What's all the dirt about?

It's your tax dollars at work

Beale Street Landing under construction. $7.4M of city money has been spent so far. $14.9M is requested in the City's CIP budget. The total estimated public cost is now at $33M.

Click below for John Branston's May 15th "Flyer" article that takes a look at the project and cost overruns and for the RDC hand-out to City Council.

Beale Street Landing Now at $33 Million
Posted by John Branston on Fri, May 15, 2009 at 12:18 PM

Three things are going up at Tom Lee Park this week: the river level, the fragrant smoke from the barbecue contest, and the cost of Beale Street Landing.
The boat dock and future gathering place at the north end of the park, a pet project of the Riverfront Development Corporation and Mayor Willie Herenton, will now cost $33 million, according to the estimate provided to the Memphis City Council by RDC President Benny Lendermon this week.

Like river stages in May, the cost keeps going up. When a South American architectural firm was chosen to design the fancy boat dock and gathering place in 2003, the cost estimate was $20 million. By 2005, the cost of "River Outlook" had risen to $27.5 million. In 2007, the number was $29.4 million.

The $33 million includes $11.5 million in state and federal funds and about $22 million in local funds. Approximately $11 million has already been spent, which helped persuade some first-term council members to keep on funding the project that was approved by their predecessors.

The cost of steel is one of the things driving up the price. When councilman Bill Boyd asked where the steel would come from, Lendermon said "maybe in Argentina." The architectural firm, RTN Architects from Buenos Aires, is being paid $2 million. Beale Street Landing is shaping up as a nice little stimulus for one recession-ravaged economy. Shovels ready, amigos!

The landing will include, among other things, "floating" docks that will allow visitors to get finger-dipping close to Old Man River. In RDC mythology, this "touch the water" experience is not presently possible.

Leaving aside the question of how many people actually want to do this and whether it is worth $33 million, the fact is that the partially submerged cobblestones landing and Greenbelt Park across from HarborTown are currently suitable for water-touching, fishing or full-immersion baptisms 30 yards from the sidewalk.

The meaning of the landing part of Beale Street Landing has been revised. The overnight river cruise lines that used to dock at Memphis -- Delta Steamship and Majestic America -- have gone out of business. Lendermon now says the "world-class" landing was designed for the homemade vessels of the Memphis Queen Line. "The use of facility, for boating side, has always been the local excursion boats," he told council members. That does not include canoes and kayaks.

So where did anyone get the idea that the landing was for big, overnight cruising boats? From the RDC, actually.

The riverfront master plan approved by the council in 2002 specifies "a landing designed to accommodate the largest commercial riverboats and facilities for passengers with luggage."

In an interview in 2005, Lendermon said the landing was needed because "the Delta Steamship Company is close to refusing to dock at Mud Island."

The RDC website says a modern docking facility is needed because "approximately 50 stops are made by three major vessels each year, and this does not include local excursion boats." It also says "the Delta Steamship Company has increased its dockings in Memphis by 40 percent. They are trying to build their market here in anticipation of the new docking facility."

Finally, the budget summary given to the council this week calls for "a docking facility for touring and excursion boats."

The next phase of Beale Street Landing will be bid May 27th. The project, which will add four acres to the park, is supposed to be completed in the spring of 2011. The full council still has to approve continued funding, but a halt to Beale Street Landing at this stage of the game seems unlikely.

2010 Proposed RDC CIP Budget. Click HERE.

RDC Hand-out to Council CIP Budget Committee on Beale Street Landing
Click on image to enlarge.

[Click here to read more...]

Squabbling Ends, Boat Ramp to Re-Open

Good News: The boat ramp under the Auction Street Bridge will re-open for public use. Congressman Steve Cohen worked with the City and Coast Guard to structure the deal:

* Boat ramp is federally owned.
* City leases the property for 20 years for $10.
* Cost Guard has right to control parking, limit access during heightened security, and is released from liabilities associated with public use of the boat ramp.

Happy Boating, and thanks Congressman Cohen!!

[Click here to read more...]

