Yes, everyone wants Jekyll's hotels and business revitalized. But Linger Longer or any other development company who plans to revitalize Jekyll needs to be in it for the right reasons.  It makes me angry when I read a comment about Jekyll being an economic engine for the area.

Jekyll  has taken care of itself financially.  It  has been poor marketing and the lack of reinvesting some of the profits that it has generated over the past 30 years that has lead to what we see today.  Therefore the members of the Jekyll Island Authority has dropped the ball time and time again.  Now I am suppose to trust them and let them pay tax dollars to help Linger Longer build their $350 million development plans when over the past many years they have let this happen.  Jekyll is not an economic engine intended to fuel that area's economic woes.  It is a state park that hasn't been funded by the state but now the state and others want to take it and exploit it  as an ecomonic engine.  My many tax dollars can go to help fund Jekyll.  I have no problem with that .  I have no problem with the hotels and businesses being replaced with new facilities.  What I have a problem with is losing something that is priceless  and  should be funded by state tax dollars be destroyed because it can generate tax dollars that will disappear into oblivion and can't be found neither here nor there.  In the end who will profit?  That is the key question.   Wake up people!!!!

Do we really need another Hilton Head, St. Simons or Amelia Island? As it is now, Jekyll is a tranquil, natural haven, completely unique from the other overdeveloped resorts up and down the Southeast coast.

As for Linger Longer's vision for the island, how much of the beach will remain open to the public when they eliminate oceanfront parking to make room for their half-million-dollar condos and time-shares? According to a recent article in the Brunswick News, of "Georgia's 100 miles of coastline, there are about 15 miles of public beach, on Tybee, St. Simons and Jekyll islands....Eight of the 15 miles of public beach are on Jekyll Island." Let's not forget that Jekyll Island is, after all, a public park, mandated by the state legislature to be affordable to the majority of Georgians.

It's interesting to note that this blog provides a link to Linger Longer's website but not to www.savejekyllisland.org. I urge anyone who would like to save Jekyll from the threat of overdevelopment to visit the site and become involved with the Initiative to Project Jekyll Island.

On a personal note, I hate that the Buccaneer is gone. OK, so it wasn't the Ritz, but it was clean, comfortable and affordable, and every room we ever stayed in had a patio or balcony with an ocean view. Not to mention the gorgeous live oaks and other natural vegetation and the fact that you could walk out to the beach, turn right and walk down an absolutely pristine beach. The pristine beach is still there, but for how much longer is anyone's guess.

The notion that citizens of Georgia would allow one of their State Parks(Jekyll Island) to give over its beach, its wetlands, or any of its lands to a multimillionaire developer is abhorrent.  There are now 3  new hotels approved for building.  Those buildings will destroy more trees and other flora and fauna than should be tolerated.  The developers may continue to pave over Sea Island and gate it off to Georgians and to pave St. Simons Island but we should all strive to keep them away from Jekyll--the jewel of our state parks along the coast of Georgia.

Jekyll Island is a state park and owned by the citizens of the state of Georgia.  Linger Longer has been given our land to develop a for profit resort.  The profit will go into the pockets of Linger Longer NOT the citizens of Georgia.  Call me crazy but I do not agree with this math.

The Linger Longer plan is totally out of touch with the simplicity of what makes Jekyll so unique and undisturbed.  When we go to Jekyll it is with relief to arrive at the unspoiled island, and when you enter the island, their are unobstucted views of the shore and sea, i.e. this could be replaced with condos and a town center!  Are you kidding me?  This is why folks are drawn to the island as it is a hiatus to get away from commercialization.  Since plans are already in place for replacement of the Holiday Inn and Buccaneer, why need there be new development?  It does not end there, the Oceanside Inn will also be replaced, so why the need for such an explosive plan as Linger Longer's?  By the way, I too, was saddened to see the destruction of the Buccaneer.  It was in  need of some refurbishment, but it was one of the quietest and prettiest oceanfront places that was accessible and affordable to average persons of median incomes.  I would truly hate to see the Linger Longer plan manifest and I would like to know if their 65 acre proposal has been scaled down, as even the 45 acre (as their plan should have been for 45 acres not 65)  proposal on such a small barrier island is quite invasive, especially in lieu of what is already in place to revitalize existing and demolished hotels.   Jekyll is precious because of what it is not, and those that stand to profit likely are not interested in the average citizens' points of view.

