CORTEZ COMMERCIAL FISHING FESTIVAL CELEBRATES VILLAGE
The 41st Annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival took place on Feb. 18-19 in the historic fishing village. The festival, which celebrated 100 years of Star Fish Company, was organized by a volunteer committee from the non-profit Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH). “The money raised at the festival will support the continued restoration of the FISH Preserve,” FISH board member Jane von Hahmann said. The preserve covers over 98 acres of environmentally sensitive land immediately east of the village. It is the last stretch of undeveloped waterfront property left on North Sarasota Bay.
CANAL DISPUTES
In 2023, Hunters Point developer Marshall Gobuty, his Cortez Road Investments and Finance ownership group, and his legal team prevailed in two rulings pertaining to multiple canal-related disputes that remain ongoing. In March, Administrative Law Judge Bruce Culpepper recommended the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s governing board issue a final order granting the developer’s application to construct 49 boat slips/docks in the privately-owned Hunters Point canal. In May, the governing board issued that order. The owners of the nearby Cortez Village Marina are appealing the final order as part of their ongoing opposition to the Hunters Point docks. In late October, as part of another canal-related dispute, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas denied motions seeking to dissolve the lis pendens claims Cortez Road Investments filed against canal-side property owners Wendy and George Kokolis and Jonathan and Sheila Graham. A lis pendens claim notifies potential buyers of a lawsuit involving the property and can impact the ability to sell a property, obtain financing or obtain title insurance.
FISH PRESERVE DAMAGED BY FIRE
Despite a May 10 fire that the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said was intentionally set at the 98-acre Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) Preserve, work continued on the final phase of a restoration project. The fire had minimal impact on the restoration efforts.
SEAFOOD SHACK/ANNIE’S BAIT AND TACKLE FOR SALE
Annie’s Bait and Tackle is part of a parcel including the Seafood Shack that went up for sale in May with a starting price of $15 million. Annie’s, which has been in operation since the 1950s, has been owned by Bruce Shearer and Kim Shepherd for more than 20 years. The Seafood Shack went under contract for sale in August, but the listing agent remained tight-lipped about the potential buyer. Realtor Dave Neff said, “The property has not sold yet, but it is under contract. I am not able to disclose who the buyer is. Much of the speculation on the internet centers around the potential buyers as the current owners of a waterfront restaurant in Venice. There are rumors going around about who the buyer is, but those rumors are premature in nature and inaccurate,” Neff said.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND PRINCESS FOR SALE
The Anna Maria Island Princess paddleboat went up for sale in 2023. Listed at $499,999 on the Boat Trader website, the 99-foot paddleboat has caught the attention of potential buyers. “It hasn’t sold yet but we’ve had a lot of interest,” said Mia Still, Bradenton Beach Marina executive assistant for tours and operations on Sept. 26. The boat is owned by Bradenton Beach Marina, which was purchased in January by local developer Shawn Kaleta.
HURRICANE IDALIA CAUSES SHORT-LIVED DAMAGE
As residents and businesses cleaned up following the Aug. 30 storm surge from Hurricane Idalia, which flooded local roads, the recurring consensus was, “We got lucky.” “There was no boat damage (to the fleet of fishing boats). We lost a few boards on the dock,” A.P. Bell Fish Company owner Karen Bell said. “We were very lucky.” On Wednesday morning, roads in Cortez were underwater. By that evening the waters receded and roads were passable. In advance of the storm, local fish houses secured their fleets of fishing boats. Tide Tables was flooded from the storm surge but cleaned and dried by the following day.
CORTEZ ROAD CONSTRUCTION STUDY BEGINS
In August, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) launched a Cortez Road corridor study that extended from 121st Street Court West in Cortez to U.S. 301 in Bradenton/West Samoset. The corridor study project is a partnership between FDOT, Manatee County and the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, with the Renaissance Planning consulting firm tasked with gathering input from the public and other stakeholders. The primary goals were to identify ways to make the Cortez Road corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and others and to address the relationship between the roadway and future growth along the corridor. More than 8,500 new homes and residential units are expected to be constructed near Cortez and Anna Maria Island in the coming years. In April/May, the Woodruff and Sons construction company began clearing trees and other landscaping along the north side of Cortez Road as part of a Manatee County sewer line project. The utilities easement agreement the county entered into with property owner Whiting Preston stipulates the new sewer line must provide the capacity to handle the sewage produced by the 2,000 residential units planned as part of Preston’s Peninsula Bay development.
CORTEZIAN GROWS RECORD-SETTING PUMPKIN
What started out as a casual pastime for Cortez resident Tim Caniff turned into a statewide record-sized pumpkin. At 1,039 pounds, the pumpkin, grown in Caniff’s backyard, blew the previous state record out of the water by more than 400 pounds. “This started off as a fun beer-drinking hobby,” Caniff said.
CORTEZ STONE CRAB FESTIVAL CELEBRATED
The kickoff to the stone crab harvest season was celebrated on Nov. 11-12 at the 11th Annual Cortez Stone Crab and Music Festival. The festival typically draws more than 5,000 attendees and more than 2,000 pounds of stone crab is consumed. “The festival celebrates the heritage of Cortez and the kickoff to stone crab season,” Adam Sears, Swordfish Grill General Manager said. This year’s theme was “Crack a Cold One,” since stone crab is served cracked and cold.
FISH PRESERVE RIBBON-CUTTING HELD
In the culmination of more than two decades of planning and hard work, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the FISH (Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage) Preserve on Nov. 3.
At nearly 100 acres, the preserve is on the south side of Cortez Road, an oasis of natural beauty among multiple construction projects nearby. The preservation and non-development of the preserve land, adjacent to the Cortez fishing village and bordering the waters of Sarasota Bay, was precisely the goal of FISH members in 2000 when they began fundraising to purchase the property. The invitation-only ribbon cutting featured speakers Dr. Dave Tomasko, Director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program; Dr. Jay Leverone, staff scientist with SBEP; FISH Treasurer Jane von Hahmann; EPA Region 4 Regional Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle and Manatee County Commissioner and SBEP policy board member Kevin Van Ostenbridge.
PASSINGS
On Feb. 22, former Swordfish Grill Manager Greg “Grego” Koeper passed away from melanoma at 67.
– Sun Correspondent Joe Hendricks contributed to this story
