Last modified 6/27/2008 - 3:29 pm
Originally created 062808

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Group of park users is forming, seeking people who want to 'join and take action.'

By DREW DIXON, Shorelines

A new group, Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park, is forming to serve as park stewards in the face of changing regulations at the last Duval County beach that allows vehicles.

Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park has held two organizational meetings in the past month. Bobby Taylor, the group's chairman and one of about eight founding members, said he hopes the organization flourishes.

"It's more like support for some of the things the city wants to do but doesn't have the money to do," Taylor said. "The sticking point is they don't have the money."

Jacksonville currently leases the 2-mile spit of land north of the jetties at the mouth of the St. Johns River from the park's owners, the state and the Army Corps of Engineers. The city is revising a 25-year management plan that calls for occasional closure of the beach due to wildlife and safety concerns. City officials are revising the plan for the fourth time.

Taylor said Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park formed in response to the management plan that's under review. The group is seeking members who live in the area, appreciate and use the park and want to be actively involved in its evolution.

"We need people who are going to join and take action," Taylor said.

It's one thing to have a management plan, he said, but residents can't expect the city to deliver every wish-list item. That's where the group can help.

"In the draft management plan, the city is asking someone to form a Friends of Huguenot Park," he said. "I feel that we always needed some organization that combined all the users of the park into one umbrella organization."

He's trying to bring in other organizations who often use the park, such as surf associations, fishing groups and environmental conservationists.

Cliff Payne, who lives on Heckscher Drive about a mile west of the park and attended the Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park meetings, said he's encouraged.

"I like it because we're going to stay abreast of what's going on and in touch with the park management," he said. "We'll stay more connected to them and we can tell everybody if we approve or disapprove. I'm looking at concerns about the traffic during the summer out here and how the neighbors can have some input. My neighbors can't get out of their driveway because of the traffic from Huguenot."

Beach access advocacy isn't the only issue that the Friends will get involved with, Taylor said. They'll also assist in water fowl monitoring and other environmental awareness programs.

"The park needs somebody to help do shorebird monitoring to let people know when birds are on the beach with their hatchlings so we cannot have blanket closings," Taylor said. "We need volunteers to help pick up the beach and things like that."

Dale Christenson, a kiteboarder who uses the park, said he was unaware of the group's formation but he's intrigued.

"Off the bat, an organization sounds good," Christenson said. "But what kind of power are they going to have to get things changed? If it's after the fact, it's going to be too late."

Payne said there's a sense of ownership that goes with supporters of Huguenot Park.

"I haven't lived out here all that long, but I know it's worth taking care of," he said. "Think about it, it's the last place you can drive on the beach in ... [Duval County]."

The group also plans to raise money to help set up a permanent camera to monitor the beach and link to the Internet, Taylor said. Beach cams have become a popular way to observe the First Coast's shoreline and surf conditions.

In addition, the group wants to work with the city to address overflow parking, which has been mentioned several times in three previous drafts of Jacksonville's Huguenot management plan. An overflow parking site west of the beach could help ease vehicle access, even if the beachfront is closed to vehicles, Taylor said.

"There are, right now, closings of beach access during [astronomical] high tide of that beach access," Taylor said.

Currently, there are no fees to join Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park. But Taylor said that could soon change depending on how many members they get. The group wants to become a nonprofit to help begin fundraising.

The park's proposed management plan has sparked more feedback than Taylor said he ever could have expected. That means the time is ripe for the new group.

"There's a vacuum right now. There's a lot of people who have a lot to say but it's based on their personal agenda or their organization's agenda and it's not based on facts," Taylor said. "We want to be a group whose focus is going to be not limiting people's access, but to make it where everyone has equal say and we can advocate for improving Huguenot Park to where it can reach its full potential."

To join Friends of Huguenot Memorial Park, e-mail Taylor at NJsurfer@bellsouth.net.

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313