Expanding local bar alcohol use to include all open sand on Fort Myers Beach
To the editor:
It is appreciated that Community Development Director Walter Fleugel and the citizen members who are serving on the Local Planning Agency are holding the line and trying to be fair to all businesses that want to serve alcohol on the beach sand perimeters from high tide to private property. However, as some of your investigations are proving up to this point, there is not one business (and to the best of my memory) that was ever approved by the State to serve alcohol on the beach from the front of their property to the high tide line. That story started shortly after this island became a Town with only one business doing that. Only that property originally made that claim but it was never proven to the Town with documentation.
This problematic nightmare came about when the serving Town Manager requested that she be given the authority by Town Council to deal directly with Time Square businesses without consulting TC unless she felt that a problem came up where she needed TC approval. I realize that this is a strange thing to happen, but it was an active and ongoing procedure but this “alcohol issue” did not come before Council. The manager may have made the decision but I don’t know that. As I recall, this procedure was active for a while. I feel certain that many or at least some of the businesses will recall this situation. Many residents, I believe, never learned of this… Town Council news often went for as long as 2 to 3 months before being published so that Town Council and the public could review the minutes.
I mention this for one reason. Some records are vague and/or nonexistent in Town Hall. The County did not allow alcohol on the public beach before or after we became a town in 1995. This included no open containers anywhere in the Times Square area. I saw Sheriffs’ officers have many open beer bottles dumped. Many businesses and residents surely saw deputies stopping people walking along the street and having them pour the beer on the sand and depositing their bottle in the nearest trash container. This proved to be very successful, and the Town supported their actions.
I would ask this Town Council, “Who are they representing?” I would emphatically state that you are not doing this for the tax-paying residents who are 80 percent (plus or minus) strong to 20 percent (plus or minus) business. If you fain a different reason, perhaps you should take this to a ballot vote and hear from the residents.
It should be pointed out that this so-called “business right” has never existed or needed during the long, past history of this island. Why now? We have never been more of a family island that we are today. Mr. Fleugel and the LPA resident members are correct in stating that this should be investigated to define fair decisions and should be stated in ordinances with proper enforcement regulations. If Council is to be fair, the playing field must be leveled along with State statues and other legalities. That would be fair. So far, all that TC has done is expand bar alcohol serving privileges to fill in a bar’s property empty lot spaces along Estero Boulevard. That is a horrendous thing to do. Where will all of the noise go without being contained within the walls of the bar? Town Council, that is a bad idea. Please think of the majority of the island citizens and families with children of whom it will not serve. Thank you.
Garr Reynolds
Fort Myers Beach