Cobblestone Landing "Restoration" - Letters to RDC & Corps of Engineers

FfOR wrote to:
1) the RDC in April 2008 requesting discussion of the proposed Cobblestone Landing project
2) the Corps of Engineers in May 2009 requesting a public hearing on the project.
We have not yet received responses. Several people have asked for more information about those letters, so we have posted their text here for you to read.

_________________________________

April 21, 2008

Mr. John Conroy
Riverfront Development Corporation
22 N. Front Street, Suite
Memphis, TN 38103

Dear John,

Thank you for the invitation to discuss the preliminary concept design plan for the Cobblestone Landing on February 14. We also appreciate your providing printed copies of the power point presentation and have carefully reviewed it along with the December 1995 Garrow Cultural CRM Plan, Part 2 in which you participated.

As you know, Friends for Our Riverfront (FfOR) supports the goal of stabilization, restoration, and increased public use of the Cobblestone Landing. It is both the city’s historic and current riverboat landing and one of our most significant landmarks. Its location in the center of the waterfront’s lower level and adjacent to the historic core of downtown, makes the restoration and continued use of this area a key component in revitalizing the waterfront and downtown.

FfOR does not believe the currently proposed concept plan presents solutions and designs that will accomplish our mutual goal. The plan instead changes the use of the cobblestones by shoring the water’s edge in such a way as to prevent future use by boats, preventing vehicular access, relocating the Memphis Queen Lines, and proposing construction of Ron Terry Plaza on a section of the Cobblestones, all of which will have a cumulative adverse impact on the site.

We are glad that this plan is just in the preliminary phase and would very much like to work with you to formulate a concept design plan that will achieve the end goal of a restored landing and an active waterfront. We hope that the following comments can move us in that direction and would like to have the opportunity to meet with you and discuss them.

1) Working dock. The Cobblestone Landing has been in continuous use since the mid-1800s and should continue to be a working dock. The preliminary concept plan, however, makes no provision for continued boat use of the area. This is contrary to all recommendations and promises by the City since 1987 and will have an adverse effect on the Memphis Queen Riverboat, which is an historic property individually listed on the National Register and which has been docked there since the late 1940s. Design issues such as the addition and width of sidewalks, whether to include stepped areas at the base of the Cobblestones, etc. should be secondary to making sure the restored Cobblestone Landing accommodates boat use.

2) Stabilization of Landing. Stabilization and protection from further erosion is imperative. According to the Garrow Report cobblestones in this area originally extended to –3 on the river gauge. Restoration to +10 or +12 feet should be possible. An adequate vertical toe-wall should be constructed below this point to stabilize the western edge and prevent further erosion. The slope at the base of the Cobblestones should be consistent with that above water, and the material used should not negatively effect or prevent boat use of the area. Erosion resulting from water run-off along Riverside Drive also should be addressed. The wall was not correctly designed and is causing harm to the resource.

3)Materials. Historic cobbles should be re-laid whenever possible and every effort made to collect them from the harbor and city storage facilities. Any new material necessary for repair and in-fill to damaged sections of the landing should be natural limestone, not concrete, and should be clearly identifiable as added at this point in time.

4) Pedestrian Access. Once restored, the cobblestones should be at a consistent slope to encourage use of the area. If additional walkways are necessary they should be added above grade and the use of wood should be considered first. As a National Register listed structure, ADA accessibility can be modified and should be at the North and South ends of the Landing. A wooden floating dock should be provided for boats and for access to the boats. Temporary wooden platforms could be considered as gathering points.

5) Plaza. The design for Ron Terry Plaza should be reconsidered in light of the space already lost on the Cobblestone Landing (Garrow Report, page 17, item 6). The Plaza design, its bulk and height, are also inconsistent with the horizontality of the landing.

6) Vehicles. Beginning with mule drawn carts, vehicular access is historically accurate and should be allowed. It is a negative effect to turn the area into a barren rockscape. A lack of maintenance and erosion has harmed the resource, not vehicles.

7) Utilities. Decisions about appropriate lighting, the location of utilities, etc. should be carefully considered in terms of historicity and attractiveness.

8) Maintenance. On-going low-tech maintenance such as river water to clean the cobblestones after flooding should be planned and budgeted. Note the recommendation of weekly cleaning when the river is falling (Garrow Report, p.23). Removal of silt will lessen the amount of unwanted vegetation on the cobblestones.

