The Jekyll Island Authority Board on Monday approved the acceptance of a state-issued general obligation bonds of $1.6 million for disability access improvements in the island's historic district.
"This is very exciting news," said Jones Hooks, executive director of the Jekyll Island Authority. "We assessed each facility and the ones in the most critical need are the historic structures. When they were built they had no (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility. We submitted for the funding but never thought we would get the entire amount."
The bond covers the anticipated total cost of the needed improvements.
Upon issuance, the authority has six months to start the projects and spend at least five percent of the money, three years to spend at least 85 percent of the bond proceeds, and five years to use the full amount.
In other business, Noel Jensen provided an update on the brush fire that occurred May 2 on Jekyll Island in a patch of woods between the entrance to Jekyll Island and the Jekyll Harbor Marina.
According to information provided by the Jekyll Authority, less than five acres burned.
Jensen credits the Jekyll Island Fire Department and the assistance from the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Glynn County Emergency Services with helping to keep the fire from being worse than it was.
State patrol helicopter pilots who happened to be conducting training on the island, Jensen said, delivered the "knock-out punch."
The helicopter unit worked from overhead to help put out the fire by filling 210-gallon canvas water drop baskets at a pond near the Jekyll Island Golf Club's Oleander Course and ferried it to the site, where the water was released on the fire.
In light of the conditions, the Jekyll Island Authority rescinded two fireworks permits, one from the Jekyll Island Club Hotel for a private event fireworks display and one for the Summer Waves Birthday Splash celebration. Both firework events were scheduled for May 20.
Firebreaks are an ongoing preventative measure and are maintained by the Jekyll authority. The authority will work with the Georgia Forestry Commission to determine other fire prevention measures that may include controlled burns.
Additionally, the Jekyll Island Authority is celebrating the convention center's fifth year anniversary.
Allyson Jackson, Jekyll Island Convention Center General Manger, shared statistics from the first five years of the new center's operation, saying in part that revenue has topped $1,1 million. There have been 922 events and more than 610,000 visitors to the center, she said.
Bill Gross, chairman of the Jekyll Island Authority Board's finance committee, also provided the hotel and gate reports.
April hotel occupancy was up, reaching 77.5 percent in 2017 versus 72.3 percent in April 2016.
Hotel revenue for the month was up more than $627,000 from 2016. Island traffic continued its upward trend with a total of 117,977 gate entries, up from 106,298 entries in April 2016.
