Muddled In Paradise

Marathon, Florida
24 42.40 081 N 05.68 W

We did not go to the city council meeting on Tuesday but lots of others did.  Reports said that 30-40 cruisers were in attendance.   So, what else did they report?

• The council was said to be shocked, absolutely shocked, that anybody would think that the new anchoring fees were at all high, or that a 30%/year increase in fees was excessive.   But they asked why none of the cruisers showed up for the previous council meeting where the fees were discussed.
  
• The cruisers said that none of us knew of the meeting.  The city attorney said that legal notice had been posted in the local newspaper, but nobody we know saw it.   One of the cruisers reported it to the Florida Attorney General as a violation of Florida's Sunshine law.
  
• The council said no evil intent was behind the anchoring management issue.  Specific ordinances would have to be passed later to actually ban anchoring.   The next day on the VHF there was a debate to whether such an ordinance is or is not already drafted.
  

So in a nutshell,  nothing was decided, nothing was clarified, rampant rumors abound.  Are you surprised?

One positive development may come out of this.  The cruisers are going to try to form an association, with elected officers and everything.  If such an association exists, the city and the chamber of commerce might be willing to meet with it in advance of city council meetings.  I like the idea.

p.s.  Sorry to be slow reporting this.  Yesterday I ran into a buzz saw.  The toilet blocked.  That caused an emergency boat project all day yesterday and continuing into today.  I'll write it up later.