News

The County now has all the necessary permits and expects to go to bid about April 1. Contracts will be awarded about August 1 and the construction will take approximately nine months.

 

Unfortunately, that means some work will still be ongoing during the tourist season next year, but the County has promised to do all they can to minimize the inconvenience for residents and beach goers.

 

A new building will replace the existing bathrooms and will be located directly east of that current structure. The building itself is low profile, with an “inverted V” roof line. The highest part of the roof will be slightly higher than the existing picnic shelter. The roof design will allow for the capture of rain and dew from the roof to flush toilets and water new plantings.

 

The building will have a considerably smaller footprint than the original proposal and will be further from the road. It has larger, handicapped accessible bathrooms, a family bathroom, a lifeguard / first aid room a handicapped ramp and a small office that could be used by the Sheriff, or the turtle patrol. It has NO concession stand, or kitchen.

 

The small parking lot on the west side of the road will be for handicapped parking and drop off ONLY. No general parking will be available in that lot. Paver brick walkways for wheel chair and walker use will connect that parking area to the new building. The large parking lot on the east side, north of Manasota Beach Road will be reconfigured. By doing so, the County projects 100 additional parking spaces, which should alleviate the seasonal problem of people parking on the bridge approach. Once the project is complete the County has promised to work with the MKA and NMKA on signage to help traffic flow as safely as possible through the intersection.

 

Rita and I feel that the County has been very responsive to our concerns. The current bathrooms are in very poor condition and need replacement. Improved access for the handicapped is not only appropriate, but is required by the ADA. We do not anticipate any major inconvenience for our members and will continue to work with the County to make sure that is the case.

 

On a different, but somewhat related subject, the County will also be building a new bathroom facility at middle beach ( Blind Pass Park ). This will be constructed on the east side of the road near the existing playground and picnic shelter. Again, this will be bathrooms and a small office for use by the Sheriff. No concession stand, or kitchen is included in the plans.