Basis of Design Book 2 - City of St. Petersburg

and mentioned that he had heard of places in New York and Berlin using enclosures using screens as swimming
areas but did not know the feasibility of doing this.
We spoke about the feature as a public attraction. She suggested large animals (birds, manatees, dolphins, and
turtles) were the major natural attractants. She stated that it might be possible to hold manatee or turtle
under rehabilitation within the feature as a public education display but questioned the liability associated
with public interaction with such a feature. Ms. Cooper suggested that someone from Busch Gardens or Lowry
Park Zoo be engaged to provide input on utilizing the feature as a public attraction. She suggested that these
facilities might view the feature as an opportunity to be partners in some type of rehabilitation facility for
turtles and manatees. She also suggested that it might be possible to build a bird rookery island in the center
of the feature but didn’t know the feasibility of doing so.
We spoke about the potential for reef modules to be incorporated into the feature. She suggested that there
are local experts with Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties that run their artificial reef programs. She was
somewhat ambivalent about their use in the design feature.
When the subject of mariculture was brought up, we spoke about historical oyster leases in Tampa Bay and the
degradation of historical oyster reefs due to overharvesting and significant historical water quality
degradation. She thought that Tampa Bay was currently closed to shellfish harvest but that no testing is
currently being done to evaluate whether or not the waters would comply with state standards to allow
shellfish harvesting.
Lastly, we discussed schedule of upcoming events including the “round table” workshop scheduled for July
26th. Ms. Cooper is available and is looking forward to attending.
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