The second meeting of Friends of Rum Island Park met tonight, Tues. May 29, 2018 at the park. A few of the people from last week were in attendance, but many new ones appeared. Topics of discussion included:
exact location of new bathrooms
enlargement of parking lot. (appx. 4,000 visitors each week)
Most tonight agreed that a fee was recommended
Much discussion ensued regarding the fee
Whether or not a park employee should be present
Gates, open or closed, locked or not
Possible membership group with car decal
Will there be a Columbia Co. workshop on this issue?
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-
Thank you for your good services
Pest control Hyderabad
I would have loved to attended the clean up but my campaign for Florida House District 19 is keeping me pretty busy. Don’t forget to recycle the aluminum cans. You can sell them and contribute the proceeds to your favorite candidate. My campaign has raised $46 from aluminum can contributions.
Rum Island has always been a special place for us and is in part why we moved to this area in 1979. I was working at the University of Wisconsin in 1979. We could not get our truck out of our of the garage for about 3 months because of the snow. We came done to Florida to look at property near the University of Florida and looked at a property close to Rum Island. The realtor took us to Rum Island and decided this was the area for us. We ended up moving to Newberry in July, 1979, and have been frequent visitors to Rum Island.
I would urge you to try and keep the park a no fee park so people with limited money can have a place to go. The value of exposing kids from families with limited funds to the spring and river is much more important than the limited funds you would collect. Maybe you could ask for a voluntary contributions deposited in a unattended drop unit.
The fee is something that has been kicked around for at least a decade or longer by the county government. There are some residents who do not want to charge admission and others that think that is how services get paid for. We hope this group, that loves Rum Island Park, grows with mutual understanding and discussion. If you cannot make the meetings every Tuesday, there is a Facebook group named Friends of Rum Island Park that have discussions about issues and more with this park. Also, if you live in this County please feel free to contact your Columbia County Commissioner and tell him how you want to see the park evolve. It is getting over used and needs some help.
Ann Lee, who will pay for this? If there is no fee, it will be considered of no value, as it is now, and trashed by the users. If we want a nice park, we must take care of it and maintain it. Who will do this? Will you?
A fee? How unfriendly many come here because the cannot afford a fee. Needs : a kayak ramp. Clean bathrooms. No smoking. Restrictions entry, not expand parking? Just thoughts! I work 10 hours on Tues so can’t get there for a meetibgt