USFSP’s Waterfront gets new docks – Archive
Written by Crow's Nest Staff, Oct 19, 2010, 0 Comments
Nikeya Williams
Editor-in-Chief
The USF St. Petersburg marina looks different this year, because of the newly completed docks that sit nestled on the Waterfront. This completion of the new docks called for a ribbon-cutting celebration.
On Tuesday, Oct.12, USF St. Petersburg decided to dedicate the new docks at the Waterfront Ribbon-Cutting event.
“In order to get this project complete as you see today, it took city guidelines, to took the state’s review, it took the marina, and it took the students,“ said Margaret Sullivan, regional chancellor.
The new docks project took USF St. Petersburg some time to complete, but the completion finally happened. “The project has been in the works for 5 years,” said Zac Oppenheim, watercraft programs coordinator. “Construction was completed in late September.”
The new docks project was funded by student fees, which were dispersed from the capital improvement trust fund.
“The trust fund is dispersed every few years by the capital improvement trust fund committee,” Oppenheim said. “Other projects the [trust] fund paid for include the renovation at the fitness center.”
The funding and support for the new docks wasn’t easy to get for the campus, Student Government had to create an awareness for the new docks.
“It was more informal pressure, we had some sailors on senate in [SG],“ said Christian Haas, SG senate president. “It was basically [SG] using our relationship with administration to say that [the docks] are a huge incentive that [administration] needed to push forward on it.”
Although the funding and support for the new docks took some convincing and debate, the new docks are ready for use.
According to the USF St. Petersburg news website, the summer renovation for the new docks added a kayak and canoe ramp, space for 30 flying junior sailing dinghies and slips for seven larger sailboats.
Waterfront representatives say that students have already responded positively to the new docks. “[Students] are excited to see our waterfront transformed into a working yet beautiful area of our university,” Oppenheim said. “Most people don’t realize that although the docks are beautiful, they were designed to be utilitarian—the docks are meant to be walked on, rained on, burned in the summer sun [and] stable during storms.”
- “[Students] are excited to see our waterfront transformed into a working yet beautiful area of our university,” said Zac Oppenheim, Watercraft Programs Coordinator. Photo by Aimee Alexander
