Printable View
Talked with one of the Pier Managers and he said NOAA has not approved the date to start work on the pier as yet. There is no lumber in the parking lot as I would have thought. He said that if work is delayed we could be looking at a later than expected completion date. Let hope not April 1st is already getting into King Season. Just thought everyone would like to know.
I don't suppose they could delay until next winter and start in mid December with the panels already assembled so the time would be reduced.
This could get 'ugly'... :-(
NOAA approved the lighting to be done and now at the last minute says the state needs a biological study done before work can begin. You would have thought they would have told the state earlier!
it just better be ready by April 22nd....... that's all I gotta say :)
Heard a rumor yesterday that work may not start until as late as March. How terrible would that be? Hate to mention this because I have not been able to confirm that yet though.
That'd be about right, make sure the rules and red tape are carefully followed, regardless of the effect on actual people. Sh!t. D@mnit.
Long live the bureaucracy!
I'd rather stand on splintery, rotting boards for another summer and have them wait until next winter to do the repairs, but that won't happen because it makes a little bit of sense.
I may be getting grumpier as I get older.
I may be downright scary when I get out of middle age.
Will they actually keep the pier open until work begins or save money by laying off all the staff. My trust in any bureaucracy is microscopic at best. Thinking about a whiting trip.
Won't be a happy camper or touron..... reservation were just made for the end of April, delayed as much as I could with the openings 2 week window
If the March begin date is correct and they don't delay until next winter then there had better be a real good reason.
I don't think they are really worried about the fishermen as long as it's open by the Summer for tourist season. At least my 2 cents worth.
Does anyone know what is going to happen tomorrow or going forward?
Spring break is pretty dang busy..... the pier was my reason for coming during that time, with the kids then grandkids.... now like to come just after and before the summer rush..... don't care for the hangout fest mid may either, especially where I stay now..... just to darn closeQuote:
Originally Posted by Robert(Tato)Piteo
Reservations have already been made..... Will not be good if I have to drive east everyday..... and Navarre is doing a deck rebuild sometime...
.Pensacola is not my preferred but Fished it some and know people there(not seen for a while) sad for us visitors that make plans in advance
I feel your pain Bill been trying to find out for weeks when and if they were going to start. Never was able to even find out if the contract had been bid out. I sent email to Lamar Pendergrass the other day asking him to keep me informed so I could let everybody informed what was going on. I sure hope they get started in week or so but just called and no work has started yet and no materials in the parking lot. I talked with one of the pier managers last week and he said it would take couple days for park maintenance people to clear pier of tables,benches,garbage cans and all the signs.
Looks like a lot of trips gunna be made east toward the piers in Florida. Maybe we can take refuge there until the pier is ready!!
1 hour to Pensacola, 1-1/2 to Navarre depending on time of day & traffic ..... makes for a long day for this older guy..... up at 4am to beat the morning traffic, stay till 6pm to miss the evening.... get back after dark with fish to clean still (hopefully) and not on their piers..... not fun day after day..... ok the occasional day trip to find clean water if GS is dirty
Yep, that's why I like Gulf Shores..a little bit closer to home for me and don't have to deal with Florida traffic and I can get there in a reasonable time. Going to Pcola or Navarre is a full day "adventure" for me, which really sucks if the fishing turns out to suck too.
Without having any first hand knowledge of the problems I would like to second this motion.Quote:
Originally Posted by frednic
Discussion:
The window to begin this project is behind us, period.
Next November would not be too early to start it. Plenty of time to get all the i's dotted and t's crossed. Every effort should be made to limit the pier's downtime to an absolute minimum and not during the spring fishing. The spring fishing is very dear to all of us and it's just around the corner.
Patch up a few of the worst spots or not. If any feel its too risky to walk on the pier right now, go on out to the Perdido jetty.
Yes the pier is rough and needs repair, but we've still been using it for a good while in this condition.
We have to go slow and be careful.
Any ideas to further this motion will be greatly appreciated.
Flea
Perhaps an online petition.Quote:
Originally Posted by sandflea
It sucks not knowing for sure..... being a visitor and needing to make reservations (not cheap) the only reason I come is to fish on the pier everyday..... the beach has no appeal, just like the pass..... I come to GS to fish the pier and visit with friends on the PIER
you've got my support to try and postpone till the later fall this year..... someone needs held responsible for this crap not being ready to start..... in my world someone would be fired, but then Im not in guberment
There will be a bunch of visitors that don't keep up with things in the area, that will be pissed if coming and pier not open during spring break/ Easter
If you want to find out anything about the repairs you can Google Alabama State Parks Montgomery, Alabama. Call them and tell them you need to know because your Deposit on your Condo rental for any Dates after the original reopening date may be lost if the pier is not going to be opened.
Has anyone been by the pier today to see if it is open?
I called the pier house and Louis answered. He said they will be open through this weekend. That's all he knows.
However, he did say that employees will be given a weeks notice before closing.
