Naked Cowboy offers to settle legal dispute with Daytona after Bike Week arrest

DAYTONA BEACH — A $90,000 settlement with the Naked Cowboy, a proposal to spend $600,000 restoring the Josie Rogers house and establishment of a public art program in Daytona Beach are just a few of the items on a very packed City Commission agenda for Wednesday night's meeting.

Here's a closer look at what commissioners will be discussing and voting on, beginning with the cowboy who dons nothing but a personalized pair of tighty whities, boots and a hat when he visits Main Street every spring for Bike Week.

Robert Burck, known nationally as the Naked Cowboy, has been performing during the 10-day Bike Week party for more than 20 years. He was strutting around Main Street and strumming his guitar on March 6, 2021, when police officers told him he was violating the city's panhandling, begging and solicitation ordinance.

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Police arrested Burck, a New York City performance artist, on charges of violating the panhandling ordinance and resisting arrest without violence. At the beginning of March this year, Burck sued the city and two of its police officers.

The multi-count complaint alleged that Daytona Beach's panhandling ordinance is unconstitutional under the state and federal constitutions, and that officers Fertz Gaspard and Valerie Pittman violated various state laws as well as the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

After lengthy negotiations, Burck offered to settle all of his claims against the city, Gaspard and Pittman for $90,000. That amount includes his costs and attorney fees.

The proposed settlement, which city commissioners will vote on Wednesday night, does not require the city to rescind its panhandling ordinance nor include any admission of fault by the city or the two police officers.

City commissioners will also vote Wednesday on a proposal to spend up to $600,000 restoring the Josie Rogers House, which is located on the north end of the city-owned Riverfront Park.

There's also a request that the city contribute funding to reimburse the private foundation now running the park up to $800,000 per year for its costs of capital improvements. Up until now the agreement has only called for the city to provide the foundation with $800,000 per year for maintenance.

Preserving piece of Daytona history

The Josie Rogers House is the late 1800s home of Dr. Josie Rogers, who served as Daytona Beach's first female doctor and mayor.

The house has stood in a few different spots along the riverfront in its 143-year history, and a few years ago it was moved again within Riverfront Park as part of an extensive overhaul of the greenspace.

The house was built in 1879 by Josie Rogers' father, one of the city's early settlers. It originally overlooked the river, and in 1919, David Dunham Rogers donated the property to the city for Riverfront Park.

After Josie Rogers' father died, the house was moved across the street from the park, and eventually was moved closer to the riverbank again.

After years of neglect, the city bought the two-story wooden home in 1999, moved it back to its old riverfront site in 2001 and restored it. Then in 2019, the city moved the house a little farther north on the riverfront.

The last move was hard on the 19th-century home, and the termite-riddled structure needs major renovations. The historic two-story house has sat vacant for years, but now there's a proposal to restore the home and use it as a small store within the park.

Once the house is fixed up, it could become like a country store where people can buy soda, snacks and souvenirs. Josie Roger's historical items could also be displayed.

The city is contemplating using funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act which allows for funds to be utilized for the enhancement of public spaces.

The park, now known as the Daytona Beach Riverfront Esplanade, is under long-term lease with the Brown Riverfront Esplanade Foundation with a term expiring Sept. 30, 2068. So far, the foundation has invested more than than $31 million to reinvent the park.

The northern end of the park reopened June 4, and now extensive renovations are underway in the south end of the park between International Speedway Boulevard and Orange Avenue.

Daytona becoming home of public art?

Commissioners will vote on a measure establishing a public arts program in Daytona Beach. The ordinance also establishes a public arts advisory board, public arts collection and public arts fund.

The measure lays out the procedures for the commissioning and purchasing of art, and it formally establishes the curating of a public art collection in the city.

The hope is that various types of public art, including murals, will enrich and beautify the community’s public spaces, help tell the story of Daytona Beach and foster new artists.

In August 2021, the City Commission dedicated $300,000 of local fiscal recovery funds as initial funding for the creation of a public arts fund.

If the public arts program is approved, the next step will be the appointment of public arts advisory board members. Then board members and city staff will begin drafting program policies for future commission adoption.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Naked Cowboy agrees to settle Florida lawsuit after Bike Week arrest