Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs

Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.

Residents are also pushing the county for answers on when they can enjoy the facilities again.

• RELATED: Charlotte County provides update on boat ramp closures

Since its closing, residents have not been able to enjoy any part of the 16-acre park. When cleanup started after the storms, the county handed over the responsibility to the Florida Department of Emergency Services.

They then hired a contractor who was supposed to remove the boats safely by lifting and hauling them off the park grounds.

However, residents discovered that the contractor crushed one of the boats, dragging another across the beachfront.

When the county discovered it, they sent the contractor a cease and desist letter. Now, residents are waiting for what the next steps are.

Scott Protsch is a Port Charlotte resident. He said that he wants the park to be open by Christmas.

“On average, 1.7 million people a year visit this park,” said Protsch. “It’s one of the premier parks in the entire county. And we would like, if we can’t have all of it, we would certainly like as much as we can. Christmas would be a great time to have a significant part of the park open. And particularly, we’d really like to get back to the boat ramps as well.”

Protsch said he has environmental concerns when it comes to the removal of the boats.

“So again, if they’re going to do boat removal here, it should be done where the boat is immediately lifted, put on a trailer and hauled away, and not left to linger in the park, because that also presents an unsafe situation from an environmental perspective,” said Protsch.

Next Tuesday, there will be a special county meeting held here in Port Charlotte that is open
to the public, where each person will have 3 minutes to comment.