Residents of Shalimar, a town on Florida's Emerald Coast, are debating a proposal to have the town of Shalimar build its own RV and boat storage yard. The issue was discussed at a Town Commission meeting on Tuesday. But the commission did not make a final decision about the boat yard because one member was absent and the members who were present were split fairly evenly on the subject.
Shalimar Town Manager Tom Burns told the NWF Daily News on Wednesday that the project has been pending for about three years.
"There has been no general consensus," Burns said. "We are going to wait until the majority of our commissioners are present...It's not an issue you can boil down to two or three things. We have six issues of concern." The issues boiled down to whether or not the town could afford to build and operate its own storage yard, whether it would be operated safely, whether the space was compatible with Shalimar generally, and whether it was proper for a township to own and operate a business such as a storage yard. Some commissioners were also concerned about proper stewardship of the space and accountability for its operations.
For local business owner Steven Peterson, who has spent the last 11 years operating the Shalimar Yacht Basin, however, the issues boiled down to one: the town was considering competing for some of his business. Peterson sent the commissioners a letter detailing his opposition to the project.
"I'm wondering why are you wanting to be in competition with me?" Peterson was quoted in the NWF Daily News as saying. "They need to either buy me out or don't be in competition with one of your major businesses....I think they should be trying to support me and allow the community to come together."
Local resident Jimmy Jones disagreed. He wanted Shalimar residents to have a place to store RVs -- something that the Shalimar Yacht Basin cannot provide. "There is no storage here in this area for that sort of thing to speak of," he said in Wednesday's NWF Daily News. "This is what we pay our tax dollars for....Not everybody's going to use it, but we have several parks that not everybody uses and they don't make any money....This is a Mayberry type town and this kind of thing is really helpful to the citizens."
The issue may be resolved at the next meeting of the Shalimar Town Commissioners, to take place on May 11.
Sources used:
McCurdy, Angel. "Proposed boat-RV storage yard divides Shalimar residents." NWF Daily News. April 14, 2010.
Shalimar Yacht Basin.
Town of Shalimar. Town Commission Meeting Agenda. April 13, 2010.
Town of Shalimar. Town Commission Meeting Minutes. March 9, 2010.