I hope this finds you in good health. Today, I am cautiously optimistic as we look ahead into May and the summer rentals. Following the President's recent announcements it seems that things slowly may progress towards a new normal. A normal where we might even be able to resume operations in the office.

As of today, our neighbors to the west, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores are planning to reopen their beaches for recreational use (walking, running, swimming, fishing, or similar activities, but not congregating in groups or laying out to catch some sun) on May 1st with the intentions of moving forward with a more relaxed plan beginning May 15th where groups of up to 10 can be together enjoying the beach. Our neighbor to the east, Navarre in Santa Rosa County, is discussing a similar approach on April 23rd. Our County Commissioners plan to meet on April 28th:

https://myescambia.com/news/news-article/2020/04/17/bocc-to-hold-a-special-meeting-april-28-at-10-a.m-update 

Perdido Key would certainly benefit from being able to provide our more family-friendly lodging to travelers who will responsibly enjoy our piece of paradise. We aren't Miami or Destin and, frankly, we don't have (and don't want) crowds like theirs here. We should be able to responsibly reopen our beaches safely and, realistically, more quickly than many other beaches as our density of rental units is far less than that of the bigger beach destinations.

In order to ensure we are positioned to succeed, I would like to see our County's Commissioners;

1. Devise a plan akin to that of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores with the same timeline; May 1 limited recreational use and May 15th relaxed guidelines promoting responsible use. 
2. Make a formal request to the Governor to allow counties to control the pace of reopening restaurants. This is huge for our local and vacationing families. Our restaurants will take the necessary measures to ensure their clientele is safe and comfortable.

I have personally relayed this to each of the County Commissioners. If you feel compelled, please echo these requests using this link:

https://myescambia.com/open-government/meetings/public-input-forms/public-input-form-4-28-2020

Or, if you would prefer to message the commissioners directly, here's the contact info for each of the County Commissioners: