An Observation …

Why do we call Resident’s Beach “Resident’s Beach” if it’s not available to all people by virtue of the fact that they are merely residents? To call something “Resident’s” anything explicitly regulates what follows with only one condition – that one need only be a resident.

Even totalitarian regimes like China don’t require their PEOPLE to pay $130 so they can enter into the Great Hall of the PEOPLE. So why should Marco Island?

It is understood that the City of Marco Island is broke and can’t afford to pay whatever it costs to maintain the restrooms, snack bar, showers, picnic tables, chickees, barbecue grills, playground, umbrella chickees and the decorative water fountain on “Resident’s” Beach. So, to pay for these wonderful and utterly essential services, a fee has to be extracted from those that want to go there. Fair enough – but at this point the beach is no longer merely for residents – it’s for residents who want to pay or can afford to pay or claim to be residents and pay.

There appears to be an intentional oversight (by those who came up with charging for “Resident’s” Beach) of the fact that beaches are a natural resource that should be available to all. Coastal communities throughout the U.S. have either voluntarily or through court order made beaches freely accessible to all people – not just residents, and not just residents that pay extra. A per-use fee is at times in place, which is understandable (one of the most spectacular beaches in the world is in the U.S. and charges $1 to enter and park – money that is earmarked to recover and preserve an adjacent estuary). Also understandable is that there are a plethora of spectacular beaches where absolutely no fee is required – and they too have restrooms and life guards etc.

So, until the nation-wide trend (or the courts) catch up to Marco Island, let there be a little less hypocrisy and call the beach what it really is – “For Those Residents that Pay $130 per Year Beach”. Such a nomenclature will look just fine in the tourist brochures right next to the “Marriott Beach Resort for the Hotel Guests Only that Pay $130 per Night (Off-Season) Beach”.