Jekyll Island State Park is unique on the East Coast. And our Georgia politicians  and the so-called stewards of the island, the politically appointed Jekyll Island Authority, can't wait to hand it over to a politically connected developer, whose admitted goal is to upscale Jekyll Island and make it an "economic engine."  They call it privatization, but it is clearly a giveaway of a precious public asset to a private developer, who stands to make huge profits. Please read our Georgia law on the subject. An earlier, more enlightened , body of  state legislators enacted laws specifically meant to protect this island from falling back into the clutches of the wealthy, and to keep it  modestly priced & accessible to the common people of Georgia.  Those laws are still on the books but are being ignored, circumvented and scorned by politicians and their cronies who want to make big bucks off our precious, fragile Jekyll Island State Park.

I too hope that a meeting of the minds can take place to coordinate a responsible revitalization of Jekyll Island.  Unfortunately, I have looked at Linger Longer's plans and they are not responsible.  Also, those at the Jekyll Island Authority do not appear to be interested in having a responsible debate.  The state park should not be seen as an "opportunity for economic development."  It is a natural treasure, and should be handled with the utmost of care.  For this reason, the development project should slow down and research, research, research.  What is there to lose in that?  The answer is: money.  And that is why the push is on to develop now and worry about the consequences later.  But once a mistake is made, we won't be able to fix it.  This is the opinion of a life-long Jekyll visitor and Georgia resident.  I am not of an environmental activist.

Protection of  natural resources is a prime concern for many citizens in the re-vitalization of Jekyll Island.   In contrast to proposed plans, the island is a prime candidate for evolution of an "eco-destination."

Protection of the original purpose of Jekyll Island is another concern for many citizens.  It was established by Governor Melvin Thompson in 1947 as  a place where  Georgians of average means might enjoy at least a brief  respite at oceanside.  

Luxury hotel rates will deny that possibility for many and diverse Georgians.  If they can afford to visit Jekyll Island at all, they will be relegated to the lower echelons of accomodations away from the sounds and views of the ocean which they may never otherwise experience. 

I want the little girl who lives in the shadow of Brasstown Bald to feel the warm sand of the beach between her toes.  I want the little boy from South Fulton County to wonder at the movement of the marsh grass in the ocean breeze.  I want the twins from Augusta and the adopted children from Bainbridge to hear the sounds of the ocean. 

I want ALL of the children from ALL of the average families in Georgia to share the opportunity to join hands and make footprints in the sand on the beaches of THEIR island.  When the wind has once again pushed the sun to the edge of the earth and night has fallen, I want them to feel the ocean breeze and listen to the night-sounds of THEIR island.

I want ALL of that, and it is enough, and there need be no more reasons to save The Island of The People from those who would profit at their expense.

If that is not enough to satisfy you that the fragility of Jekyll Island must be protected from the "Gold Coast" developers,  take time to  read the fine print. You know......the fine print at the bottom of their page.......the fine print which sets parameters and conditions for the BOLD large-font print neatly and colorfully arranged on the page above. 

Get a magnifying glass and you may see something about  the amount of fresh water which would be required by even one "Gold Coast" hotel.   A crisis remains in the water supply of Georgia, and developers as well as average citizens must understand that our precious fresh water resources are  finite.

The BOLD large-font print of would-be politicians and developers tell you that Jekyll can be an "economic engine," but look at the fine print.  Do they also tell you that it WILL raise your taxes?  If Jekyll is developed as planned, it WILL require infrastructure in the surrounding county, and the taxpayers will foot the bill.

But wait, they say......the Jekyll Island Authority is required to pay the bills.   Read the fine print:  ANY entity which the state of Georgia establishes MUST ultimately be underwritten and, in cases of shortfall or outright failure, WILL be bailed out by......you guessed it.......the taxpayers.   From Rabun Gap to Tybee Light, we will pay in one way or another, and let no one tell you differently.

 If you read the fine print, you will see new and higher taxes down at the bottom of the page right beside the line which says that, due to luxury development plans, some of the Average Children of the Great State of Georgia may never experience the warmth of the sand between their toes nor the waving of the sea oats in the breeze nor that special time when the wind has, for yet another day, pushed the sun off the edge of the earth and darkness falls on The Island Of The People.