County installation of Watergoat system

My name is Capt. John Leiter, and I am contacting you in regards to an idea I have that I believe would benefit Portosueno Park and Palma Sola Bay.
On many occasions, I take people up to the park because it is an excellent place to observe manatees, as I’m sure you are aware that the park is well known for this. It was on one of these trips during a rainstorm that I witnessed large amounts of plastic and other trash coming out of the Cedar Hammock Canal system. The canal system runs all the way past 51st Street, and along that way is a very steady supply of plastic bottles and garbage that gets flushed into it during rainstorms, all flowing into Palma Sola Bay.
I believe this would be an excellent place to install a WaterGoat. A WaterGoat is a boom system that stops the plastic from entering the open water by catching it in a place that allows for easy clean up. The city of Tampa has installed several in area parks that had both high amounts of plastic garbage and high foot traffic, and people love to see the results. Along with the boom, they include a very nice sign that explains what the device is and what it’s doing to help prevent pollution.
As I know there is a cost involved in both installing and purchasing the WaterGoat, I already spoke with the owner of the company in Tampa and got a very basic quote. I am a member of Friends of Palma Sola Bay, a group that has been working to clean up Palma Sola Bay and could possibly raise the money for the initial costs. As I am also aware that the garbage would have to be scooped up and bagged, I thought maybe I would be able to work with local Scouts and other volunteer groups for monthly removal.
I believe Portosueno Park would be the perfect location to pilot a WaterGoat program, because of both the high amount of garbage and the high amount of visitors coming to see the manatees. The boom and signage would draw even more people to check it out, and it shows that Manatee County is taking innovative steps toward actively curbing pollution. I believe reducing the garbage entering the bay here would mitigate the amount of plastic that collects on the high tide line at Palma Sola Causeway Park, Neal Preserve, and all other recreational areas along the bay, so it also benefits cleanup efforts there.
I have included a link to the WaterGoat website for you to look over and see what your thoughts are. I believe this is something that could be done with very little money spent on the county's part, but the environmental impact and how people view the efforts of the county to help stem ocean pollution could be huge.
Thank you for your time,
Captain John Leiter

http://www.watergoat.org/