The St. George Island, FL Civic Club is promoting their SGI 2025 Vision. This is an alternate perspective to consider about their plan.

1. AN ALTERNATE PERSPECTIVE ON THE SGI CIVIC CLUB’S VISION AND SGI 2025 PLAN
Our quality of life and the unique character of St. George Island is being threatened. If the Civic Club’s SGI
2025 Vision is realized, SGI will lose its specialness and become just like every other “planned” community in
Florida and elsewhere.
According to the Franklin County Planning Department, there are close to 3500 platted lots on SGI, including
residential and commercial lots. That means there are 3500 property owners. Yet, the SGI Civic Club, which
has 400 members, will be the only ones to vote to decide on what happens in the Commercial District and how
it affects the rest of the property owners’ quality of life on SGI.
Yes, the Civic Club has a very nice website and is asking for feedback from anyone and everyone throughout
Franklin County. However, when it comes to deciding to move forward or not with their Vision, only the
members of the Civic Club will decide. Think about it, 400 people out of almost 3500 property owners will
decide the fate of SGI’s Commercial District and growth. My husband Paul and I, and we know others, don’t
think this is right nor fair.
Therefore, Paul and I would like to provide an alternate perspective on the Civic Club’s Vision and Plan. But
first, we want to ask you some questions…
 What do you want SGI to become? Do you want it look like every other planned community in Florida like
Rosemary Beach, Destin, Panama City, etc.? Or, do you want SGI to preserve and protect its unique and
“Old Florida” , funky character and charm?
 What kind of tourists do you want the Tourist Development Council (TDC) to attract? The kind who
appreciate, treasure and celebrate our uniqueness and come here to enjoy our beaches, fishing, boating
activities and abundant wildlife? Families who prefer building sand castles on the beach, collecting shells,
boating, fishing, kayaking, and just “being” together to make memories and savor the uncrowded, natural
environment? Or, do you prefer the kind of tourists who need to be entertained, have all of the
conveniences, glitter and glamour of the “planned” communities and the lives they leave behind when
they visit SGI?
When Paul and I talk with residents of SGI and tourists, the one common thread between what we hear is that
they are drawn to SGI’s uniqueness…its funky, “uncommon”, uncrowded, special character with no traffic,
long lines or hustle and bustle. Just read the tourists’ comments on some of SGI’s Facebook sites, you’ll read
how many dream of visiting or living here because of the “naturalness” of everything and unspoiled ambience.
If fully implemented, the Civic Club’s SGI Vision will create a manicured, cookie-cutter look and will only
accelerate the level of people visiting SGI.
There are many excellent and much needed initiatives in the SGI 2025 Plan such as fixing the public restrooms
and dangerous boat ramp, flood and erosion mitigation and creating a pedestrian friendly Commercial District
for safety, enjoyment and to benefit residents, as well as, businesses. However, there are some elements of
the 2025 Plan that are so concerning that they will forever alter the specialness of SGI. They will transform SGI
from “The Uncommon Florida” to the “Very Common Florida”. Oh, and by the way, the Civic Club even wants

2. to change the island’s “St. George Island, ”The Uncommon Florida” moniker! Why? Probably because it will no
longer be true if this plan is implemented. We must be careful of what we ask for.
We submit to you that the entire genesis of the SGI 2025 Vision and Plan is all about money. There are those
in the Civic Club who believe that because SGI generates the vast majority of bed tax dollars to the TDC and ad
valorem taxes to the County, that SGI should get more attention and benefits from their tax dollars. Paul and I
agree with this. The TDC and the Board of County Commissioners have been terribly irresponsible, remiss and
unfair to the property owners and tax payers on SGI.
To implement the Civic Club’s SGI Vision 2025 it will require much, much more than TDC and ad valorem taxes.
It requires taping into the multi-millions of dollars available from the BP Oil Spill monies in the form of
Triumph and RESTORE funds. The County Commissioners have already spent millions of dollars of these funds
in various other parts of Franklin County. However, their current economic engine, SGI, has not seen a dime of
this money. Why? Because no one has asked for it. That is the reason the Civic Club, without a vote of its
Members (which is permitted by the Club’s By-Laws), created their Infrastructure Committee. The purpose of
the Infrastructure Committee was to develop ideas, projects, and various other initiatives to access the
millions of dollars of BP Oil Spill money. As previously mentioned, some of their projects are excellent and
much needed, however, at what cost to the quality of life of residents and property owners? Here’s the
catch…
In order to access the BP Oil Spill money, projects/initiatives must have an economic development
component. Therefore, the Civic Club has now positioned itself as the TDC of SGI. Their entire plan for a
proposed community center, more parking spaces, a fitness trail, and a wastewater treatment study is aimed
at increasing and accelerating the level of tourists to SGI.
In September 6th issue of the Apalachicola TIMES, it was reported that the TDC’s Executive Director, Curt Blair,
reported that “Collections so far this year are running nearly 9 percent over last year’s”. How many more
tourists does the Civic Club want to attract? How many more tourists can SGI support and manage? For those
of us who live on SGI year-round…traffic, trash, congestion, long-lines at restaurants, etc. are already
untenable during the busy season, July 4th, Chili Cook-off, and various events.
Yes, the TDC has already put SGI on the vacation destination map, and thanks to that organization, tourists
have grown exponentially since the TDC’s inception. The TDC isn’t going away. However, why not just let SGI
grow organically as it has been, rather than create even more reasons to accelerate the number of tourists
who visit SGI? The net effect of the Civic Club’s Vision/Plan will accelerate the attraction of more tourists who
will bring more traffic, trash, and put a strain on our limited resources, as well as, create even more costs to
the county. Unfortunately, the Civic Club doesn’t want to address the long-term impacts of what they are
proposing.
In our opinion, below are the most concerning elements of the Civic Club’s Vision/Plan…
 Gulf Front Community Center – The plan is to build a high-tech facility to attract more weddings, video
gaming and other events. This is the “centerpiece” for the economic development component to access
the BP Oil Spill monies.

