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Escambia Commission To Discuss Reopening Beaches In Special Meeting
April 18, 2020
The Escambia County Commission will hold a special meeting on April 28 to discuss reopening public beaches.
The commission closed the public beaches and Santa Rosa Island and Perdido Key back on March 21 in a effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stay-at-home order is currently set to expire on April 30.
Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker has said he will propose reopening beaches in Santa Rosa County for exercise activities include fishing, swimming, surfing, walking, jogging and biking. The Santa Rosa County Commission could consider the idea on April 23.
The Escambia County Commission special meeting about reopening beaches will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28.
The commission meeting will be live streamed, and the public is urged to participate electronically and submit any comments or questions before the meeting to maximize social distancing. A public input form has been made available, and form comments will be read into the record during the meeting.
Comments
29 Responses to “Escambia Commission To Discuss Reopening Beaches In Special Meeting”
What is the goal of opening the beaches? Is it to provide revenue to businesses that are near the beach? Is it to provide access to the residents to enjoy the beaches? We all want to return to normal activities, but how can we control the spread of the virus while providing access to the beaches? If your are counting on personal responsibility then test it. Allow limited hours, after 14 days,if cases decrease then you can increase the hours the beaches are open, if the cases rise then the beaches go back to closure.
Follow the Federal/CDC guidelines. When numbers are falling for 14 days, open the beach. In the meantime, leave it closed. There is no way to enforce “residents only”. The minute people from other states hear that our beaches are open, they will come. My family all works at local hospitals. Numbers are still going UP. We risk everyone when we just need to wait a couple more weeks. Consequences are too risky. PLEASE WAIT A LITTLE LONGER. Who knows? In two more weeks, we could have a pill or treatment that really works.
Contrary to Dr Fauci, many knowledgeable doctors are saying that people who are well need to get back to school and back to work. The folks that are sick, have runny noses, the elderly, the immunosuppressed need to STAY HOME.
Panic has struck our country. Perhaps confronting this virus in a sensible way would be much more healthy for everyone.
When hurricanes Opal and Erin hit us within a year, the whole county learned how addicted to beach revenue government is. I think it’s a safe bet the commissioners will reopen the beaches. Is revenue more important than lives? Is it safer to go to the beach than stay home? These questions will NOT be answered by commissioners.
That is rich , a special meeting with “Special Commissioners” and they are VERY special with that mentality….thanks in advance for the spike
open everything……are we going to do this to every American anytime that a new virus or disease comes about. This virus will not go away and it will be something that we have to live with indefinitely.
1950 Native comment hit it right on the head!! Thank you Native 1950
Open beaches (and other places) would be great for those who social distance. Unfortunately, idiots don’t do so and law enforcement here won’t issue citations: so the idiots keep making places unsafe for others to enjoy. The good suffer for the bad.
Keep the beaches closed in till the cases go more than a week without new cases.They jumped up here in Gulf breeze,and in Escambia county.People can live without that beach for another month!!!!
It is safer to be in the sunshine and fresh air not breathing the same continuous stale air in your home. Just open the beach to residents who live out there to see if they follow the rules then slowly open to the public.. Pensacola depends on tourism. We need to get back to business!
if you went to Joe Patty’s today to buy seafood you had wall to wall people like every normal day of the week! So please explain what our closed up country is all about,
Other European countries manage to open partially under certain restrictions. They heavily fine people who break the law. Wear masks, keep social distances, do not congregate anywhere for the next couple of months and strictly enforce it! Once a couple of idiots actually pay several hundred dollar fines – the message will register even in the dumbest heads.
Yes, open the beaches! Have any of you been to Walmart, Sam’s, Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Target? No social distancing at any of them, it’s ridiculous! People are going to have to learn social distancing whether at the store or at the beach. But the businesses that are on the beach needs to open back up with a new normal, and the beaches need to open! America, home of the free and the brave!
I have driven around this town and agree with others that this area is not shut down where most businesses are not operating in some fashion. I think the priorities are lifes and health of those that live here. If they are going to open up the beaches again then enforce the rule and fine people when they are not following the rules. That is the only way opening up the beaches will work. We still have not hit the apex of this virus here in this area or Florida. Commissioners need to remember jobs can come back people cannot if they die from COVID 19. Just remember before the beaches are opened back up, remember the big Easter party that the Pensacola PPD had to break up and no one was even trying to social distance. This is tough on us all I get it but in the end when we have a handle on this situation we will all look back and know we did what we had to do to get through this. Hang tough Pensacola!
