For many weeks, my friends have been asking me, "What's that monstrosity down at the marina?" Now that I've attended two Beaufort City Council workshops, I know how to answer.

It's proposed to be a floating motel, with five guest rooms. The plan discussed would allow as many as three of these "botels," maximum of five guest rooms each, maximum length of 100 feet per vessel. That could end up being 30 additional people using the docks on a daily/nightly basis. I can't for the life of me figure how this adds to the ambiance of our beautiful, historic city.

Yes, I know other cities have floating restaurants, botels and other things. But we're not Savannah or Charleston or Newport, R.I. We're Beaufort, S.C. -- a small, historic city with a small marina. I've checked two dictionaries and both define a marina as a "boat basin offering dockage and services for small craft."

Once again, I'm sounding the alarm to residents north of the Broad River. If you want to protect all that combines to make Beaufort so desirable as a small hometown, please join me in telling City Council members that they don't have to embrace every idea or scheme put before them. They can just say "no."

Edie Rodgers

Beaufort