LikeTheDew.com

Boosted by a contingent lured from the nearby Georgia Farm Bureau Convention, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue led a small but enthusiastic group of boosters and state officials Monday to celebrate the official start of the long-anticipated and much-debated revitalization of Jekyll Island.

Jekyll Island Authority workers lowered a 16-foot palm tree into the sand at the future site of the Great Dunes Park as Perdue and a crew of dignitaries shoveled in ceremonial sand to demonstrate that, though the revitalization brings hopes for lots of visitors and revenue, Jekyll’s environment will be central to the effort.

In his speech, Gov. Perdue emphasized that Jekyll Island, once a popular convention site, has steadily lost customers as its hotels and restaurants slipped into decline.  The Farm Bureau  has held 41 annual conventions at Jekyll but most groups have long since wandered elsewhere.

The $170 million revitalization push, which is to include a new convention center, new recreation opportunities, new hotels, new restaurants, and new cottages, is meant to bring people back to Jekyll while maintaining the island’s natural appeal. (click http://jekyllislandauthority.org/ for more details)

Jekyll’s new theme is “It’s All Good.” I’m inclined to agree.

However, the fellow standing next to me during Perdue’s speech was doubtful that the planned building projects will overcome beaches and water that are less appealing than the sand and waves of South Carolina and Florida.

“Only one thing will bring people to Jekyll,” he said. “A casino. Tear down that convention center and put in a casino.”

1. C Smith says:

   December 8, 2009 at 7:49 am

   I would imagine there are a number of state employees that don’t see this as a place for the state to invest its money. There are a number of teachers, policemen, GBI agents, State patrolmen, and many others that have been laid-off because Georgia is broke. Now we have money to upgrade a loosing project as well as build a lake near Byron (Gov. Perdue’s home area). Our Governor’s priorities seem to be askew.

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2. Michael Garbutt says:

   December 8, 2009 at 10:19 am

   And, from the few specifics I can gather, this entire deal has been a developer’s dream bonanza. Though couched in terms of “revenue enhancement” for the state, I’d hope there could be more availability and better pricing for middle income families and citizens to enjoy.
   Priorities askew is a biiig understatement IMO.

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3. C Smith says:

   December 8, 2009 at 10:33 am

   Michael you are so right but if I posted my true feelings they would not let me comment again. Some four letter words are not aloud.

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4. Jekyll Lover says:

   December 8, 2009 at 8:58 pm

   Well, from what I heard from someone who was present at this ceremonial planting of the tree, the loudest applause of the day was for Sen. Jeff Chapman, who has been outspoken in his complaints about the JIA/Linger Longer deal for some time—even at the cost of being reviled by many of his political colleagues.

   I don’t know what moron suggested that the way to save Jekyll was to tear down the convention center and build a casino, but that’s ridiculous. True, the CC needs an upgrade, but I was there in October and certainly didn’t find the facility objectionable. Jekyll has always been a middle-class sort of place—you know,..families in the campground,people renting reasonably priced hotel rooms for a weekend getaway, people who love nature more than they love gated communities and over-priced hotel rooms. Had the JIA not been filled with real estate developers, bankers, and others of the ilk that helped bring about our recent economic collapse, perhaps there would have been a creative vision for Jekyll that drew more on its strengths, such as the Sea Turtle Center and Jekyll’s wonderful bike trails, marshes, ponds, and maritime forest. There are plenty of overpriced hotels and condos (and casinos) up and down the East Coast; there are few places like Jekyll. If the JIA would go back to the drawing board and concentrate on eco-tourisim, they might find a whole new world would open up. Maybe eco-destination Jekyll wouldn’t make people like Mercer and Jamie Reynolds even richer, but it would help make this barrier island an even more special and sought after place.
   it would make Georgia stand out as a vacation destination for a type of visitor I believe there will be even more of as time goes by.

