Okaloosa County BOCC — 2013 meeting #1139 (date undetermined) — Action Item Printout — reading text

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: June 18, 2013 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: John Hofstad SUBJECT: Shirley J Brown Memorial Reef DEPARTMENT: Public Works BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Program requests approval to acquire, transport, prepare and deploy the vessel Tenneco for the construction of the Shirley J. Brown Memorial Reef. A request for funding for these activities has been presented to the TDC Advisory Board. The TDC Advisory Board evaluated the project and determined that funding is consistent with the TDC mission. The TDC Advisory Board recommended submission of the project for approval by the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners and approval to allocate $75,000 to the project. BACKGROUND: Mr. Ted Brown, son of Captain Shirley J Brown, contacted the Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Program (OCARP) in early 2012 to determine whether OCARP would be interested in the donation of the 125 foot, concrete-hulled, recreational vessel Tenneco for the construction of an artificial reef. Captain Brown was the owner and operator of Brown Marine and was involved in many maritime operations throughout the northern Gulf region. They were also involved in the transportation and construction of many of the public reef deployments off of Okaloosa County shores for several decades. The involvement of Brown Marine in local maritime operations in Okaloosa county waters is currently memorialized at the Destin History & Fishing Museum. The Tenneco was constructed in St. Marks Florida in 1942 by the Tennessee Gas and Transmission Company and served as a platform to entertain select clientele. During the 1980s, Brown Marine acquired the Tenneco and made it available to local entities for business meetings and social gatherings. For the past 20 years, the Tenneco has been out of service and moored at Pelican Pointe Marina in Pensacola, Florida. Over the past several years, members of the local dive community have asked OCARP to consider building a reef in shallow water (60 feet) that would be accessible to divers who wish to complete their open water dive certification. In the meantime, OCARP has been on the lookout for material(s) that would satisfy this need and offer all recreational divers a safe and remarkable underwater experience. The Tenneco vessel would suit both of these uses. Because of its unique construction, the vessel offers a flat stable upper deck approximately 10 feet above the keel. This deck can be used by dive training providers to have a stable location to gather several students around for technical instruction. In fact, the deck is long enough to accommodate several of these functions simultaneously. The interior of the vessel is large and has very few structural obstructions making ingress/egress relatively safe and accessible. Several locations for deployment are under consideration. The key to the deployment to best serve the diving community is to place the vessel in waters less than 60 feet deep. Sixty feet is the maximum depth allowed during open water dive certification testing. A restriction to deployments one-mile from shore is the Gulf Sturgeon Exclusion Zone (GSEZ). The presence of this restriction does not prohibit deployments in this area but the additional permitting scrutiny is undesirable. Depths along 60 feet contour are found beyond the GSEZ with a higher frequency west of the Destin Pass. A location west of the Destin Pass has been identified at approximately 4.8 miles at a heading of 79°. A location east of Destin Pass has been identified at 4.9 miles at a heading of 103°. Both of these locations are within formerly permitted reef construction areas which will presumably make the permitting process easier. The location east of Destin Pass is approximately 0.6 miles southwest of the Miss Louise which is the other popular open water dive certification destination. Other artificial reefs in this area could prove to add to the congestion. The location to the west of the pass has very few reefs in the immediate area and would serve to spread out the user groups. OCARP will continue to evaluate locations during the permit preparation process. The State and Federal permits for the vessel deployment have not yet been solicited. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has already conceptually approved of the project and has stated that a Noticed General Permit (NGP) can be applied for based on the preliminary project description. The NGP application will take about 2 months for OCARP to develop. The FDEP is required to approve the permit or request additional information within 30 days of receipt of the application. Being a vessel, it is expected that the US Army Corps of Engineers will require a more robust permitting vehicle though the NGP may be acceptable. Regardless, the permit application for the USACE review will be developed while the preparation activities for the vessel are being conducted. The vessel is currently located at Bayou Chico in Pensacola Florida. While the vessel is being donated at no charge; the towing, preparation and deployment costs are not. The estimated cost of the towing, preparation and deployment is $75,000. The Tourist Development Council has endorsed the project. Approval of the project by the Board will allow OCARP to begin the process of acquiring the vessel title and transporting the vessel to the County for deployment preparation. OPTIONS: Approve/Disapprove RECOMMENDATIONS: Approve the $75,000 TDC allocation for the procurement transportation, permitting, preparation, and deployment of the Shirley J Brown Memorial Reef. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: Ernie Padgett, County Administrator