Trouble in Paradise?

It’s been 31 years since Paul Reisinger started setting up his green and yellow umbrellas along Marco Beach. Butrecent interactions with the City of Marco Island have the popular beach vendor and his wife, Tara, concerned about the future of their small operation, located in front of The Charter Club of Marco Beach. The Reisingers operate Paul’s Beach Rentals on the beach in front of the resort. And while resort management appears extremely pleased with Reisinger, they, too, wonder what is happening at the city level. 

“We have come to know Paul, Tara, and their children, who run Paul’s Beach Rentals,” said Marty Terry, board president of The Charter Club of Marco Beach. Paul has serviced thousands of people over the past 31 years. It appears the City of Marco Island now wants to put them out of business and destroy their livelihood without giving a reason.” 

The reason for concern revolves around an undated letter Reisinger recently received from Amber Stonik on City of Marco Island letterhead. CC’d on the letter are Dan Smith, Director ofCommunity Affairs; Keith Richer, Code Enforcement Supervisor; and Mary Holden, Planning Manager. The letter, which Reisinger said is alleged to have originally been sent to the island’s beach vendors in 2021, demands valid City building permits and site plans showing the location of beach structures. The letter also states that the City of Marco Island Land Development Code does not allow temporary structures on the beach. It also states that the LDC does allow permanent structures. The letter states that storage containers or other wooden or metal structures on the beach to store equipment must be moved to another location.  

When asked for comment at City Hall on Friday, November 7, Stonik declined to comment. She did, however, agree to share an agenda with the Coastal Breeze News, once it is prepared, for the upcoming round table discussion between the City of Marco Island and the beach vendors, planned for November 19. 

Reisinger and Charter Club officials fear city demands could put small operators like Paul’s Beach Rentals out of business. 

Reisinger said that neither he nor any of the other beach vendors recalls ever receiving the undated letter from Stonik in 2021. 

“None of us has any record of getting this letter,” Reisinger said. "There's no date on the letter. If they sent us that letter saying we weren't in compliance, then why did they give us a vendor's permit in 2022? Why did they give us a vendor's permit in 2023? It's just silly. Not one of them (at City Hall) knows what the other one's doing." 

"Last year, we sent the application and the check for our vendor's permit,” Tara Reisinger adds. "And they cashed it. But never gave us a permit." 

The undated letter’s claim that temporary structures are not allowed, but permanent structures are, seems to fly in the face of the city’s own ordinances regarding beach vendors. 

The Reisingers have had an expert review the city ordinances. The expert concludes that Reisinger is compliant with the city's beach vendor codes, provided he creates an equipment removal plan. The expert also notes that the city’s failure to issue permits for two years is an issue for Reisinger’s attorney to address. Reisinger has also been advised to consult an attorney for state and FEMA guidance.  

Reisinger would just like to continue to do business as he has for the past three decades. 

"Everybody's happy with Marco Island,” Reisinger said. "It keeps getting voted the number one most beautiful island in the world and all that. And there'sa reason why. This beach is the draw of Marco Island. All of us vendors take pride in this beach. You couldn't ask for better stewards on this beach. We take pride in how everything looks. I’m just trying to keep my footprint as small as possible. We’re always picking up trash, helping with cleanup after hurricanes, taking injured birds to the conservancy.” 

Reisinger said he and his fellow beach vendors have ridden out a number of hurricanes without incident. 

“It's actually an ideal situation for us,” he said. “We have more than a half an acre between the beach and the buildings. Throughout all the last 40 years, all the hurricanes, starting with Andrew, there's never been any issues. We haven't had any jet skis floating away or any sailboats floating away. Everything is taken care of. And whatever debris is on the beach, every single piece is picked up. We had a restoration crew on property here two days after Ian. Every single piece of debris that was on the beach was picked up. We made a huge pile right here. Everything was taken piece by piece to a semi in the parking lot, so nothing was left out on the beach. Nothing." 

Reisinger said no one seems to know what to expect at the November 19 round table. He’s hoping for the best. 

"We're hoping that we can all just communicate and we can ask them questions,” Reisinger said. “Right now,there's just no communication. They need to tell us what they want us to do. We don't know what they want us to have. We've reached out because we don't really know. We have no idea." 

Reisinger just wants to be able to continue doing what he's doing. 

"I know how lucky I am,” he said. "I don't take it for granted for one second. I will do whatever I can to make sure that I'm still able to come down here and dig my holes every day."