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wrobert, what do the State Statutes say about littering on the beach?
Seems to me that much of this crap is nothing more than litter. Do I need to call a deputy to report every piece of litter I see on the beach, before disposing of it? Maybe we should all start doing that, so that action is immediately taken.
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New procedure that is going for approval to the BCC is
http://www.co.walton.fl.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=911
Take a look. Has some really good possibilities. Some of it will require quite a bit more work on the part of the county, but should go a long way toward keeping the beaches clean. It appears that they have incorporated some ideas discussed here.
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Where is the money coming from to pay the "beach ambassador," to print up the brochures and promotional items they will be handing out (that will just be more trash IMO), staff & organize the reclaim office, buy and fuel this ridonkulous $12K Gator vehicle etc.?

And how is one ambassador supposed to cover the entire beach and alert Code Enforcement of violating items?
I do like that people will have 48 hour to claim their items, but I propose that we sell or donate items after that time, not "dispose" of them.
Interesting that they specifically mention volleyball nets, huh?
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06-29-2009, 05:35 PM #104
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06-29-2009, 05:56 PM #106
I think the new procedure has merit and will work if consistently applied. Consistent, meaning that it will take effort and resolve and not caving it when the first encounter results in all the reasons why "I/Me" is entitled to leave stuff. I wish there was a way to charge a small fee to reclaim your stuff and if unclaimed, caring and sharing or a public auction at the start of the season. That may help pay for a few brochures and some gas for the gator...
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06-29-2009, 06:16 PM #107
This still has the issue with private vs public property. It also turns the CE people into garbage collectors at 50,000 per year. They also do not have the staff to do this and handle all of the other complaints. Gonna be a hoot to watch them try.
"This too shall pass"
Posted via Mobile DeviceLast edited by Interested Girl; 06-29-2009 at 06:17 PM.
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06-29-2009, 06:52 PM #109
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06-29-2009, 07:30 PM #111
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06-29-2009, 07:30 PM #112
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As a resident of Walton County who obviously has a vested interest in the beaches and the private beach issue, what have you done in a constructive manner to make this situation better for everyone?
Being old doesn't give one license to be so bitter and to speak so ill of people--I am sure the Code Enforcement employees do not want this burden anymore than many of us want to see them stuck with it...
Can you think of anything constructive (a lawsuit usually isn't) that you and people who feel as you do, can do to add to the solution? Have you conveyed that to the county and TDC staff or the news media, if you have been ignored by the County.
Just wondering; I agree with Miss Kitty. In your many posts, bitterness seems to occupy a lot of space between the lines.
Perhaps you could contribute in a positive way?
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Nothing in the procedures or in any of the laws I have posted gives Code Enforcement the right to go on private property. So I doubt the net at Edgewater is affected. Those CE officers are educated and certified, we have had private property discussions in the past and they have told me that they could easily be arrested for trespassing and theft. So I doubt you will see them do anything other than clean up or tag the stuff on public land.
As for the money, I would imagine that the TDC employees and the education portion will be paid by the tourist tax. Code enforcement are paid out of ad valoreum, so this clean up project will more than likely result in at least a small tax hike. .25 mils is the rumor I keep hearing that they want to go up, with this it will probably go to .5 mils. Not a lot for me, and I am happy to contribute my little bit to make you guys happy, you wanted beach clean up, it appears things are going to be put into place for you to get it. So what would that be 150 dollars on a 300K home? I can never remember how to figure that stuff without a calculator.
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06-29-2009, 07:48 PM #115
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Working is a burden? For all of us if you ask me. CE gets paid, more than most Sheriff's Deputies from what I have seen on average. And all work is optional, so if they do not like having to tag and bag stuff, they have other choices available. Maybe not palatable, but certainly available.
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A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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06-29-2009, 08:07 PM #120
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Right you are, however, there is language regarding the protected status of the sea turtles. Those who cry foul regarding their right to do whatever they want on their property might just see things differently if state and maybe federal wildlife folks start poking around looking at the crap that is a threat to turtles. With ownership comes responsibility;you would be in deep doo-doo if you cut down a tree on your property that had a bald eagle nest in it, and the same goes for those who contend they 'own' the beach.
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06-29-2009, 08:37 PM #123
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06-29-2009, 09:07 PM #124
The Lord Giveth and Taketh Away - it is a natural process. I watch the process daily and was aware of the process when we decided to buy and build.
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My brain is starting to hurt. I am going back to sleep.
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Over 30 of those tent things along with other crap left on SGB this evening. It really is pretty crappy looking. Ya know, I like to believe that peeps that come here for vacation really want to preserve this special place. I find it hard to believe that all of the rental places actually inform all of the renters that there are rules concerning the leaving of junk of the beach or the rules of the multi use path. Maybe a campaign aimed at more information at the point of the lease would be helpful.
We can seldom get our children to do what we tell them, but they almost never fail to imitate us.
Colin Powell
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'They' who? I am not following.
I guess I don't understand why some of us are so content to let the major revenue generating asset this county enjoys go to crapola. Perhaps those who want an easy beach experience (defined, I guess as the ability to leave a bunch of junk all over the place for days at a time, consequences be damned) would, and should be welcome in Bay, Okaloosa or Santa Rosa. Let them go. And I might suggest 'private property owners'
who let 'their' 

