Changes are coming to Neshotah Beach in Two Rivers, and some residents are not happy.
During last night’s city council meeting, the agenda included two resolutions that would have city staff looking at investing up to $450,000 at the Neshotah Beach concessions stand while also starting a paid parking pilot program at the beach as well.
Previously, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Mathis explained that the concessions stand is not up to health code and could close if not updated.
However, residents expressed their disdain for the city wanting to do more than the bare minimum to keep the stand open.
They also felt that the city should focus more on them rather than those coming to the beach from out of the area.
Resident Corey Thuss asked the council to delay any funding or construction at the beach, claiming the city wasn’t fully transparent.
She said that the only input residents got was from a survey through the Cool City Connect.
“The public has not had adequate time to understand the information or provide input, so I must ask, why the rush?” she told the council. “This decision represents both a major financial commitment, nearly half a million dollars, and a lasting change to the character of our beach. The public deserves transparency and time to participate meaningfully in this process.”
John Gomez said this is more about the future of the city.
“Lets’ leave the park alone,” he stated. “Repair it, up-code it. This is for the future. Us here, we see the park, but this is for your kids, your grandkids, your nephews, and so forth.”
City Manager Kyle Kordell explained that the votes for the Neshotah Beach plan would again just give permission for city staff to move forward.
Some residents were also concerned about starting a pilot parking program.
The city is discussing having people pay $10 in lots two and three during the 10 peak business days.
However, it would be tough to do because state law doesn’t allow paid parking for just non-residents.
Homeowner Susan Erdman noted, “When you do your paid parking, that is just going to push all these people to park on our streets in front of our houses.”
Kordell says the pilot program would just be for early research and could be changed or dropped entirely.
City Attorney Sean Griffin explained the issue about requesting people to park who are from out of town rather than residents, saying that there needs to be a balance in the burden of service.
But it’s difficult when it comes to a parking lot.
He told the council in legal theory, “It’s difficult to say that (non) residents should pay $20 a day to park somewhere, city residents should get it for free, and you say that the $20 dollars a day is to create equity between residents and nonresidents and paying for that parking lot when the city spends very little to create that parking lot and maintain it.”
Council Vice President Adam Wachowski said while he’s heard both sides of the argument, he said it’s worth giving the pilot parking program a shot.
“If we take 10 days, 15 days to try this, we’ll actually have some data to say yes it impacted the adjacent streets or it didn’t, it had earned us some money or it didn’t,” he noted. “We can get all the pros and cons that we need by trying it just for a couple of days throughout the summer.”
The paid pilot parking program was approved by a 6-2 vote, with Council President Scott Stechmesser and Council Member Mark Bittner voting no.
The Neshotah Beach concession stand proposal was approved unanimously.
The full meeting can be viewed on the Two Rivers YouTube Channel under the Live Stream tab.
