Businesses fear worst if sand castle is built

Hotels near the proposed site still recall the loud machinery, rowdy tourists and impossible traffic that came with the 1986 event.

By KATHY SAUNDERS

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 18, 2000

TREASURE ISLAND -- Business in the bar at the Bilmar Beach Resort was four times better than usual during the 10 days the city hosted a huge sand castle in 1986. Still, owner Bill Baltz doesn't want to see another castle behind his hotel next year.

The loud tractors and machines used to build the castle infuriated beachfront guests. Baltz had to increase hotel security from two to 13 officers. Bumper-to-bumper traffic on the city's roads was unbearable, he said.

"It was impossible to park," Baltz said. "I had to have my key people move into the property."

A lot of the visitors were rowdy and disorderly, he said. "I had rivers of urine down my stairwells and it was impossible to keep the public toilets from being trashed."

If Baltz had to vote today on a promoter's plan for another castle, his decision would be thumbs down.

He's hoping city commissioners see things his way when they consider Atlantis 2001, another attempt to build the largest sand castle for the Guinness Book of World Records.

The manager of the adjacent Thunderbird Beach Resort, the other hotel that would be affected most by the attraction, has shared similar concerns with city officials.

On Tuesday, commissioners said they won't approve the event until they see traffic studies, a plan for unclogging the roads, and proof that the sand sculpture won't damage the beach.

"He better understand that this commission is not sold on this thing," Mayor Leon Atkinson said of the promoter. "We put a challenge out to them, and I think it's a tremendous challenge."

Promoter Jerome Katz of Clearwater said he has hired consultants from Safety Harbor to begin the necessary studies for commissioners.

City Manager Chuck Coward said he plans to spend the next week searching for a traffic engineer that the city can hire to review the information provided by Katz. Coward also wants to study the environmental impact of the project.

"I'm concerned about what happens to our beach both during the scraping and after you return it," said Coward. "And we've got a number of sea oat islands."

City commissioners Mary Maloof and Stephanie Lavino said they received phone calls last week from residents opposed to another sand castle.

Maloof invited local sand sculptor Meredith Corson to speak to commissioners next month.

Corson, who hosted two recent sand sculpture contests as part of the Taste of the Beaches events, said she had sand delivered to the beach. She got her start at the original Treasure Island sand castle and went on to win regional and national sand sculpting championships.

"I'm not sure if the promoters are aware of the changes in the sand since 1986," Corson said. "We've had major storms since then that have brought in all the shells and hard stuff. I cannot, as a professional sculptor, sculpt that sand."

Corson said the builders might be able to scrape enough sand for the base of the sand castle, but they won't get enough for the whole project.

Sand for a large sculpture should be soft, fine and should dry quickly, Corson said.

"It's the kind that you can brush off your skin easily," she said.

Katz said his experts believe the city's sand is acceptable for Atlantis 2001. His proposal calls for scraping the sand off the top of the beach.

"The sand for a sand castle was checked two years ago," he said. "The beach is as wide or wider now than it was in 1986."

Katz said he will have to obtain state permits for the project and pay for the monitoring of turtle nests along the beach.

In his proposal to the city, Katz has listed several ways to improve the traffic and other issues that surfaced in 1986 when different promoters brought the Lost City of Atlantis here.

To begin with, Katz plans to lengthen the event from 10 to 17 days. He also wants it moved from April to October, when tourist season is slower.

As for traffic, he proposes to use school buses to transport visitors from various locations in St. Petersburg.

Despite the concerns of Baltz and Thunderbird manager David King, members of the Treasure Island Hotel and Motel Association and the Treasure Island Business Association have endorsed Atlantis 2001.

Local merchants told commissioners last week that business has been slow the past year and the sand castle is just what they need to boost sales.

But commissioners weren't convinced about the business benefits.

"I'm probably going to eat these words, but it's kind of troublesome that the business community feels we owe them this opportunity to generate business for them," said Commissioner Maloof. "We can't make these businesses successful; they've got to do that for themselves."

Maloof said she met tourists in a downtown store last week who were complaining that their hotel was dirty and that the staff did not respond to their concerns.

"I think it would be a wonderful thing," Maloof said of the proposed sand castle. "But it's not going to answer some of the problems that exist here."

Commissioner Lavino said she believes the sand castle should be delayed a year or two until the city completes some of its redevelopment projects.

"I think we'd be making a big mistake to be even looking into that until the year 2002 or 2003," Lavino said.

But Commissioner Butch Ellsworth said he believes promoters can resolve the traffic and environmental issues if given a chance.

"I think there's a way to get over some of these hurdles," he said.

Ellsworth suggested the city's civic associations get involved in the discussion.

"The public needs to keep their eyes open and come here and tell us how they feel," Mayor Atkinson said.

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