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NotDeadYet

Beach Fanatic
Jul 7, 2007
1,422
489
Thank you, Bob.
We agree on 2 and 3.
I have my doubts about a trust fund - not the need for a fund - but because it will only be as secure as the trustees and the controlling legalese. IMHO, both highly suspect in this county.
 

Andy A

Beach Fanatic
Feb 28, 2007
4,389
1,738
Blue Mountain Beach
Bob, I agree with all three in the order given. Since NRDA funds and BP funds are separate, some maintenance and revision of the bike path is badly needed. It is a tremendous boon to the area and it is used by many, both locals and visitors. Some funds from one or the other sources should be used to sustain and beautify it.
 

mputnal

Beach Fanatic
Nov 10, 2009
2,289
1,799
Well Bob I guess we might agree on one thing, "what goes around comes around". I am referring of course to human behavior and you of course have referred to a ferris wheel for some unknown reason. It is unfortunate that our moderators do not moderate "stupid" out of the allowed use of language on this forum but since they don't let me say this to Mr. Bob. I respect your opinion in this forum but I do not respect your insults. Maybe if you would learn to listen and respect others you might go back and read my comments again and have a different reaction. However if your reaction is the same then I can not help but agree with you on stupid is as stupid does...
 

Bob Hudson

Beach Fanatic
May 10, 2008
1,066
739
Santa Rosa Beach
I referred to a Ferris wheel, or roller coaster on the beach as examples of other stupid ideas that some would think were great visionary ideas to "Restore" the damage done by the BP Oil spill.

Please tell me how a pier would "restore" our once pristine beaches. I guess I missed the pier that was destroyed by BP - I never saw it.
 
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mputnal

Beach Fanatic
Nov 10, 2009
2,289
1,799
You continue to make the case for your own words. If you are able to read then you would understand that I as you believe that we need to build infrastructure first. May I ask you one question, Have you ever owned property or benefited from property that has buildings built right over the dunes? Also, if you are going to attack another person for their opinions do it for the "right" reasons and do not disguise the attack for the "right" reasons.
 

Zebraspots

Beach Fanatic
May 15, 2008
840
247
Santa Rosa Beach
I believe funds have been set aside for bike path improvements and a bridge over Western Lake.
 

Bob Hudson

Beach Fanatic
May 10, 2008
1,066
739
Santa Rosa Beach
I have never owned any property such as you describe. I live 1/2 mile inland and bought where I wanted to live as I have no desire to live on the beach.
 

Bob Hudson

Beach Fanatic
May 10, 2008
1,066
739
Santa Rosa Beach
From NPR


Gulf Coast states are lining up to spend $1 billion from BP on coastal restoration.

The money is part of BP's legal responsibility to restore the Gulf of Mexico's natural resources in the aftermath of the worst oil disaster in U.S. history. But the nature of some of the state projects, including boat ramps and a beachfront hotel, is raising questions about just what counts as coastal restoration. Earlier this month, Alabama's Gov. Robert Bentley stood on a sugar white state park beach to announce plans for an $85 million lodge and conference center. The event had all the trappings of an economic development announcement. State lawmakers, local mayors and business owners were all smiles to hear that the Legislature had finally, after years of stalemate, given the go-ahead for a hotel on state park property near Gulf Shores, Ala. The state can contract with private companies to build and run the facility. What pushed the hotel through this year, as noted by Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, is that BP is footing the bill. "Without costing the taxpayers a dime," Ivey said at the announcement earlier this month. All five Gulf states are sharing in the $1 billion from BP. It's a down payment on what the oil giant will be forced to pay under a lengthy process called Natural Resources Damage Assessment, intended to restore the Gulf ecosystem to the condition it was in before the 2010 oil spill. Bentley said improving the beachfront state park achieves that. "The lodge and the meeting facility are part of an overall effort to strengthen the Gulf Coast and our natural environment," Bentley said. The first round of plans from Texas to Florida includes barrier island restoration, artificial reefs, science and education centers, boat ramps and boardwalks. It's not unusual that states are lining up projects that don't directly restore the environment, says Seattle attorney Valerie Lee, president of Environment International, a firm that specializes in NRDA. Debbie Elliott/NPR "Some of the projects are like coral reefs — you had problems with injury to coral reefs. But you also see things like visitors centers. How on earth could a building repair the environment? Well, it's not directly repairing the environment," Lee says. "What it is doing is compensating for the recreational loss uses — human uses that are associated with a quality Gulf." But Lee says the Alabama beach hotel might be a stretch. "That to me is not providing a public use and a public benefit if indeed you are actually charging the public for a hotel room," she says. Alabama officials argue the public couldn't use the beach when it was soiled with oil, and now, a new hotel will attract people back to the Gulf Coast. Tony Kennon, mayor of Orange Beach, Ala., says it's a smart strategy to first seek human-use reparations, which he calls the low-hanging fruit in the damage assessment process. "A lot of the environmental projects are going to take more time to evaluate, to look at, to make sure that we're not cutting ourselves short by jumping in too soon and not asking for enough to fix the problem — whereas when it comes to loss of human use, which is where this money comes under, that's ready for us to grab right now," Kennon says. It could take years of assessment and negotiation to determine the ultimate damage to the Gulf and what BP should pay to repair it, a figure likely to be in the billions. In the meantime, environmental groups want to see early investment in building a more resilient ecosystem — projects like an oyster reef on the breezy western shore of Mobile Bay, the very first environmental restoration project done in the aftermath of the BP oil disaster. Casi Calloway, director of Mobile Bay Keeper, says two years ago, about 600 volunteers came to this waterfront park in Mobile to lay a quarter mile of oyster shell in the bay just off the shore. Calloway says the new oyster reef absorbs the wave energy from large ships that pass through Mobile Bay before it can reach land and erode the shore. "That enables the shoreline to build up behind it. That adds land. That is environmental restoration; it's property enhancement; it's better for insurance purposes, flooding, hurricanes, you name it," Calloway says. Technically, Calloway says, the state may be able to call a hotel restoration. But she says it makes her uneasy about how future monies to compensate for the BP oil spill might be allocated. "When the very first thing that's supposed to be environmental is going to an economic project, that's not OK," Calloway says. The early restoration plans have received the OK from BP, Gulf states and the Obama administration. The next step is public comment and review.


STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES !
 

mputnal

Beach Fanatic
Nov 10, 2009
2,289
1,799
Bob, thanks for the NPR quote. I happen to agree with you about how the BP money should be spent for Walton County. Where we are not in agreement is your moving target on the issue of a pier in Walton County. It is a non issue for now but in the future we should have this debate. Your "stupid" reference to a fellow concerned citizen is out of line and keeps missing my point. The point is if we are going to label a pier as bad for the environment even though it has very little if any effects on the beach and dune ecology then we need to compare and debate the effects of building directly on the beach and dune systems. My other point is that you may be less inclined to be open minded to build a pier if you recieve benefits from those that do build directly on the beach and have access to your own private ocean views. Even if you do not own beach property it is difficult for me to understand the comparison of beach front condos to a pier. We can have this debate but until we have agreement on what constitutes a "Walton county eyesore", "a stupid idea", "gulf restoration", "needed infrasture" then it will not matter what you think of a future pier or your fellow concerned walton county citizen.
 
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