CLEWISTON — During their May 19 meeting, the Clewiston City Commission discussed the Ventura Parking Project, and commissioners reassured the public that the Department of Transportation would review the plans before any changes began. The concern of most seemed to be the possibility of and location of a roundabout.

After reviewing plans for the roundabout, Joanne Jordan, a Clewiston business owner said, “It’s not going to work for me.” She went on to explain that handicap parking is required in front of her business, but the roundabout will take all that parking from the front and side of the building. This would leave one parking space farther down in front of another business and two spots even farther away. “I look out this window every day,” she said. “That roundabout is going to be a nightmare. It’s gonna cause accidents.”

She added that the area is walkable, and many semis pull over and drop things off to the businesses. She said closing the area down to put in the roundabout would affect her business for at least a year. “A light is better. A roundabout is not going to work. It’s going to affect my business, my customers…the elderly. This is not going to work for me.”

Atalla Edson, a second business owner, also spoke during the meeting and said parking would be a mess on the weekends. He said it looked like it would be beautiful, but he believed there would be a lot of accidents there. In addition, he felt his income would be significantly reduced while it was being built. He is also concerned about flooding and said they are already struggling with this, and it would only get worse.

The commissioners explained the project would address drainage problems and said they are working to beautify Clewiston to attract more visitors to the businesses. They also explained there would be work in the area but none of the businesses would be completely shut down, and the improvements will enhance the businesses.

The item will be discussed during the next workshop and will be placed on a future agenda.

Commissioner Mali Gardner asked the city attorney and staff to review the parking requirements, especially regarding the handicapped, and he agreed this would be taken care of.

In other business, the commissioners also discussed the possibility of passing an ordinance making businesses that provide shopping carts -- or in some cases, the customer who uses the cart -- liable when shopping carts are abandoned or left on public streets or private property without consent. The ordinance would require identification tags to be placed on each cart.

Private property owners will not receive a ticket unless the cart is left there for a long period. The goal is to have carts returned to the stores and not left on the streets.

This subject will be discussed again next month before being voted on.

Also, during the meeting, the commission amended Development Standards to increase the allowable building height.

An ordinance was approved allowing utility liens. This will run parallel with state law.

The next city commission meeting will be held on June 16 at 5 p.m. The public is welcome to attend, and the meetings can also be found on the city’s YouTube channel.