PINELLAS PARK – A new kayaking facility may soon become a reality thanks to a joint effort between the city and a Gulfport business.

Councilman Rick Butler said the city-owned vacant land at an old brush site on 102nd Avenue will be outfitted with a storage building and picnic facilities, with minimal cost to the city.

“The new venture will give local enthusiast a place to explore local waters with a kayak or canoe,” Butler said.

Butler came up with the idea when he realized that the city-owned land that once was the brush site and the location of the city’s old sewer plant was vacant. He approached Kurt Zuelsdorf of Gulfport who operates Kayak Nature Adventures.

Zuelsdorf, a nationally-recognized environmentalist, will develop the property on Cross Bayou Creek into a canoe and kayaking haven where people can glide the waters north to Tampa Bay and south to the Bay Pines veterans medical facility.

“I’m thinking it would take several hours to make the trip by kayak,” Butler said. “There are amazing things to see on the shores and in the water.”

The creek is home to numerous species of birds, turtles, alligators and tropical vegetation. Butler himself, who was born and raised in Pinellas Park, recalled playing and fishing there as a child.

Butler said preliminary plans call for building a picnic area across the street from the proposed kayak facility site. Besides renting vessels, the location will give water enthusiasts a safe place to launch their craft and park vehicles.

It is expected that Zuelsdorf also will offer environmental tours of the waters. Zuelsdorf, Butler said, has earned a reputation for cleaning the environment of litter. He is credited with cleaning more than 100,000 pounds of bottles, paper and other trash over the years from Pinellas County’s waterways and beaches.

“This project will add a lot to the city,” Butler said. “There is a lot to see from a kayak or canoe.”

Butler said he has traversed the waterways by canoe, rowboat and even by airboat.

It is expected that the new facility will be in operation by next spring.