Issues involving barges docking on the Municipal Dock, located on the beach in front of Central Park, date back to 1997 when the concept of a marina first came to light. In August of 2003, the Marina at the southern end of the island was officially opened and since then barges have been asked to discontinue the use of the Municipal Dock. The idea came after local hoteliers began complaining that the barges docking in the center of town were “an eyesore” for the community especially for tourism on the island. It took several years before barges in the area complied with docking at the designated Marina and for the last year the Municipal Dock has been vacant of barges.
Now, almost eight years since the Marina was first opened, barges docking at the Municipal Pier in town are quickly becoming “an eyesore” once again. The Sun has been contacted on several occasions to witness mammoth barges with construction materials and heavy machineries docked on the Municipal Dock.
In speaking with the San Pedro Mayor, Her Worship Elsa Paz, The Sun was informed that two companies are confirmed to have been using the Municipal Dock for overnight docking. Those two companies, Mayor Paz says, have been served with reminder letters informing them that the Municipal Dock is not for the use of barges. According to Mayor Paz, no loading or unloading of barges is being done at the dock. Despite the reminder letters, the companies who ferry material to the northern part of Ambergris Caye are still using the municipal dock to park their barges.
So what will happen to the barges belonging to the two companies? Mayor Paz says that they will reissue reminder letters and will be addressing the issue to ensure that the barges belonging to the two companies discontinue the use of the pier for overnight docking.
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