by Krystal Paco

Guam - From fishermen to swimmers and even picnickers a business allowed to set up shop at a public park has triggered a wave of concern. On Saturday morning, Agat resident Joey Charfauros was one of dozens who protested PSV Corporation, the new jetski operator at Nimitz Beach Park.

He said, "There are fishermen that go in these waters and you cannot see them there are kids that are playing on the shoreline and if they're diving underneath and here comes a jetski - bam! They're gonna get hit!"

Mary Charfauros agrees - a kid will get hurt if the new activity continues. "I had a friend whose kids last weekend were pulled out of the water because of the jetskis," she explained.

On top of chasing kids out of the water, Joey Charfauros says owners keep residents from using the public restrooms and showers. "The guy said, 'I'm paying for the water so you cannot use it.' I said, 'No, no, no that's public, you cannot be doing that!'"

As a business owner himself, Charfauros says it isn't fair for a commercial business to operate at a public park. "Commercial property commercial operations should be kept in a commercial zone area, that's why we pay a higher fee than residential for property tax and if you're just going to allow an operator to open up his business in a public area then what's the point of me paying commercial fees for my property when I can just go that's ridiculous," he explained.

Fortunately, island leaders took notice, including Agat mayor Carol Tayama, the Governor's Office, and Senator Tommy Morrison. Morrison, a former Department of Parks and Recreations director, says PSV Corporation has agreed to move despite a lease agreement signed with the agency last year. He said, "I came here to listen to the concerns of Agat - the community, the people - regarding the vendor operation here jetski. And we've come up with a solution to resolve this issue: the vendor has agreed that they need just one month to transition out and we're going to work to relocate them to an appropriate spot so they can operate," he explained.

PSV Corporation has one month to make the transition to Apra Harbor where recreational water sports are authorized.