Mermaids swim into state parks system

With a signed agreement, the dispute over Weeki Wachee ends.

By Chandra Broadwater, Times Staff Writer
Published February 19, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Maurice Rivenbark | Times] Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum looks toward Weeki Wachee Springs mermaid Carli Dofka during Monday's agreement signing. [Maurice Rivenbark | Times] Weeki Wachee Springs will become the state's 162nd park when the Department of Environmental Protection takes over Nov. 1.

WEEKI WACHEE - Clad in red and blue bikini tops and tails, silvery bubbles rose from their air hoses in the aqua blue water as the Weeki Wachee Springs mermaids watched Monday afternoon as their historic attraction became a state park.

Florida parks director Mike Bullock and Weeki Wachee general manager Robyn Anderson signed the agreement during a ceremony in the underwater theater. On Nov. 1, when the Department of Environmental Protection officially takes over, the 60-year-old Hernando County attraction will become the state's 162nd park.

State Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Hernando native who helped move negotiations along, was also at the event.

"This truly is a historical day for Florida park services," Bullock said. "We were invited to see if this type of park could be in the state system, and it only took one visit. We said, 'Absolutely.' "

Monday's event was the culmination of months of court-ordered mediation between the DEP, the attraction and its landlord, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, commonly known as Swiftmud.

The signing also ends a four-year legal battle between Weeki Wachee and Swiftmud. Last month, all sides approved the agreement.

Details show the DEP will buy the attraction for $10. Until Nov. 1, Weeki Wachee will continue to operate under its lease with the water management district. The district then will begin a new lease with the DEP.

The DEP also promised to use its best efforts to keep as many of the attraction's 200 employees as possible, hiring them under comparable terms and conditions. That includes making "key employees" such as Anderson, a Weeki Wachee mayor and a former mermaid, assistant park manager.

The 33-page document also stipulates that spokesman John Athanason and two other administrative staff members, along with the park's operation manager, will go on the state payroll. The DEP will also try to keep all of the mermaids.

Over the summer, a parks official will be at the attraction observing how it operates. Later, a parks manager from within the state system will be chosen to oversee Weeki Wachee.

Bullock said this will ensure the switch goes as smoothly as possible.

"Then we plan on holding a series of public meetings in the community to see what residents would like," he said.

For the first year, the parks system doesn't expect to make any major changes. But the DEP has mentioned plans to tear down a controversial water slide and talked of making some changes to the boat ride on the very shallow Weeki Wachee River.

At a depth of 403 feet, Weeki Wachee Springs is considered the deepest spring in the United States. Since 1947, the mermaids have performed their underwater ballet at depths of about 6 feet while breathing from air hoses.

After years of neglect, debt and legal orders, the tourist attraction said it recently started to make money.

In 2001, Swiftmud bought the land beneath the 27-acre attraction.

The city of Weeki Wachee owns the company that leases the land from the state, and owns and operates the park. On Monday, it was unclear what the DEP has in mind for the tiny city, which also taxes nearby businesses.

In a tight budget year, Bullock believes the attraction will be able to sustain itself on the money it makes. And the mermaids won't have to worry about wearing park uniforms, he added.

"Robyn and I have had a lot of discussions about our green uniforms," Bullock said, laughing. "We're not going to put DEP decals on the mermaid costumes, so not to worry."

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or 352 848-1432.

Park timeline

1947: Weeki Wachee opens. St. Petersburg owns the land.

1999: Small group of investors forms Weeki Wachee LLC.

2001: The Southwest Florida Water Management District buys the land beneath Weeki Wachee Springs for $16.5-million.

2003: Swiftmud threatens to revoke the lease if the owners don't repair and improve the park's aging infrastructure. In turn, the owners donate the attraction to the city of Weeki Wachee for a $1.5-million tax break.

2004: After months of mounting tensions, the water district board sues the city, saying it illegally owns and operates the park and accuses it of illegal dredging. Later, the state threatens to shut down slides for safety reasons and the Legislature curbs the city's powers.

2005: City and Swiftmud head to a mediator, unsuccessfully.

2006: Swiftmud and Weeki Wachee representatives meet again, without lawyers, and come close to an agreement but talks fall apart.

2007: A Hernando circuit judge orders more mediation. Weeki Wachee and the DEP begin talks.

2008: The DEP and Weeki Wachee approve an agreement to make the attraction a state park, which Swiftmud later approves.

[Last modified February 18, 2008, 20:36:55]