Jax Beach Pier has Fallen into Disrepair

[I-10east]

One of the biggest attractions at Jacksonville Beach is 10 years old -- and needs some major TLC.

The Jacksonville Beach pier opened in 2004, but the pier operator and one Jacksonville city councilman said it's already falling apart and the city needs to take action.

The pier was packed with people fishing and sightseeing Wednesday, and many agreed the city needs to make repairs.

"I think it should've been kept up a little bit better," sightseer Ray Fields said. "You wouldn't have this trouble now."

City Councilman Bill Gulliford agreed. That's why he met Wednesday with officials who have concerns about the future of the pier.

"It is falling apart, and there is not money to repair it," pier operator Vera Bryant said. "Bottom line, that's what the story is."

There is no annual inspection of the pier. The city staff only come out when called about a problem.

"We've got decking problems. They skipped part of the deck that is deteriorating," Gulliford said. "The entrance looks like the entrance to a prison."

The city has replaced some of the boards, but some of them are splitting. Because of the salt air, the city anticipated that might happen, but Gulliford said repairs are needed now and shouldn't be put off.

"Where is the money they collect going?" Gulliford asked. "It really should be going into a dedicated maintenance fund so that we can continue to upgrade and maintain the pier."

The mayor's office said the city has done some emergency repairs to the deck, spending close to $100,000 last August.

The mayor's staff said they tried to budget more money for repairs but were turned down by the City Council.

Ten percent of the profits from visitors goes back to the city, but Bryant said that money doesn't make its way back to the pier.

"The problem is the city of Jacksonville -- with their budget cuts -- have not allocated money for the repairs that need to be done," Bryant said.

The peer is operated by a company out of South Florida, but the city is working on a new contract and could get a new operator.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/operator-jacksonville-beach-pier-falling-apart/32384916

[Bill Hoff]

Yeah, but low taxes.

I have plans for that $20 bill that could go to maintain public property for the benefit to all, but doesn't. So lay off.

[TheCat]

1. The money collected to walk on the pier doesn't go back to the pier?
2. Jacksonville budget cuts are the cause? Is there an arrangement between the cities that I don't know about.

And then this:

"The peer is operated by a company out of South Florida, but the city is working on a new contract and could get a new operator."


What does an operator for a pier do? I'm willing to bet that's where you find pier money.

[Tacachale]

Time to do some homework, TheCat.

The City of Jacksonville bought the old pier in 2000. The previous pier, built in the 60s, was privately owned and was located at 6th Avenue South, but Hurricane Floyd wrecked it in 1999. COJ signed a contract with the City of Jax Beach for a new pier shortly after the purchase, with Jax Beach throwing in $250k and COJ covering the rest (over million, plus the purchase price). After much deliberation, the cities decided to build the new pier at 5th Ave North, back in the Downtown area where the original piers were located.

Here's an article that covers most of that:

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060401/met_6342539.html#.VS-8cvnF98E

Bottom line is, COJ owns that pier. Jax Beach has always been barely involved, which is probably a problem in and of itself. COJ contracts out the operations (the operators sell the tickets and handle concessions and rentals). The city is supposed to have dedicated funding for maintenance. Apparently now, they prefer just to ignore it until it needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs.

[menace1069]

Apparently now, they prefer just to ignore it until it needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs.

Or it just falls into the ocean....

[Gunnar]

I'm also curius what the operator does / his responsibilites are.

[Josh]

"The entrance looks like the entrance to a prison."

I agree wholeheartedly. I went onto the "new" pier for the first time 2 or 3 years ago, and couldn't believe how crappy the entrance was. Way too utilitarian.

[coredumped]

Bottom line is, COJ owns that pier. Jax Beach has always been barely involved, which is probably a problem in and of itself. COJ contracts out the operations (the operators sell the tickets and handle concessions and rentals). The city is supposed to have dedicated funding for maintenance. Apparently now, they prefer just to ignore it until it needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs.

I think this is the problem here - the City should have no part of the pier, while it is technically in COJ (right? Since it's part of Duval), the city should turn the keys over to Jax Beach. Why the heck is the city paying for this? Sounds like a private entity should take it up again, or let the City of Jax Beach decide, either way, COJ shouldn't be involved.

[I-10east]

"The entrance looks like the entrance to a prison."

