Mr.
James
E.
St.
John
July 15, 1999 Re:
Consulting
Party
Request
Dear Mr. St. John, It has been determined by the draft Environmental Impact Statement that the undertaking of the Bridge of Lions project would result in adverse effects on the historical integrity of the Bridge if Alternatives 1B, 2A or 2B become the Record of Decision. In the continuing process of the section 106 Review for this project as required by the National Historic Preservation Act, Save Our Bridge, Inc. is requesting to participate in consultation as "interested persons", 36 CFR 800.2(c)(6) and 36 CRF 800.3(f)(3), on how to avoid or reduce adverse effects to the Bridge of Lions. This request is based on a demonstrated interest of past participation in the lengthy EIS process to date. Members of Save Our Bridge, Inc., also known as the Save Our Bridge Committee, have played a long and active role in the decision making process of whether to restore or replace the Bridge of Lions, which is adjacent to the Historic Landmark District of colonial downtown St. Augustine. The Friends of St. Augustine Architecture was formed in 1979 to advocate the preservation of historically and architecturally significant structures throughout the city. Eventually, the fate of the Bridge of Lions became their primary focus. Through newsletters, bumper stickers, postcard campaigns and public speaking the 'Friends' worked to maintain public awareness of the issues surrounding the Bridge of Lions debate and to ensure that the voice of preservation was heard. In 1982, the Bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1997, the 'Friends' successfully nominated the Bridge of Lions to the list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" put out by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Earlier that year, several new members of the 'Friends' formed a sub-committee to begin circulating a petition in support of FDOT Option 1A, and set up a table at local events to educate the public on what has become a very convoluted issue. The Save Our Bridge Committee carried on many of the activities of the 'Friends' as well as designing and maintaining a web site which has proven to be a great resource for providing up to date information. In May, 1999 the Friends of St. Augustine Architecture was dissolved and reincorporated with the Save Our Bridge Committee to form Save Our Bridge, Inc. Throughout the review process of the draft Environmental Impact Statement, Save Our Bridge has participated in meetings with the FDOT and other agencies on this issue. The committee has also acquired the services of a professional engineer, lawyer and consultant to review the draft EIS. As a result, Save Our Bridge submitted four comprehensive reports to the FDOT at the close of the comment period on July 7th. These comments cover a wide range of issues in need of addressing by the participating agencies including an overview of the Area of Potential Effect, public opinion, structural and configurational safety of a restoration/rehabilitation option, an overview of the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida as it relates to the Bridge of Lions, an analysis of data on ship impacts to the bridge fender system as contained in the draft EIS and possible solutions for improved marine safety in conjunction with Option 1A. Now that the public comment period has closed, Save Our Bridge is concerned that it's members will be unable to participate in the most critical part of the process. The committee has show a demonstrated interest in the fate of the Bridge of Lions and requests to become a consulting party on this project. We look forward to continuing to work with the agencies involved to "do all possible planning to minimize harm" to this historically and architecturally significant structure. Thank you for the considering this request. We await your timely response. Sincerely,
cc:
Katherine
Harris,
Florida
Secretary
of
State
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