Update From
Tybee’s Mayor
By Mayor Jason Buelterman
I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season.
The City has set aside funds to make some improvements to Jaycee Park.
These plans were developed by a committee of volunteers who worked in
conjunction with our YMCA. The plans were presented at a recent city council
meeting and at a subsequent meeting held specifically to obtain citizen input
about the plans. The plans include:
• Adding pickle ball court surfaces at the area where the basketball courts
are presently.
• Installing a rubber, padded surface at the playground area to replace the
mulch that is currently being used. This surface will be similar to the surface
at the playground at Memorial Park.
• Installing shade covers for parts of the playground similar (again) to those
at Memorial Park. Sadly we lost the big oak tree during Hurricane Matthew
that used to provide shade for that area.
• Adding special swings to accommodate children with disabilities.
• Purchasing an outfield fence for the softball field. This fence will be able to
be put up for softball games and then taken down to accommodate soccer
and other activities.
• Adding more park benches.
• Replacing the horseshoe pit and shuffleboard courts with a bocce ball
court.
• Adding a small frisbee golf course.
We are hoping to complete these improvements before the end of 2019. The
plans took into account the natural beauty of the park in such a way that the
aesthetics of the area are not compromised in any way. Those responsible
for designing Jaycee Park many years ago did an outstanding job designing
what has become a gem of a public park. We want to ensure that their hard
work and vision are not negatively impacted by these improvements, while
40 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JAN 2019
at the same time recognizing that our population has different interests and
needs than they did when the park was first developed.
Many thanks to A.J. Baker and the YMCA for all of their work in developing
the extremely successful Teen Cuisine program. The program is free to our
Island’s teenagers ages 12 to 17. Participants receive cooking lessons from
chefs from our Island’s restaurants. In December, they held their annual
event at the Youmans/Solomon Gym. The Greek style dinner they served
was excellent! Congratulations to all the aspiring young chefs on a job well
done. Thanks as well to all the volunteers who helped make the event such
a success. A.J. has worked very hard to create this wonderful opportunity
for our Island’s kids. Please tell him thanks next time you see him around
the Island.
I had the opportunity to speak before the Coastal Region (CORE) Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO) Board of Directors on December 12 about the
urgent need to prioritize funding for the Highway 80 bridge replacement/
causeway improvement project. The projected total cost of the project
is $112,000,000. We need to get this project added to the Transportation
Improvement Program (TIP). I know this is a lot of acronyms here but
the devil is always in the details. The TIP is developed by the CORE MPO
Board. They take funding that comes mostly from the federal government
for transportation projects in our area and determine how to use the funds
responsibly. If you would like to help, email the Director of Transportation
for the CORE MPO, Mark Wilkes, at wilkesm@thempc.org and ask that he
forward your email to all of the members of the CORE MPO Board. The more
voices that can be heard on this issue the better.
I have heard a lot of feedback about the large casino boat that has been
anchored at Lazaretto Creek for several months. It isn’t really appropriate
to comment on a matter that may come before the City Council as a public
hearing. That being said, I do have some very serious safety concerns about
the proposal. I am confident that our Planning Commission and City Council
will continue and do their due diligence vetting the matter and, as always,
welcome public input.
We are still waiting on FEMA to respond to our request to allocate grant
funds to lift 64 flood prone homes on Island. We have reached out to our
representatives in Washington to try to get this process moving. Once we
hear something, we will inform all those who applied. We prioritized flood
prone homes that are owner occupied. It has been a long wait but I remain
optimistic that Tybee’s application will be approved.
Stay warm out there! As always, don’t hesitate to contact me should you have
any questions, concerns or suggestions or if you want to set up a meeting.
I can be reached on my cell at 912.844.8427 or via email at jbuelterman@
cityoftybee.org.
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