Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
October 19, 2016 1:31 p.m.
Although the City of Fernandina Beach escaped the worst ravages of Hurricane Matthew, the storm’s impact is still resonating throughout the city. Clean up work continues in neighborhoods, the cemetery and golf courses. But the City Marina appears to have taken the brunt of the storm and suffered the most long-range damage.
At the October 18, 2016 Regular Meeting of the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC), city commissioners and audience members applauded the efforts of city and county staff at all levels for their efforts to protect lives and property before, during and after Matthew’s visit to the island. City Manager Dale Martin explained efforts currently underway to complete clean up efforts and to repair the marina.
During Public Comment, both WestRock and Fernandina Main Street expressed appreciation for public efforts to deal with the storm.
Debris Removal
According to Maintenance Department Director Rex Lester, as of October 17 the city had removed about 400 tons of debris, or 30 percent of the estimated total storm debris. The first round of debris removal will be completed early next week at which time the second round will begin. Advanced Disposal continues to collect commercial waste downtown. There are 5 city crews working throughout the city. It is estimated that it will take about two months to complete the clean up. Work will commence at the city golf course and the cemetery on October 19.
Martin reminded residents not to place yard debris in plastic bags, and to place it in city right of ways. Clean up crews will not work on private property.
Martin said that the city is continuing to work with county and state officials, including the Tourism Development Council (TDC), on beach clean up efforts.
FEMA
The city has been working with FEMA—the Federal Emergency Assistance Administration—on public assistance for storm recovery. Martin reported that FEMA is continuing to review requests for private assistance. He said that Nassau County has been approved for public assistance (government assistance) but has not yet been approved for individual assistance for private homeowners.
City Marina
Several local charter boat captains spoke to commissioners during the meeting about their concerns over storm impact on their business. While acknowledging that the City Marina had taken a serious hit during the storm, boat captains expressed their need to resume operations quickly to satisfy requests of tourists for deep sea fishing charters and to bring
in income.
Because of damage to both the city marina and other public boat launch areas, captains have been forced to use a private boat ramp on North 14th Street which charges 25 dollars per launch. They had difficulty understanding why the city boat launch had been closed, claiming that they pay a yearly fee of 65 dollars to be able to pick up their guests from the city marina docks. [Note: To date, the city has received no payments for the fiscal year that began October 1, 2016.]
While they claimed to understand that the city is limited in actions that it can take until FEMA completes its assessment and releases funds, they sought a more rapid response that would allow them to resume operations quickly. They asked that the boat ramp and A Dock be made a priority.
City Manager Dale Martin responded that while acknowledging the seriousness of the problem, the city cannot proceed with any repairs until FEMA authorizes the actions. To date, the city has only received FEMA approval for two actions: cutting and removal of the through rods which have broken and insuring that the deckhouse does not sink. There were 5 FEMA representatives onsite on October 18. Martin said that they took photos and flew drones to help assess the damage.
“When we get the authority to move forward with those repairs,” Martin said, “they will be a top priority.”
Captain Terry Lacoss took issue with the determination that the boat launch is not currently usable. Martin re-emphasized FEMA’s position: “You will not get reimbursed for any repairs you make without our permission.” Martin added that the city had walked the FEMA representatives along Centre Street to emphasize that marina operations have a wider impact on the entire downtown. He said that October 18 was the deadline for submitting damage reports for all the city’s public facilities, including the marina, airport, golf course, and cemetery. FEMA commended the city for the work of Fire Chief Ty Silcox and the Community Development Department for their thorough staff work to prepare the detailed paperwork needed to assess city claims. “[The city’s claims] will move forward expeditiously,” Martin said.
Other speakers echoed Lacoss’ comments. Cathy Chapman, representing the captains, said that she was concerned about the uncertainty and the communication flow. “I have every confidence that we are going to come back better than before,” she said.”I would just like to open the dialog between the commissioners and our boaters.” She suggested establishing an email network to keep everyone up to date on progress. She quoted the FEMA “mantra:” “Come back better than before.” She stressed the need for public participation in decision making to rebuild the marina.
Charter boat captain George Lannon said, “Come on, guys. We can’t just wait around here for FEMA checks. I know that the mills bring in a lot of money but most of [the city’s] revenue is from tourism.” He expressed concerns that Brett’s Cafe was allowed to reopen, while marina operations remained closed.
Kevin McCarthy, owner and operator of Amelia River Cruises and Charters, supported the charter boat captains’ concerns. He said that he services 40,000 passengers per year. He suggested that certain small repairs be made outside the “FEMA issue.” He said he put his business back together in three days, noting that it wasn’t easy or perfect but that working with marina manager Joe Springer made it possible. “We would love to see a better marina,” he said. “But we still need the opportunity to operate during the rebuilding process.”
Charter Captain Allen Mills also decried the lack of a public boat ramp today on Amelia Island. He suggested that a simple fix would be to reinstall a dock that had floated away during the storm. He said that the upcoming Georgia-Florida weekend is a longstanding opportunity for charters to make money, expressing hope that charters will be able to operate that weekend this year.
George Morris, who operates jet ski tours from the marina, reinforced the need to move quickly to restore marina operations. He said he turns down 7-8 requests per day because his equipment is trapped at the marina. He said, “Getting a new marina is awesome. But let’s make sure we can all stay in business in the meantime.”
Each captain’s remarks were greeted with audience applause. At the end of the Commission meeting, Vice Mayor Robin Lentz asked the city manager to approach FEMA about setting up a meeting with the boat captains. Martin agreed to ask, but did not seem to think that FEMA would be receptive to such a request.
City Manager Dale Martin said that he would be performing his monthly city work day at the city marina on October 19. On that day representatives of Bellingham Marine will try to save the dockhouse from sliding into the river.
A representative of Westrec Marina was heard to say that the continuous action of the tides has made the situation at the marina worse in the days since the storm hit.
WestRock
Colin Campbell also spoke during Public Comment on WestRock’s experience with Hurricane Matthew. He thanked city and county personnel for “their fantastic leadership and communication” during the storm. He also thanked the utility companies that quickly got power back online, mill workers for storm preparations and mill suppliers.
Campbell said, “I am pleased to report that the mill sustained only minor damage on a couple of our buildings. Hurricane Matthew did not cause structural damage to any building. It did not damage any tanks, nor were any tanks compromised. The storm surge did not impact our production areas. In short, I am very pleased to report that we had no chemical spills, no releases, and that included our wastewater system, during, post or pre Hurricane Matthew.” He received a round of applause from the audience.
Fernandina Main Street
On behalf of Fernandina Main Street, Design Committee member Marlene Chapman offered personal thanks to city staff for storm assistance and to offer the Committee’s willingness to help the city in recovery efforts. Mayor Miller thanked her on behalf of the city.
Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.
Next to reading the Bhagavid Gita, I enjoy reading the Fernandina Observer every week on the Internet. “Thank You” for publishing the Observer on the Internet.
Insurance, anyone?
Robert, who are you saying should have insurance? The charter captains for business interruption or the City for the damage to its facilities? FEMA should cover the City’s damage (80%) but they have very strict guidelines and record keeping requirements to qualify for reimbursement as the City Manager has repeated stated.
Dave – Just a thought….
The City has never waited for the federal government’s permission to use more than $200,000 in local taxpayer money every year to fund the shortfalls at the City’s Golf Club. Why, when the issue involves charter fishing, do a different set of rules apply?
If local leaders chose to repair part of the marina with a small fraction of the money spent at the City’s Golf Course, the charter fishermen would be back at work in weeks.