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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 Surfin’ the News County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Hospice of Gl From the Ground Up Robin Hood Community News Feature Gardening Column Movie Review - Pg 2 -Pg 10 -Pg 11 Back Talk Editorial Column -Pg 16 94922 3