SEBASTIAN — For more than a year and a half, Sebastian city leaders have been batting around ideas and plans for what is known as the CavCorp parking lot next to the Hess gas station on Sebastian Boulevard. Wednesday night, in a split vote, they rejected the plan that they had once supported and decided to take yet another concept back to the public.
A public meeting will be held in the near future to elicit comments from city residents.
The latest incarnation of the CavCorp lot drew criticism from City Councilman Jim Hill, who said he “can’t come close to agreeing with” the plan.
“I see no improvement at all,” Hill said of the $560,000 plan that would – in his opinion – essentially leave the lot as is. “If you want to leave it the same, leave it the same. Don’t spend half a million dollars just to spend half a million dollars.”
New Councilman Jerome Adams agreed with Hill. They were on the losing end of the 3-2 vote to take a new plan to the public.
Councilwoman Andrea Coy disagreed with Hill’s assessment of the plan and voted in favor of taking the next step.
“I’m finally smiling,” Coy said to the engineers who came up with the concept. She said the chosen option calls for minimal paving and maximizes car parking.
“Number three makes me extremely happy,” Coy said, adding that she believes it is the most environmentally sound because of the lack of paving called for.
Engineer Frank Hickson told the council that the option takes the “minimalistic approach.”
It includes 76 car parking spots plus five handicapped spots around the perimeter of the square parking lot. The interior, which would not be paved, would allow for as many boat trailers as can fit. And, without lining the individual spots or establishing drive lanes, the lot would remain flexible for special events.
The original plan presented to the public last year has an estimated price tag of $800,000 and would have consisted of 78 car spots, including handicapped spots, 60 trailer spots, and up to 182 car spots during special events.
After the public meeting, designers tweaked the plan – creating Option 2 – to include 87 car spots – including handicapped spots, flexible trailer parking to accommodate as many as can fit, and flexible event parking.
In order for that plan to work, though, Indian River Drive would have to be realigned and the Millennial Clock moved to the river side of Indian River Drive where Sebastian Boulevard Ts into it.
“There are some give and takes,” Hickson said of the estimated $1.1 million plan.
The second option did not garner any comments from the council.