9) Consultation. The Landing is one of our city’s oldest significant public spaces, and the public, especially riverfront users, should be involved in the actual formation of a concept upon which a design is based. A qualified architectural historian should also be involved in the process.

10) Landmark status. The historic structure/landscape is already listed on the National Register. As the last remaining intact wharf on the Mississippi River, its nomination for an upgrade to a National Historic Landmark designation, similar to Beale Street National Historic Landmark, should be pursued.

Thank you for your consideration, John. Please let me know when there is a convenient time for you to meet and discuss these comments in more detail.

Sincerely,

Virginia McLean
President, Friends for Our Riverfront


____________________________________


May 6, 2009

Mr. Mitch Elcan
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
167 N. Main Street, Room B-202
Memphis, TN 38103-1894

Re: Public Notice No: MVM-2009-093(jme)

Dear Mr. Elcan,

I am writing on behalf of Friends for Our Riverfront (FFOR), a 501(c)(3) organization, to request a public hearing on a permit request by the Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC) for a project misleadingly described as a “restoration” of the Memphis Cobblestone Landing.

FfOR supports the goal of preservation, restoration, and increased public use of the Cobblestone Landing. Used by Indians, French, Spanish, British, and early Americans, the river landing at Memphis was paved with cobblestones beginning in the 1850s. It has been in continuous use as a public boat landing for more than 150 years and is eligible to be a National Historic Landmark. Its location, in the center of the waterfront’s lower level and adjacent to the historic core of downtown, makes the restoration and continued use of this area a key component in revitalizing the waterfront and downtown.

Any changes to the landing must be consistent with its continued use as a public landing and its future as a National Historic Landmark.

Although the RDC project description defines the project as “restoration of Historic Cobblestone Landing,” as currently designed the project will use federal transportation funds to destroy the landing as a navigable site. Altering the landing’s slope and using riprap, a sidewalk, and steps to stabilize the bank not only ignores changing water levels but will negate future docking of watercraft. See, United States v. Schmitt, 999 F.Supp. 317, 370 (E.D.N .Y. 1998), aff’d 28 Fed.Appx. 63 (2nd Cir. 2002), holding that riprap constituted an obstruction to navigation in violation of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. 403.

There are also serious concerns about the project’s negative impact of adding east-west sidewalks and its failure to plan for sustainable maintenance and corrections to current stormwater run-off problems necessary to improve water quality.

Currently listed on the National Register as part of the Cotton Row Historic District, any proposed alterations are subject to 4(f) review and are subject to the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, the Clean Water Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. A full Environmental Impact Statement is demanded before any permit is issued.

In 1995, as a result of the disturbance of the cobblestones without required federal permits, the City of Memphis, the Memphis District of the U. S. Corps of Engineers, the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer, and the national Advisory Council on Historic Preservation signed a Memorandum of Agreement. In it the City committed to prepare an assessment of the landing as a historic resource and “a preservation plan as a guide for the continued viability of the site.” The subsequent “Cultural Resource Assessment and Preservation Plan of January 1966” described the Cobblestone Landing as “perhaps the one historic resource in Memphis that best exemplifies the scope of the City’s history.” Since then the condition of the Cobblestone Landing has continued to be neglected and allowed to deteriorate by the City and by the RDC under contract with the City.

There has been no open public review of this project, and the views of the public should be essential to informed Federal decision making.

Because of the obvious adverse impact the current RDC proposal will have on the continued use of this historic site as a landing, FfOR urges the Corps of Engineers to open the process and receive public comment and input to develop an alternative design that will respect and preserve the use and historic significance of the Cobblestone Landing.

Sincerely,

Virginia McLean
President, Friends for Our Riverfront


cc: Gary Fottrell, Federal Highways Administration, TN Division
Gerald F. Nicely, TN Dept. of Transportation
Jim Fyke, TN Dept. of Environment and Conservation
Patrick McIntyre, TN Historical Commission
Dick Tune, TN State Historic Preservation Officer
Dan Brown, TN Preservation Trust
John Eddins, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

[Click here to read more...]

