Maybe we should hit up this reporter?

[BigDawg71]

Report government waste here. Let us know what is costing tax payers money. Send an email to [e-mail] or call Reporter Mike Deeson at 727-577-8570

Maybe this guy can figure out where the money went. I say we all hit him up, he's bound to respond!

[montylfl]

I think this is a great idea. Maybe get 25 of us to call him first thing Tuesday morning. ( hopefully, no one gets killed this weekend with that traffic patern they set up and steals our thunder..... Some Kid is going to get hit the soon then all the reporters will be there).

I will be calling.

[BigDawg71]

I will contact him as well.

[pascosal]

me too

[goindeep]

Im sorry guys, but at this point it feels (and hopefully Im wrong here) like its almost too little too late. Once the construction started I dont think there was (is) much we could do....the wheels were in motion...

Im not saying its not worth the effort, and Im not throwing in the towel just yet...but unless something drastic happens, Im not holding my breath for something real positive to happen in this situation.

I applaud every one of you who have been tenacious in your efforts, and we probably need more people that will put in that kind of effort, but right now until some headway is made, I just cant get my hopes up too much.

I just feel like there is a master plan in motion here put in place that by the powers-that-be, and the closing of the east sides will only expedite the closing of the west sides as well. Its an uphill battle for sure.

Its a real shame if the collective public voice cant make a change in something as small as the fishing piers (well, small as far as the big picture goes...yes its a huge deal to us but its small potatoes in the grand scheme of things in todays world)...if the people cant sway the opinion of our elected officials, what the hell are we voting for??? I know, I know, it doesnt work that way. Well it should. Im just frustrated like many of you are, and typing this makes me feel better, even knowing it wont make a damn bit of difference in our battle.

Hopefully those of you that refuse to stop digging until progress is made will stumble on something concrete...please dont give up...stranger things have happened...

I appreciate everything you go-getters are doing to try to save the piers.

I think thats all I got for now. Thanks for letting me rant.

[BigDawg71]

Went out this morning....
To Mike Deeson,

I’m writing to you today to see if you can help me shed some light on a situation that no one wants to talk about and everyone seems to want to avoid; why are we shutting down portions of the Skyway Fishing Piers? Other than a couple of vague articles in the local papers, there doesn’t seem to me too much information about why this is happening. They are saying that the bridges have outlived their useful lives and need to be closed for safety reasons. I can understand that and do not dispute the fact that the bridges are in need of repair and may not be safe for people to be on; as a matter of fact I’m glad they are taking the necessary precautions to prevent an accident from happening. You are probably wondering why I’m contacting you then aren’t you?

The problem I have with this mess is that it was my understanding that when these properties were turned into the Skyway Fishing Piers State park, that at least a portion of the revenue generated from the piers was supposed to go towards maintenance and repairs. I’m not sure where the money went over the years but I can assure you it wasn’t towards repairing the infrastructure of the bridges; if so I wouldn’t be writing you this letter and the east spans of both piers would not be closed. It is also my understanding that the FDOT was supposed to maintain everything below the bridge deck top and that the Parks Department was responsible for maintaining the topside of the bridge deck to the top of the bridge rails. Where did all the money go ($3 per car, $2 for adults, $1 for children and seniors)? Why were there never any repairs done to the bridges since 1994 to prevent this from happening? Why was an inspection done two years ago but the results and recommendations not published until 1 week before they were going to close the east spans? Is anything being done to the west spans to avoid this same situation from happening again in a few years? What’s the big secret? Something smells fishy here and it’s not the portable bathrooms on the pier!

As you can see there are a lot of unanswered questions and no one wants to provide the answers. Myself and some fellow anglers have all tried contacting many of the Representatives in the surrounding counties and also the Governor himself; as you can probably guess we have either received the standard form letter responses or none at all. It seems to me that they wanted to keep this quiet for as long as they could to avoid public scrutiny and make it difficult for anyone to do anything about it. I know it is probably too late to do anything about the closing of the east spans (estimated 10 million to repair from what I hear) but I think someone needs to be held accountable for this mess and I would like to ensure that we don’t have to endure this again with the remainder of the piers. This has become a favorite fishing place for countless families (mine was going at least once a week) and I would like to preserve what is left of it for as long as possible. We are hoping that the involvement of someone such as yourself will help get the attention of someone who can do something about this.


Thanks

Jamie Andrews

[BigDawg71]

I was going to include a link in my email but wasn't sure if he was ready for the world according to skyjay :-)

[BigDawg71]

Progress?...

Jamie,

Thank you for the story suggestion. There were a few people here in the newsroom wondering the same thing when we first heard about the closure. We're certainly interested in pursuing this story. Of course, we'd really like to speak to someone like you who frequents the fishing pier. When do you normally visit the park? Can we assume since your email address is from Raymond James, you're more of a weekend angler?

Bob Shackelford
Producer
What's That Costing You?
[phone]
11450 Gandy Blvd.
St. Petersburg, Florida 33702
[e-mail]

[havetofish]

WTG Jamie,

Since it looks like you've taken the lead on this with them, let me know if you need any help. I will make myself available.
My e-mail is available in my profile.

Thanks
John

[spolledagain]

Anything I can do as well!!! I have only lived in Fl for 4 years now but I plan on calling it home until I'm in a box!!...

Way to go!!!

Frank

[filletnrelease]

Bigtime Bigdawg. Way to go. I am in if they want to talk with some of the regulars. Perhaps meeting them or him on the Pier, first hand. Make it a weekend and show them the effects of the traffic and safety issues. PM me if I can do anything.

[BigDawg71]

I will let you guys know what I hear next. At least it wasn't the standard form reply and they "appear" to be concerned.

[havetofish]

Bigdawg,

Ever hear anything from Deeson?

[BigDawg71]

Nothing lately and unfortunately I have been so busy I haven't given it much thought :-(

[bigmackattack]

Hey i just saw this link. Thats awesome that someone is at least interested in helping out. I would love to put my two cents in. This pier means a whole lot more to a lot of people than the state, FDOT, and gov't officials could ever realize. Even if we cant get the east back...maybe we can preserve the west side perpetually.

Id be happy to help out anyway possible.

-Jason


Good Job BigDawg (i never even thought about the "Whats that costing you segment")

[BigDawg71]

Maybe if a few others fire off an email to him they will see that there are others that are bothered by this as well. I know what these people are trying to do and unfortunately I think their plan is working.

Initially there was a big public outcry and many people were demanding answers. Then as time goes on and no one does anything, people start to find other things to complain about and forget why they were upset in the first place or just stop caring because no one else seems to. I hope this doesn't happen with the skyway piers but I have a feeling it has already started. I myself have lost a little bit of momentum and need to get fired up again!!

[bigmackattack]

Hey guys,

Anything evey come of the Mike Deeson attempt? If not...how bout we send a few emails and get this boat rocking again. Dont forget about how mad you all were a month ago...

BMA

[BigDawg71]

Unfortunately I have been insanely busy at work and have not even had time to think about it. I work in the financial services industry so you can probably guess at some of the fun I'm having right now. Hopefully things will slow down soon and I can refocus my efforts on this. Sorry...

[montylfl]

same here bigdawg. Been a crazy two weeks.

[havetofish]

Well, he wrote this..

www.tampabays10.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=91172&catid=8

[BigDawg71]

yeah saw that this morning...didn't really say much but at least it is exposure

[SkyJay]

thanx for trying to help Jamie... w'ell see where this goes from here I guess.
In the meantime...

Fish On!