I agree wholeheartedly. I went onto the "new" pier for the first time 2 or 3 years ago, and couldn't believe how crappy the entrance was. Way too utilitarian.

I agree.

[Tacachale]

Bottom line is, COJ owns that pier. Jax Beach has always been barely involved, which is probably a problem in and of itself. COJ contracts out the operations (the operators sell the tickets and handle concessions and rentals). The city is supposed to have dedicated funding for maintenance. Apparently now, they prefer just to ignore it until it needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs.

I think this is the problem here - the City should have no part of the pier, while it is technically in COJ (right? Since it's part of Duval), the city should turn the keys over to Jax Beach. Why the heck is the city paying for this? Sounds like a private entity should take it up again, or let the City of Jax Beach decide, either way, COJ shouldn't be involved.

COJ provides county-level services to the Beaches. In this case they built the pier (with some funding from Jax Beach) so the county (and the whole metro area) could have a public pier. Jax Beach should kick in more than they have, but COJ built it and owns it. It's very popular, but any amenity requires maintenance. We just need all levels to quit dropping the ball.

[TheCat]

Bottom line is, COJ owns that pier. Jax Beach has always been barely involved, which is probably a problem in and of itself. COJ contracts out the operations (the operators sell the tickets and handle concessions and rentals). The city is supposed to have dedicated funding for maintenance. Apparently now, they prefer just to ignore it until it needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs.

I think this is the problem here - the City should have no part of the pier, while it is technically in COJ (right? Since it's part of Duval), the city should turn the keys over to Jax Beach. Why the heck is the city paying for this? Sounds like a private entity should take it up again, or let the City of Jax Beach decide, either way, COJ shouldn't be involved.

COJ provides county-level services to the Beaches. In this case they built the pier (with some funding from Jax Beach) so the county (and the whole metro area) could have a public pier. Jax Beach should kick in more than they have, but COJ built it and owns it. It's very popular, but any amenity requires maintenance. We just need all levels to quit dropping the ball.

Thanks for the explanation. Then is it safe to say that COJ, not Jax Beach, contracted the private organization to "operate" the pier?

[PeeJayEss]

Be interesting to see what that operation contract is worth. Is it really worthwhile to require an entrance fee to the pier? Instead of a nice sightseeing and fishing platform, it's kind of a private club for very salty dogs. It certainly doesn't add to the appeal of Jax Beach. And we're losing money on it?! Bonkers!

Also, any repairs you make aren't exactly going to hold up too well when a significant Hurricane does come along. Maybe it's best to only do maintenance when there is a catastrophic failure (the average lifespan shouldn't be too much longer than this current iteration has been around).

[Tacachale]

Thanks for the explanation. Then is it safe to say that COJ, not Jax Beach, contracted the private organization to "operate" the pier?

Correct. That's my understanding.

Be interesting to see what that operation contract is worth. Is it really worthwhile to require an entrance fee to the pier? Instead of a nice sightseeing and fishing platform, it's kind of a private club for very salty dogs. It certainly doesn't add to the appeal of Jax Beach. And we're losing money on it?! Bonkers!

Also, any repairs you make aren't exactly going to hold up too well when a significant Hurricane does come along. Maybe it's best to only do maintenance when there is a catastrophic failure (the average lifespan shouldn't be too much longer than this current iteration has been around).

The entrance fee is nominal (it's seriously like $1 to sightsee and $4 to fish) and it's there basically to fund the operation and generate some money to help reduce the maintenance costs. Without it, we'd be putting even more money into maintenance, and there would be even more people on it than there already are. The contractor handles the money, runs the shop that sells concessions and tackle, and is in charge of cleaning and locking up when the pier closes. The operation probably covers a good chunk of the routine maintenance just on its own, let alone what COJ is supposed to dedicate to it.

There's always been an argument for getting Jax Beach to kick more resources into the pier, since its in their jurisdiction and they benefit the most from it. But until that happens, it's a COJ issue. It's another responsibility they're not taking care of.

[Overstreet]

Entrance fees of $1 or $4. That would cover cost to collect fees, remove the trash and maybe run a restroom, sorta.

[PeeJayEss]

Entrance fees of $1 or $4. That would cover cost to collect fees, remove the trash and maybe run a restroom, sorta.

I doubt it even covers the cost to collect fees, which begs the question of why collect fees in the first place.