Meeting on Infrastructure
The following is a summary of our May meeting presented by Sandi Postle at the June 14th Council meeting.
Thank you for the opportunity to once again come before you to provide an update regarding the Tybee Neighbors.
Our most recent meeting took place last Thursday evening, June 7. Our presenters were Joe Wilson, the Director of Public Works
and George Reese, Acting Manager of the Water and Sewer department.
They both did an excellent job explaining the work they and their crews do to improve and maintain the infrastructure of Tybee
Island. They shared progress made in completion of past projects, current projects underway, and improvements planned for the
future.
We thank them both for the time they spent with us and for the valuable information they provided to us. We feel confident that the
management of these vital city resources is in good hands.
At this meeting, we reviewed and discussed the results of our most recent mini-survey as found on our website, www.
tybeeneighbors.com concerning the infrastructure. We are pleased that we had 74 responses to the survey, which is one of the
largest responses of any of our prior surveys. Once again, the people of Tybee are using this forum to express their views and
share creative ideas with us so we can share them with you, the council, as you collect citizen input during the process of writing
the new city comprehensive plan.
Both the data provided by our presenters, and the results of our TN survey generated a question and answer period taking the full
second hour of the program.
Also during this meeting, Rusty Fleetwood gave an update on property tax issues. This included newly proposed House Resolution
900, a constitutional amendment that among other provisions, would abolish property tax in the state and replace it with a
combination sales tax and income tax (called a Fair Tax in the bill). Proposed in draft form for debate and review by the House
Ways & Means Committee in the 2008 session, sponsors of the bill expect some major changes as it works it way through the
House and Senate. The full text of
the bill can be seen at www.georgia.gov.legislature. See
HR 900, Article 7, Sections 1-18.
Keep checking for details and updates on www.tybeeneighbors.com.
During our April meeting on Public Safety, one of our focus groups dealt with safety issues on the island. It was decided that Tybee
Neighbors should request that city council establish a Citizens’ Advisory Committee to the Police Department to study these issues
and explore the possibility of creating an island-wide neighborhood watch program. In the interim, we will continue, as a public
service, to post or forward signed, legitimate safety notices such as one recently posted on our site.
Meeting on Public Safety
The following summary of our April meeting was presented by David Postle at the April 12th Council Meeting.
Chief Price covered the following:
1. Last year the department lost four officers due primarily to economic reasons and one officer was relieved from duty.
2. The chief asked the Mayor and City Council for a pay increase to avoid further staff losses due to pay issues. A positive response
was received from the City resulting in the fact that Tybee now has the highest paid police department of any community in
Chatham County.
Tybee’s police officers now receive $14.95 hour.
3. The Chief expressed appreciation for the city’s continued push to provide his department with the newest equipment possible
largely through the use of grant funding.
4. Both the chief and Major Case discussed the ongoing plans for a new public safety building scheduled to be built with SPLOST
funding in 2009. They estimate their space needs at 20,000 square feet.
5. Arrests have recently sky rocketed and according to Chief Price this is largely due to underage drinking and fights occurring on
the beaches.
Chief Sasser presented the following information:
1. Our current fire fighting force is aging. Its becoming increasingly difficult to find young, competent and capable volunteers to
replace staff as vacancies occur. Many young people are now holding two jobs and simply do not have the time to provide volunteer
services to Tybee.
2. He recommends that the City hire one or two paid firefighters per year until we have a staff of at least 9, full-time and part-time
firefighters so that four staff are on duty at the station at all times.
3. We currently have three engines and one ladder truck. The three engines are at least 20 years old or older. We have plans
underway to replace two engines within the next two years using SPLOST funding. This includes a tanker which has been ordered
and one pumper for 2008.
4. The Chief has urged the City to provide a substantial increase in space or a new station which would include more space for
equipment, a kitchen/eating area, and bunks for living space. As a community we cannot afford to run the risk of operating a
severely understaffed fire department.
5. The question was asked and the Chief assured us that we do have access to Medivac helicopter service when requested since
during the busy season and once already traffic was blocked on Highway 80 for several hours.
Finally the Chief proudly announced that at present Tybee’s fire department has received the highest ISO rating that a volunteer
could receive.
