Editorials
Sebring council did right thing stepping up to fix City Pier Beach
TBO.com
Published: January 12, 2012
Sometimes we have to swallow hard and ante up to do what's best for the communities we call home. It costs taxpayer money, and that's always a serious consideration, but often it's necessary to write the check. To their credit, the Sebring City Council did just that.Published: January 12, 2012
The Sebring council made the correct decision on providing funding to fill in a dangerous, deep trench not far from the water's edge at City Pier Beach. It will cost the city about $26,000, if the Tourist Development Council and the Soil and Conservation Board come up with the rest of the approximately $80,000. The proposal is to split it three ways.
When the 100-foot-long dredge hole was dug, the water's edge was 150 feet further away. With years of drought, the waterline has receded and the trench is now very close to the swimming area. A man drowned in the trench in 2008 while swimming laps and the beach has been closed since then.
Councilman Andrew Fells said he waded out to the trench recently and the water was 2 feet deep before immediately dropping off. He concurred that it was extremely dangerous for unsuspecting swimmers.
Some critics have said the lake has other deep areas, and they are right. The difference, of course, is that this is in a designated swimming area for a city park and the city's centerpiece of lakeside recreation.
City Pier Beach and park is an outstanding attraction. It's beautiful there and it takes away from the area to have the beach closed indefinitely. It removes one of the biggest draws.
We can't do anything about drought but we can fix things like this trench. Compared to other city costs, $26,000 isn't an unreasonable amount to fix this dangerous problem.
Good job, city council. In the end it will be money well spent and could save a few lives as well.