The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 12 No. 46 - August 29, 2012

headlines

Island spared direct hit - again
Carol Whitmore

MAGGIE FIELD | SUN

Paddle boarder Ben Webb catches one of the
waves produced by Tropical Storm Isaac Monday
morning as it skirted Anna Maria Island and headed
out into the Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical Storm Isaac passed by Anna Maria Island on Sunday and Monday with only a few squalls, leaving surfers stoked and just about everyone else all prepared with no hurricane in sight.

The storm, at one time forecast to pass within 100 miles of the Island, veered west out into the Gulf before it reached the Island’s latitude, and served as a good dry run for people to work out the kinks in their hurricane plans.

“If you prepare for the disaster and it never happens, it’s wonderful,” said Ed Ice, of the Anna Maria Island Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which was prepared to be activated, but never got the go-ahead from Manatee County.

Ice conducted a ham radio training meeting on Friday with operators, who had their radios and generators available in case communications and power went down, which never materialized.

As Isaac approached Anna Maria Island on Sunday, Publix was jammed as people rushed in at the last minute to buy water, batteries and other supplies.

A few raced to their city halls to get vehicle hang tags in case the Island was evacuated, and city officials sent e-mails letting people know that sand was available for sandbags.

Tanya Crawshaw and her son, Jack, of Boston, filled sandbags at Bayfront Park.

“We just bought a house here in Anna Maria last month,” the newcomer said. “This is my first time having to prepare for a tropical storm or hurricane and my husband isn’t here.”

Boat Capt. Michael Steach helped Rany Dula shovel sand.

“I’m going to stay here and help these ladies with their sandbagging. It’s the neighborly thing to do. These bags get pretty heavy,” he said.

“Captain, you are going to straight to heaven,” Dula said.

Neighbors checked on their out-of-town neighbors’ yards, hauling in loose items.

People left Harvey Memorial Community Church on Sunday morning with the message, “Trust in God, it’s in his hands.”

Next door, at Bradenton Beach Marina, workers stowed boats inside.

The county’s beach raker picked up seaweed on Sunday – that much less mess to deal with after the storm.

Only a few people hit the beach on Sunday; Coquina Beach parking lots were gated and lifeguards gone, although Manatee County Beach remained open throughout the afternoon.

Chris Ulmer, manager of the newly-renovated concession stand at Coquina Beach, brought chairs and tables inside, hoping for the best. Ulmer lives on 62nd Street in Holmes Beach, a flood-prone area, but did not evacuate. Flooding was light in most areas.

Voluntary evacuations were advised by Manatee County emergency operations managers on Sunday for people in Zone A, which includes the Island, and the county launched a full activation of the Emergency Operations Center Sunday morning in preparation for Isaac, but went to a skeleton crew on Monday afternoon.

Both Manatee County public shelters that opened for the storm also closed on Monday. Manatee bridges, which never closed to vehicular traffic, had opened to marine traffic by Monday afternoon.

As of press time, city governments and schools were expected to reopen Tuesday, and officials were predicting that the storm could strengthen in the warm waters of the Gulf and become a hurricane before making landfall in Louisiana.

Locally, Isaac was expected to bring winds of up to 25 knots on Tuesday with seas of six to 10 feet and rip currents.

 

Sandbar to replace dining room
Carol Whitmore

Mike Field | Sun
The Sandbar dining room that fronts the
Gulf of Mexico looks much the same as an old
postcard from the late 1940s.

ANNA MARIA – The Sandbar restaurant plans to close its dining room and bar after the Labor Day holiday to begin construction on a new dining room and remodel the kitchen.

“I have declared the dining room unsafe, and it needs to be repaired, but I wouldn’t be afraid to eat there,” Building Official Bob Welch said. “When you declare something unsafe, you need to give them time to remedy the situation based upon the degree of safety.

“We’re here as part of a team to work through these issues, rather than put people out of work. We need to be compassionate in the way we do things.”

“This is a project we have been looking at for along time,” Sandbar owner Ed Chiles explained. “The first phase was the outdoor kitchen and deck. Now we are are pleased to begin construction to replace the dining room and bar. We’re excited about it."

The Sandbar began its life as bathing pavilion in 1913. A fire razed the structure in 1946,. Two old Army barracks were hauled to the site and the Sandbar restuaruant opened for business. In 1979, a partnership including Chiles bought the restaurant. They added the outdoor patio and kitchen.

Welch said the kitchen was to be remodeled first and work was to begin after turtle season, but after Tropical Storm Debby, he raised some concerns regarding the dining room.

