COMMISSIONER'S CORNER:

I am tipping my hat in appreciation to the Cocoa Beach Women’s Club.  A large contingent of their membership attended the May 7th Cocoa Beach City Commission Meeting.  They came not to complain to the Commission, but to contribute in a meaningful way to the city.  The Women’s Club is proposing to donate beachside restrooms for the downtown area.  Donating restrooms to the city, while commendable, is not a remarkable endeavor.  What is remarkable is the way they have gone about it. 
 
The problem has been identifying an appropriate location for the restrooms.  Acquiring land and/or leasing a building proved to be time consuming and prohibitively expensive.  The solution proposed by the Women’s Club is as obvious as the Emperor’s missing clothes.  They are proposing to construct restrooms at the end of N 1st Street, adjacent to the beach access and crossover.  This location lies within the street right of way, already owned by the city.  
 
Equally notable is the way the Women’s Club engaged city staff in partnership to accomplish their vision.  The Women’s Club will manage financing and construction of the restrooms, transferring ownership to the city upon completion.  City staff will review plans for conformance with codes and ordinances, constructability, and maintenance of the facility.  Additionally, the Community Redevelopment Agency has appropriated funds to extend underground utilities.      
 
If Cocoa Beach aspires to be a family friendly community, it needs to provide amenities that are friendly to families.  It is unreasonable to expect children to cross Route A1A to use the restroom.  Cocoa Beach citizens landed a man on the moon, yet have been unable to provide restroom access at the beach.  The Women’s Club made this new mission possible.
 
The Cocoa Beach City Commission unanimously endorsed the plan.  We encourage the citizens of Cocoa Beach to generously support the Women’s Club with financial donations for the project.