September 11, 2010

On this somber anniversary, it is appropriate to take a moment to remember what happened in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania nine years ago. And it is also appropriate for us to determine that, whatever passion leads us to make this world a better place, we honor that passion and take action. If you happened to hear my interview with John Clark on Georgia Focus about Jekyll Island, I hope one of the things you will do is take action for Jekyll Island's affordable and sustainable future. 

The Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) is moving forward with plans to build two upscale hotels on and near the beach just south of the location of the current convention center. It also plans to build an upscale retail center on the beach. Again and again, the JIA has turned a deaf ear to the wishes of the citizen-owners of Jekyll Island. Its recent Request for Information, in which it is asking citizens to comment on its plans to update the Jekyll Island master plan, is an opportunity for citizens to again make their voice heard. By joining with citizens across this state and country, you can let their be no mistake about the future we want for Georgia's Jewel. In the past, the JIA has not been immune to citizen opinion. Let's make it clear again how we feel about extensive development. Let's make it clear that we expect the conservation plan to be finished BEFORE the development begins and BEFORE the master plan update has begun. Then, let's let them know that the master plan update should be completed BEFORE the buildings are built.

The Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island (IPJI) has developed a list of recommendations regarding Jekyll Island's future. Visit www.savejekyllisland.org to read and endorse those recommendations. You may make additional comments to the JIA if you wish.

My book, Remember Jekyll Island, tells the background story. I hope you will find it interesting and that it will motivate you to take action for Jekyll Island! Above all, take action somewhere today, in remembrance of 9/11, to make this world a better place.

July 24, 2010

Do you have a vision for Jekyll Island's future?

The Jekyll Island Authority is at it again! They recently began an update of the state park's master plan with a Request For Information from the public, or RFI. The problem is, they only posted the RFI on their own Website and on the State of Georgia Procurement Web site. I don't know about you, but I hardly ever cruise through the Georgia Procurement Web site just randomly looking for postings from the Jekyll Island Authority. It took a call from a Brunswick News reporter to remind the Authority that it never sent out a press release to tell anyone about the RFI. Time and time again, the Authority has been reminded that the public should be involved from the beginning in all aspects of Jekyll Island State Park planning. Time and time again, the Authority has ignored its responsibility to involve the park's citizen-owners.

The Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island is compiling comments from citizens to respond to the RFI. Send your comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Need some ideas? Do you want the Authority to define developed and undeveloped land in any way they please, or do you think the definitions should be based in established land use planning practice? Do you think the public should be involved in the park planning process as called for in the outdoor recreation and park planning profession, or would you prefer that the Authority continue to plan Jekyll's future without involving the citizens of Georgia? Do you think the Jekyll Island conservation plan should be completed before development plans continue, or do you think it makes more sense to plan for development and assess the environmental impact of development after the development has occurred? Do you want conservation of Jekyll's environment to be more important, as important, or less important than economic development? Would you like to keep as much of the beach open as possible, or is it okay to line the beachfront with hotels, loft condos, and retail? Should the Authority continue to contract with a private consultant that has little expertise in outdoor recreation, or should they seek the most knowledgeable consultants available?

This is what the Authority says they are looking for (from their RFI):

Information about "all aspects of Jekyll Island operation, management, protection, conservation, preservation, redevelopment, program initiatives and resource management. All are encouraged to submit written statements and documentation, renderings, visual concepts, narratives, studies to define, support and articulate their informational submittals."

Do you have a vision for Jekyll Island's future? Then by golly, send your ideas soon to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

June 13, 2010

Does it make you feel any better to realize that the actions of the Jekyll Island Authority board are part of a nationwide trend to privatize our public treasures? Yesterday, the following article appeared in a Boston online newspaper (I've edited it for length). As you read it, you can almost imagine it being written by a Georgia citizen about the giveaway of Jekyll Island State Park to the private sector.

MySouthEnd.com

Allow privatization of public domain at your own peril
by Shirley Kressel
contributing writer
Saturday Jun 12, 2010

No, it’s not about money. And it’s certainly not about improving services.

It’s about the dismantling of the public domain. Mayor Tom Menino is privatizing the library system.

At the hearing, President Ryan was explaining to neighborhood residents the planned restructuring of branch services as "partnerships" with local private donors.

Menino thinks we just need enough public library investment to engage private partners. He likes privately managed parks, like the Greenway (he has given over $1 million to the private Greenway Conservancy, and far more in land and tax breaks to the privatized Post Office Square park), with manicured landscaping, high-end food and only "nice" people, no "undesirables" allowed. The Parks Department actively recruits private partners; the FY11 budget (p. 45) touts 200 private partnerships, and $6 million private dollars as compared to the City’s $15 million.

