SRIA planning next year's budget

After Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Dennis, the top priority was restoring and improving the island.

Some of the projects dincluded rebuilding beach access ramps, repairing public parks, building a public safety/ restroom facility to replace the destroyed restrooms, and realigning parking spaces in the Quietwater Boardwalk parking lot to accommodate nearly 100 additional cars.

Additionally, road work was done on Fort Pickens Road and a widening project is still underway on Via de Luna.

Now that the majority of those projects are completed, Santa Rosa Island Authority members are pondering the next fiscal year.

Deb Friedman's request for funding for the Krewe of Wrecks Mardi Gras parade came into question when the group's books showed it lost over $2,000 on the Red Beans and Rice party, an annual Fat Tuesday tradition on Pensacola Beach.

Board member John Peacock suggested that participants in the annual parade should bear more of the cost burden.

Workshops will be scheduled to finalize the budget.

In other SRIA news, Buck Lee reported that a plaque commemorating the location of the Casino was found inside the dumpster enclosure near the Dock. It will be moved to a more visible location.

Additionally, a plaque was erected at the Gulfside Pavilion to honor the Blue Angels.