Mud Island River Park - 2nd stage of meetings on a plan

The 2nd round of public meetings to determine a plan for the future of Mud Island River Park:

* Tues. (5/12), 5:45 pm, Memphis Botanic Garden (750 Cherry)
* Thurs. (5/14), 5:45 pm, Harbor Landing in Mud Island River Park

Click HERE for Commercial Appeal article and comments.

The initial 4 public meetings were in March: Mud Island/attendance 125, North Memphis/attendance 8, South Memphis/attendance 8, Memphis Botanic Garden/attendance 125. Comments from meetings and online survey were combined into a report.
Click HERE for the report.

[Click here to read more...]

Quick!! REQUEST A PUBLIC HEARING on the Cobblestone Landing project

The cobblestone landing in Memphis has functioned continuously as a free and public landing for 150 years, and it's currently eligible to be a National Historic Landmark. The current plans by the Riverfront Development Corporation involve changes that will end all of this.

The RDC plan has a poor engineering design that fails in its primary purpose: to extend the life and use of the cobblestone landing. The proposal that is on the table will not only end the landing's eligibility as a National Historic Landmark, it will end its use as a landing, period.

The design is far along (95% complete), but it shouldn't move one step forward before hearing from the people it is supposed to serve.

WE ARE REQUESTING A PUBLIC HEARING.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
By May 6, send an email to JAMES.M.ELCAN@usace.army.mil
(he is with the Corps of Engineers) to let him know that The Cobblestone Landing is an important place, that it matters what happens to it, and that plans to change it should recognize and extend its purpose... a free and public landing.

If we can stop this, we have a chance to revise the plan to allow the use of the cobblestones as a landing for another 150 years.

Click below for a sample e-mail and to see the public notice.

Sample email below. Amend to reflect your view. Please note: you must include the public notice number [Public Notice No.: MVM-2009-093(jme)], your name and address, and an indication that your email is to be considered equal to your signature.
__________________________
REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING [Public Notice No.: MVM-2009-093(jme)]

ATTN: Mitch Elcan, US Army Corps of Engineers, 167 N. Main Street, Room B-202, Memphis, TN 38103-1894

The Cobblestone Landing at Memphis, Tennessee is important.

For 150 years, it has been in continuous use as a free and public boat landing and it is eligible to be a National Historic Landmark.
Maintenance and changes to the landing should insure its continued use as a free and public landing and ensure its future as a National Historic Landmark.
Maintenance and changes to the landing should improve water quality. A FULL environmental impact statement is requested.

NAME: __________________________________________________

ADDRESS: ____________________________________________

I REQUEST A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THIS PROJECT.

SIGNATURE :_____________________________________
Please accept this e-mail as equal to my signature.
__________________________________________________________

Public Notice Corps of Engineers

REPLY TO ATTN: Mitch Elcan
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 167 North Main Street, Room B-202 Memphis, Tennessee 38103-1894 Telephone: (901) 544-0737 Fax (901) 544-0211 EMail:James.M.Elcan@usace.army.mil

PUBLIC NOTICE NO: MVM-2009-093(jme)
PUBLIC NOTICE DATE: April 6, 2009
EXPIRATION DATE: May 6,2009

AUTHORITY: Pursuant to 33 CFR 325, as published in the Federal Register dated November 13, 1986, this notice announces an application submitted for aDepartment of the Army permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.

APPLICANT: Mr. John Conroy AGENT: Mr. Robert Kurtz
Riverfront Development Corporation Tetra Tech, Inc.
22 North Front Street, Suite 960
65 Union Avenue, Suite 300
Memphis, Tennessee 38103 Memphis, Tennessee 38103
(901) 312-9190 (901) 523-9500

