Metro Jacksonville

I see that there is a bill that was introduced to city council on the 14th of December.   The calls for $100,000 to dredge the duck pond at Riverside park. 

Is this just an fyi, or what...you didn't say if you're for or against it

That has needed work for many years, and it's about time they're trying to do it. They need to build the little island back up too.

The desperately need to put in a skimmer and filter system too.  Between the bread, trash and bird doo that gets into the pond it is grossly over nutrified.   The air bubblers that were put in have helped some (You no longer have to hold your nose walking by) but they are not sufficient by themselves.

When the park was founded there was a natural spring that kept the pond refreshed, but it has been gone a long, long time.

The last "renovation" of the pond was done on the cheap, according to a park supervisor and instead of lining the pond with a membrane, they used clay and sand for the bottom which makes it nearly impossible to clean.  It is only about three feet deep at most so there isn't enough water for natural processes to keep the water clean.

$100,000 sounds like a stop-gap amount to me; not enough to put in liner, pumps and skimmers, but in this tight budget times I guess we should be happy that something is being done at all.

Typically when something is 'dredged' it is made wider and/or deeper.  So maybe they're adding capacity to the pond to allow for some of the things you mentioned. 

DW, maybe I passed this onto you or Joan before, but during a concert last year I chatted with an elderly gentleman and his wife.
He couldn't believe so many birds roosted on the tiny Island!! Where did the Cranes come from!?!
Anyway,he told me his relative worked for the city for many years and had to wade into the pond to replace "Water pumps"on several occasions. He found them missing sometimes with the plumbing also gone?  I guess there used to be more than Air pumps there.
we won't even go into the desperation involved in stealing a submerged pump. :o..did the thieves leave the pond electrified? and with new exciting hairstyles? ;D  

Swan boats anyone?

OCKLAWAHA

The ord.is 2010-902

Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on January 02, 2011, 03:28:47 PM
Typically when something is 'dredged' it is made wider and/or deeper.  So maybe they're adding capacity to the pond to allow for some of the things you mentioned. 

Maybe, but consider the effects of 100 years of duck shit.

OCKLAWAHA

OK.,.OCK told it like it is. This pond is like a soup of bird feces. It's green and shoud be cleaner and wider.

The Japanese type cranes have decided to stay here..they keep coming over my yard as a force.
they have added to the stress of this pond,and  are battling the native birds for space

I don't know enough about the project to form an opinion. Dredging is the term that is used in the bill.

The bills says that the purpose is:

Section 3. Purpose. The purpose of the appropriation in Section 1 is to fund the remediation of sediment and its associated adverse environmental impacts from the Riverside Park duck pond to improve water quality in the pond and reduce or eliminate adverse impacts from the pond’s stormwater runoff into the City’s stormwater management system. Reduction or elimination of the sediment will improve water quality flowing from the pond and into the stormwater system. This will assist the City in meeting state and federal requirements pertaining to total maximum daily loading of pollutants in the stormwater system and assist the City in complying with regulatory requirements in the City’s stormwater treatment and discharge permit.


The pond has been redone since it was built in 1897.  I know that it was redone in the 1990's.  I found an article on it but didn't bookmark it and can't find it now....go figure!  From what I can recall from the article, the pond had a concrete basin but I don't know if that it still the case.  I agree that the little island looks pretty sad but if sediment is an issue then maybe it isn't such a great idea to replace it.  Part of the sediment that is listed as an issue in the bill, had to have come from the little island and obviously there is fecal matter and trash at the bottom too. 

Ernest, my friend, could you be referring to our native white ibis? Last year Dr. Wood made a video of the birds some 200 plus strong spending their night at the pond. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcqerqXXWNo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcqerqXXWNo)
They are really a graceful sight to see as the daylight fades and they come swooping in.

I've also been watching flights of Canada geese come into the area in the early morning hours.

Considering how much public use this park gets, very little money is spent on pond maintenance. There is never a day that parents and kids are not crowded around feeding the ducks or watching the birds.

Some of us have recommended that the City should consult with the Jax zoo technicians or the St. Augustine Alligator Farm staff who have done a fine job of managing their water fowl roosting areas.

"Cedar River Club (the 'Duck club') "....disregard earlier NM post-I thought the subject was the Duck Pond/San Juan Ave.

???

N.M.

Quote from: Dog Walker on January 02, 2011, 02:42:16 PM
Between the bread, trash and bird doo

...dead cats, drug needles, empty cans of steel reserve, carcasses of chicks eaten by the turtles, used condoms, batteries, and shopping carts...

