Seibert: ‘Bums’ comment taken out of context

(Guest Commentary: Lynne Seibert) When I, reluctantly, took on the chairmanship of the Community Planning Panel, I vowed I would try to address and correct misconceptions and factual errors if, or when they appear in our local papers.

There are many diverse constituencies in Boca Grande, but having one group feel it is pitted against another will not solve any of our problems and will ultimately be counterproductive.

I believe we should try to resolve controversial issues with understanding, cooperation, and civil public debate.

Two letters in last week’s paper were troublesome to me because of a misunderstanding caused by an unfortunate headline quoting me out of context.

I never said all itinerant boaters are bums, and that comment did not at all apply to our local boating community.

The comment referencing “bums” was made in the context of a discussion of the city of Sarasota’s new mooring field. I was referring to the specific group of people (not all of the boaters) in the anchorage off Marina Jack’s who had been disrupting the anchorage and causing the city and the other boaters in the marina area problems for a number of years.

With over 100 boats, the growing pollution from so many live-aboards was also of great concern and the city received some funding from the state to help with the mooring field because of this. There were several recent articles about this in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

I do not fault the reporters; they usually do an admirable job in trying to condense three-hour meetings and often complicated group discussions into coherent articles.

It is a difficult job and they may not always have the background or a thorough understanding on the issues being discussed

As Capt. Johnson pointed out, my husband and I are avid boaters ourselves. We have many friends in the boating community, from fishing guides to boat builders both here and in Sarasota and we have great respect for them and for Boca Grande’s long maritime traditions.

Several panel members, including myself, were concerned that the group that was causing all the trouble in Sarasota may choose to move on rather than pay for a mooring. Indeed, the city may now refuse to allow them to moor there. We are remiss if we don’t at least discuss the possible impacts to the small anchorage across from the Pink. It took the city of Sarasota years to resolve their problem.

Regarding our marine issues, the panel has two basic concerns. The first is derelict and unattended boats which are left for months and even years. They can become a hazard to navigation, the environment as well as to other boats and property. Should our local waters become a free boat storage area for people who don’t live here? The second is long-term live aboards in the area across from the Pink who stay for months and don’t pump out. There seem to be a few more each year. That anchorage has traditionally been used by visiting cruisers who patronize our local restaurants and businesses and it should remain a welcoming and attractive place to visit. It is not an appropriate place for a growing colony of permanent live aboards. If there are already regulations in place that will accomplish this, that, of course, would be preferable. If more are needed, we will be looking into the options. No regulations can be made without thorough county staff reviews, public hearings, and county commission approvals. Whatever is proposed by our panel will be subject to thorough discussion, public debate and will probably take years to enact.

The greatest threats to Boca Grande’s future are coming from outside our community because of rapid growth and development off island. While none of us like change, it is coming. It is important to plan for it and to deal with it. Like it or not, we are all in this together.

Lynne Seibert is chairman of the Boca Grande Community Planning Panel.