LOCATION: The project is located on the east side of Wolf River Harbor, west of Riverside Drive, north of Beal Street Landing and south of Jefferson Davis Park in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee at approximate latitude 35.14472° and longitude -90.05639° on the USGS Northwest Memphis, Tennessee
7.5 minute quadrangle map.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the project is to restore the historic Memphis Cobblestone Landing, providing for long term preservation, improved public access and to add interpretive enhancement.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK: The applicant proposes to protect and improve the Memphis Cobblestone Landing by stabilizing the bank at the base of the cobblestones, repairing the cobblestone field, adding walkways and staircases to enhance public access and removing above ground utilities. Bank stabilization is needed to protect the cobblestones from future damage caused by wave action and dredging in the Wolf River Harbor, which has led to slippage of the cobblestones into the harbor.
Repairs will be accomplished by removing extraneous concrete and asphalt that has been placed over cobblestones; removing silt; filling in large depressions and eroded areas in the cobblestone field; adding runoff and erosion control features; and repairing and restoring cultural features such as mooring rings and the river gage.
Pedestrian access will be improved by adding stairs and walkways that extend from the top of the cobblestone field to its bottom and along the western edge. The walkway along the western edge will provide an accessible path from Jefferson Davis Park on the north all the way to the new Beal Street Landing. Additionally, above ground utilities will be removed and replaced with underground systems and interpretive signage will be added to educate the public to the historical significance of the area.
To accomplish this, approximately 14,800 cubic yards of sand and silt material will be hydrology dredged from below ordinary high water along the length of the project (approximately 2,200 linear feet). This material will be discharged via a floating pipe downstream of the Wolf River Harbor into the Mississippi River. Approximately 8,650 cubic yards of clean earthen fill will then be placed to stabilize the slope. The proposed north-south walk to be constructed along the western edge of the Memphis Cobblestone Landing will be astructural concrete slab with supporting foundation. To stabilize the edge of the cobblestone field, the foundation wall will be installed along the top of the bank and extend down to geo-technically stable soil. This sidewalk will frame the cobblestones to the east and prevent the soil from degrading, stopping the cobbles from being carried into the Wolf River Harbor. To the west of the foundation wall and walk section, riprap will be notched into the bank's 3:1 slope to protect the bank from washout associated with continued riverboat operations and erosion. The overall quantity of riprap being placed is approximately 7,700 cubic yards.

WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION: The applicant should contact the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control (TDEC) at (615) 532-0713 or TDEC, 7th Floor L. & C. Annex Building, 401 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37243-1534 and request water quality certification. This certification or evidence of this water quality certification or waiver of the right to certify must be submitted prior to issuance of a Corps of Engineers permit. The Department will consider all relative comments in the decision to grant or deny water quality certification for the proposed activity. The Corps of Engineers' evaluation of the impact of the activity on the public interest will include application of the guidelines promUlgated by the Administrator, EPA, under authority of Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: No endangered or threatened species, or their critical habitat, are known to exist in the project area. This application is being coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Any comments they may have regarding endangered or threatened wildlife or plants, or their critical habitat, will be considered in our evaluation of the described work.

CULTURAL RESOURCES: The Memphis District will evaluate information provided by the State Historic Preservation Office, Federally-recognized Tribes, and the public in response to this public notice and we may conduct, or require a survey of the project area. A preliminary in-house records search indicated that the cobble-stone landing is part of the Cotton Row Historic District.

FLOOD PLAIN: In accordance with 44 CFR Part 60 (Flood Plain Management and Use), participating communities are required to review all proposed development to determine if a flood plain development permit is required. Flood plain administrators should review the proposed public notice and apprise this office of any flood plain development permit requirements.

PUBLIC INTEREST REVIEW: The purpose of this public notice is to advise all interested parties of the activities for which a permit is sought and to solicit comments and information necessary to evaluate the probable impact on the public interest.
The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concem for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefits which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the project must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the project will be considered, including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands historic properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people.
The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the pUblic; Federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Federally-recognized Tribes; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.

PUBLIC HEARING: Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests for a public hearing shall state, with particularity, the reason for holding a public hearing. The District Engineer will determine if the issues raised are substantial and whether a hearing is needed for making a decision.

COMMENTS OR REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: If you wish to obtain additional information or to submit comments on the application, please contact Mitch Elcan at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 167 North Main Street, Room B-202, Memphis, Tennessee 38103-1894, telephone (901) 544-0737. Copies of all comments, including the names and address of commenters, may be provided to the applicant for consideration and response prior to a decision by the Corps.
Comments should be received by May 6, 2009.

Larry D. Watson
Chief Regulatory Branch

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