Palatka, FL — Breaking News: Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce CEO Daniel Davis agrees to “start over” in talks that have been going on for months, but this time to include Putnam County, where officials are claiming they weren’t informed about a key event happening in their county.
Eight government officials, a back wall full of cops, lots of camo, and a parking lot full of pickup trucks greeted Davis at a town hall meeting in Putnam County tonight. Davis traveled from Jacksonville to the county seat of Palatka to apologize to officials and residents for not including them in talks about removing the Rodman Dam, which is located in Putnam County.
After months of negotiations, several groups in Duval County formed a non-binding agreement to work together to secure state funding to remove the dam. The chamber, the City of Jacksonville, the port authority (JaxPort), and the St. Johns Riverkeeper agreed to seek removal in exchange for the riverkeeper agreeing not to sue to stop proposed dredging of Jacksonville’s port from 40 feet to 47. Removing the dam would reportedly restore the flow of the Ocklawaha River, the largest tributary of the St. Johns River, and mitigate increased salinity caused by dredging.
The problem is, no one told Putnam County, or sought their input.
The dam was built in 1968 as part of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, a project to slice a canal from Tampa northeast to near Jacksonville so oil tankers could cut through Florida, rather than going around it. The project was eventually killed after outcry from environmentalists but the dam remained, creating a large lake that has become a favorite of bass fishermen from around the world, and an economic driver in an otherwise poor county.
Davis made a brief statement of apology at the beginning of the town hall, and then stood at the podium for two hours while officials and citizens took turns lambasting him. “It’s awfully brave of you to show up here,” said one citizen. Another said, “Keep your cotton-pickin’ hands off our dam!” State Rep. Charles Van Zant, R – Putnam County, citing a long working relationship with Davis at the chamber, said he was “embarrassed” for him.
It was not immediately clear what affect the set back in timing will have on the coalition or on the timing of the dredging project.
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