 Vol 38 Issue 21
Historic Altamaha Canal
While it is covered with green algae now, the 12-mile long Altamaha Canal in Glynn
County is still a lovely wilderness area in many places. Glynn County hopes to restore
the historic canal to its former condition and usefulness as a waterway suitable for rec
reational use for canoers and kayakers. The canal restoration will also aid drainage in
areas of north Glynn. It is a long term project that will require assistance from a wide
variety of community organizations and businesses.
Photo by and courtesy of Troup Nightingale
County tackles ambitious Altamaha canal restoration
JIA moves
forward with
renovation plans
• Hotel and retail
developers chosen
By Pamela Permar
Shierling
Jekyll Landmarks Associ
ates, LLC, owners of the Jekyll
Island Club Hotel and Jekyll's
new Hampton Inn & Suites,
has been chosen by the Jekyll
Island Authority (JIA) to
design and construct the 200
room, full service hotel which
will be located on the village
green adjacent to the planned
new convention center.
Phelps Development of
Greeley, CO, in partnership
with the Chhatrala Group of
San Diego, CA, was selected to
develop a new 140 room, mid
scale hotel located in the heart
of the new beach village and
a block from the convention
center.
Winding Road Development
Company, Scottsdale, AZ, will
develop the beach village retail
and residential space. The
30,000 sq. ft. retail space will
include restaurants, shops, a
bank, post office and village
green. The retail as well as the
10,000 sq. ft. 'flex' space and
up to 60 loft residences will
be located adjacent to the new
convention center.
The announcements were
made at the Authority's
monthly meeting on Monday,
May 17.
The Authority based its
choices on interviews with
each short-listed company,
the company's track record of
meeting required schedules
and financial solvency, and the
shared values for Jekyll Island
in its current state and for
the future including emphasis
on LEED certified buildings.
(LEED is a third-party certifi
cation program and the nation
ally accepted benchmark for
the design, construction and
operation of high-performance
green buildings.)
Turn to Page 5
JIA
According to Glynn County
Public Works Director John
Carter, Altamaha Canal is
probably the largest historic
artifact in the state of Georgia.
"At 12 miles long, and with
an original width of 300 ft.
in places," said Carter, "it is
certainly the largest historic
artifact in the state that is not
being maintained."
The Glynn County Commis
sion wants to change that and
is embarking on a multi-year
project to restore the canal.
Dating back to 1836, the
Altamaha Canal was built as a
transportation canal between
the Brunswick Harbor (Tur
tle River) and the Altamaha
River.
According to a 1981 study,
"although parts of the canal
have been filled and long seg
ments are obstructed by vegeta
tion, the canal remains a strik-
By Matthew J. Permar
ing historic feature of Glynn
County. Its straight tangents
cut through the flat pinelands,
hardwood swamps and estua
rine marshes of the southern
Georgia coastal plain."
Assistant County Admin
istrator Paul Christian, along
with Carter and Commissioner
Howard Lynn (Dist. 4), has put
together a canal restoration
committee.
The committee, after months
of preparation, held their a
kick off meeting last week to
get word out to the community
about the canal project.
According to Carter, there
are three reasons to restore the
canal: one is that critical areas
of the Federal Law Enforce
ment Training Center and the
Brunswick Glynn County Air
port drain to the canal; second
is the historic nature of the
canal; and third is the potential
for ecological tourism and rec
reation such as kayaking and
canoeing.
Christian has put together a
diverse group to function on the
project as a steering committee
that includes representatives
from the City of Brunswick,
the Brunswick Golden Isles
Chamber of Commerce, the
Visitors and Tourist Bureau,
Little St. Simons, FLETC,
Brunswick Airport, Georgia
Tourism Bureau, Brunswick
Glynn Development Authority
and the Ga. Dept, of Natural
Resources.
Former Altamaha River-
keeper James Holland is also
on the steering committee.
Holland said, "This is a good
project. The Altamaha River
is a world class river. People
come from all over to it and we
need to protect it while restor
ing the canal. “I
City contracts
for with UGA
for efficiency
study
• Phase 1 cost: $11,934
By Matthew J. Permar
About a week and a half
ago, on Wednesday, May 12,
the Brunswick City Commis
sion held a press conference
to announce their intention to
contract with the University
of Georgia's Carl Vinson Insti
tute of Government (CVIG) to
perform an efficiency study of
city departments.
Assistant City Manager Bill
Weeks said the study will ana
lyze all city departments, look
at the current economic situa
tion and determine how it will
affect the city's economy and
how the city delivers services
to the citizens.
Harry Hayes, CVIG’s Local
Government Projects Director,
said, “Most local governments
Turn to Page 5
CVIG study approved
City residents
upset about
spending
By Matthew J. Permar
Addressing the Brunswick
City Commission during a spe
cial 'delegation session' prior to
the commission's regular meet
ing on May, 19, two Brunswick
residents expressed concern
about city's budget, proposed
spending and fee increases.
The city commission, like
the Glynn County Commis
sion and Board of Education,
are required to approve their
2011 budget by the end of next
month.
But unlike the county com
mission and board of educa
tion, the city commission does
not have a finance committee.
The city's budget is prepared
by a budget team headed by
City Manager Roosevelt Har
ris, who acts as budget officer.
Serving on the budget team
Turn to Page 6
City spending
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County-Wide News - Read County-Wide
Hospice of Gl
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Robin Hood
Community News
Feature Gardening Column
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