Jekyll Island - Rules Comm. - Help Needed

[oconeerivers...@gmail.com]

Jekyll's Landmark Public Beach: Protective Legislation within Reach

THE NEW LEGISLATION
On March 19th, an amendment was added to Senate Bill 367 calling for
Jekyll's public beach north of the convention center to remain
unobstructed and wide open to the people of Georgia. The amendment,
which was written by Rep. Debbie Buckner and passed by the House
Natural Resources and Environment Committee, came in response to a
flood of public concern over a proposal put forward by a private
developer, Linger Longer Communities, that would line Jekyll's
landmark beach with condos, time-shares, retail shops, and hotels.

Recently, many of you have made phone calls to legislators on behalf
of protecting Jekyll's main public beach from the kind of
commercialization being proposed. Your input was vital to keeping the
Jekyll development issue alive at the Capitol and helped pave the way
for Rep. Buckner's success in amending SB 367.

THE ALL-IMPORTANT RULES COMMITTEE
The amended bill now moves on to the Rules Committee, where it must
pass in order to reach the House floor for a vote. We have three days
(Monday-Wednesday) to encourage the members of the Rules Committee to
support SB 367, as amended by Rep. Buckner, and to give the House
membership a chance to vote on the bill.

Those in favor of the oceanfront town center proposal, including the
leadership of the Republican Party, may attempt to strip the amendment
from the bill in the Rules Committee and send SB 367 to the floor as a
structured bill, which would prevent any amendment from being
reintroduced there.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
Clarke County has a House Representative, Bob Smith, who is a member
of the Rules Committee. As an Athens resident, please call and ask him
to support the amended version of SB 367. His office phone number is
listed below. Ask for a return phone call informing you of how the
Representative intends to vote on the bill.

Also call Rep. Jerry Keen, who is the House Majority Leader and a
Rules Committee member. He has the authority to make or break the
amended bill.

If you have time to contact other committee members, please do so
randomly, with a focus on note the Reps. with asterisks next to their
names.

Please call on your own behalf and out of your own concern, not
because of the IPJI.


For your information, the IPJI's core position on SB 367 is that
Jekyll's revitalization can and should take place without
commercializing the park's most popular beach. We believe that a vote
against the amended version of SB 367 is a vote against a Jekyll
landmark - a unique oceanfront public amenity, one enjoyed and
treasured by tens of thousands of Georgians.


OFFICE PHONE NUMBERS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

*Earl Ehrhart (Chairman), 404-656-5141, R - Powder Springs, County:
Cobb

*Butch Parrish, 404-656-0213, R - Swainsboro, Counties: Bulloch,
Candler, Emanuel, Johnson

*James Mills, 404-656-5099, R - Gainesville, County: Hall

*Terry Barnard, 404-656-5138, R- Glenville, Counties: Evans, Liberty,
Tattnall

Ben D. Bridges, Sr., 404-656-5143, R - Atlanta, Counties: Habersham,
White

*Mark Burkhalter, 404-656-5072, R - Duluth, County: Fulton

David Casas, 404-656-0254, R - Lilburn, County: Gwinnett

Mickey Channell, 404-656-7856, R - Greensboro, Counties: Greene,
Oglethorpe, Putnam, Wilkes

*Mike Coan, 404-656-6801, R - Lawrenceville, County: Gwinnett

*Sharon Cooper, 404-656-5069, R - Marietta, County: Cobb

Barry Fleming, 404-656- 5024, R - Harlem, County: Columbus, Lincoln,
Wilkes

Rich Golick, 404-651-7737, R - Smyrna, County: Cobb

Bob Hanner, 404-656-7859, D - Parrott, Counties: Chattahoochee, Lee,
Quitman, Stewart

Mike Jacobs, 404-656-0152, D - Atlanta, County: De Kalb

**Jerry Keen, 404-656-5052, R - St. Simons Island, County: Glynn

Bob Lane, 404-656-5115, R - Statesboro, Counties: Bryan, Bulloch

Jeff Lewis, 404-656-9198, R - White, County: Bartow

*John Lunsford, 404-656-7146, R - McDonough, Counties: Butts, Henry,
Newton

*Judy Manning, 404-656-7868, R - Marietta, County: Cobb

Fran Millar, 404-656-5064, R - Dunwoody, County: De Kalb,

Howard Mosby, 404-656-0287, D - Atlanta, Counties: De Kalb, Henry,

Bobby Parham, 404-656-0202, D - Milledgeville, Counties: Baldwin,
Putnam,

David Ralston, 404-656-5943, R - Blue Ridge, Counties: Dawson, Fannin,
Gilmer

Nikki Randall, 404-656-0109, D - Macon, County: Bibb

*Tom Rice, 404-656-5912, R - Norcross, Counties: Fulton, Gwinnett,

*Jay Roberts, 404-656 5025, R- Ocilla, Counties: Hill, Irwin, Jeff
Davis, Telfair, Tift, Wheeler

*Austin Scott, 404-656- 5132, R - Tifton, Counties: Tift, Turner

Jay Shaw, 404-656-7859, D - Lakeland, Counties: Berrien, Clinch,
Lanier, Lowndes

Bob Smith, 404-463-2247, R - Watkinsville, Counties: Clarke, Morgan,
Oconee, Oglethorpe

*Lynn Smith, 404-656-7149, R - Newnan, Counties: Coweta, Heard

Vance Smith, 404-656-7153, R - Pine Mountain, Counties: Harris,
Muscogee, Troup

Calvin Smyre, 404-656-0116, D - Columbus, County: Muscogee

*Ron Stephens, 404-656-5099, R - Savannah, Counties: Byran, Chatham,
Liberty

Len Walker, 404-656-5139, R - Loganville, Counties: Gwinnett, Walton

Wendell Willard, 404-656-5125, R - Sandy Springs, County: Fulton


Carolyn Hugley (Ex-Officio), 404-656-5058, D - Columbus, County:
Muscogee

Dubose Porter (Ex-Officio), 404-656-5058, D - Dublin, Counties:
Johnson, Laurens


Babs McDonald, Ph.D.
706-207-3451 (c)
706-559-4224 (o)
bab...@earthlink.net
bmcd...@fs.fed.us (w)
"The beaches of Jekyll Island are some of the most pristeen of the
eastern shore:
they belong to all Georgians." -- Dr. David Dallmeyer, University of
Georgia Department of Geology