Ocean Blvd Source Document

Ocean Blvd source document

Open the above PDF file and you will find the document created by the Beach Company when they sold the lots on the ocean side of Ocean Blvd.

Several interesting things stand out, at least to this non-lawyer.  The document seems to indicate that the Beach Company owns the 10 foot easement on the side of the street.  They also own the paths that lead to the ocean.

It is for this reason they think they can prevent cars from parking on the side of the road.  It would be interesting to see what the city attorney has to say about this.

OK, fine.  Then let cars park on the landward side of the road.  There is little traffic on that street so it is not a big deal to cross it as compared to Palm Blvd.

Of course, the Ocean Blvd homeowners or the Beach Company may still threaten a lawsuit and the history of the city is to become a shrinking violet whenever a lawsuit is threatened.  Thus we see Plan C that has parking only on the side streets perpendicular to Ocean Blvd.

Because this will dramatically shrink the number of parking places on this end of the island, these cars will do what?  Pay to park in the crappy city lot?  Not a chance!  They will move up the island to Palm Blvd and congestion there will be even worse.

Why is City Council so concerned about the residents on the Breach Inlet end of the island and not at all about Wild Dunes?

If side street parking is good enough for the Ocean Blvd area why can’t the same thing be done for Palm Blvd?  No parking on Palm Blvd and the side streets are open for parking back to Cameron or Hartnett.  This would satisfy the beach management plan and relieve congestion on Palm Blvd.

One last interesting point.  The document says homeowners are forbidden from putting anything in the 10 feet easement.  But as you may have guessed, this is pretty much ignored.

A Big “JimDaddy Welcome” to the New Councilmembers

Keenagers

Geez, Carol Rice and Ted Kinghorn don’t get sworn into office for another 4 months and JimDaddy Carroll is already taking shots at them!  Is it any wonder no one runs for a seat on City Council.  Who wants to put up with this crap for a whopping $1500 a year and the opportunity to sit through endless meetings.

Hey, JimDaddy, City Council meetings can be viewed online for like the past 10 years.  It is quite possible the “new ones” are watching the meetings online and quietly contacting Mayor Cronin so they don’t get assigned a seat next to you.

No Rest at this Room

Public restroom exterior

Public restroom stall

Public restroom hallway

You might think this was a prison restroom as seen on MSNBC’s Lockup.  Nope.  It is the IOP public restroom at the front beach and attractive it is not.  In fact, it borders on awful.  In fairness, though, I have to say it is clean and tidy.

Every resident should “take a tour” of this grand facility.  There is no natural light, no ventilation and it feels very claustrophobic.

Given a choice, would you go here to pee or would you just go in the ocean?

The ATAX fund has over 2 million dollars in it.  ATAX stands for Accommations Tax and it is money generated from from taxes on rooms/houses rented and meals served on the IOP.  This money can only be used for projects and activities that in some way benefit tourism.  So, for example, it could be used to hire an extra policeman but it couldn’t be used to repair City Hall.

Let’s get city council working on putting in a nice restroom.  Give them 10 years to talk and plan and maybe this could get done before 2030.  Maybe.