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Residents press commission: keep Annex public; voice parking, safety and master‑plan concerns for the beach
Summary
Public commenters at the July 27 special meeting largely urged preserving the City Hall Annex for public uses and called for cautious, transparent planning on the Casino Complex circulation proposal, flagging resident parking loss, delivery‑truck congestion, and the empty pool/ballroom as unresolved issues.
Dozens of residents spoke during the two agenda items, giving commissioners practical suggestions and urging transparent, prioritized planning.
On the Annex, speakers stressed its cultural and historic value. "The museum upstairs is just wonderful," Laurie Witkin said, arguing the Annex should remain a public amenity rather than be repurposed for private commercial rent. Ramsey McLeod suggested leveraging city tradespeople, local training programs and unions to reduce contractor costs for preparatory work.
On beach circulation, residents and business owners warned against removing scarce resident parking and called for immediate operational fixes — pedestrian crossings, delivery‑truck staging, and stronger valet enforcement — rather than an expensive large‑scale redesign before a complete master plan is finished. "It is not in our best interest to spend on studies and seek to alter what we have today with no articulate concept of what will be there tomorrow," one commenter said. The commission responded by requesting staff return with a narrow, unidirectional traffic‑flow cost estimate.
Speakers included long‑time volunteers, museum advocates, small business owners and residents who gave specific location details and personal accounts of sewer odours, parking conflicts, and lost municipal functions.