“I looked at it and told them to do the dining room first,” he said. “It will be in the same footprint and have the same number of seats.”

Welch said he has conferred with Suzi Fox, director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, regarding the timing of the project and the location of the construction fence, which could disrupt turtles nests and nesting.

“The turtle issue will drive the time frame,” Welch noted. “Suzi has to be comfortable before they issue a permit.”

“There are nests in front, active nests and surprise nesting very close to the Sandbar,” Fox explained. “It is our highest density nesting area. Normally there would be 35 nests, but this year there are 103.”

On Thursday, Fox viewed the construction plans at city hall, spoke with Welch, made a site visit to the Sandbar and gave her recommendation to Lucas Davis, of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

After her site visit, Fox said, “They need to wait until the last turtle nests hatch, which would be five to 25 days. If FWC/DEP feels they must issue a permit to proceed with the fence, I would request they use plastic orange construction fence and leave an 8-inch gap at the bottom.

“I would like to see the contractor wait until Sept. 1 as long as the nesting marking stakes are still in the ground. If nesting stakes are lost, I think the FWC should go back to the drawing board with our plan to protect the nests we have and what we may have coming up.”

O’Connor bowling challenge met
Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Tom Vaught| SUN
Kathleen Vandergrift accepts her trophy for High
Series Female from Mike O’Connor.

BRADENTON – Cheered on by 100 spectators, about 200 bowlers burned up the AMF Bowling Lanes at the 22nd Annual O'Connor Bowling Challenge on Saturday, Aug. 25.

The tourney raised about $10,000 for youth sports programs at the Anna Maria Island Community Center. It was founded by George and Sue O’Connor and Billy and Sharon O’Connor 22 years ago when the Center needed sports equipment, said Mike O’Connor, George and Sue’s son, who is continuing the tradition with his wife, Katie O’Connor.

Chris Smargisso took top honors, winning in three categories, high game, high game male and high series male.

“He couldn’t believe it,” said O’Connor, adding that when Smargisso received his last prize, the champ joked, “Is everyone that bad at bowling in Florida?”

A couple of people were that bad, and were proud of it: the booby prizes for low game went to bowlers Penny Nichols, with a score of 15, and Harrison George, with a 19.

Awards and raffle prizes were presented at an after party at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar, 6696 Cortez Road W. The Anna Maria Island Sun provided the grand prize, a big screen, high-definition TV, which was won by a woman who was the very first person to buy a ticket, O’Connor said, adding that she also won three bottles of wine.

Results

Chuck Sterns High Game - Chris Smargisso, 214

High Game Male - Chris Smargisso, 214

High Game Female - Christine Fritz, 210

High Series Male - Chris Smargisso, 599

High Series Female - Kathleen Vandergrift, 470

Low Game Male - Harrison George, 19

Low Game Female - Penny Nichols, 15.

Osborn makes appeal to governor, FDLE
Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

TOM VAUGHT | SUN
Audience members sign up to speak at a Bradenton
Beach City Commission meeting earlier this month
concerning the Sheena Morris case.

 

BRADENTON BEACH – Kelly Osborn has written Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to plead for a reinvestigation of her daughter’s 2009 death.

Hanging victim Sheena Morris was found dead at age 22 at the BridgeWalk resort on Bridge Street on Jan. 1, 2009, by Bradenton Beach police, who determined her death was a suicide.

After hiring her own investigators and exhuming her daughter’s body for tests, Osborn concluded that the crime scene was staged and that Morris was murdered.

Bradenton Beach Police Chief Sam Speciale has said that Osborn has not presented new evidence to his department, and that without new evidence, the conclusion of suicide stands.

In her Aug. 23 letter to Scott, Osborn requested that the governor “take an active role in overseeing our requests that have been to the F.D.L.E. The public outcry for you to look into this matter is enormous and has the attention on a national level that should concern you and your desire to become involved.”

Osborn, who founded Mother Seeking Justice, online at www.Justice4Sheena.com, listed several requests in her letter of the same day to FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey, among them that law enforcement officials communicate with her about an upcoming FDLE review of the police department’s investigation of the case.

She asked that they include information she obtained through her investigation in their review.

“I am happy to bring my case files and presentation to the special review team,” she wrote.

“No one has communicated with me at all,” she said on Friday, awaiting a reply. “That’s the most disturbing thing of all.”

Osborn also requested and offered to pay for DNA testing on nail clippings taken from Morris and requested that a polygraph be conducted on Morris’ Tampa boyfriend, Joseph Genoese, who was not charged in the case.