What part of "public" do these publicly elected officials not understand? Public means for all of us, from all of us. Do they really think private money comes with no strings attached, and will support totally open and democratic services? Do they really think that privatization will provide egalitarian, popularly accessible facilities? (emphasis mine) 

No, they don’t, and they don’t care. Privatization lets them shed accountability, and divert even more public money to serve their own interests while citizens take on responsibility for public services. They claim credit for being up-to-date in the fashionable conservative ideology of "running government like a business," which remains an ideal despite the spectacular failure of the "business model" - even for business. They hand control to corporations and wealthier people to "revitalize" (gentrify) the city, and sit back to bask in the anticipated transformation, cynically promising a trickle-down to people like those at the hearings. (emphasis mine)

Boston is not alone; we follow a national privatization trend. But we should be leading the country in a better direction, as we did historically. Boston is the home of public services: the first public park, school, library, fire department, and mass-transit system in the United States. Indeed, the state of Massachusetts calls itself a Commonwealth. Now, our elected representatives betray us and our children, dismantling our public realm, and indeed eradicating the fundamental idea of the commons. (emphasis mine)

Shirley Kressel is a landscape architect and urban designer, and one of the founders of the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 Jekyll Island State Park, like the library system in Boston, is being handed over to the private sector by those entrusted to work on behalf of the citizen-owners of Jekyll. The Jekyll Island Authority plan is to build upscale retail, restaurants, and loft condominiums on the public beach. They have scrapped the "economy" hotel, noting that the old hotels are sufficient for the "economy" visitors to Jekyll. They intend to make Jekyll Island a resort for the rich, the average citizens be damned. For more information, read Remember Jekyll Island, and visit www.savejekyllisland.org. 

May 30, 2010

Here we go again!

On May 18, 2010, the Athens Banner-Herald ran an Associated Press article, written by Russ Bynum, about the three new development partners chosen to build up Jekyll Island’s beachfront area. The projects include beachfront retail shops and two new hotels. All of these projects will be sited near the current terminus of Ben Fortson Parkway. Besides the fact that the Jekyll Island Authority has done no visitor studies to determine whether two more hotels are needed on Jekyll Island or whether the public, who owns Jekyll Island, wants a “beach village” full of upscale shops and loft apartments, there was one telling paragraph in the article, tucked in at the end:

“Details of the agreements between Jekyll Island and its new partners won’t be available for several weeks. The authority board plans a June 9 meeting with the three firms to go over design concepts for the beach village and how they’ll share management duties and profits from the new developments.”

Secrecy and focus on profits is what got the Jekyll Island Authority into trouble in the first place. The public has tried again and again to open the planning process to full daylight, but the Jekyll Island Authority continues to work under cover. The Authority wants those hotels and retail shops open when the publicly-funded convention center opens in 2012 (another project with no feasibility study or justification). That’s why, according to Authority Executive Director Jones Hooks, they are moving at “lightning fast speed.” The public would only slow them down. This is woeful planning and management for a treasured public asset.

May 15, 2010

Why did I write a book about Jekyll Island? Isn't the battle over?

Unfortunately, the events of the past three to five years have exposed the hand of the Jekyll Island Authority. A poor economy and public pressure have succeeded in scaling back the planned development FOR NOW. All indications from the JIA reveal that, when economic conditions are better, they will begin anew to add new development to Georgia's Jewel.

Development occurs in a stepwise fashion. We tend to forget what our communities were like before the big box store and its associated shopping center was built. Our short term memory works in favor of those who would push more and more development of our communities. The same is true of Jekyll Island State Park. The JIA will add another boutique hotel here, another upscale store there. They've already indicated that they plan to build villas around the golf courses, and that they'd love to purchase homes on Jekyll when current residents sell.

Over 7,000 Georgians and 3,000 citizens from outside of Georgia have spoken out against extensive development of Jekyll Island State Park. The JIA has been derelict in its duty to the citizens of Georgia. It's time to require the JIA to plan and manage Jekyll Island State Park according to professional best practices.

Jekyll Island and the people of Georgia deserve better.

May 10, 2010

Remember Jekyll Island was written to document the recent history of Jekyll Island State Park. This history involves a bitter battle between the public, state politicians, and the governing body of Jekyll Island State Park. It outlines the familiar story of greed and gain versus the will of the people.

The official publication date of Remember Jekyll Island is August 2, 2010. Before then, copies will be available for purchase by late June 2010, on www.rememberjekyllisland.com. By June 30, the book will be available at www.Amazon.com.

For more information about Jekyll Island State Park, visit www.savejekyllisland.org.