IMO, the island needs to go and be replaced with a fountain similar to that of Lake Eola in Orlando.  That would eliminate the need ofr more costly treatment systems and limit the bird roosting while maintaining the quaintness.

Or turn the island into a plastic tree paradise and install water 'cannons' around the perimeter of the fence so all the 'kids and families' can take turns dumping thier .50 in the meter and blast all the bird poop off!!

You end up with a win-win for everyone.

Quote from: Jason on January 03, 2011, 02:09:24 PM
IMO, the island needs to go and be replaced with a fountain similar to that of Lake Eola in Orlando.  That would eliminate the need ofr more costly treatment systems and limit the bird roosting while maintaining the quaintness.

The pond itself is used as a home for rehab waterfowl, most of them can't fly away to any sort of roost. I like the birds there. I don't like all of the trash and the condition of the water.

Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 03, 2011, 03:15:47 PM

Quote from: Jason on January 03, 2011, 02:09:24 PM
IMO, the island needs to go and be replaced with a fountain similar to that of Lake Eola in Orlando.  That would eliminate the need ofr more costly treatment systems and limit the bird roosting while maintaining the quaintness.

The pond itself is used as a home for rehab waterfowl, most of them can't fly away to any sort of roost. I like the birds there. I don't like all of the trash and the condition of the water.

100% agreed Loki!!

The island in the pond is a nighttime refuge for a lot of wading birds especially at this time of year.  Wading birds instinctively seek islands in the water for night time resting because in most waters there are alligators that keep predators like raccoons and bobcats away.

I've seen at least six species of wading birds there at one time.  Go at sunset and watch the wonderful gathering.  It's quite a spectacle.

I think the island needs to be enlarged and more roosting trees provided.  Even if there were no birds, the water would be nasty and stagnant and you are not going to prevent birds from coming to the pond, island or no island.

Why can't this project be something that could be taken care of by volunteers...that's alot of money and i just wonder if some of the cost could be obsorb ed by many of us that would volunteer to help this historic pond. There are those of us out here with equipment and friends and so many times i see projects that the city pays for that if we all put in a little...projects needed become project finished. Good luck on this one.

Garden, I think that's a pretty good idea. It would take some time to raise the money to do large projects like this one and probably still need city funding, but the parks department is making no effort to tap into it's base of park supporters. Given how many festivals Riverside Park hosts, a booth promoting Friends of the ___ Park could bring in a some money each time.

I for one don't feel bad about the money. COJ gave away $36.5mm to Landmar, and Peyton was trying to give away $40mm to his buddies that run the Trail Ridge landfill. $100k to work on a park that a lot of us use is a drop in the bucket around here. Remember Riverside is revenue positive for COJ. They rarely do any real maintenance here, as evidenced by all the potholes that will swallow your whole car, and all the buildout happened 100 years ago. It's our taxes that directly support sprawl based development, and these handouts to private businesses. Don't feel bad about $100k for the park, it's one of the few things COJ does around here. The only other things in the last few years were the repaving of Saint Johns between Avondale and Herschel Street, and the streetscaping in Avondale. Thats it.

Quote from: Dog Walker on January 02, 2011, 02:42:16 PM
$100,000 sounds like a stop-gap amount to me; not enough to put in liner, pumps and skimmers, but in this tight budget times I guess we should be happy that something is being done at all.

OCKLAWAHA

Hah!  Not worried about fire, but do worry that some dark night a self-generated, green slime monster will crawl out of the pond and go roaming around the neighborhood looking for victims.

That might be a good plot for Stephen's TV show.  He could name that episode "Out of the Pit".

You rang?

(http://i.imgur.com/NlMJr.jpg)

Quote from: fieldafm

Quote from: RiversideLoki

Quote from: JasonIMO, the island needs to go and be replaced with a fountain similar to that of Lake Eola in Orlando.  That would eliminate the need ofr more costly treatment systems and limit the bird roosting while maintaining the quaintness.

The pond itself is used as a home for rehab waterfowl, most of them can't fly away to any sort of roost. I like the birds there. I don't like all of the trash and the condition of the water.[/quote100% agreed Loki!!

Yeah, by all means, let's get rid of the wildlife that so many enjoy, not to mention that taking care of them is simply the right thing to do. But what the hell, progress has taken so much of their land, contaminated and killed so many...why bother doing the right thing.

