Tuesday is Travel Rally Day, the national day of observance within National Tourism Week...

And in honor of the occasion, I thought that I would string some thoughts together on the topic.  I have already pointed out that the City Commission will be adopting a proclamation at tomorrow night's (5/7/13) meeting recognizing same.  Jorge Pesquera, president and CEO of the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau, put together a nice commentary on the importance of tourism in Palm Beach County and the role it is playing in our economic recovery.  No doubt that even if Lake Worth doesn't have a single hotel meeting today's lodging standards, I am sure that the city benefits from tourists and their dollars through visits to our charming downtown and renovated beach property.  But, I am sure that most would agree that we could take better advantage of the $5 billion spent by 5 million Palm Beach County visitors if we had one, two or three operating hotels within the city, as well as taking better advantage of some unique community assets that set us apart from other municipalities in Palm Beach County.  Doing so would likely make Lake Worth more attractive to a potential  hotel operator.

Let's think about our waterfront.  We have Bryant Park that extends from Lake Avenue to 5th Avenue South and the golf course that extends from Lucerne to 16th Avenue North.  We also have the Snook Islands - phases I and II and a new boat ramp.  And we have the beginnings of a boardwalk along the waterfront in the form of the Snook Islands Natural Area access just north of the bridge.

There was a recent article about the West Palm Beach public golf course and clubhouse in the Palm Beach Post.  In fact, there was a meeting this morning of the city's golf commission - made up of the city commission - to discuss the findings of study showing that there was mold present in the clubhouse, the air conditioning system needs to be re-done along with other failings of the existing building.  Staff is recommending that the building be "vacated" and that a new building be built sometime in the future - perhaps in the next five years.  As the article reveals, the restaurant there has quite a following, at least more so than the one that we have in the Lake Worth clubhouse, that concern is being raised about what will happen to its operations in the interim.  Commissioner Materio is right to raise questions about whether the time is now to do the "tear down" or hear more about what it would cost to repair the existing building.

Those who have been Lake Worth residents for a while remember what the former Lake Worth Golf Course clubhouse was like.  For those that don't, upon entering the building one was treated to the overwhelming fragrance of "Early Nursing Home."  The carpets were perpetually stained and the building did not take advantage of its Lake Worth Lagoon waterfront location.  In the late 90s, we were treated to a new clubhouse, in the same location as the older one.  I don't remember the discussion then, but it seems to me that there was some consideration of moving the clubhouse to the southern part of the course so that it could be visible from Lake and Lucerne and take advantage of the traffic coming and going over the bridge.  Someone can help me out here, but I think the prevailing thought of "let's keep it where it is" carried the day due to changes required in the routing of the golf course.  A clubhouse in the middle of the course allows one to stop for a break between the first nine and the last nine.  I defer to golfers for other reasons for not moving the clubhouse..

And, think about if the clubhouse had been moved so that it could be accessed from Lucerne.  The Gulfstream Hotel was operating at the time and I am sure the two restaurants could have benefited from their prime locations and created a synergy of economic and pedestrian activity in that area.  Then you add the possibility of a water taxi that links all of the waterfront downtowns in Palm Beach County and we'd be able to take advantage of tourists and their dollars in a bigger way.

Someone showed me the amenity book, dated 2005, that was in each of the Gulfstream Hotel's room when it was last operational.  I found it astonishing that under "Recrational Activities," it mentioned a few golf courses in Palm Beach County but failed to mention the Lake Worth Golf Course that was essentially right across the street.

So, for now, we have a closed Gulfstream Hotel which may not be a hotel in the future, a golf course restaurant concession that is not a destination and lost opportunities that would take greater advantage of our waterfront location.  But we still have the "potential."  Something Lake Worth is well-known for - its potential.