Riviera Beach council advances police‑station land‑use change amid heated public debate over Barracuda Bay pool
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Summary
Council approved first reading of a future‑land‑use change to allow a new police headquarters at 1621 W. Blue Heron Blvd. Public commenters, former council members and residents urged preserving Barracuda Bay or questioned fiscal and notice issues; staff presented attendance and loss figures and said a new pool design is underway with partial bond funding possible.
Riviera Beach — The City Council voted on first reading to change future land use at 1621 West Blue Heron Boulevard from recreation to community facility, clearing a required step for a proposed new Riviera Beach police headquarters. The measure will return for a second reading and re‑adoption after staff corrected prior public‑notice issues.
City staff and residents used the hearing to air sharply contrasting views on whether the proposed police station should occupy the Barracuda Bay aquatics site. Trojid (appears as "Trojid"/"Tragic" in the record) McCoy, a public commenter, contested staff claims in a grant application that Barracuda Bay is in disrepair. "Completely untrue," he said, arguing the facility was highly rated in the city's parks master plan and was only 21 years old. Several speakers urged the council to repair or rebuild the pool in place rather than change its future land use.
City staff responded with operating and attendance figures for Barracuda Bay: after expenses, the pool posted losses of $237,000 in fiscal 2023, $239,000 in 2024 and $350,000 in 2025, and recorded 3,964 visitors in 2025 and 6,514 in 2024. Staff said the pool currently opens about 65 days a year and that a new, modernized pool at a different campus (Callaway) is being designed; $6 million of a $55 million parks bond has been identified for Callaway as a funding source if the council decides to proceed.
Council members debated competing priorities — the police facility, multiple water‑system upgrades, three planned fire stations and how to minimize taxpayer cost. Some members argued the Barracuda Bay site is city‑owned and would avoid land‑purchase costs, while others said locating the new station near schools would harden school campuses and better serve shifting crime patterns. City staff said an interlocal agreement with the county is under negotiation to hold two remaining years of an existing interlocal in abeyance until a new pool is operational.
The council approved the ordinance on first reading with a unanimous roll call; because it is a first reading the item must come back for a second vote and additional public comment, giving the council another opportunity to consider new information and resident input.
What’s next: staff will provide the council with copies of the grant and interlocal documents requested by members and the public, present conceptual pool designs and return the ordinance for second reading with updated notice and any corrected parcel control numbers.