beach go to crap ought to think about swapping that beachfront condo for a nice mobile home in a locale where such behavior is tolerated.
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06-30-2009, 06:59 AM #129
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I think it would be interesting if one of the local papers would do a "Person on the Beach" type interview with people to see exactly what the thinking is with these "funeral tents" on the beach; why do they bring then in the first place--I have enjoyed this beach all my life and it has never occurred to me to bring a tent to the beach--and why do they feel as though they have the right to leave them up?
Is there anywhere else in the world that this behavior is tolerated?
Maybe there is, and this is what causes it to continue here? I don't know--I have not seen it on other beaches....I think it would make an interesting news story.A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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06-30-2009, 07:09 AM #131
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Which community along 30A shall we pillage this evening?....gttbm

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06-30-2009, 07:14 AM #132
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Funeral tents...very appropriate term. They bring death to turtles and beauty. I must agree that I had never seen these tents until the last few years.
Most of you know my habit of checking the BMVillas webcam in the morning and evening. This morning I saw two of these funeral tents...one red, one blue.
Which community along 30A shall we pillage this evening?....gttbm

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we spent a day in wrightsville beach/wilmington NC a few weekends ago. i took some photos of the beach, i saw 2 tents. that's it. i thought, if this were sowal, this beach would be covered in tents. i'll post photos.
i also spent a day in nags head, NC a couple of weekends ago and i did not see a single tent. not one.
wrightsville beach (one tent lower left hand corner)

wrightsville beach (one tent lower left hand corner)

it was a beautiful day, so the beach was crowded.
edit there may be another blue one in the 2nd photo, but still 3's not too bad for that amount of people.Last edited by aggieb; 06-30-2009 at 09:18 AM.
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I use a big ol' umbrella, not a tent. Found it on the side of the road and it's perfect for the beach. (We call that a find.) I did have friends join me one year and they brought a tent. They wanted me to help put it up, but I'm too short and couldn't reach the top! Almost couldn't get it up!
I have to say, in August, it's nice.....but, it does require responsibility. I always coach my guests on lights on the beach as well, etc.....
One midnight stroll with no moonlight, I tripped over some beach chairs, dinged up my ankle. Then, I got the giggles! Go figure~~~~~~~~
Maybe they got the fugly tent idea from WalMart!Helping others is a gift.
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06-30-2009, 08:11 AM #135
Maybe I misunderstood your reference to "eroded". My take was that you were referring to beach erosion and my personal responsibility to restore my property after those events. My "riddle" clearly represents the natural process that occurs along the coast line as wave actions react with the land. Those actions transform the contour of the shoreline daily.
I have no "artifical" barriers that attempt to stop or slow that process (seawall, geo tubes, etc). I accept the actions as natural and recurring.
I have a responsibility to be a good steward of the land as everyone does. I rate my performance heads and shoulders above those who daily utilize and abuse my backyard uninvited and make futile attempts to interfear with the natural order of nature.
Last edited by Interested Girl; 06-30-2009 at 08:19 AM.
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Accepting the premise that the beach is your back yard, the interlopers are actually invited (you know, THE Beach, TDC, striking a deal with Southwest Airlines or online lures like this one Edgewater Condo Destin Florida - Destin Condo Rentals ).
What natural order of nature are you talking about?
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06-30-2009, 08:36 AM #137
I invited no one - do not rent my property, do not pay "Bed Taxes" and do not believe that the TDC has the authority to invite people onto my property. They promote tourism not issue "invitations" to tresspass.
I have not hired Edgewater as my advertising agency, but give them the right to advertise their rental units as long as they do not advertise that they have control over who is invited onto my property.
Erosion of the shoreline
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What exactly does a code enforcement person do to earn $50K a year? Isn't that a higher salary than our sheriff's dept and teachers start at?
Bidding war - I'll ride around all day in a souped up John Deere or tricked out pick-up for 49K a year!
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I'm still curious as to why this Meadows has hired a criminal defense atty.?
Helping others is a gift.
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I can see that being a fairly skilled job. In order to do its job properly, the department needs to have experts in general construction, electrical work, plumbing, roofing, etc. in addition to the usual signs removal sweepers. It can also be a dangerous job, both from the structures you're being asked to evaluate and the people who have something that they don't want you to find when you're poking around. There are places in the state where code enforcement workers actually do end up being sworn law enforcement.
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I didn't think code enforcement did any structural/electrical inspections - thought that was the building department?

