Turtle Beach considered for vendor opportunities

A year ago, Sarasota County launched a pilot program to test the waters of regulating vendors at public water access points.

After signing up 11 companies in the pilot area, Ted Sperling Park on South Lido, the county is now considering expanding the program to Turtle Beach.

Dubbed the Non-Motorized Water Vessel Pilot, the program initially was created to calm the traffic and jockeying caused by companies that rent out kayaks and other non-motorized water vessels at the popular public water access point.

The program requires rental companies to buy a $500 permit per vessel and provide and insurance. In return, they are allowed to rent out watercraft at the busy water access at Ted Sperling Park.

The county sold 154 permits in 2014, worth $77,000 in revenue.

With the success of the program on Lido, the county believes a similar program could work at the lagoon launch at Turtle Beach, said Tricia Wisner, business development coordinator for the county.

“People seem to be happy with the program,” she said.

If approved by the County Commission, the program would expand after renovations to Turtle Beach are completed in the summer. The south Siesta spot is scheduled to receive more amenities, including more parking, a new playground and a new kayak launch.

Bob Nikla, owner of I Kayak Sarasota, is part of the Lido program, but said he doesn’t plan to expand to the Turtle Beach program. He said he’s not happy with it on Lido because the $500 per vessel fee hurts some of the smaller companies. He’s paid for 20 permits — $10,000 worth — so far.

“They’re (the county) trying to stunt growth … and the problem is that this is a great industry,” Nikla said.

Nikla said when the county initially introduced the idea, he was supportive. He and the other rental businesses wanted to pay a fee to rent right off the kayak launch on Lido Key and build a program to support a growing interest in non-motorized sports.

“We all as operators wanted a fee, insurance … to make it legitimate, but they want to charge a lot of money and chase us off,” he said.

Nikla said he thinks the county should expand the program to more spots on Lido Key, or use the funds it receives from permits to expand the parking for the rental area of the park. He adds that new downtown hotels in development will bring more visitors to the area, which will increase the demand for rentals.

Wisner said money from the program does go back to make improvements. In 2014, the county added two shelters, expanded the parking lot and put up more signage.

Rob Alfieri, owner of SUP Sarasota, says he also thinks the sports are gaining popularity, but his business has a different model.

Rather than launching from the beach, he uses a pontoon boat — nicknamed the “mothership” — to transport paddleboarders out to some of the lesser-traveled spots in the bay.

“People can eat and drink and then dock and paddleboard,” he said. He added that most of his customers seek a more adventurous experience than launching from the beach.

Nonetheless, several non-motorized water sports vendors expressed an interest in the program’s expansion to Turtle Beach in public forums late last year.