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MAY <br />12 1987 <br />BOOP( <br />68 <br />j�: ?88 <br />issue the Commission wished to focus on. <br />He recalled <br />that <br />back <br />in 1970, the County deeded the property on the south side back to <br />the State of Florida for park and recreational purposes with the <br />restriction that the use of the shore line, the dock, and the <br />jetty be free of charge and available 24 -hours a day, and the <br />State has honored that restriction. However, the State feels <br />that in order to be consistent with most of the other State <br />parks, it is necessary to charge admission fees to help pay for <br />the operational costs of the State's park system. He noted that <br />tht Sebastian Inlet Park is the most used park in the State park <br />system, and it is the most expensive facility to run at $500,000 <br />a year. The State park system has grown so rapidly in the last <br />15 years that they have had difficulty in keeping up with <br />maintenance and operational costs. As a rule of thumb, the State <br />prefers to have state taxpayers fund half of the park costs and <br />the actual park users pay the other half. Mr. Landrum noted that <br />the Sebastian Inlet recreational area is the only major park in <br />the Florida State Park System where it is feasible -to collect a <br />fee that a fee is not being collected, and the State wants to be <br />consistent and have a uniform, statewide system. They do collect <br />some miscellaneous revenue from camping, concession stands, etc. <br />Mr. Landrum explained that although they would like to <br />collect fees on both sides of the park, they are concentrating on <br />the northern side of the park at the present time, where there <br />are no restrictions other than the one imposed by the Governor <br />and Cabinet back in 1975 when the admission issue first arose. <br />Many of the residents within the Inlet Taxing District objected <br />to paying an admission fee because they were paying for the <br />maintenance of the Inlet through their taxes. The State <br />disagreed with that position, because they are not charging <br />anyone to get to the inlet or use the inlet. The State has <br />developed the park and are now providing paved parking spaces, <br />modern restrooms, security, and other services that cost the <br />18 <br />