Residents angered over torn-down dock
Angry residents packed the council chambers at Town Hall on Monday night to express their dismay over the Coconut Drive area dock being condemned, then removed within a three-week period without notice.
Town council was apparently caught unaware as well.
One by one, Beach residents came up to make their feelings known during public comment, which took up a large chunk of what was otherwise a fairly routine meeting.
Most emotional was Neil Underwood, who needed to gather himself at one point.
“I don’t understand why you don’t notify anyone about that’s going on. That’s not progress,” Underwood said. “This is nonsense and it needs to be straightened out quickly.”
Scott Baker, Public Works director, said the dock, which was nearly 50 years old, was in disrepair and needed to be replaced.
“It’s a liability issue. It needed to be fixed or rebuilt,” Baker said.
Maury Nakaya, a Coconut Drive resident, said nearly everyone in the neighborhood is miffed and that they could have gotten an engineer who would have agreed that it needed to be fixed.
“We were going to address that this year. Unfortunately, in a three-week period, they condemned the dock and tore it down,” Nakaya said.
Nakaya said the dock, which was situated between the gulf and the bay, was built nearly 50 years ago by residents before the town existed and had the rights to the land. It was county property.
“We knew the people who built the dock. They put the piling on the dock themselves. We had parties on the dock,” Nakaya said. “We think it’s unfair they claim it’s on their property and could take it down if they wanted to.”
If the dock was rebuilt, it would be public access, as it was before. However, some of the residents prefer otherwise.
“Coconut residents want their dock back but don’t want public access. You can’t have it both ways. It’s always been a public dock,” Council member Rexann Hosafros said.
Still, the fact the dock was destroyed was certainly news to Council member Summer Stockton, who said, “This is the first I’ve heard about it. If this is a liability issue, we need to know.”
Mayor Anita Cereceda said she would get a workshop together in January to put the matter to bed. She added she was happy so many people came to air their views.
“I love it when people come to meetings, whether they’re happy or not. They’re engaged, and they’re right. The council needs to get closure for them,” Cereceda said. “They’re losing sleep over this and it’s our responsibility to quiet their nerves.
In other business, Cereceda made a proclamation in honor of Bob Petcher, who had his family there to witness, for the seven years he served as the editor of the Beach Observer.