Hurricane Irma left more than a million dollars' worth of damage to Cocoa's Riverfront Park boardwalk and now Cocoa's mayor is promising to fix the problem.
- Cocoa Mayor Henry Parrish says boats smashed into boardwalk
- Parrish wants cities to have authority to remove derelict boats
"It's the most important piece of property in our community and I mean Central Brevard County and it's disheartening to see it happen," said Cocoa Mayor Henry Parrish.
Parrish says despite pleas before the storm to remove boats, many remained in the Cocoa basin during Irma’s wrath.
He says 10 boats became untied during the storm, smashing into the boardwalk and other docks, causing extensive damage and destruction.
"We want to take action, do the right thing, build it bigger, better than ever, and protect it. That's the main thing," Parrish said.
Tuesday night, the mayor will call on the city council to come with a plan to create a mooring field, which he says will allow the city to decide when boats can and cannot be tied up in the basin.
"It gives you certain protections so other boats won't come in for free, you can actually manage it legally," he said.
Parrish is also calling on state lawmakers to give cities more authority to remove derelict boats, especially before a storm approaches.
Also at the meeting on Tuesday there will be a late agenda item regarding emergency repairs to the Cocoa water system following Irma.
The city council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday.