At his June 30 town hall, Commissioner Steve Stroberger first defended adding the $5 million expansion of Galvez Landing to the county’s list of RESTORE projects, saying residents might not understand it. After several residents came forward opposing, he was less sure that he made the correct decision.
- “I was briefed on Galvez Landing on that project when I first was elected, and it sounds like a good idea to me,” said the commissioner. “I want to know what everyone else thinks because I don’t know if everybody understands what the project is.”
Sacred Heartbeat Place
A resident responded: “For one, we have a complete understanding of what the goal of the project is, and for two, I speak for everybody. When I say we don’t want it touched at all, it’s completely perfect the way it is for multiple reasons.”
He continued, “That is one of the most sacred heartbeat places of our community. For one, it’s we the people, not we the government. We don’t want it mess with for reasons probably you don’t understand. Are you down there? Are you seeing the kids enjoy it every day? Are you seeing that there’s no problem with the flow of traffic? Are you seeing that there’s no problem with the boat ramp at all and it’d be a complete waste of money?”
He asked for a show of hands of people who agreed with him. “We want if left completely as is. Thank you. My point is proven. That’s all I need to say.”
Stroberger Stunned
Stroberger emphatically denied that he canceled the beach access projects that were approved last year before he was elected and redirected the money to the Galvez Landing project.
- “I didn’t cancel anything, haven’t canceled anything, and apparently, I’ve redirected all this money to this project that I’ve resurrected, which I haven’t resurrected. Okay? This was something that was brief to me. I liked the idea because, and I brought some friends with me to talk to you about it. I don’t think the understanding of what this is for is understood.”
Stroberger stated the project would improve access, safety, drainage and water quality and stabilize the shoreline.
- “My grandkids go there,” he said. “I’ve had ice cream out there when the ice cream boat comes there and gives us ice cream, I enjoy it too. This, I thought, was going to make it better. That’s what I thought. That’s what I’ve been told.”
He said Bergosh and Underhill were okay with the project and seemed to be stunned that everyone was now upset. Note: It was Commissioner Jeff Bergosh who advocated for more beach access, not Galvez Landing’s expansion. Stroberger never explained why Perdido Key beach access was being dropped.
- As more people spoke out and argued the current landing was adequate for the neighborhood, Stroberger continued to defend the project. “And it’s not just the people that go there to view and sit and join the sunset. Galvez Landing is for boaters. That’s what it’s for. And I thought we were improving it.”
Charter boat owners supported the project, arguing they are good for the local economy. Capt. Greg said, “Our customers that come are coming from Alabama. We’re spending money there. We’re supporting Hub Stacey’s. Many a times we’re up there in the afternoon. Our customers we’re promoting the local restaurants right there.”
Need to Reevaluate
Near the end, Commissioner Stroberger backtracked. “This project is not something that you can blame a commissioner for, whether it was Underhill or it was Bergosh or me or before that. So this was a project that the staff identified. It sounded like a great thing. It was RESTORE money. Why not do it? It seemed like a good idea. Maybe there should have been a lot more public vetting way back then to figure this out. But they designed it, and I have to tell you, when I first looked at it, I thought it was great.”
- He added, “Maybe there’s too many (parking) spots. I don’t know. Clearly, we’re going to have to reevaluate this.”
If Stroberger honors his commitment to reevaluate this, he should make the motion to pull the Amendment 4 of the RESTORE Act Multi-Year Implementation Plan (MYIP) from the July 10 agenda. Will he?