PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - Palm Beach County is getting ready to reopen some recreational activities.
At SeaTow, boat captain Robert Remick makes his living working on the water, but with the coronavirus causing boat ramps to close, calls significantly dropped and the staff’s hours were slashed in half.
“As a company, we’re anticipating possibly getting back to some of our hours that we may have had before and at least get back into it,” Remick said.
SeaTow took WPTV for a ride-along as it prepares for boaters to get back on the water Wednesday.
“We added another shift for some people up north in the Jupiter area, we have a south captain and we have a Palm Beach captain,” Remick said.
Boaters must obey strict guidelines by staying 50 feet apart, and gatherings of no more than 10 people. Law enforcement will be out patrolling making sure boaters are not anchoring at a sandbar or any islands. Violators could be fined or have their boats towed.
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Golf courses are also making last-minute preps ahead of reopening Wednesday.
There’s not a divot in the fairway or ball mark on the green at North Palm Beach Country Club after being closed for five weeks.
“We furloughed about half of our golf staff. The main staff stayed in full and worked the entire time beginning next week we’ll start to recall some of the staff members,” said Allan Bowman, Director of Golf at North Palm Beach Country Club, who added maintenance projects slated for June were pushed up.
Golfers will not be allowed to touch the flagstick, only one person is allowed in the cart, and tee times will be staggered.
“We need everybody out there in the public to follow the rules, really it’s for the safety of the staff and safety of the entire population,” Bowman said.
Public parks, tennis courts, and community swimming pools will also reopen Wednesday.
WPTV has received a lot of questions about when other restrictions will be lifted when it comes to things like non-essential businesses reopening. The county says it is waiting to hear the governor’s plan for reopening the state, or whether he will modify or extend his current order.
