From port-a-potties to a palace? Why?

BY MARCY SHORTUSE - Living in a home with a view of the beach is a privilege not many enjoy. Residents on Belcher Road near the beach are some of those select few. They like waking up in the morning, grabbing a cup of coffee and standing at the window enjoying a view of ... a public bathroom?

Well, the view used to be of the beach. Now, with money granted from the Lee County Board of Tourism, a rather tall and palatial four-fixture bathroom complex will be taking the place of their view.

The project started in November of last year. It is scheduled to be completed sometime in June. The new bathroom will be 11 feet 8 inches from the ground to the bottom of the floor, and will be ADA accessible with a ramp system.

In an article written by the Beacon in February, Chad Lach, parks manager for Barrier Island Parks Society, said the state park applied for a grant through the Lee County Tourist and Development Council. It was approved in September of 2010.

The total cost is somewhere around $229,000.

Mike Giobbe, an island resident who lives on Belcher Road, isn’t very happy about his new view.
“Right now I’m looking out my window and I can see the top of the palatial bathroom,” he said. “It blocks part of the view of the Pass, but not dramatically ... yet.”

Giobbe said, in his opinion, it seems “disproportionally inappropriate” for the area.

“I think they  might have had better options,” he said.

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