Parking ordinance delayed after promise for hearing

There was no formal agenda item concerning Boca Grande parking at the Lee County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, March 18, despite county staff telling attendees last meeting that it would come back up on the 18th.

“The reason we didn’t have a public meeting today [about parking in Boca Grande] is four people are here,” said Commissioner Kevin Ruane, addressing the fact that Commissioner Brian Hamman was not in attendance. “It’s a discussion we have with all five commissioners, so as a person that puts the agenda together, knowing that we did not have all five commissioners, I didn’t think it would be a worthwhile conversation unless all five members participated.”

The topic was initially brought up by several public commenters, including attorney Neale Montgomery for the Pavese Law Firm, who spoke representing “some of the property owners and businesses on Boca Grande,” she said. She did not specify which owners or businesses.

Montgomery worked for the Lee County Attorney’s office for six years and “routinely advised the Board of County Commissioners,” according to her bio.

“There’s not enough public safety people to take care of the folks on the island, so rather than wait for a study, let’s move forward with an ordinance,” Montgomery said. “What we can’t have is the public-safety issue where you have too many people, and there’s congestion and houses, businesses, driveways are blocked, and you can’t get the people to the residence or to the business to address the problem. Let this see the light of day. Let’s not send this to a study and a workshop where it languishes.”

This is the first time Montgomery has spoken on Boca Grande parking at one of these public comment periods.

Michael R. Whitt, an attorney with Hahn Loeser hired by St. Andrew’s and the Lighthouse United Methodist Church spoke as well.

“We were told two weeks ago that the proposed ordinance was going to be an agenda item and then was going to be potentially voted for first reading,” Whitt said. “As we said a couple of weeks ago, there’s no parking study and there needs to be a parking study done.”

The churches, namely Lighthouse United and St. Andrew’s, serve the community seven days a week, he added.

“Do we have a workshop or a commission meeting out there to take input from the public and the stakeholders there without having a parking study done?” he asked. “Or do you all come out so you can better understand the interests of the varied stakeholders in Boca Grande, understand what the problems are and then consider possible next steps including a parking study?”

Residents Jay Whipple, Kimberly Whipple and Mary O’Bannon, as well as Gary Cross, executive director of the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce, also participated in the public-comment period expressing the need for a parking study, advisory panel or community meeting before any formal parking plan is passed.

Residents Louis Sarkes and Hugh Sullivan were in attendance and spoke in support of a structured parking plan and immediate action for Boca Grande, which they said was overwhelmed by people.

Marco Meola, co-owner of South Beach Bar & Grille also spoke regarding the need for a parking study and the reopening of the Gasparilla State Park at the south end of the island, which has around 100 spots that are currently not being used.

“The facts that have been presented today are rhetoric,” Ruane said before the adjournment of the meeting. “They’re not facts at all and I certainly have no problem backing up anything that I’ve said on the record. My logs indicate when I’ve been there in meetings.”

Watch the whole March 18 meeting at youtube.com/@LeeCountyFLBOCC/videos. A story on the ordinance is here.