Parking discussion continues

NOTE: This story contains new information that cannot be found in the hard copy or e-edition story. Just after press time we received information requested earlier in the week that is pertinent to the facts of the story and is included here.

It looks like Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno will be attending a meeting with Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane and the Boca Grande Parking Panel in the first week of November, just days prior to Ruane presenting information regarding the island’s parking situation at the Commission’s November 7 meeting.

The meeting between Ruane, Marceno and the panel – set for November 2 – should alleviate some of the confusion between Ruane and the Parking Panel, after he asked his fellow Commissioners earlier this month for some time during the November 7 general Commission meeting to give a presentation on Boca Grande parking.

His request came as a shock to many of the Parking Panel members, which is why we wrote in last week’s paper about Parking Panel Chairman Mary O’Bannon addressing county commissioners in the public comments of their October monthly meeting. She asked Commissioners not to leave the fate of anything to do with Boca Grande in the hands of one person, referring to District 1 Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane, in regard to his request.

O’Bannon said it was important for Marceno to be invested in island parking issues and she was happy that he had agreed to attend. 

“This is an important task and we look forward to working with Commissioner Ruane and Sheriff Marceno to formulate a plan that addresses all the parking issues in Boca Grande,” she said.

 So how did this all become so convoluted? As we reported last week, Commissioner Ruane’s request to give a parking presentation to Lee County Commissioners at their November meeting included the fact that there was “a greater urgency because of damage sustained to the beach area from 1st to 5th Street from Tropical Storm Idalia.” Ruane also said his slideshow would contain information regarding the last two seasons on island beaches regarding erosion and more.

One of the questions that have arisen is how the weather came into play, as it was not discussed by the Parking Panel with Ruane at their one and only meeting, in April of 2022. Not to mention, other than 5th Street beach access – which is well marked and blocked off – other downtown beaches have recovered since the storms.

In his request to make a November presentation, Ruane also told the other County Commissioners that he has had “many meetings” with the Boca Grande Parking Panel, as well as the Sheriff’s Office. This statement is confusing for the obvious reason that they have only met with him once.

According to Parking Panel Member Sandy Melvin, if other members of the Parking Panel did meet with Ruane, it was in an unofficial capacity and the other panel members were not aware. He also said he has only seen Ruane once about Boca Grande parking issues, in April of 2022 at The Gasparilla Inn & Club meeting.

In attendance at that meeting were Commissioner Ruane and parking panel members Deb Martin, Bill Ghriskey, Lynne Seibert, Sandy Melvin, Chris Cowperthwait, Mary O’Bannon and guest Hugh Sullivan. Ruane toured the island with Martin and O’Bannon, looking at parking “hot spots.” He also toured the Guide Docks with Capt. Sandy Mevin, who has firsthand knowledge of parking problems there.

“The only thing we did at that meeting was throw ideas around for a rough draft of a parking plan,” Melvin said.

In a records request to Lee County asking for any information on what Ruane would be presenting to Lee County Commissioners at their November meeting, the Beacon was sent an email dated October 22 from Boca Grande Parking Panel Chairman Mary O’Bannon to Commissioner Kevin Ruane, asking for a copy of the parking plan he was going to present to Lee County Commissioners. In the email she stated, “When we met in April, 2022, it clearly stated in our minutes, approved by you, that you would meet with county staff, see what could and couldn’t be done and then come back to us with a proposed draft. Upon receiving a draft, the panel would prioritize the most important issues we currently face. To date, that has not happened with five of our seven members. The majority of the panel were dismayed to hear you had a plan to present to the LC BOCC at the November meeting and we knew nothing of it.”

Ruane responded two days later, on October 24.

“During the busy season of 2022 we received 200-300 emails complaining about the illegal parking and that many individuals that reside in Boca Grande felt captured in their own homes,” he said. “We visited Boca approx (sic) 4 times during season of February to April 2022 to have a first hand view. As a result, in April 2022, I requested at a BOCC meeting that I work on developing a structure parking plan with staff (which was approved in a vote of 5-0 by the commissioners since I have had experience with structure parking on Sanibel).”

In the next part of the email to O’Bannon we believe that Ruane must have mixed his months up, as the panel met with him in April, not May. We have copied it verbatim below.

“In May 2022, we once again visited Boca Grande and met with the parking panel for a productive conversation about parking. These are my recommendations to the BOCC for November 7, 2023 as the County Manager advised me that I had to bring this item up again under commissioners issues: The revised ordinance will be drafted subsequently.”

In that email to O’Bannon, Ruane proceeded at this point to list nine line items that the Parking Panel members agree that they did discuss. However, according to a majority of the members, these nine items were not agreed upon by all members – the items were written into the minutes to reflect the discussion that was had that day, nothing more.

Below are the nine items the Parking Panel discussed, that Ruane said he was going to present to Commissioners at their November 7 meeting as a preliminary draft of a parking plan, copied verbatim from Ruane’s email:

1. Identify all available parking in the Lee County portion of Gasparilla Island. This is to include the downtown commercial area, beach access streets (1st to 19th) and public parking area (5th Street lot) and Gilchrist Avenue. 

2. Limit Gilchrist Avenue parking only for church services and “special use” permit for weddings, funerals, and special events . Otherwise Gilchrist is a parking safety issue as indicated by the sherriff’s office. 

3. Lee County will identify misuse or encroachment of private property on Lee County right of way and implement steps to regain that parking. 

4. Review East Railroad parking (runs parallel to Gasparilla Road and is a substandard Lee County road) and public safety issues on this feeder road to Boca Grande Isles. 

5. Implementation of a tiered parking sticker application for residents of Lee County, residents of Gasparilla Island, businesses and visitors. 

6. Propose limiting parking for downtown to 2 hours parking in business district. 

7. Increased fine and signage for those not in compliance of newly established rules. 

8. Work with Lee County Sheriff office (Carmine Marceno), once draft is accepted and becomes an ordinance for support of new fines. 

9. Explore use of technology with apps and signage on available parking for beaches etc. 

In closing the email to O’Bannon, Ruane wrote that he “believed this fairly represents your notes of the parking panel meeting in May 2022. The goal is to move forward with as many initiatives as possible.”

Melvin reiterated that, the last he knew, the commissioner was supposed to create that rough draft and get back to the Parking Panel first. He said he hadn’t received any phone calls, emails or any other type of communication from Ruane since April of 2022. O’Bannon said the same, and even addressed that in her email to Ruane on October 22.

Melvin said the only thing the panel voted on (unanimously) at the April 2022 meeting was for Commissioner Ruane to put a draft together that he thought would be workable, and bring it back to the parking panel for review. His comprehension of the process, Melvin said, was that the parking panel would see what Ruane had come up with before anyone else did.

Of the nine items discussed at the meeting that could be added to a Boca Grande parking plan, a majority of Parking Panel members we spoke with never thought that those talking points were set in stone in any way, and some of them disagreed with more than one of the items.

The last they knew, they were still waiting to hear back from Ruane as to when they would have a rough draft to look at.

We hope to have more information after the November 2 meeting involving Ruane, Marceno and the Parking Panel.