Osborn also is organizing a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 6:30 p.m. followed by a free self defense class at 7:45 p.m. at Pro Karate Center in Palm Harbor, Fla., in honor of Morris and 35-year-old Indian Rocks Beach police academy cadet Kelly L. Rothwell, who has been missing for a year and a half.

“We believe that had either of these two ladies had the knowledge of self defense, their stories may have had different endings,” she wrote in a press release.

Neighbors join to address rental issues

ANNA MARIA – A group of property owners on Bayview Place, off South Bay Boulevard, has banded together to tackle the issues of problem rentals in their neighborhood.

“We started an organization called BING – Bayview Place Invested Neighbors Group,” Gerry Slavin explained. “We have come up with a letter to rental agents, a Good Neighbor Policy and a mission statement. We are asking rental agents to give our Good Neighbor Policy to their renters.

“We are asking them to include language in their leases to limit the number of occupants and vehicles allowed on the property and that exceeding these limits or complaints regarding noise, overcrowding or parking will be grounds for immediate eviction.”

Slavin said rental agents that follow BING’s Good Neighbor Policy will be listed on their website as good neighbors. He said the group has been working with Larry Chatt, of Island Real Estate, and Micheal Coleman, of Pine Avenue Restoration.

“If rental agents apply to be good neighbors, there are no complaints against their properties and they are being responsible, we would be happy to list them,” Slavin said.

Members also plan to collect complaints to present to authorities. Slavin said rental agents often are not contacted when there is a complaint and no one is collecting them.

“If someone has a complaint, they can send it to us with a copy to the rental agent,” Slavin said. “We’re presuming they would rather know there is a problem right away so they can nip it in the bud.

“We will consolidate the complaints and present them to persons who are responsible for enforcing the contracts and the commissioners who are responsible for our well being.”

“There’s a ground swell of concern from people who want to have a peaceful neighborhood, and we’re trying to provide a venue to collect the concerns,” Jim Lathrop added.

In addition, the website will list problem properties Slavin said and added, “If you have a problem property, let us know. We’ll have criteria for listing them including the number of complaints and complainants.”

“This is a neighborhood issue. Each neighborhood needs to be its own watchdog. We are willing to share our information with anyone and encourage neighbors to work together.”

BING’s website is invested neighbors.com. It contains the Good Neighbors Policy, mission statement, a letter to rental agents, what you can do about a problem property and contact information.

“We are asking them to include language in their leases to limit the number of occupants and vehicles allowed on the property and that exceeding these limits or complaints regarding noise, overcrowding or parking will be grounds for immediate eviction.”

Slavin said rental agents that follow BING’s Good Neighbor Policy will be listed on their website as good neighbors. He said the group has been working with Larry Chatt, of Island Real Estate, and Micheal Coleman, of Pine Avenue Restoration.

“If rental agents apply to be good neighbors, there are no complaints against their properties and they are being responsible, we would be happy to list them,” Slavin said.

Members also plan to collect complaints to present to authorities. Slavin said rental agents often are not contacted when there is a complaint and no one is collecting them.

“If someone has a complaint, they can send it to us with a copy to the rental agent,” Slavin said. “We’re presuming they would rather know there is a problem right away so they can nip it in the bud.

“We will consolidate the complaints and present them to persons who are responsible for enforcing the contracts and the commissioners who are responsible for our well being.”

“There’s a ground swell of concern from people who want to have a peaceful neighborhood, and we’re trying to provide a venue to collect the concerns,” Jim Lathrop added.

In addition, the website will list problem properties Slavin said and added, “If you have a problem property, let us know. We’ll have criteria for listing them including the number of complaints and complainants.”

“This is a neighborhood issue. Each neighborhood needs to be its own watchdog. We are willing to share our information with anyone and encourage neighbors to work together.”

BING’s website is invested neighbors.com. It contains the Good Neighbors Policy, mission statement, a letter to rental agents, what you can do about a problem property and contact information.

Robinson Preserve expansion approved

SUBMITTED | Manatee county natural
resources department
An additional 150 acres, mostly unused
farmland, will be added to Robinson
Preserve under an agreement approved
last week by the Manatee County
Commission.

 

The Manatee County Commission has voted to work with the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast to acquire 150 acres to expand Robinson Preserve,

The not-for-profit agency will raise funds to acquire the property, then donate the land to the county under the agreement.

The additional land will be improved with salt and freshwater wetlands, upland coastal habitat and a pine flatwood community of native vegetation that could induce native quail to return to the area, said Charlie Hunsicker, director of the county’s Natural Resources Department. The county will use grant funds from the Southwest Florida Water Management District and other federal and state sources for the project.