Guess I could just volunteer around people's houses to fix improve things if help is needed , compete running yard sales.... work at Mr Wires camp ..... I'll have to find something to due if it's not open beside crying:barbershop_quartet_
Quote:
Originally Posted by ironman172
I have a prediction, Bill. I think that IF they get the renovation underway during January, they'll set a realistic target of June 1 for completion. I haven't heard anyone say that, but I think that Spring break is overly optimistic. The best set of circumstances would be if they just delayed the whole thing until Nov/Dec 2020. If they got everything together, then, they could have it all ready to go by mid-March 2021. On the other hand, maybe they're more organized than they're letting on.
I know that you're hoping for a quick turnaround on the project and maybe that will happen. The fact that there's not clear communication and there's already been a delay greatly decrease the odds of a timely completion. I'd put odds of putting it off until later in the year at 50/50 and the odds of a Spring Break completion at 10 percent.
(disclaimer: The above is purely speculation, based on no facts and for entertainment purposes only).
It would great to have a timeline whatever that may be. IF I knew it was delayed for sure I'd book a condo for next month. IF it was starting soon then you'd know a worse case scenario on completion. IF it was going to be held off until next fall then plans could be made around that start date. Not having any idea when things will happen is the worse case scenario for me. I guess time will tell...……...
It probably wouldn't hurt our cause if you wrote the rental company and explained to them how the uncertainty about the pier is affecting your plans. The state may not care about us, but they have to listen to some people.Quote:
Originally Posted by travis
Probably wouldn't hurt if everybody in that boat let the rental companies know.
I think sandflea's suggestion was well put, if the timeline for completion is around three months then it seems the window is closing rapidly. If an online petition would help then let's get one going. Input from rental agencies complaining about lost income due to uncertainty of the closing would help also.
Being a government project we know there will be red tape and hoops to jump through. Hopefully this was factored in during the planning phase. Then there's the wild card-the weather. As fishermen we want the spring and early summer-that's a given. Spring break has to play a big economic part in this also.
Logically (yeah-I know...) a closing in November would make more sense. The snow birds could still fish for whiting from the beach and the weather window would be much more forgiving.
The pier is in need of repair without a doubt but unless there is structural damage that I'm not privy to it seems like it could make it til next fall,
And after all it's a pier-there will always be loose boards, splinters, errant hooks and at least fifty other hazards. It comes with the territory. If a person is not able to deal with those things they might not go out at all.
The only fishing pier remaining on the Alabama gulf coast is at the Four Season’s Condo. The pier goes out only half as far as the state pier thus limits access to deeper water. The condo is somewhat expensive in it,s rates but there are some nice people that stay and fish there. I have been staying there for a month every fall for several years and I enjoy it in spite of the depth limitations.
The Alaparks website rightfully utilizes the pier as a major draw to Gulf State Park. There is no information on the website to warn folks of any upcoming closure. Failure to provide advance notification will likely PO numerous patrons who may never return. Who is actually running this show?
The last I heard, it was a triumvirate composed of three guys named Larry, Curley and Moe.Quote:
Originally Posted by OBWolf
Left hand, meet right hand. You two have more in common than you realize.
Something about a monkey and football comes to mind
This is the latest Email from Lamar. I have not received any further information. I seriously doubt we postpone the work as the project would have to be rebid. As has been reported we are working with NOAA to get a biological opinion on the effects that the fishing has on the sea turtles mainly. This was apparently not obtained when the pier was originally constructed. We are working to expedite the process and hope to have more information as soon as possible. We understand the impact of closing the pier and inconveniencing the fishing will impact our loyal users but with the current conditions for safety reasons it is our best option to proceed as planned once we receive the BO. I will keep you and the others posted as soon as I know more.
Seems it's already been postponed.... get your ducks in a row and submit for rebid starting December 2020
feel free to pass it on to Lamar
I would think a turtle impact fishing study would need done when they are both around..... not sure about turtles , but not to many fishermen fishing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert(Tato)Piteo
Ahh, so that is what is stuck in their craw.
I would hope their conclusion would be that mortality from pier fishing is zero (which it is).
I have NEVER heard of a turtle death from pier fishing @ GSPPier (yet boats routinely run them down)... just sayin ;-)
Ive seen a few successful (accidental) sea turtle snaggings and subsequent netting and releases with little to no injury. Ive never seen a turtle that died or showed and sign of damage post release. I'm not sure why this is an issue.
If they are waiting for an environmental impact statement, I would bet it NEVER gets done! Whoever gets a favorable ruling the other side will appeal. That is the way the lawyer thing works. Before anyone gets upset, my daughter is an attorney and everyone deserves their day in court. My case in point is the mixed use community north of Lulu's along the ICW.
As I have previously stated, from a dedicated spring pier fisherman's perspective, the window for this project has closed.
Back on the 9th of Jan. Pier#r posted "This could get 'ugly'... :-(".
It has for certain sure gotten UGLY. January 15th was not the best time to start this to begin with.
So what if the project has to be rebid, that's what we pay these people to be stewards of our pier for. We would hope that minimizing the impact upon the loyal patrons of the pier would be the top priority.
Seen a number of turtles swimming around with missing flippers obviously eaten by sharks. So if they want to help out the turtles they should let us harvest the inshore sharks that are trying to eat them. Just my two cents.