Englewood beach merchants, Boca Grande fast recovery

Here in Boca Grande, during this hurricane cleanup, we have been well served by Lee County and its various departments, from Parks and Recreation to DOT. There had been a past sense, quite right, that taxpayers on the island were paying an enormous amount of money to the county, and had been left out of some of the fiscal largesse that flows on the mainland. Throughout this recent disaster recovery, Lee County officials literally stepped in nasty water and worked overtime to put the town back. The recent rebuild of the ramp at 5th Street is one such example of a county that acts, and helps. The need was great, and the county came up with an interim solution that was handsome, safe and extremely helpful.

At the Gasparilla Island State Park, staff there has worked for interim solutions that would make the park accessible, even as they are trying to do beach renourishment. Barrier Island Parks Society has also come up with ways to reopen both lighthouses, as they are critical to our visitor experience.

Charlotte County residents of Gasparilla Island have not been not so well served. There is no action at all on fixing the Boca Grande Fishing Pier, which is blocked off. We have already lost one business related to that closure, Glass Bottom Rentals, which offered nature tours. The Placida pier is also closed, as is the El Jobean pier. These are not just amenities for our locals and visitors. They are a part of our collective history, as they were the trestles of the Seaboard Railroad, and built by the same hands that laid out the streets of Boca Grande (see page 21). The Boca Grande Fishing Pier also has hosted the Lee County Parks kids fishing tournaments.

This week, the Englewood Chamber challenged Charlotte County, and the continued closure of parking at Englewood Beach. The issue is slightly connected to Boca Grande, as there is some discussion that closed beaches elsewhere has sent visitors here. The issue also shows what happens to businesses when beach parking shuts down, as the businesses suffering at Englewood Beach have their own parking. The reality is that visitors don’t just park at one place and go to the beach. They also do a few other things. 

Chamber Director Doug Izzo wrote a public letter about the issue, published in the Charlotte Sun.

“The continued closure of the parking lot at Englewood Beach is more than just a minor inconvenience, it’s a serious economic issue that is deeply impacting the local businesses and county coffers. For more than seven months, the lot has remained closed with no visible work taking place, and the effects are being felt by the businesses along Manasota Key and throughout the entire county. The restaurants, boutiques, watersport rentals, and other small businesses that depend on beach traffic are struggling to survive and some may not make it much longer. Without easy access to the beach, many tourists are choosing to go elsewhere.” 

We called Izzo yesterday. He said that he did not write the letter easily, as he works on so many projects with the county. But it had reached a point of desperation for members. Izzo, a former St. Pete Beach councilman, worked as government affairs director at the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce. He knows beach town economics better than most, and is a regular visitor to the island, not only at joint chamber events, but personally.

Why Englewood Beach is closed is a mystery. The issue for Englewood Beach is the need for pavement, and all sorts of things that the Parks and Recreation must do to keep up its self-imposed “standards.” The reality? We are all grown-ups. And we can step around some broken pavement, and follow signs around hastily erected snow fences.

The ability of bureaucracies to be inactive, and fall on procedure and rules, is what happens in socialist countries. There are so many rules in the book that a person who is lazy, incompetent, power hungry or just plain mean can ruin life for us all. Those who want to see how scary things can be should watch the just-released episodes of [Jeremy] “Clarkson’s Farm 4” on Amazon Prime, as that British farmer tries to reopen a closed pub. Try visiting the Charlotte County DMV. The question also applies to the Boca Grande Post Office; how is it that it is still closed, and residents here, so seemingly powerful and influential, still have no post office? This has directly hurt town retail, and sent business off island, changing habits.

Hello Byron Donalds?

At a spring Charlotte County meeting, we heard one commissioner decry how hard it was to get parks open again. It was not even worth quoting at the time, but it went to the effect of “people just don’t know how hard it is!”

We do know how hard it is, actually, and are scared about hard it can be, especially as we approach the dead season in Boca Grande, when so few come here.

Boca Grande once had a car dealer and a Chevron station, among dozens of businesses that gave the island a sense of being a real town, and not a luxury resort. Keeping the health of these businesses should be top of mind this summer as Lee County cooks up a parking ordinance for Boca Grande. In the discussion, there has been no budge on a two-hour limit on parking, and in some second drafts floating about the island, beach parking is reduced even further. Mayberry on the beach needs small merchants.

Izzo, in his letter, ends with something that could also apply to the businesses in Boca Grande and the discussion over beach access. “Every dollar spent locally goes directly into helping these businesses survive. This is not just about economics, it’s about preserving our community. Let’s do everything in our power to make sure the businesses that have always been there for us are still standing when this is over. They’re more than just businesses, they’re our family and family sticks together.”

Garland Pollard is editor of the Boca Beacon. Email letters and comments to editor@bocabeacon.com.