The work to repair Bayside Park is well underway and, according to Town Manager Andy Hyatt the new astro-turf will be installed on August 25th and 26th. Hyatt says the goal is to have Bayside Park open by Labor Day.
Bayside Park was opened in August 2022 after a $950,000 million refurbishment. The previous Town Manager and Mayor upgraded the park without electricity to the stage. They also installed coconut palms, going directly against the type of palm trees the council at the time requested. The upgrades being done now include power to the stage and the palm trees will be sabal palms.
The town’s Marine Resources Task Force Committee is pushing back on the rebuild of the park. They do not want the town to install astro-turf or uplighting.
When Hurricane Ian hit on Sept. 28, 2022, almost everything in the park but the stage was destroyed. The shade sails were removed before the storm and put in storage.
$500,000 to pay for the repairs to Bayside Park is coming from the Florida Disaster Fund created by Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis.
Before the park was a park it was where the swing bridge fed onto Old San Carlos Boulevard. The swing bridge was removed after the sky bridge was built back in 1979
Before the face-lift, the park was an eyesore and included a non-functioning fountain and a gazebo that, at times, was used by the homeless.
Bayside Park was one of three major projects the town borrowed $10 million for. The other two projects were a new Bay Oaks building and a complete upgrade to Times Square.
There comes a time when most of the whining and recommendations from MERTF committee are just white noise that’s essentially ignored. The committee provides an extremely valuable service with its pop up informational tent program but complaining about astroturf and uplighting in this back bay location detracts from the good they do. I could do without the AstroTurf but for crying out loud, is it too much to ask that the park has pretty lighting?
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