Tybee Mayor meets with officials in Washington D.C.
Tybee Mayor Jason Buelterman recently made a trip to Washington D.C. to advocate for several projects on the island.
“The meeting went very well. We met with the Army Corps at their offices. We also met with our two senators Perdue and Isakson as well as Congressman Carter and their staffs. And we had an opportunity to share some of the concerns that we have,” said Buelterman.
One issue that the mayor brought up was ship wake safety hazards. Cargo ships traveling to the Savannah Ports create a mini-tsunami effect. A dangerous event for beach goers.
“If you’re standing on the shore, or if you’re on ankle deep water and all of a sudden, a rush of water comes at you, it can sweep you off of your feet. In fact, that video that we shared with our representatives and the Army Corps in Washington showed that exact thing happening,” said Buelterman.
There are some ways to help fix the problem, and it starts with alerting those in Washington.
“Some kind of a siren or warning system that could alert people of what’s going on short-term. But long term, we really want to start the conversation with the Ports Authority, The Army Corps of engineers, and our elected officials to come up with a longer-term solution that will be more costly but will ultimately save lives,” said Buelterman.
No one has been seriously injured yet, but Mayor Buelterman hopes to avoid any injuries at all by taking care of this.
Other issues discussed in Washington included the beach renourishment project, and the Tybee bridge construction project.