Every Floridian taxpayer should be appalled how our state parks are run. I have been coming to Caladesi Island for 21 years. And it's one chain pull away from going into the crapper. Pilings that hold the floating docks in place disintegrating/missing for 10 years in some cases. Electrical Tower covers missing. Potable water gate valves leaking. Backflow preventers not working. And in general, an eye sore that used to be a beautiful place. If you didn't get here by 7:00 am. on a Saturday you weren't getting a spot in this 108 slip Marina. Now on a beautiful weekend with low humidity two boats stay the night we're 86 spent the night.

I believe it seeing what happened at an east coast state park last week. Nestled on a barrier island Jonathan Dickinson State Park was slated for 3 golf courses sponsored by the DEP which I guess now stands for Developers Enterprise Prosperity! It's obvious government is on the financial take no matter the level. Those with uncommon sense can see right through a agency like the DEP when they're onboard with tearing down thousands of acres of wetland, scrub, etc. in an area that already has environmental problems due to lake Okeechobee discharges courtesy of another governmental authority on the take, Army Corps of Engineers. Of course the thousands of tons of fertilizer per year needed to grow golf courses would only add to the horrible water conditions in the area. On top of that after the developers make their millions and get tax breaks the golf courses are public and left to the taxpayer to foot the bill when they're not profitable and public courses almost never are.

They want to put a golf course, pickleball court and barracks style housing on Honeymoon Island State Park. The do-nothing park manager there overseas Caladesi Island State Park. There was a large protest at Honeymoon and Caladesi Island not to build that crap. All public meetings about Honeymoon and Caladesi are on permanent hold right now. They can find the money to build new pickleball courts but they can't fix what's broken in our state parks.
I've stayed at Hontoon Island State Park. They have a marina with a floating dock on the St Johns River. We spent four days there. Nice place. Called them up and the reason why you can't stay there, is because no ranger is living on the island. The ranger never stayed there anyway. Neither on Caladesi Island either. So Honeymoon Island is closed because of a ranger! Cayo Cosa State Park down by Fort Myers, can't stay the night. Okay 3 years ago we had a devastating hurricane. But before the hurricane they had a floating dock which was condemned. The fairy couldn't shuttle people to and from the island because of it. Lost revenue. However if you had your own boat you could pull into one of their slips. Florida is in the black for $21 billion dollars. Governor DeSantis gave 5,000 police officers who came to this state $5,000. That's 25 million dollars a taxpayer money. Yet our state parks are in the crapper..

Agreed, I'm for the police officer hiring bonuses but it's becoming evident state and local officials are on the take to developers.