The reason I ask is that we are proposing to pay someone $50K a year to be a "beach ambassador" - a rather cushy job of handing out pamphlets and riding about on an ATV.
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06-30-2009, 10:51 AM #142
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06-30-2009, 10:52 AM #143
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No where and I have been to beaches all over the Country. Never saw these tents before in my life prior to Sowal.
Thank you.
We vacation oceanfront every summer at the Jersey Shore on a barrier Island called Long Beach Island. People own the dunes, but no structures are allowed onto the beach, like stairs; they fine for large holes because they are unsafe (yes, lifeguards will give a warning), and everything is off the beach at night. I can't tell you how nice it is to sit at sundown and watch the sunset and be able to see the coast from North to South without tentominiums; how nice it is to walk on the beach in the morning without crap all over it. We pay bed tax as well, but maybe when they start charging to be at the beach, like LBI does to maintain the beaches, they will take notice when it hits their pocketbooks. Why should we pay more in real estate taxes for enforcement? What about the people who have second homes or primary residents who are respectful of the beach? The people who rent and make their best efforts from afar to educate? That ires me to no end if they add a RE tax surcharge.
"With Liberty and nothing for all" ---my 3 yr. old nephew's version of the Pledge of Allegiance.
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This also brings up once again, the question I keep asking: why is Walton County re-inventing the wheel? There are communities all over the world...and especially in Florida with our miles and miles of coastline...that have worked out these problems, just as they have worked out recycling, and a host of other things...why can't the Walton County leadership model our situations after ones that have been in place for a long time?
I simply can not believe we are that different so that we have to start and re-start plans for solutions to these issues. It is frustrating!
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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06-30-2009, 11:15 AM #145
Because we don't have a county attorney, because the commissioners don't want someone telling them that catering to the whim of every property owner who votes/makes a campaign contribution is not legal, and so they react to every situation instead of actually planning and being proactive?
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06-30-2009, 11:22 AM #146
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06-30-2009, 11:27 AM #147
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Indeed they do check and diligently. I keep my badge on my beach bag so they can see it clearly and they don't wake me up.
The jobs are given to students who come back every year or summer there. They have a good time doing it, too. They get to walk the beach and socialize at the lifeguards stations in the evenings. They even have a lifeguard station where the guards are housed in the summer. I think the kids are offered incentives as well to collect revenue.
"With Liberty and nothing for all" ---my 3 yr. old nephew's version of the Pledge of Allegiance.
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yes. and I remember distincting recommending that we use college students as Beach Ambassadors, much like other places; the example I used was the program New Orleans had with wonderful young people handing out discount tickets, giving directions, acting as a welcoming committee to the city., and educating tourists about the safety issues, the "rules" if you will; ...but, instead we are proposing some combination of $50K/yr code enforcers, TDC beach patrol, and a $12,000 vehicle!
I am sorry to be complaining, but really, people does this make sense? And if we are afraid of being sued; then hire an attorney and do the right thing the first time.
Rant Off.A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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06-30-2009, 11:49 AM #149
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FTLOC, IG. Please stay on track here.
Where did I refer to artificial barriers or beach erosion?????
You spoke of the erosion of personal responsibility. I asked about YOUR personal responsibility to be a good steward of the beach you "own". IMO, if you are leaving a volleyball net up or leaving other items everyday, that interferes with being a good steward of the beach. I would most definitely expect someone who "owns" the beach to be a better steward than a visitor.Which community along 30A shall we pillage this evening?....gttbm

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06-30-2009, 11:54 AM #150
I have no volleyball net on my property - just 2 adirondak chairs and in my opinion that is responsible ownership. Your opinion may differ and that is your right.
Posted via Mobile DeviceLast edited by Interested Girl; 06-30-2009 at 11:58 AM.
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Your response eroded into a riddle. If you could, please answer my original question (above).








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