But could it set a dangerous precedent for environmental lands?
After a long search for property where the ferries could dock in south county, HMS Global Maritime concluded that the only appropriate site was the Fred and Idah Schultz Preserve at the southern tip of Hillsborough Bay (See Bay Soundings, Winter 2005). The 121-acre property was purchased for $750,000 in 1995 by Hillsborough County’s Jan K. Platt Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program and the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s SWIM (Surface Water Improvement and Management) program.
SWIM’s award-winning restoration carved true estuarine habitat out of the dredged-and-filled peninsula at a cost of about $2 million. The western segment that juts out into Tampa Bay was planned as a waterfront park but never developed.
“There’s no doubt that there is potentially a huge benefit but there are still a lot of unanswered questions,” said Ann Paul, who spearheaded the purchase of the property as regional coordinator for Audubon’s Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries. “We need to be sure we’re not setting a negative precedent and be sensitive to the biological benefits the Schultz Preserve brings to an area of Hillsborough Bay traditionally known as ‘The Kitchen’ because that’s where people knew they could find food.”
Although some county officials already have pledged their support, Jan Smith, chairman of ELAPP, agrees with Paul. “There are an awful lot of questions and issues that need to be discussed.”
While many details are still being finalized, the conceptual plan calls for a 3-acre boat basin to be dug at the western tip of the peninsula along with a pervious parking lot that would accommodate at least 1,200 cars. In return, the developers will trade the 20-acre site for a 46-acre site on Kracker Road, just inland from the peninsula.
“We spent 18 months looking for a site and we’re out of options,” said Ed Turanchik, a former Hillsborough County commissioner who originally made the motion to purchase the preserve and now represents HMS Global. “This is fill from the bay bottom, not native soil, and there are no seagrass or oyster beds offshore. There is also no public access because the road is blocked and there is no parking.”
Preserve for a 46-acre inland site.
The Kracker site is currently on the county’s acquisition list because it would provide a connection between the existing preserves bordering Tampa Bay and the xeric Golden Aster Scrub Preserve located southeast of the site. It also contains rare saltern habitat that is considered a priority for protection in the Tampa Bay watershed.
State law allows for the exchange or sale of environmental lands provided the economic values of each property are equal and the transaction is found to be in the public interest. Both properties would remain in public hands and open to public access, Turanchik said.
Along with questions about the transfer of waterfront property, members of the Agency on Bay Management were also concerned about the impact to wildlife and potential damage to seagrass beds and shoreline habitats by boat wakes. The ferries would be jet-driven, shallow-draft catamarans that would observe no-wake zones near shores and seagrass beds to minimize damage, Turanchik said.
A small amount of dredging will be required at both the Schultz site and the MacDill boat basin to accommodate the ferries but it would mainly remove sand that had drifted into natural channels or already-dredged locations. In both cases, the ferries would remain at idle speed until they reach naturally deep water about 100 feet out.
If approved by eight separate agencies, ranging from Hillsborough County and SWFWMD to the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Defense, construction would take about 12 to 15 months.
[su_note note_color=”#d2f4e4″]At-a-GlanceHMS Global Maritime, the company that provides ferry services in cities like Jacksonville and Seattle as well as boat tours to the Statue of Liberty and Alcatraz, has proposed a ferry linking south Hillsborough County to MacDill Air Force Base. If successful, HMS has proposed evening and weekend service to downtown Tampa, near Channelside where the city’s trolley runs, and the Vinoy Basin which is near Pinellas County’s existing trolley service to the beaches.
Along with potential environmental impacts to the Schultz Preserve, the county is expected to pay for construction of the ferry terminal and to purchase the ferries, for a total estimated cost of about $24 million. HMS Global would cover all operating expenses and federal grants may be available for start-up costs.
Approximately 5,000 people travel from south county to MacDill daily and HMS estimates that the service will be successful if it attracts just 20% of those commuters. Federal employees are eligible for a subsidy that covers all or the majority of the cost of mass transit.
Two ferries serving 1,750 people would be equal to 71 buses making the 25-mile overland commute but transit time would be less than 30 minutes rather than an hour or more required for an overland trip.
Complementing the ferry and providing opportunities for eco-tourism, the Schultz ferry site would have a concession area, fishing pier and canoe, kayak and bike rentals. If the ecotourism side of the ferry service grows significantly, HMS will find a new location rather than expand its footprint on the Schultz preserve.
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