Bayfront Park Recreation Center set to reopen in November

The Rec Center has been closed since March.

By Mark Bergin
| 5:11 p.m. October 6, 2020

On Nov. 2, the town is planning to reopen the Bayfront Park Recreation Center at 4052 Gulf of Mexico Drive. The classes sizes inside the facility will be limited.

Longboat Key
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Longboat Key is planning to slowly start reopening more town amenities and facilities to the public with restrictions.

Town Manager Tom Harmer issued his latest executive order on Tuesday afternoon.

Harmer’s executive order reopens all courts for doubles at the Tennis Center on Oct. 12. However, the town is not planning to allow outside team play until January 2021.

The order also allows for the Nov. 2 reopening of the Recreation Center at Bayfront Park and the classes within the facility. Classes will have restrictions on size. The town will not allow for rentals for events through December 2020.

Peggy Theiss and Susan Burns prepare to receive a serve on Monday, June 22, 2020, at the Bayfront Park pickleball courts..

All recreation areas of Bayfront Park initially closed on March 22. Bayfront Park and Joan M. Durante Park reopened with restrictions on June 22. The basketball, shuffleboard, pickleball and tennis courts at Bayfront Park are open.

Town facilities, including Town Hall, will remain closed through October. Town facilities are set to reopen with restrictions on Nov. 2. Anyone wanting to contact town staff can call 941-316-1999, email or schedule an appointment.

While town commissioners are planning to meet virtually through October, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office has advised for municipalities to prepare to meet in-person starting in November.

For the Nov. 2 town commission meeting, Longboat Key is planning on using a hybrid approach with four commissioners present to create a physical in-person quorum. The town is planning to employ social distancing on the dais and in the commission gallery, limiting the number of people inside.

Commissioners last met in person for a meeting regarding town business on March 23.

Until November, the only exception to the town’s suspension of in-person meetings is an Oct. 12 code enforcement special magistrate hearing.

The town’s mandatory mask policy runs through the month of November. While DeSantis suspended individual fines and penalties related to local mask ordinances, the town is focusing its enforcement efforts on educating the public and enforcing its policy toward private businesses.

Longboat Key’s public beach parking reopened at the start of the month after being closed from March 21-May 31 and then again from May 30-Sept. 30.

Harmer’s latest executive order is set to be re-evaluated on or before Oct. 20.