Focus Group One discussed alternate uses of the Gym to possibly house more centralized city government and the new proposed
Public Safety building.
Focus Group Two discussed establishing a Citizens’ Advisory Committee to the Police Department and a variety of other ideas
contained in the completed survey.
Meeting on Tybee's Small Businesses
The following is a summary of the outstanding presentation by Cam Jordan at our 2/1 Tybee Neighbors meeting. Cam is the Director
of Community Development for Fitzgerald, Georgia and a DCA consultant who spent a week here last spring studying economic
development issues on Tybee Island. More than 65 business owners/managers, Tybee neighbors, city staff and elected officials
were attentive as Cam shared a number of tools that might be used to help Tybee sustain economic development and a high quality
of life. The following outlines these tools and we will have more details on them on our website in the coming weeks
Downtown Development Authority
• A Quasi-governmental Agency Subject to Sunshine Law
o Has flexibility and powers to enable economic development and help small businesses that local government does not have.
o Can administer
Debt
Financing
Property Management/Disposal
Bid Requirements
Grants
o Synthetic Leases
Tax Benefits
Depreciation
Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Fulfills “non-profit requirement”
o Can function as an Authority
o Removes politics from Hotel tax expenditure
o Review options under law
Non-Profits
• Fill in gaps
• Fund transfers
Commonalities
• Look for synergy
• Assign City staff(Director of Economic Development)
• Dual service- to coordinate tourism with economic development efforts
Business Support
• Start-up
• Growth
• Survival
• Grants and Loans
• DCA, RDC, SCORE, SBDC, NDC, GEDA
http://www.georgia.org.business
http://www.buzgate.org/ga/bfh.html
Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative
Program
Attitude
Business Incubators
Physical vs. virtual
Resource Center vs. workspace
http://www.arcsbi.com/index.asp
Following a question and answer period focus groups worked on recommendations to be presented to the City Council for
sustaining economic development.
It was determined during focus group activity and at a follow-up meeting that the Downtown Development Authority concept needs
to be considered by the City of Tybee Island as a way to assist small businesses on Tybee Island.
There was also strong support for working on transportation and parking issues for employees and tourists. This pertains to
transportation around the Island and bringing folks onto the Island.
Meeting on Historic Resources
Cullen Chambers, Director of theTybee Island Historical Society, was the guest presenter at the November 2nd Tybee Neighbors
Meeting. Cullen provided an excellent presentation on Tybee’s history and the Island’s wealth of historic sites and historic
structures. Protection and preservation of these historic resources is crucial to maintaining the unique character of the Island.
These historic resources are the focal points of the heritage tourism that stimulates the Island’s economy. These resources, with
their historical and cultural values, form the basis of the “sense of place” that is very important to the residents that make up the
community of Tybee Island.
Click here to review Cullen's Chambers' presentation.
Please note: this large file takes time to download but the historic pictures are wonderful.
After the presentation attendees met in focus groups to discuss goals that were set in the 1992 Master Plan for Tybee Island. Each
group also examined the DCA’s descriptions and recommendations for different Character Areas of the Island. The groups then
submitted additional recommendations on Quality Community Objectives for each Character Area for the New Comprehensive
Plan. Click here to view the report containing these recommendations.
Click here to review the results of Mini-survey #8 on the Historical Resources section of the new Comprehensive Plan. and
ordinances, are considered by our government.
Meeting on Environmental Resources
Professor Peter Verity, a research scientist at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, shared conclusions from a 20 year study
during our October meeting. After analyzing water samples taken weekly from the Skidaway River for the last twenty years, Dr.
Verity has documented a decrease in the level of dissolved oxygen.
"Every year the oxygen is lower because we're adding more nutrients," according to Dr. Verity. This change comes because of
runoff associated with more construction on the Coast. Local and upstream sewerage and septic systems also contribute to
harmful bacteria in the Skidaway estuary. Verity states that other Georgia estuaries are in trouble too because of the
connectedness of the tidal creeks. If left unchecked and the trend continues, the decreased oxygen could trigger a shift in the
animals living in our estuaries, he said.
