Local

Seminole County adding sunscreen spray booths to two parks

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Outdoor enthusiasts in Seminole County may soon enjoy a new convenience -- sunscreen booths.

If you forget your sunscreen, you can spray yourself at one of the stations

The county plans to add these stations to at least two of its parks.

Channel nine's Bianca Castro found out the booths will not only offer protection for residents but profit for the county.

Families like the Stephens are on the go and protection from the sun is an afterthought.

"Rushing out of the house (to) try to get to the park, and you know it's one of those things you forget to do," park-goer Larry Stephens said.

So he found it convenient that for $2 bucks, he could mist his kids with SPF 30.

The sunscreen booth is at the Central Florida Zoo and now county park officials want to install some at two of its parks.

"I think it's a great idea," Stephens said.

It's the only sunscreen-misting machine in use anywhere in the entire state. Users can swipe a credit card and then get 10 seconds to spray away.

The county wouldn't pay a dime for the machines, just provide the electricity to the vendor who, in turn, will give 20 percent of the profits back to the county.

It's about 40 cents each use.

The zoo wouldn't say how much it has made since the spray station was installed in April.

At Sanlando park, one of the parks slated to get a mister, Kevin Faubel didn't like the idea.

"I would probably end up not coming here," Faubel said.

He fears it would take away from the very thing he comes to enjoy: nature.

"If you get one vending machine, you're going to have another, and then another, and then another, and I don't need that stuff," Faubel said.

The County Commission will decide whether to approve the idea in late September.

The vendor insists 10 seconds is just enough time to spray exposed areas of skin.