Bring Home The USS Adams To Downtown Jacksonville

[Keith-N-Jax]

All that money donated. I wonder who's pocket that goes in?

[acme54321]

The city dodged a bullet with the adams

High maintenance expenses? Lack of interest? No way to pay for upkeep? Explain please.

All of the above.  This thing would have been an unfunded floating eyesore in 5 years.  The Navy probably recognized that and didn't want to have to deal with it.

Great news.

[heights unknown]

Is there any official word?  Was it a DOD decision, and if so, why? 

I've been asking around tonight, and even though a lot of people online are suggesting that the Navy got a better offer to scrap it, I'm getting the impression that Heights is probably pretty accurate here:

I believe that Jax somehow dropped the ball, and the Navy perceived little to no interest, or even sound fiscal and/or overall planning, relative to bringing the Adams to Jax. I could be wrong, but being a retired Navy Senior Enlisted, I will tell you, that is probably the jest of the case about the Adams.

The group might have had the funds to get the ship here, but the Navy might not have been sold on their long term plans to sustain it as a permanent attraction.

It's also worth pointing out that after being in talks with the group for years, the Navy killed the plan within a week of the city announcing that no convention center would be built on the adjacent Courthouse property. Correlation isn't causation, but the timing is interesting.

Yes your impression of what I said is spot on. Look...the Navy, or DOD (which really does not make the decisions of this sort it is the USN), yes could get good offers from scrap companies. But if a group, or organization comes forward with a good and solid plan for the vessel to become a Museum, coupled with a plan for sustained superior funds acquisition and sustenance for the day to day operation and maintenance of that vessel and the group which will own the vessel, they are willing to turn the vessel over to that group. 2 to 10 million dollars or more for scrapping is just a drop in the bucket for the USN, and it's not like they will miss it being that requests for these vessels from these groups are not in fact a dime a dozen, so to speak. So I still believe, based on my administrative and financial prowess obtained through 20 years of Naval Service, that Jax dropped the ball and had a very weak plan and justification for the acquisition of the Adams.

[heights unknown]

Lastly, the Navy has a program called "Navy Ship Donation Program. They give, through a detailed instruction with the same subject, rules, regulations, and procedures governing the acquisition and application to request a retired vessel for donation to a donee. I will list the link below for this program. You can review the entire "instruction," however, pay particular attention to paragraph 3., subparagraph(s) c and d and under subparagraph d, subparagraphs (1) through (4). From me reading and reviewing this document/instructions, it becomes more and more clear that the Navy felt Jax didn't measure up, or did not submit a viable plan through the application/acquisition process.

https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/TeamShips/SEA21/InactiveShips/Donation/04520-01B_Final.pdf

[KenFSU]

^Really great info Heights!

Thanks for lending your expertise on the subject!

[heights unknown]

Well...the below article and link pretty much sums it up about the Adams. Who knows whose telling the truth? The Museum Association is blaming the Navy; again, you have to have a well put together application, in sync with the Navy's instructions on how to submit the application in accordance with program instructions. I also wonder whether the city had anything to do, or input, in the application to the Navy to acquire the Adams. Enjoy.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/group-navy-to-scrap-uss-charles-f-adams-not-donate-it-to-jacksonville

[KenFSU]

I've said it a few times, but the shell game here continues to crack me up. The USS Adams group believes the ship will do well because of the phantom amusement park. The amusement park/Hard Rock thinks it will do well because of the phantom convention center. The convention center thinks it will do well because of the phantom entertainment complex. The entertainment complex thinks it will do well on non-events days because of the phantom clown car system.

Bean said the group will look at other retired Navy ships or try to obtain one on display in another city.

"None of the warships on display will sit in front of an amusement park which is another reason we believed the USS Adams would do well in Jacksonville," Bean said.

[KenFSU]

Sounds like the city was noncommital on the space as well, according to the T-U.

The main factors any group seeking a museum ship has to consider are having money to maintain the vessel and a stable, secure place where it can be moored.

The Adams was intended to be moved to an area along the Shipyards on the Northbank and was shown in conceptual plans for the area's redevelopment that Jaguars owner Shad Khan presented to city officials in March.

But an unsigned development agreement between the city and the ship society that was circulated to City Council members in June said the ship could be required to move "without cause" — for any reason — on seven months' notice from the city.

[thelakelander]

These guys were on the radio this morning. If they can't get the USS Adams they're going after another ship. The update on WJCT said they're working with the Navy on looking at the possibility of getting a ship that currently has no wharf.

[Charles Hunter]

If the problem was the Navy did not have confidence in their financing arrangements, how will that change with a different ship?

[thelakelander]

Smaller ship perhaps? I guess they want a ship but I wonder if it would be cheaper and more financially sustainable to take an existing building and retrofit a space into a maritime/naval museum?

[Snufflee]

No size ship will work if the location doesn't allow for the "navy" of volunteers to perform the upkeep. The Midway Museum in San Diego is successful because the Active Duty force supports the project with a tremendous amount of man hours.  When I was active duty (17 years in San Diego) my pre-retirement command adopted the division spaces to rehab and repaint that equated with our ratings. The Midway as an Aircraft Carrier was capable of hosting retirements, change of commands, CPO Pride Day, and I even attended a dual military spouse wedding. The location of the pier the Midway was berthed in was across the street from Navy Region Southwest HQ, and an easy drive from both North Island and NBSD. I often hopped on the trolley from NBSD when I was on the USS Tarawa to attend and event at the Midway then walked over to PETCO park to catch a Padres game. I maybe mistaken but none of these events are capable to be held on an old destroyer, and the location would make it prohibitive for the Navy community to adopt the ship and provide the volunteer hours necessary to make it cost effective. 

[heights unknown]

No size ship will work if the location doesn't allow for the "navy" of volunteers to perform the upkeep. The Midway Museum in San Diego is successful because the Active Duty force supports the project with a tremendous amount of man hours.  When I was active duty (17 years in San Diego) my pre-retirement command adopted the division spaces to rehab and repaint that equated with our ratings. The Midway as an Aircraft Carrier was capable of hosting retirements, change of commands, CPO Pride Day, and I even attended a dual military spouse wedding. The location of the pier the Midway was berthed in was across the street from Navy Region Southwest HQ, and an easy drive from both North Island and NBSD. I often hopped on the trolley from NBSD when I was on the USS Tarawa to attend and event at the Midway then walked over to PETCO park to catch a Padres game. I maybe mistaken but none of these events are capable to be held on an old destroyer, and the location would make it prohibitive for the Navy community to adopt the ship and provide the volunteer hours necessary to make it cost effective. 

Good points snufflee; but I still smell something rank behind the scenes. I think Lakelander brought up a good point. Anyhoo, it just bothers me that the Navy turned them down on acquiring the Adams, and now they want to pursue another vessel; will it be the same type? Smaller type vessel? Or maybe they are going "whole hog" and will try to bring the Kennedy in (dream on...not downtown, and good luck finding a good spot to berth her); don't think it won't be the Kennedy though, like "Lake" said, possibly a smaller ship maybe a frigate. We shall see. This will be interesting.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Could the Navy be so cautious because no matter who has the ship in their care, it still reflects on the USN?

If they do gift it and it becomes more of a wreck due to lack of upkeep due to funding due to.....  it's still a Navy vessel.

It seems they're doing their due diligence and I can't really blame them.

[acme54321]

https://residentnews.net/2019/02/01/navy-changes-course-on-plan-for-uss-adams-in-jacksonville/

This might not be over.  It looks like they are trying to bring someone else's headache here