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Andy A

Beach Fanatic
Feb 28, 2007
4,389
1,738
Blue Mountain Beach
The county would make money renting kiosks and selling licenses.

Agreed!!! And I am sure that type of arrangement is what Jdarg and I had in mind. Let the vendors bid for who is going to have the kiosks or divide them up proportionately. The fee for establishing and maintaining the kiosks could go to the TDC to further other tourist interests.
 
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Beach Buggys

Beach Lover
Mar 13, 2012
105
3
Local
www.sowalbeachbuggys.com
Maybe 80-90% of people who come talk to you about buying golf carts use beach chair rental services- which would make the very first part of your statement true. But let's make sure we do not in any way confuse your cited numbers as a representative sampling of actual demand or usage of rental chairs on our public beaches.

The data point that 80-90% of users of our public beaches rent beach chairs is simply NOT a true statement. Not even close.

There isn't enough sand to make those numbers plausible even if you are using 150% of the beach at the waters edge. Each beach setup accommodates only 2 people and takes up - what- maybe 6-8 linear feet of sand?

IMHO vendors are lucky to be given half of our public beaches.

The numbers i quoted are just an educated guess from my dealings with vacationers on a daily basis, but maybe a study should be done to properly assess the demand before passing ordinances that will limit their availability to the tourists.

The Beach Chairs are a luxury which people on vacation expect, take that away and you risk them going somewhere else. A day on the beach can be a lot of work, the beach chair guys make it easy. i agree with the problem of the ghost sets, this problem should be addressed specifically not pass ordinances that could potentially put numerous small businesses out of business. Tourism drives this county, give the tourists what they want.
 

Beach Buggys

Beach Lover
Mar 13, 2012
105
3
Local
www.sowalbeachbuggys.com
How can someone participate in the debate/discussion of an issue and then not vote due to a conflict of interest? In the past a commissioner with a conflict left the room when the topic was brought to the floor.

I was present at the meeting, the commissioner was elected to represent the people in her district as best she can. She is a part of the community and having first hand knowledge of the situation and what effects it will have on local businesses made her voice a valuable one. The conflict of interest was only if she voted, the county attorney verified she had every right to be involved in the discussion.
 

steel1man

Beach Fanatic
Jan 10, 2013
2,291
659
The numbers i quoted are just an educated guess from my dealings with vacationers on a daily basis, but maybe a study should be done to properly assess the demand before passing ordinances that will limit their availability to the tourists. The Beach Chairs are a luxury which people on vacation expect, take that away and you risk them going somewhere else. A day on the beach can be a lot of work, the beach chair guys make it easy. i agree with the problem of the ghost sets, this problem should be addressed specifically not pass ordinances that could potentially put numerous small businesses out of business. Tourism drives this county, give the tourists what they want.
Problem is enforcement(tuff enforcement) once passed it must be enforced. Last summer one beach enforcement officer told me it was a waste of time to issue citations. Mainly,( get this) because HE would have to spend a day on court if the vendor fought the citation...
 

Danny Glidewell

Beach Fanatic
Mar 26, 2008
725
914
Glendale
Problem is enforcement(tuff enforcement) once passed it must be enforced. Last summer one beach enforcement officer told me it was a waste of time to issue citations. Mainly,( get this) because HE would have to spend a day on court if the vendor fought the citation...

Enforcing rules and ordinances is an ongoing problem. If you cannot/will not enforce an ordinance or rule, then why bother with it?
 

Bob Hudson

Beach Fanatic
May 10, 2008
1,066
739
Santa Rosa Beach
Here is my inquiry to the County Administrator and County Attorney on January 14th.

Her son is a permitted Beach vendor. That's the conflict and the one the Ethics Commission will consider.

Robert Hudson <xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com>
to: Davis Mark <mdd@co.walton.fl.us>
cc: Jones Larry <jonlarry@co.walton.fl.us>

Mark


As a follow up to our discussion last night I reviewed my notes and provide the following.

The statute seems pretty clear to me.

I request that you either advise me where there is an exemption or seek a ruling prior to her further participation in the "Beach Vendors" ordinance issue.

Clearly Bill Imfeld has realized the impact of his association with Sandestin and has not participated in votes or discussions revolving around Driftwood Estates.

Mrs Jones should act in a like manner.

My concern is based on the following. I have marked that section which I believe applies.

I would appreciate your thoughts on this issue.


Bob


Florida Statutes 112.3143. A state public officer may not vote on any matter that the officer knows would inure to his or her special private gain or loss. Any state public officer who abstains from voting in an official capacity upon any measure that the officer knows would inure to the officer’s special private gain or loss, or who votes in an official capacity on a measure that he or she knows would inure to the special private gain or loss of any principal by whom the officer is retained or to the parent organization or subsidiary of a corporate principal by which the officer is retained other than an agency as defined in s. 112.312(2); or which the officer knows would inure to the special private gain or loss of a relative or business associate of the public officer, shall make every reasonable effort to disclose the nature of his or her interest as a public record in a memorandum filed with the person responsible for recording the minutes of the meeting, who shall incorporate the memorandum in the minutes. If it is not possible for the state public officer to file a memorandum before the vote, the memorandum must be filed with the person responsible for recording the minutes of the meeting no later than 15 days after the vote.
A member of the Legislature may satisfy the disclosure requirements of this section by filing a disclosure form created pursuant to the rules of the member’s respective house if the member discloses the information required by this subsection….If disclosure of specific information would violate confidentiality or privilege pursuant to law or rules governing attorneys, a public officer, who is also an attorney, may comply with the disclosure requirements of this section by disclosing the nature of the interest in such a way as to provide the public with notice of the conflict.
 
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Danny Glidewell

Beach Fanatic
Mar 26, 2008
725
914
Glendale
Someone does not need to cast a vote in order to influence the outcome of an issue. Guiding the debate to a desired outcome is very much a possibility. The only way to avoid any hint of impropriety would be to excuse yourself when the topic is introduced.
 

Beach Buggys

Beach Lover
Mar 13, 2012
105
3
Local
www.sowalbeachbuggys.com
[FONT=arial said:
The statute seems pretty clear to me. [/FONT]

I request that you either advise me where there is an exemption or seek a ruling prior to her further participation in the "Beach Vendors" ordinance issue.

112.312(2); or which the officer knows would inure to the special private gain or loss of a relative or business associate of the public officer,

It does not seem clear to me. I do not feel like this constitutes the private gain or loss of an individual , it effects an entire industry and the entire community. Many Many people will be equally effected by this. In my opinion Mrs Jones had every right to be a part of the conversation, she was elected to do so. I feel like she was representing the community to the best of her ability. I've only met Mrs Jones one time, briefly, at the courthouse annex earlier this year and I was very impressed that she took the time to ask me my opinion on a few issues, this being one of them.
 
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