I think it’s time for a limited opening of the beach. Not for tourists but local residents. And if the concern is that too many people will crowd the beach, limit the parking and/or limit the amount of traffic across the bridge. Right now, most of the public parking is barricaded. Don’t open it all back up. That will limit the number of people at the beach. As others have stated, most of the grocery and retail stores are loaded with people. It’s time to responsibly reopen the beach.
this time, it’s time to allow all of the citizens of this county access to the Gulf of Mexico, not just those that have money and can afford boats in the big trucks to pull them with. I live here because of my love for the golf. I’m a surfer, not a good one just one that loves it. And for those of you who never have served you will never understand the calming the cathartic affect of catching a wave. At a minimum the beach should be open to activity such as swimming And surfing and kayaking and paddle boarding and running on the beach. These are all activities that by their nature are automatically compliant with social distancing. As a matter of fairness if you choose not to open the beaches you should close the boat ramps the golf courses and any other place that people congregate. I live near the municipal golf course, there is always someone playing golf. Please serve all of the citizens but not just those that have money.
If you are afraid, then stay home, don’t go to the beach or Walmart or target or Lowe’s. Don’t drive a car or ride a motorcycle. There is risk involved in every activity. Please don’t tell me that I can’t go for a walk on the beach instead of the sidewalk. I always thought that this was the land of the Free and home of the Brave.
this is just dumb. nothing has changed, virus is still very active.
Henry, have you went anywhere in Pensacola lately? The city is far from closed. People are everywhere. Even more so now bc a lot of people aren’t working. Lowe’s academy Walmart, all these places are slammed with people all day. And the virus numbers aren’t exploding. The public is doing a good job of wearing masks, social distancing and sanitizing so the virus isn’t spreading like wildfire. It’s time to get back to business and let the people of Pensacola continue to do their part in keeping the virus at bay. Businesses cannot stay closed for the year that it would take to get a vaccine. The economy will collapse
The commission meeting will be live streamed,if they are not worried about the virus, then make it a regular meeting. Same as opening the beach, then the bars, etc.
NEED TO FIND ANOTHER INCOME OTHER THAN TOURISTS, HURRICANES, BAD WEATHER, RED TIDE, GAS PRICES, ETC. EFFECT THE BOTTOM DOLLAR.
Welcome to good ol merica where the dollar has more value than a human life, without everyone stoppind and staying home for 2 weeks minus police and emergency medical personal this will never end I’m a essential worker so they claim what’s is essential about someone’s swimming pool deck i have no idea to many non essential jobs are labeled essential, they need to set a date say April 30 to may 14 everything is closed what you don’t have you won’t have!?!?!
NO! NO! NO! After all this time and effort of trying to flatten the curve and many people still sick (and more not even showing signs yet)? What a waste of effort! You’re just asking for a rebound, worse than ever before!!! People need to grow up! Learn to play by the rules…learn to be happy within themselves and find things to do at home! Use your brain…learn something new everyday! YouTube is great for learning new things. Wow…guess this means we can all start going to church again now, right???
Completely foolish , they will be responsible for thousands of deaths
C-R-A-Z-Y to Open the Beaches in any manner at all.
Have heard the pleas from ‘Surfers’ and the promise of a County Commissioner that “ONLY LOCALS” would be allowed but that’s just Irresponsible and playing Chinese roulette with people’s health and lives.
Sheriff says he really has no resources to fully patrol the beach, and barely anywhere else in the county. So without deputies and means of effecting arrest or warrants or fines it is futile to try enforcement. There is nothing to authorize arrests that would hold up in court.
Will the State’s Attorney Office take to trial an individual or group for violating an order to not gather in groups? Doubt that will happen.
Asking the Board of Country Commissioners to do the RIGHT thing and keep the beaches closed to protect those who elected (some very regrettably) you.
Henry, you are right, hopefully the Commission will have enough sense to keep the beach and all other businesses CLOSED.
What if We refuse to go out and about ?
Tell that to those who are out of work & struggling to make ends meet.
Opening areas where people can get out and get some fresh air or for exercise sounds like a good plan. No large extended family gatherings should be tolerated at this point. Also should be able to show a Florida ID if asked. I wouldn’t open the beaches to people on vacation yet.
Without a vaccine and enough testing for all, going back to business as usual is a bad idea.