GULF SHORES – One thing is for certain: wooden loungers left out on the beach overnight are eventually going away.

What’s not certain is how and when this might happen in either Gulf Shores or Orange Beach. In Gulf Shores the plan is to discuss a plan regarding the loungers at the Jan. 9 work session.

When Leave Only Footprints enforcement began requiring all personal items to be removed from the beach nightly, vendors with wooden loungers were told the cities would like those phased out in five years as well.

“This is for the entirety of the beach,” Mayor Robert Craft said of the Leave Only Footprints program. “Our determination is beach wide. You’ve got to accept this, it is important and it’s a collective decision we’ve got to make.

“We’ve got to continue to evolve this so it doesn’t hurt the economy but will have the environmental impact we want.”

In recent email contacts and informal individual meetings with those vendors, city officials believed they had the go ahead to proceed with that plan. Permanent wooden loungers were not mentioned in the original Leave Only Footprints ordinance in either city.

“From the email I’ve received I was under the impression y’all didn’t particularly like this model we had in this ordinance, but y’all were willing to do forward with it,” Councilman Joe Garris said. “With the five-year plan of reduction. Am I wrong?”

On Dec. 5 vendors and city councilmen and Craft engaged in a lengthy discussion about the implementation of the program. The current plan called for vendors to reduce the number of loungers on the beach by 20 percent from 2016 totals for the 2017 season.

That would be followed up by a 20 percent reduction each year until the loungers were phased out. There were just under 1,000 wooden loungers licensed on Gulf Shores beaches in 2016. Coastal Resources Director Phillip West said in 2016 more than 2,300 of the loungers were in use in Orange Beach.

Vendors on Dec. 5 said they had a solo meeting with Assistant Public Works Director Noel Hand and a request to come to the Dec. 5 council session.

“We were asked specific questions,” Ike Williams of Ike’s Beach Service said. “Can you go five years? Not really. I was requesting seven.”

Williams, who runs a variety of beach services, including parasail boats, says there are many options to be considered for the beach service vendors.

“I’m not against it, we’d just like a little bit better voice in this,” he said. “Not just ‘hey this is what we’re doing’ or working with them for one meeting and make all these decisions for us. We’d like a little more input and a little sympathy from you guys on the financial hit we’re going to take.

“Some of these things we can talk about, but we haven’t had the chance.”

Councilmen Steve Jones and Jason Dyken said they were behind taking some time to study this and come up with the right plan. Dyken said even if it takes 90 days or so he’d like to see the right program for the city and vendors in place before the 2017 season.

Jones said in the past when the city made decisions that would cause new concerns and cost for businesses more input was sought.

“That’s been my concern, that’s my problem with moving this ahead tonight,” Jones said. “I don’t feel like the process has been the same for other big decisions we’ve made that have had financial impact on our business partners.”

Earlier this year the city reworked rules for the operation of parasail boats in Gulf Shores. The final product was the result of several public discussions.

“With the parasails, we had several meetings right here in this chamber,” Williams said. “We need everybody’s input so we can discuss the particulars on folding chairs, non-folding chairs, a five-year plan, a seven-year plan.”

Vendor Ted Scarritt of Perdido Beach Services said he and other vendors want “a chance to go over things.”

He has hired wetland scientist Craig Martin to meet with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their input about tactics and equipment would they consider the vendors’ best options. That meeting was supposed to take place next week.

“I say we have input through the Fish and Wildlife,” Martin said.

Craft said the Leave Only Footprints program was an effort by the cities, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism and the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber to ward off the federal agency stepping in with its own enforcement.

Looming, however, are renewals of city licenses for the vendors which would have to be put on hold until an agreement is reached. The last city council meeting of the year was Monday.

Five businesses are licensed to rent wooden loungers in Gulf Shores, Ike’s Beach Service, Perdido Beach Services, Suncoast Beach Service owned by Jason Holt, Amber Jemison of A Shore Thing Beach Service and the Pink Pony Pub rents them as well.