FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 29, 2014
PUBLIC MEETING TO BE HELD REGARDING TWO STATE PARKS
~The public is
invited to share input on the land management plans ~
PALMETTO – Join the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Park
Service for a second public workshop and presentation of the updates to the
management plans for Madira
Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site and Judah P. Benjamin Confederate
Memorial at Gamble Plantation Historic State Park on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at the Palmetto
City Hall.
Madira Bickel Mound State
Archaeological Site is just under 10 acres and protects the National Register-listed
Madira Bickel Mound, Florida’s first designated state archaeological site.
Proposed updates for this park include the
addition of a small picnic pavilion in the park for visitor use and the
addition of two new interpretive kiosks. One kiosk is for the Prine Mound and
the other is for the Madira Bickel Ceremonial Mound. These kiosks will enhance
visitor understanding and appreciation for these archaeological sites in the
park.
Judah
P. Benjamin Confederate Memorial at Gamble Plantation Historic State Park is a
32-acre park that protects the remaining portion of the original 3,500-acre
pre-Civil War plantation and the mansion, which is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Proposed
updates for this park include the addition of a kitchen facility at the current
large picnic area, the repurposing of space in the visitor center for a bridal
changing room and the addition of two small covered picnic pavilions in the
mansion portion of the park. In addition, proposed changes include the
construction of a small restroom, small picnic pavilion, a parking area and
improvements to a hiking trail found at the northern part of the park that
contains the sugar mill ruins.
The advisory group met on Thursday, Nov. 20,
2014. Some members of the advisory group will attend the public workshop.
The public
notice, agenda and draft plan are available online here.
Copies may also be obtained by
contacting the Park Manager Kevin Kiser at 941-721-6747 or Kevin.Kiser@dep.state.fl.us.
Pursuant
to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring
special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to
advise the agency at least 48 hours before the workshop/meeting by contacting
the park manager.
If
you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida
Relay Service, 1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-955-8770 (Voice).
WHAT: PUBLIC WORKSHOP
WHEN: Jan. 7, 2015
7 p.m.
WHERE: Palmetto
City Hall
516 8th Ave. West
Palmetto, FL 34221
NOTE:
A second public workshop will be held for Cockroach Bay
Preserve State Park on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. at the SouthShore Regional
Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, Ruskin, FL 33573.
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