MAYPORT, Fla. -- The Navy held an open forum Wednesday night to discuss the environmental impact of bringing in more ships and possibly a nuclear aircraft carrier to Naval Station Mayport.

"The public might have opinions about that, for and against, and we would want to solicit those opinions before we make a decision," said Capt. Dee Newbourne.

Many of the area residents who attended the public forum pushed for any of the Navy's plans that involve bringing a carrier back to Mayport.

"I feel that an aircraft carrier in Jacksonville, strategically, would be ideal. Why have all the carriers in one base like we did in Pearl Harbor?" said Jack Caulkins, who wants a new aircraft carrier at Mayport.

"We don’t want all of our ships in one place in Virginia. Mayport is a great place to have another carrier," said Mayport Middle School teacher Martin Taylor.

The teacher said the area has suffered since Mayport lost the JFK.

"When I started teaching at Mayport six years ago, we had 1,100 or 1,200 students. As the Navy has pulled back, we're now at about 650 students. It's made a big impact," Taylor said.

The big concern environmentally is what would happen in the Mayport basin if another aircraft carrier were brought in because there would have to be a lot of dredging.

Jay McGovern is running for Congress locally. He said while he supports a local Navy buildup, he also worries about the effects dredging would have on the water supply.

"If you couple that with the proposal to take a lot water out the St. Johns River for Central Florida, the combination of those may … have an adverse impact. I think that's what needs to be considered," McGovern said.

Despite what happens, Mayport will lose its total number of its ships. It currently has 21 ships. The Navy said a best-case scenario would be to have 18 ships, possibly including one carrier.