SS United States - Another Slow Month
There is no activity to report from Mobile, the N.Y. Coalition or the Preservation Foundation. The Coalition in particular seems dead. In addition, though not directly connected to the Reefing Project, there is no news concerning the SSUS Conservancy museum, their latest update (12 September) announces a T-shirt design contest!
Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners
As usual, the only news was made at the monthly Board meeting on 15 September. Consent agenda item 35 is a request to amend the SSUS Reefing Project contract with Coleen Marine by $1.242 million “for dockage fees and regulatory compliance.” (Agenda packet pp 1225-1231). Passed unanimously, it goes into effect immediately having been signed 9 September by Coleen Marine. The amendment is “to provide for dockage fees through December 31, 2026 ($944K) and restore funding to towing and deployment line items exhausted for continued regulatory compliance ($298K).” The background notes “To date, Okaloosa County has executed or received commitments totaling $3.575 million for deployment of the SS UNITED STATES.”
The background paper states “All activities associated with the remediation of the SS UNITED STATES for deployment as an artificial reef have been completed and the vessel has been awaiting final approval by the Army Corps of Engineers for months. This idle time still results in dockage fees being incurred that are outside the County’s control and beyond what was reasonably expected for this project.”
Meeting Public Comments:
Steve Perry, VP of the SSUS Preservation Foundation and its public face and voice made two presentations during the public comments. He began with his first reference to a matter actually before the Board for a vote since he told the Board that their ratification of the USACE/Florida SHPO MOA was a waste of their time because it was not final and they’d have to come back and re-vote. This time he insisted that the budget supplement agenda item (see above) be pulled. Despite lacking standing for such a request, he attempted a justification on the incorrect basis that the tow from Philadelphia had never been budgeted for. It was and was part of the contract approved 1 Oct 2024 on his first appearance before the Board. As noted above Consent Agenda item 35 was nevertheless approved without discussion or modification. Though germane to the meeting, this had nothing to do with “saving” the ship from reefing.
Mr. Perry’s second comment dealt with all the equipment and cabling with PCBs he asserts are still in the ship. Commissioners’ Minute: Commissioner Ketchel launched into an excited insistence that a local hospital be forced to install a hyperbaric chamber for diver accident recovery and implied they could be dissuaded from dragging their feet via their special tax status. “We must move forward with a hyperbaric chamber if we intend to be the diving capital.” Chairman Goodwin gave a nod to Steve Perry’s long advocacy for such a chamber.
Regarding Mr. Perry’s comment regarding budgeting for the tow from Philadelphia, this two year old item was presented at the first County Board meeting he attended, where the purchase was approved (1 Oct 2024) and he argued the County would go bankrupt pursuing the reefing.
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