Vandals spread roofing nails on a road near a Sea Ray plant in Florida last week and 50 of the boatbuilders’ employees suffered tire damage.
FlaglerLive.com said a Flagler County Sheriff’s report said a stretch of road was blanketed with nails during the early morning hours of Oct. 6, starting from the intersection at Roberts Road and Sea Ray Drive and stopping immediately before the road offers a line of sight to the guard house at the entrance to Sea Ray’s plant in Flagler Beach.
Sea Ray Group human resources director Kellie Hood told the sheriff’s office that workers started reporting damage to their vehicles’ tires during their lunch break. Company officials told the sheriff’s office that the type of nails spread on the road are not used or kept in stock at their facility.
Sea Ray was the focus of controversy earlier this year after proposing to build a 24-acre parking lot south of its facility. The proposal drew significant attention and some opposition from Flagler Beach residents — especially along Lambert Avenue, near the plant — and the city government.
Flagler Beach government challenged county government’s land use change that enabled the parking lot project to go forward, but in late September the city agreed to settle its dispute with the county and Sea Ray. The project is going ahead.
Despite the opposition to the parking lot plan, at no point did opponents suggest they were opposed to Sea Ray’s presence and most spoke appreciatively of the jobs the company provides.
Sea Ray is among the largest private employers in the county.
