REDINGTON SHORES – Soon to be gone are the signs posted requiring a hang tag for residents and $1 an hour fee for visitors to park in the Redington Shores municipal lot at 17798 Gulf Blvd.
An ordinance passed at the Nov. 18 Town Commission meeting eliminated all charges and ID requirements enacted when the public parking lot opened over a year ago on the former Town Hall site.
At that time, the commissioners felt the lot would be a stimulus to nearby restaurants and businesses, as well as provide access to the beach. Charging a fee to park in the lot would, they reasoned, help pay off its $40,000 cost.
The charges have apparently caused the lot to remain mostly empty, Mayor Bert Adams said. A few months ago, the automated parking meter was moved to County Park. Now the commission has officially established the lot’s free status and opened it to the public from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The only restriction remaining is a ban on commercial vehicle parking.
Providing free parking spaces for the public in a lot with access to the beach will help meet the county’s requirements for beach renourishment, Town Attorney James Denhardt said.
“You are opening up the beach and making it accessible,” he said.
Free public parking could also be an enticement that could fill the lot with outsiders, limiting town residents’ access to the beach, resident Ken Brown warned. Brown said he and others who live east of Gulf Boulevard use the lot for weekend visits to the beach. He questioned why parking spaces should be opened to all comers on a first-come, first-served basis.
“The property belongs to the town,” Brown said.
Adams said he shared Brown’s concerns.
“I’ve had reservations about that myself,” he admitted.
With the lot being underused, Adams said the commission decided to try the free parking concept and see how it works out. He told Brown, “You can be assured I want to hear about it if it is not working.”
Position eliminated
Four years after firing Redington Shores’ one and only town administrator, the commission has decided to eliminate the position altogether.
The administrator, Don Lusk, was on the job only a short time before commission members decided they could better handle his duties among themselves, as they had before he arrived.
The position can be reinstated should the commission want to try it out again, Denhardt said.
Service sharing OK’d
The commission approved an interlocal agreement that provides for sharing building permitting and inspection services with Treasure Island.
A similar arrangement already exists between the town and Indian Shores.
Commissioner Casey Wojcik objected to the agreement, saying he feared Treasure Island could overuse the services of building official Steve Andrews.
“They could eliminate a position and just use our guy,” he said.
The intention of the agreement is to provide backup services, Denhardt said. It can be terminated by either side with 45 days notice, he pointed out.
Wojcik wanted a definition of over utilization.
Common sense, Commissioner Lee Holmes replied.
Adams told Wojcik not to worry about Treasure Island taking advantage of the agreement.
“We know where our building official is all the time,” he said. “If he’s down there too much, we will know it.”
The agreement was approved 3-1. Wojcik was opposed, Commissioner Tom Kapper was absent.
