Time to reopen Sarasota County’s beaches?

SARASOTA –– That’s a question that’s likely to spark a lot of discussion during Wednesday’s upcoming county commission meeting.

Commissioner Christian Ziegler added the topic under his report for discussion, and last Thursday, on his Facebook page, posted options for consideration.

Those options included opening the beaches up entirely, opening them with only limited activity (walking, running, swimming, etc.), or keep them closed.

Ziegler urged his Facebook followers to share the post to get as much feedback as possible.

As of Saturday morning, the post had been shared only three times and no comments had been added.

However, in an email to his fellow commissioners this past Thursday, April 16, Commissioner Charles Hines also indicated his interest in having a discussion about reopening the beaches, and possibly major league baseball as well.

Sarasota County is home to spring training facilities for the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in downtown Sarasota and the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park in North Port.

Hines’ email was sparked by an email from Amy Bentley, a resident of Palmer Ranch, directing his attention to an article about beaches in Jacksonville reopening.

Sarasota County’s beaches, along with those in neighboring Charlotte and Manatee counties, have been closed since mid-March. The counties all closed their beaches due to fears that spring breakers might throng to local beaches after authorities to the north, such as the popular Clearwater beach, closed theirs.

“Snowbirds are now gone. Spring break is over. Travel and tourism is way down here. It’s time to allow us local residents back on our beaches, with rules mandating social distancing and no groups larger than 10. Local police could enforce this if necessary and I would encourage enforcement (IE: no drum circles or large groups),” Bentley wrote.

She added, “Many people are going stir crazy. I believe long-term closures are not only unnecessary at this point but punishing to our local residents who should have the opportunity to go to the beach if they feel ok doing so. Please consider this.”

Pinellas County commissioners considered reopening their beaches Thursday, but the idea failed to gain a majority of votes.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday issued an order allowing counties to reopen their beaches if it can be done safely.

No matter how Wednesday’s discussion goes, plans are being developed to reopen county facilities eventually, county spokesman Drew Winchester told the Venice Gondolier on Friday.

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