Other improvements will include open water features to support tidal circulation and recreation, additional parking, restroom facilities and an environmental center with age specific and thematic playground areas.

“What a legacy you and your team are leaving for Manatee County,” Commission Chair John Chappie told Hunsicker after the vote.

Commissioner Carol Whitmore praised Hunsicker for the “creative” property acquisition at a time when state and federal land acquisition funds are scarce.

The 487-acre Robinson Preserve, bordered by Tampa Bay, the Manatee River and Perico Bayou, was purchased by the county from the Robinson family in 2002 for $10 million, with a $6 million grant from Florida Communities Trust.

The Robinson family kept 200 acres bordering the land to develop a residential subdivision and 18-hole golf course. Under the proposal, Robinson Farms Inc. would retain 50 acres for a single-family subdivision. The county will make no agreement to approve the development on the 50 acres, according to the proposal.

The county estimates that it has spent more than $11 million on environmental restoration and recreational amenities at the preserve, which attracts more than 300,000 visitors annually.

Art classes offered at Artspace

Artspace Studio and Gallery announces fall art classes. Instructors Alexi Lillis and Deborah Webster will be offering both day and evening classes.

Sunrise/Sunset class will take place on Tuesday mornings and Friday evenings focusing on techniques to capture the beauty and character of Anna Maria Island.

Day classes include Pallettes in Paradise with color theory and media technique, Creative Artists with individual art projects in all media, Not So Still Life with drawing and composition and Sirens & Sea Sprites with fantasy painting and drawing taught by Lillis.

Evening selections taught by Webster include Mixed Media Madness – transforming sketchbooks into multi-paged works of art – and on Wednesday evenings, “A little wine...a little art” girls night out painting parties. Bring your own wine and discover your inner artist.

All skill levels are welcome from beginner to advanced. Classes begin in mid September. Class size is limited; preregistration is recommended.

Stop by Artspace Studio and Gallery
in Bayview Plaza above the Anna Maria Post Office from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sunday, call 941-243-3835 or e-mail to info@artspaceannamaria.com for details. Class descriptions also are listed on the website at www.artspaceannamaria.com

Another moratorium tumbles in Anna Maria

ANNA MARIA – An ordinance to establish a moratorium on demolishing ground-level homes was leveled by commissioners last week.

In introducing the ordinance, City Attorney Jim Dye said commissioners must decide on the dates it begins and ends.

Commissioner Dale Woodland said the date to end it is tied to the historical preservation committee’s task of writing a historic preservation ordinance to provide incentives for people to keep ground level homes.

Commissioner SueLynn, the liaison to the committee, said she would take the question to the committee and ask how long members think it would take to complete an ordinance.

“Is the historical preservation voluntary or mandatory? Woodland asked. “If its is voluntary, we don’t need a moratorium.”

Commissioner Jo Ann Mattick agreed and stressed, “I hate moratoriums unless there’s a really vital reason for one, and I don’t see it see it with this. If historical preservation is voluntary, this ordinance is not worth the paper it’s printed on.”

SueLynn said without an ordinance there is no incentive for people to keep ground-level homes

Mattick pointed out, “If you already have your plans in place and already made a decision on whether to tear it down, no matter what we decide, they’re still going to do that. So it’s not fair to penalize property owners who are ready to go.”

“For me that’s different from somebody who is buying a piece of property and trying to decide whether to tear it down or build it up,” SueLynn countered

Woodland said Ordinance 12-742 that commissioners approved earlier in the evening does provide an incentive by allowing greater lot coverage if the structure is less than 27 feet high.

Other comments

“As your attorney, a mandatory prohibition on demolition gives me more heartburn than an incentive program,” City Attorney Jim Dye said.

“There’s a much higher risk of being forced to explain the ordinance before a judge if it’s a prohibition on somebody knocking down their structure rather than creating incentives to keep it on the ground.”

Dye said they could lift the administrative hold on demolitions, which they imposed in July, and take no action on the ordinance.

Attorney Scott Rudacille, representing a property owner, said he supported both of Dye’s suggestions

“I’ll be disappointed if you rescind it,” historic preservation committee member Nancy Yetter stressed. “We’re working hard trying to help preserve the nature of the Island.”

Greg Ross, of Ross Built Construction, said a moratorium is arbitrary, and it harms builders and property owners.

Commissioner voted 4-0 to lift the administrative hold and 3-1 to take on action on the moratorium. Sue Lynn was the dissenting vote, and Chair Chuck Webb was absent with an excuse.


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