Franklin County’s legislative
delegation was in Apalachicola Monday night to hear from local leaders and
residents.
The purpose of
the hearing was to let residents speak up about local issues in the hopes the
legislature will address them when they convene in on March 3rd.
State
representative Leonard Bembry and state senator Bill Montford heard from
residents on a number of issues but the main topic of discussion was the crisis
with the Apalachicola Bay.
One seafood
worker after another spoke about how hard it is to make a living on the bay
right now.
Many of them
were upset because they were ineligible to take part in the upcoming shelling
program and asked that something be done to let more oystermen take part.
Others felt
that more of the bay should be opened to oyster harvesting to spread the
oystermen out so they aren’t all working in the same small portion of the bay.
A number of
people opposed on the current 4 day work week because it forces oystermen to
work on days they normally wouldn’t so they can pay their bills and feed their
families.
One thing they
did seem to agree on is that they don’t want the bay closed to oyster
harvesting.
There were
other topics brought up – Marie Marshall asked that the legislators try to find
funding to bring a community college campus to Franklin county.
Commission
chairman Cheryl Sanders discussed medicade, and Apalachicola Mayor Van Johnsons
asked that the state revisit the revolving loan program that was created to
help the city upgrade its wastewater system.
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