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5. Piney Woods Pete says:

   December 8, 2009 at 10:12 pm

   Indeed, Sen. Chapman did get a hearty round of applause, followed by a crowd-wide chortle, at Monday’s tree-planting ceremony on Jekyll Island, but Gov. Perdue got the biggest hand from the assembled crowd. Chapman’s applause came when Jekyll Island Authority Chairman Jones Hooks, after reading a long list of politicos and dignitaries on hand for the event, evidently spotted Chapman standing at the rear of the audience and pointedly noted Chapman’s prescence. It was the sort of joke that’s funnier in person than in the retelling, but after a subset of Chapman supporters enthusiastically applauded the Republican state senator who has been a vocal and effective critic of the island authority, the whole crowd laughed both at Hooks’ nearly-startled introduction and the enthusiastic, if isolated, applause that followed. Following the theme of the day, it was “all good.”
   Today the news followed that Reynolds has pulled out of the project but that the Jekyll Authority is gamely plugging on. That, of course, might be all good for those who have equated Reynolds with pricing common folks off of Jekyll. On the other hand, it’s a disturbing sign that Reynolds believes their planned $120 million investment wouldn’t pay off.
   And although after attending many presentations on the Jekyll revitalization I’ve become convinced the final draft offered an acceptable combination of free public access and accomodations from affordable to swank while protecting, enhancing and promoting the environment, I’d just as soon let the whole island drift back to a completely natural state.
   My casino-promoting friend claimed to be an environmentalist, too. His plan was to ban all future construction except a single casino at the location of the convention center. He wanted to put all the motels in Brunswick and let everything except else on the island go native.
   Opinions on Jekyll are varied.

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6. Not Buying It says:

   December 9, 2009 at 12:53 am

   Yes, it is so sad that the governor’s friends among the Reynolds crowd somehow decided the sweetheart deal is not sweet enough. It is so very difficult to give away beachfront property along the eastern seaboard. You know, that acreage is a dime-a-dozen. Especially when it comes with a guarantted 99 to 1 split on profits, no competitive bidding, exclusive rights for 25 years… This chance might not come along again for the poor little state of Georgia.

   Maybe it’s hard to attract development in the Piney woods, Pete, but not at one of the most gorgeous beaches on the east coast.

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7. Melinda Ennis says:

   December 9, 2009 at 8:54 am

   Jekyll Lover’s got it right. Why not promote and encourage a unique eco-tourism environment experience at Jekyll? Do we really need/want another rich-man’s resort? Haven’t the wealthy of the world already taken over most of the beach front on the planet? Grayton Beach, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, etc. along the “Emerald Coast” in Florida were once lovely and pristine a mere twenty years ago. Now it’s like a Buckhead parking lot down there with crammed together properties and nearby outlet shopping. You can still walk on Jekyll without a highrise (or sometimes even a person) in site. How amazing! I’m thrilled if some don’t like the brackish-looking water (which is in fact filled with rich mineral & marine life) the modest surf (which for me has a lovely calm) or hard-packed beach filled with tide-pools (of living creatures), sea-oats and dunes. PLEASE head to Florida if you want white sands cluttered with high-rises cutting off any sign of nature unless your keep your eyes focused out to sea (which is usually also cluttered with jet-skis, parasailing tourists and overhead planes with “eat at Joes” signs). We have all that in abundance in this world. What we have too little of is what can be found at Jekyll, Sapelo, Cumberland and in parts of St. Simons (away from the village). The science center, once a segregated “Negro resort” in the 50’s, is a treasure for our children and could be offered to school children or eco-lovers throughout the south (or the world). A place where nature still lives and breathes, mostly unencumbered. A place where the sea turtles take precedence over jet skis and motor boats and yes, conventioneers. Trying to make Jekyll into another Hilton Head or Destin makes my skin crawl, and will never work anyway. We took a friend of my parents there who looked around and said “this is really an ugly beach.” Yeah! I’m sure that will be the reaction of anyone who wants more of the same to be found up and down the Florida coast. And again, I am thrilled. If only we could turn back the clock and mandate that nothing be built on any beach anywhere, we would have a much more beautiful world for our children and ourselves. If you want to play golf, go to Hilton Head. If you want to revel in what’s left of our shrinking natural environment, go to the Barrier Islands of Georgia. If you change it—-they still won’t come, and you will destroy our state’s greatest assets.

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8. Jean Towns says:

   December 9, 2009 at 9:16 am

   I love Jekyll, but it has gotten seedy. I own an RV and would love to camp in the campground but the hookups are not reliable (I don’t want to fry the electricity in my motorhome) and it’s terribly muddy. If someone were to go into the campground, lay out reasonable sites and install modern three-point hookups, I’d be there as often as possible riding my bicycle around the island. Modest renovations on the island could make a big difference without having to invest millions in high-rises. A casino is a terrible idea.

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