MANATEE COUNTY – On Friday, Manatee County commissioners voted to extend the countywide curfew for another seven days and reopen the county’s public boat ramps on Monday.
As part of Manatee County’s ongoing response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, commissioners and county officials met this afternoon in a virtual emergency meeting, participating remotely.
The commission voted 4-3 in favor of reopening the Manatee County-owned and operated public boat ramps.
Commissioners Vanessa Baugh, Reggie Bellamy, Misty Servia and Priscilla Trace supported reopening the boat ramps that were previously closed on March 26 by Public Safety Director Jake Saur.
Commissioners Betsy Benac, Steve Jonsson and Carol Whitmore opposed reopening the boat ramps. Whitmore said all the mayors in Manatee County that she spoke with did not want the boat ramps reopened yet.
During Friday’s meeting, the commission majority first decided to reopen the county boat ramps on Sunday, but Trace proposed they be reopened on Monday instead, so county staff didn’t have to work on Easter Sunday.
Once the county boat ramps are reopened at 3 p.m. on Monday, they will be open to all boaters, including recreational boaters, charter fishermen and commercial fishermen.
The Monday timetable means the county boat ramps will not be open to recreational boaters and charter captains during the Easter weekend. The Coquina South boat ramp in Bradenton Beach and the Riverside Boat Ramp in Palmetto will remain open to commercial fishermen this weekend.
Curfew extended
The commission also voted 5-2 in favor of extending the amended countywide curfew, effective between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., for seven more days.
Commissioners Bellamy, Benac, Servia, Trace and Whitmore supported extending an amended version of the countywide curfew that was first adopted and enacted on Friday, April 3. Commissioners Baugh and Jonsson opposed the curfew when it was adopted and on Friday they opposed extending it.
Unlike the original curfew, the amended and extended curfew will no longer apply to gatherings that occur outdoors at private residences.
On April 7, the Sarasota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent a letter to the Manatee County Commission that expressed concerns about county resolution R-20-053 – the resolution that first enacted the curfew.
“First, the resolution patently restricts groups of individuals – even if related by kinship – from gathering at exterior spaces on their own property. We see no reasonable basis for permitting families to gather inside their homes, but broadly prohibiting them from gathering on porches or in yards,” the ACLU letter said.
“Second, the resolution patently and disproportionately puts homeless persons at risk of detainment. There is simply no way for people who live on the streets to be in compliance with the law between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.,” the ACLU letter also said.
As adopted on Friday, April 10, via county resolution R-20-056, the curfew provisions have now been amended to address the concerns expressed by the ACLU.
During Friday’s meeting, County Attorney Mickey Palmer said he received an email from ACLU board member Michael Barfield earlier that afternoon in which Barfield expressed the ACLU’s support for the proposed amended curfew resolution.
Palmer also noted the amended curfew no longer contains the specific curfew exceptions included in the original curfew resolution – exceptions that included traveling for work, traveling to secure food or supplies, checking in on a loved one or walking your dog.
“All of those items, A through H, have been removed and it now simply reads: ‘A curfew is established effective immediately for all of Manatee County. All pedestrian and vehicular movement, standing and parking – except for persons engaged in essential services or essential activities as those terms are defined in governor’s Executive Order, 20-91 – are prohibited during curfew hours,” Palmer told the commission.
Section 3 of EO 20-91 includes the header “Essential Activities” and says, “For purposes of this order and the conduct it limits, ‘essential activities’ means and encompasses the following:
- Attending religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and houses of worship;
- Participating in recreational activities – consistent with social distancing guidelines – such as walking, biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, running or swimming:
- Taking care of pets;
- Caring for or otherwise assisting a loved one or friend.”
EO 20-91 says, “A social gathering in a public space is not an essential activity. Local jurisdictions shall ensure that groups of people greater than 10 are not permitted to congregate in any public space.”
The amended curfew remains in effect seven days a week, from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m.
“The hours have not changed from the last resolution, but this go-around we are focusing on essential services and essential activities as defined by the governor in his executive order,” Palmer said.
Regarding the first week of curfew enforcement, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said his deputies have not issued any orders to appear in court or arrested anyone for violating the county curfew or the governor’s executive order that pertains to essential businesses, services and activities.
Instead, deputies and law enforcement officers in Manatee County will continue educating county residents and visitors on the need to adhere to the governor’s order and the county curfew.
“We are following the governor’s executive order. The governor’s executive order is a ‘stay at home’ order, not a ‘stay at home if you want to’ order. Whether it’s 2 p.m. or 2 a.m., the governor’s order is clear: if you are not traveling for essential services or activities you are to stay at home,” Wells said.
DeSantis’ EO 20-91 is scheduled to expire on April 30.
Wells also addressed the request to remove the original curfew language that provided law enforcement officers in Manatee County the authority to enforce curfew restrictions on private residential properties.
Wells said family members that have been isolated from one another lately may want to spend time together during the Easter holiday.
“We didn’t want them to worry about law enforcement coming to their homes,” Wells said.