3. SGI already is a destination for weddings and attracts people who want a beach wedding. The newlyweds
have their wedding receptions in the homes they rent on the beach and elsewhere on the island. Do we
really want to attract people who need a high-tech building to have their weddings?
If you build it, they will come. The TDC will have a field day in promoting the Community Center for many
other events and purposes. This will further accelerate the number of tourists coming. Imagine a very busy
Saturday or Sunday during peak season with all of the current level of SGI tourists and day trippers to
enjoy our public beaches. Already, cars fill the public parking lot and spill over into other areas of the
commercial district. Now, add another 200 cars or more if a wedding or other event is being held at the
Community Center. Where will all of the cars go?
In addition, at the “Listening and Discussion Workshop” that I attended, I asked who will pay for the water,
air conditioning/heat, Internet services, electricity, insurance and ongoing maintenance of this Community
Center and the other “amenities” like the Fitness Trail. I was told that the Civic Club isn’t interested right
now in dealing with the maintenance issues. I was told that all of those items would have to be the
responsibility of the County and built into the deal before anything was done. Yeah, the County is going to
take care of everything just like they currently do with our existing public restrooms, which are in
deplorable condition!
Also, after the BP Oil Spill money is spent on building the Community Center and if the County agrees to
maintain it, where will that money come from? TDC money? Ad valorem taxes?
 Wastewater Treatment Study – We all know that the only thing that prevents SGI from explosive growth is
the fact that we are on septic systems. Aerobic septic systems are designed in the manner of centralized
sewer systems. We’re confident that doing a “study” is only a ruse and the proverbial camel’s nose under
the tent to move towards a centralized sewer system on SGI. If SGI gets a centralized wastewater
treatment plant for the Commercial District, there will be more pressure brought to bear to extend it
throughout the rest of SGI. If the entire island is on a centralized sewer system, then developers will put
pressure on the County Commissioners to abandon our height limits and create even more density. If you
build it, they will come.
 Fitness Trail, enhanced playground, Pickle Ball Courts – On the surface, who can oppose these amenities?
They benefit not only the tourists, but SGI residents can also enjoy these additions themselves and with
their families. However, if one thinks long-term, will the County satisfactorily maintain these amenities
given the high-level of use, salt-air, weather events and other things that will cause these amenities to
deteriorate? Again, just look to how well the County has done with the SGI and Carrabelle public
restrooms. Does anyone really believe that this will change? All of the added amenities also create more
liability for the County.
 Additional parking spaces along East and West Gulf Beach Drive – This is an accident waiting to happen.
The Vision/Plan calls for adding parking spaces to the busiest, most congested part of SGI. In the busy
season, imagine parents and children standing around their cars, unloading all of their coolers, beach
chairs, fishing gear, and various and sundry beach supplies and equipment along a traffic filled main street.
What happens when people in these spaces need to leave and pull out of their parking spaces into
congested traffic? This would create a huge public safety hazard.

4.  Causeway Sunset Park – The Vision/Plan recommends beautifying the east-side area as you approach SGI
(the former oystermen launch site) by creating parking and other amenities. What is wrong with just
leaving it natural as it is and letting people park as they currently do to enjoy sunsets? Why do we have to
“plan” it like other communities? Leave it quaint and natural just like the other parks we see in various
state and federal parks in Franklin County.
In the SGI Civic Club’s By-Laws, among the organization’s general objectives are:
 Providing leadership for Island improvements
 Playing a role in preserving and/or enhancing the natural beauty and ecology of the island
 Taking concerted action on matters which will in any way affect the welfare of the Island.
Instead of becoming an extension of the TDC to drive more tourists to SGI and all of the burdens associated
with that, the Civic Club could take a leadership role with the County to…
 Improve our public restrooms for the benefit of tourists and residents by demanding a portion of TDC
money
 Improve and create a safe public boat launch facility for the benefit of residents and tourists
 Work with the County Commissioners to implement Code Enforcement to protect our critical habitat zones
and other County ordinances that are consistently abused
 Work with the County to find ways to fund the other much-needed improvements on SGI such as flood
and erosion mitigation
 Work with the County to do a better job of keeping trash from our beaches, bridges and all other areas
around Franklin County
I urge you to visit the Civic Club’s Vision/Plan by going online and typing in sgi2025.com to thoroughly read
and digest what they propose to determine if you agree with it. The devil is in the details. Look across the top
of the website for the “Comments” page and provide your feedback.
The Civic Club plans to have its 400 members (out of a total of 3500 property owners) vote on whether to
proceed with this Vision or not by October, if not before. So time is of the essence.
Please email me if your opinion aligns with ours and other people we know who want the County to fix SGI’s
problems but let SGI grow slowly and organically. We’re being told that we are in the very small minority and
that there is a vast majority of people who support the Civic Club’s SGI 2025 Vision. Paul and I believe this is
because there is a large segment of property owners who don’t even know about this initiative or haven’t had
the time to visit the website to read through the pages and pages of details in order to fully digest and
comprehend the implications if this Vision becomes a reality.
Please share this with others in your network so as many people as possible can express their thoughts and
opinions on the SGI 2025 website.
Thank you.
Paul and Gail Riegelmayer