GULF BREEZE — Santa Rosa County taxpayers may have to pick up the tab to remove one of the largest abandoned boats the county has seen, according to officials.
The derelict 46-foot boat showed up off Lighthouse Point in Santa Rosa Sound around Thanksgiving.
That's when Edward Grier of Gulf Breeze reported the boat to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Grier said he and his fellow Lighthouse Pointe homeowners association board members recently spent $60,000 to repair their community dock after Hurricane Michael.
He sees the derelict boat as a danger to the dock.
"We're worried about a storm picking (the boat) up and slamming it into (the dock)," Grier said.
After being contacted by Grier, the FWC tagged the barnacle-laden boat and contacted the owner to remove it.
The FWC gave the owner 45 days to remove it. If the boat is not removed by that time, the county will be required to do the job.
FWC grants a notice period in hope that the owner, not the government, will pay for its removal.
"We want to keep the Florida taxpayers from removing these vessels from the water," FWC spokesman Robert Klepper said.
Grier said he contacted Santa Rosa County on Friday about having the boat removed, as suggested by the FWC. By Monday, the county had visited the property, identified the correct boat and contacted Grier about removing it.
"I was really pleased with Santa Rosa County and their response," Grier said.
The county does not have funds designated for boat removal, but Klepper said the FWC can assist with the cost. The county can use state grants to aid in the removal.
Klepper said the county can also require the owner pay back some of the money.
Although the county will be allowed to remove the boat in March — the end of the 45-day notice — if it has not been removed by the owner, it could take longer considering the cost to remove a boat that size.
Santa Rosa County spokeswoman Brandi Whitehurst said the grants department won't put out a bid until the FWC gives approval.