"The oxygen in the summer months is now at levels that cause stress in many species of fish and shellfish," Verity said.
"Elsewhere in world, when these kinds of trends have continued without being addressed, it's often been associated with
increases in gelatinous organisms." These "jellies" (jellyfish) typically are better suited to low oxygen. They consume baby fish and
shellfish.
Verity has submitted a grant proposal to NOAA and hopes to be working with other researchers to examine oxygen levels all along
the Peach State coast. The researchers then would develop models to help pinpoint which nutrients are the biggest culprits, where
they're coming from, and how to fix the problem.
"We should all be working collaboratively on the problem while it's relatively easy to fix," Verity said. The longer the problem
continues the more money it takes to fix it. To clean up similar problems in the Chesapeake Bay it is now costing $8 billion per year
because they waited too long to address the problem. “We know the mess is coming here. Let’s not let it get to that point.” He also
stated that the closer we build on land adjacent to our estuaries the worse this problem will become.
Dr. Verity suggested that public policy changes will be needed to bring about change once we have done research that provides
solutions. In the meantime, we can research things that we can do individually to help address this problem. While answering
questions from Tybee neighbors, Dr. Verity explained that as population densities increase, we reduce the oxygen critical to the
survival of our fish and shellfish. He suggested that we need to individually “downsize our impact on the environment.”
Please check out the following resources to learn how we as Island residents can respond to this problem.
www.green-solutions.com/
www.uga.edu/sed/pso/charrettes/tybee2005.pdf
www.southface.org .
www.dca.state.ga.us/toolkit/
Meeting on Island Population
During our January meeting we focused on the Island Population part of the Comprehensive Plan. Ed DiTomasso presented an
overview of the Comprehensive plan process and on the changing nature of Tybee’s population.
This included facts and opportunities related to:
• The impacts of population growth
• The growing elderly population
• Permanent population versus seasonal population
Click here to review his entire presentation.
Following the presentation one of our Focus Group worked on Services for Seniors and identified the following needs. It is
suggested that these ideas be explored further.
Recreation related
- Recreation activities-classes, card games, reading groups
- Use gym for craft and social activities in addition to recreation
- Better hours at the library
- Fitness activities such as walking trails (allow dogs) and water aerobics
- Passive recreation in Memorial Park, eg, shuffleboard and bocce ball
- Use City Hall as a performance venue, telephone assurance, luncheons, field trips.
- Explore moving teen center to gym complex and reuse facility as Senior Center
Transportation related
- Transportation, both local and for shopping and appointments
- Increase shuttle services
- Repair sidewalks and ramp all intersections
- Explore funding opportunities for public transportation
Tax Related
- Explore amending Chatham County’s school tax senior exemption
- Property relief for seniors but with means testing
Other
- Advocate for assisted living center
- Open cemetery for cremations
- Refer to seniors as ‘beach boomers’ and name organizations accordingly
- Find ways to retain Tybee Terrace Cottages and Breezy Point etc., that provide housing for seniors on fixed incomes
Our second focus group worked on Tourism and Resident Issues. We started with the assumption that since Tybee is a destination
resort area we need to find ways for both residents and tourists to enjoy the island in harmony. It is suggested the following ideas
be studied further.
Parking & Transportation
- Increase shuttle type transportation on the island for both residents and tourists
- Regulate parking—consider # limits per property by property rental management
- Involve residents (as step-on guides) in giving shuttle bus tours, historical neighborhoods, etc.
Educating Tourists
- Develop and distribute guidelines for all rental units and motels related to protecting our environment.
- Recommend that the Tourism Council compile educational materials for distribution to rental units for tourists (turtles and
lighting, dangers of trash on beach, dogs rules, etc)
Educating Residents
- Focus on making residents more aware of the importance of tourism to our economy
- Use press releases, cable TV spots, etc.
Other
- Increase separation between tourists’ areas and residents’ areas
- Encourage multiple services, including activities, shopping etc. for tourists
- Survey other resort communities regarding hotel/motel taxes, pertaining to questions on whether a percentage of the tax
can help Tybee
- Enforce current noise ordinances
- Enact an ordinance to muffle motorcycles