At this BCC meeting, we learned it cost $2,500 to change one word on the beach sign.

With no state-mandated implementation deadline, why the rush? Now, every county agency’s documentation is out of sync with existing ordinances. Legal boundaries and public documents rely on the Gulf as a geographic reference. Are we replacing ALL of the K–12 reference books & textbooks—covering history, geography, science, and literature—that use the Gulf by name?

If every new president decides to rename it, will the BCC continue spending thousands of taxpayer dollars each time just to follow symbolic changes?

Let’s be clear: our tax dollars should go toward real community needs—schools, infrastructure, public safety—not cosmetic changes. Those can wait. Let’s prioritize what actually improves lives.

True, effective, and purposeful name change efforts would be to unify the name of Saufley Field / Michigan / Beverly / Brent / Bayou / Perry Avenues-Street-Parkways-Lanes to a single road name that locals and visitors could follow with less confusion. Why add another name to the Gulf of Mexico and create confusion, wasting taxpayer funded time?

The cost of this silliness to local governments and businesses in order to do this name change is likely in the millions of dollars from Key West to Brownsville. (sign costs, map changes, legal papers).

For me, it is and always will be the Gulf of Mexico. No one person should have such authority.