I also have no problem what so ever with the city spending that much, (or more) on this...there was certainly money to be found for that massive courthouse and the make over of the intersection on Laura...and hundereds of other projects. Why bother with something that's not only helpful for wildlife, but that enhances the park and offers a nice resource of enjoyment for those of us who do appreciate having wildlife living among us.

Fantastic old photos! It's neat to imagine where everything matches up in these with what's there now.

Story hits Jacksonville.com.. typical uneducated teatard comments ensue...

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-01-13/story/fed-green-water-jacksonville-councilman-wants-duck-pond-cleanup

Quote from: RiversideLoki on January 14, 2011, 12:28:52 PM
Story hits Jacksonville.com.. typical uneducated teatard comments ensue...

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-01-13/story/fed-green-water-jacksonville-councilman-wants-duck-pond-cleanup

I find it interesting (though not surprising in this city) that commenters on the TU site corrolate spending 100k cleaning up the pond to an increase in their property taxes.  It clearly states in the article that the money would come from a trust fund that is funded by fees collected from air and water polluters.  I guess they missed that part and would just rather burn Corrigan at the stake for even mentioning it.

QuoteI find it interesting (though not surprising in this city) that commenters on the TU site corrolate spending 100k cleaning up the pond to an increase in their property taxes.  It clearly states in the article that the money would come from a trust fund that is funded by fees collected from air and water polluters.  I guess they missed that part and would just rather burn Corrigan at the stake for even mentioning it.

You should have been there for the last budget meeting at City Council a few months ago.  Talk about listening to totally imcomprehensible complaining.  I was against the property tax increase mind you, but some of the public comments really made you scratch your head in bewilderment of the sheer unbridled ignorance of some people.

Quote from: fieldafm on January 14, 2011, 01:45:59 PM

QuoteI find it interesting (though not surprising in this city) that commenters on the TU site corrolate spending 100k cleaning up the pond to an increase in their property taxes.  It clearly states in the article that the money would come from a trust fund that is funded by fees collected from air and water polluters.  I guess they missed that part and would just rather burn Corrigan at the stake for even mentioning it.

You should have been there for the last budget meeting at City Council a few months ago.  Talk about listening to totally imcomprehensible complaining.  I was against the property tax increase mind you, but some of the public comments really made you scratch your head in bewilderment of the sheer unbridled ignorance of some people.

I actually watched quite a bit of it on television.  And yes, the public comments did leaving scratching my head and thinking that if this is what the majority of citizens of Jacksonville actually think then we are doomed.

Rockstar and Ok had some nice input on the TU forum.  My favorite is the guy crying foul over his $70 increase in his taxes.  Sorry the taxes on your single wide are cutting into your Solid Gold budget, but there are things in this city more important than you.

The next administration is going to have to demonstrate responsibility and effective use of their budget before anyone allows our quality of life to improve.  Until citizens trust the government to put their money to good use, we're going to have the largest, and worst urban park system in the country and the least educated/ cultured populace in America.

Especially loved the idea of urban dwellers paying for it, but I do know how we could do it. We could take our tax money being used for building roads and infrastructure through former tree farms out towards the beaches and use it to improve the urban core instead. :-)

Quote from: Debbie Thompson on January 16, 2011, 09:12:36 AM
Especially loved the idea of urban dwellers paying for it, but I do know how we could do it. We could take our tax money being used for building roads and infrastructure through former tree farms out towards the beaches and use it to improve the urban core instead. :-)

You'd start a riot if you suggested something like that around Jacksonville...

Yes, Jacksonville does love it's urban sprawl, doesn't it?  I'm old enough to remember when there was an incredible canopy of beautiful old oak trees spreading across San Jose Blvd in Mandarin. People thought Mandarin was so beautiful, they had to go live where it was so beautiful. And so, they cut down all the beautiful old oak trees to make room for strip malls for the people who wanted to live near the beautiful old trees. ::)

Back to the subject at hand, though, neighborhood involvement could work in Riverside Park.  The Springfield Woman's Club, through grants, has spent about $1.5 million on Confederate Park.  It was the SWC whose grants fenced the park, added irrigation, cleaned out the pond, built the dog park, cleaned the Woman of the South statue, the Robert Burns statue, and re-built half the rose arbor, while a mayor's matching grant through SPAR, and with the SWC's assistance, restored the first half.  The Springfield Garden Club has regular work days a couple of times a year when we prune the roses in the arbor and weed.  You don't have to wait for the City.  It's your park.  See if you can raise some money, and coordinate improvements with the Parks Department.